LOG LINE

Rack, a 38 year-old, just released ex-convict, breaks parole and embarks on a bicycle journey to northern California to discover what it means to truly be free.

SYNOPSIS

Armed with a check for his nine years of workhouse labor, 38 year old Nathan Lemon, better known by his jailhouse nickname Rack, is released from a California prison with nothing but a worn out photograph of Rebecca, and a thumbed and tattered prison-library copy of ‘Bicycling the Pacific Coast’. His cloudy past, specked with bursts of violence, but equally graced with profound moments of intimacy, drives Rack to purchase a bicycle and head north, to hopefully find Rebecca and rebuild his life. As he pedals away, laboriously at first, from the deserts of southern California, Rack begins to experience a sense of freedom. Energized by this newfound liberation, Rack soaks in the idyllic settings of the Pacific Coast Highway and regains a part of his humanity. But freedom is fleeting, as vagrants at a campsite attack him. After the attack Rack turns to Harvey, his old cellmate, who had all the answers on the inside but has none of them now. This realization further sends Rack adrift in a sea of societal realities with no room for reformed convicts.

Beginning to doubt the reason for his journey, a beleaguered and money-less Rack happens upon Tim, an intrepid hobbyist winemaker. The two forge a bond that helps Rack recover his intentions and further grants him a sense of uninhibited independence. Still yearning for Rebecca, Rack gets back in the saddle. An unexpected discovery forces him to reconsider his past, present, and future. A weight lifted and the road ahead seemingly wide open, his violent criminal past resurfaces, forcing Rack to make a decision; follow the road further north into the unknown or accept fate.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

My filmmaking has always been influenced by a sense of place. The color of the light, the smell of the air, the sounds of the land: all have defined and placed into context emotions and ideas that the open road has created. But unparalleled in its power to overwhelm, transform, and transport is the Pacific Ocean and the last highway in the land, US Highway 1.

After crossing the country in the fall of 2002, I arrived in northern California, looking for adventure, and a world where I could invent and define myself. It wasn’t a feeling of wanting to start over that brought me west; instead I was looking for whatever it was that was going to come next in my life, a longing to explore and a need for self-discovery. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a lot of my life on the move, and yet this wanderlust has consumed me. I convinced myself time and time again that the grass was greener somewhere else, and even if it wasn’t, that at least I had to see it for myself. I found myself looking for a place to call home, all the while driving coast to coast, and everywhere in between.

While searching, I’ve come to realize that it’s the relationships forged along the way that have shaped and defined who I am as a storyteller and person, just as equally as the places I've been. Whether it was my old college friend Matthew Jordan who wrote the short story NORTH is based on, or Elgin James, a dear friend and co-writer of the film whose upbringing and background couldn’t be more different than my own – friendships shaped by a need to create art and fostered through my wandering are influences that I wear proudly. These relationships make me a better filmmaker, collaborator, and storyteller. NORTH is not a film about my life, but my path and work informs the creation of every aspect of this project.

NORTH exposes a broken California justice system that focuses its efforts almost solely on a criminal’s incarceration, but does not exert equal efforts towards valuable rehabilitation skills and successful reentry to society. Long leading the nation in recidivism, California’s prison system does nothing to prepare our main character Rack for life after prison. Much of the hurdles facing Rack are based on co- writer Elgin James own personal experiences.

Tonally and stylistically NORTH is both a tale of gritty and intimate humanity as well as a visual love letter to California, inspired and influenced by photographer Todd Hido, John Steinbeck, and films such as THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, LORE, A PROPHET, WENDY & LUCY, and BALLAST. The power of a landscape and a journey to transform - and the way we photography this quiet and dark journey will act like an additional character in the film. Craft and focused camera language are one of my greatest strengths as a filmmaker and will be one of the most important elements of NORTH.

COMPARABLE FILMS

CLOSE ON CHECK - GLIMPSES OF: California State Prison System, made out to ‘Nathaniel Lemon’.

BANK TELLER ID?

He hands her his driver’s license.

BANK TELLER (CONT’D) It’s expired.

RACK Yes.

She lifts her eyes to Rack. A moment passes.

CUT TO: Teller SLAPS bills onto the growing pile on the counter.

BANK TELLER ...ninety seven and... ninety three cents.

She places a neat stack of coins next to the cash.

Rack tucks the cash into the prison envelope and slips it back into the bag.

Walks off, leaving the stack of coins in protest or declaration.

OVERVIEW

Purpose: Obtaining production financing for the independent feature film currently entitled NORTH, intended for production in the spring of 2017.

Budget: $1,500,00 (approx.)

