Midnight Swing CONTACT Deb Havener, writer/producer