Application of Funds: Pre-production, casting, development, production (locations, insurance, accommodations, rentals, production expendables, travel, etc), post-production (sound mix / edit, M&E, score, clearances, color correction, foley, etc), sales & marketing, delivery.

Management: Unstamped Postcards LLC (proposed single purpose production LLC), a multi-member LLC created by the producers for the purpose of producing, completing, and exploiting all domestic and international rights of the film.

Genre: Drama, Adventure, Americana, Personal Journey.

PROPOSED TIMELINE

June-September 2016: Development, fine tune production schedule, lock production line budget, strategize talent offers and co- production partner(s) strategy, begin to source equity financing.

September-December 2016: Talent offers (pending finance through use of LOIs), equity finance sourcing, greater packaging strategy and production strategy.

December 2016-March 2017: Team shops HERE ALONE for distribution (domestic and world) on festival circuit and announces NORTH accordingly. Soft prep gets underway as key crew is pinned, casting finalized, and the production approach / strategy is further detailed.

March-April 2017: 3 weeks of prep (depending on department) in advance of principal photography.

Mid-April-May 2017: Principal photography takes place in greater LA area with full crew. Crew slims down for the mobile production unit (AKA - the road trip unit) before building back up in the Bay Area for our final 7 days.

Spring - Summer 2017: Editing, post-production, composition, etc.

End of Summer 2017: Except for the outstanding pickups unit to take place in Napa Valley, online post-production is complete and begin sales screenings and festival submissions / strategy.

Fall 2017: Pickups to accommodate for weather changes and grape harvest. Scenes are edited and inserted into the picture locked film soon after. Festival outreach has begun and screeners are swapped with final film on a case-by-case basis.

Winter 2017-Spring 2018: Picture locked. Festival and sales strategy is locked. Distribution rights are shopped.

Tattered, multi-colored flags hang above cars of various makes, models, and conditions.

Rack, face bruised, steps off of his bike and walks it up to a squat, one story building.

Sign above the door reads: "SALES OFFICE"

Emerging from the office is HARVEY, 48 years old, cocky, bulbous face.

He's clean shaven wearing a slightly wrinkled, button up shirt and a garish tie.

HARVEY Jesus Christ, Rack! A fucking bicycle?!

After a moment --

RACK Nice fucking tie.

INVESTING IN ‘NORTH’

NORTH will be produced under a Limited Liability Corporation created specifically for the film (speculated here as Unstamped Postcards LLC).

NORTH is leanly and economically budgeted at $2,000,000 USD which covers all production, post-production, and delivery of the film. The team’s experience in producing content and independent features on shoestring budgets will allow for this film to feel and look even larger than the size of the required budget while still providing all of the production resources and acumen necessary to make a great film. Given the film’s timely subject matter (the role of prison sentences in actual rehabilitation and recidivism rates), the ensemble nature of the roles and potential cast, the modest production budget, and the international viability of comparable films, we believe investor recoupment and revenue on the backend is very achievable.

We are offering a 120% premium on investment, as well as a pro rata percentage of the 50% of the backend revenue shares. We are selling 30 shares of the proposed LLC for $50,000 each. All 50 backend participation points available to investors will be divided pro rata pari passu amongst investors. The remaining fifty points will be reserved for the company and divided amongst producers, cast and crew. These 50 points on the producers’ side will allow us the necessary room for negotiations with cast and key crewmembers.

Please note that the producers make diligent efforts to ensure that no overages or unforeseen costs are incurred and have a track record of delivering films on time and budget.

INVESTMENT RETURN MEMO

Equity Participant A invests $100K into the film, granting them the 20% premium on their investment to recoup pari passu alongside all other equity participants. Plus a pro rata percentage of backend participation points which represent the investor’s ownership stake in the film and all future profits from all platforms utilized for distribution.

• The first payout from film revenues received by Unstamped Postcards LLC goes directly to investors until 120% of investment is recouped.

• Following 120% recoupment, the net profits (as determined in accordance with generally-accepted accounting principles and with the participation of the engaged distributor and sales agent) are split 50/50 between the investors and Unstamped Postcards LLC in perpetuity.

DISCLAIMER

Please note that this is only a business plan for NORTH and is not an offering for sale of any securities of the company.

Any offering for sale of any securities of the company will solely be pursuant to a separate private placement memorandum and associated disclosure documents.

While our production team works extremely hard to minimize risks, potential investors must take into account the unpredictable nature of motion picture production and marketing.

Only persons who can afford the loss of all or part of their capital contribution should consider investing in motion pictures.

ROD BLACKHURST | Director, Co-Writer, Producer

NORTH is Rod’s third feature film. His feature debut HERE ALONE, starring Lucy Walters, Adam David Thompson and Gina Piersanti won the Best Narrative Audience Award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Rod also produced HERE ALONE with David Ebeltoft (co- writer of NORTH) and Noah Lang (producer of NORTH). His feature length documentary AMANDA, about the 8 yearlong international trial of Amanda Knox, will be released worldwide by NETFLIX in the fall of 2016. AMANDA was made with exclusive access to Amanda and edited by Oscar Nominated Matthew Hamachek (CARTEL LAND, IF A TREE FALLS) and Oscar Winner Angus Wall (GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE SOCIAL NETWORK).

Rod’s narrative and documentary short films LIFE (2014), ALONE TIME (2013) and EARLY INNINGS (2012) have all been recognized with prestigious VIMEO STAFF PICK status. LIFE was also a Short of the Week and VICE Presents selection. Rod’s short NIGHT SWIM starring Megalyn Echukinowke was featured on SHORT OF THE WEEK

Rod’s short film WOULD YOU (2012), starring Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse premiered at SXSW in 2012 and subsequently screened at the Palm Springs Intl Film Festival. His other short films have been featured on , The Tonight Show, IFC, Gawker, Huffington Post, E!Online, and Funny or Die.

Rod grew up without a television in rural upstate New York and has spent the night in every state except South Dakota. He has a 2002 bachelor’s degree in French Literature from Colgate University.

NOAH LANG | Producer

Noah got his start in the film industry at Cinetic Media working in sales, finance, and consulting. He produced HERE ALONE with Rod and David Ebeltoft. His recent films include SUN BELT EXPRESS (Winner - Chelsea FF, Newport Beach FF, US in Progress Poland) starring Tate Donovan, Rachel Harris and Stephen Lang, BAND OF ROBBERS (LAFF 2015 Premiere) starring Kyle Gallner, Matthew Gray Gubler and Hannibal Burress, the acclaimed documentary HEAVEN ADORES YOU (San Francisco FF Premiere), and the upcoming sci-fi drama DIVERGE (Winner - US in Progress Paris Top Prize). Noah was a member of the inaugural Dogfish Accelerator Program.

ELGIN JAMES | Co-Writer

Elgin is a Sundance Directors Lab Fellow, and the director/writer of the critically acclaimed LITTLE BIRDS (Sundance 2011). Homeless as a teenager, James was a fixture in 's scene, founding a national street that targeted neo-Nazi skinheads and robbed drug dealers to give the money to charity. Years ago, as profiled in the New Yorker (9/2012), James renounced violence and relocated to Los Angeles.

He is currently writing and directing the feature film COME SUNDOWN for Electric City Entertainment. Elgin’s script for LOW RIDERS is in production by Imagine Entertainment starring Academy Aware Nominee Demian Bichir, Theo Rossi, Melissa Benoist and Eva Longoria.

DAVID EBELTOFT | Co-Writer

Prior to penning and producing HERE ALONE, David co-wrote the dramatic feature NORTH with Rod Blackhurst and writer/director Elgin James. NORTH was a finalist for the 2013 KRF Filmmaking Grant from the San Francisco Film Society and was invited to participate in the Society’s Off The Page program. Also with Blackhurst, David executive produced the short film NIGHT SWIM, produced the short film LIFE, co-wrote the dramatic short ALONE TIME, and co-wrote the short documentary THE ONLY BAND IN TOWN. His first foray into feature screenwriting, the dark comedy YOU WERE ONCE CALLED QUEEN CITY, was awarded the Grand Prize at the Philadelphia Screenplay Festival and a Feature Development Award in the Bluecat Screenwriting Lab Competition.

TREVOR EILER | Co-Producer

Trevor is the person every feature film wants and needs. After graduating with a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, he started collecting many hats at a small ad agency. His skill set includes graphic design, photography, art direction, creative direction, web design, and comic relief. It's no wonder he showed up to the Here Alone set as an associate producer, turned set photographer, helped build fences with the art department, and then finally became the assistant director.

Trevor is the consummate collaborator. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington where he goes on epic adventures with his dog, FBI Special Agent Cooper.

ERIC D. JOHNSON | Composer

Eric D. Johnson is a singer, songwriter, film score composer and festival producer. He is best known as the leader of the influential folk- rock band Fruit Bats and for his frequent collaborations with bands such as The Shins, Vetiver, and Califone. Eric recently scored HERE ALONE. He also scored the feature debut of writer/direct Max Winkler, CEREMONY, and the critically acclaimed James Ponsoldt film SMASHED. He has also scored OUR IDIOT BROTHER, AFTER TILLER, and GOODBYE WORLD among others.

Eric has also collaborated with Director Rod Blackhurst on the dark comedy short LIFE (Vice 2014, Vimeo Staff Pick 2014).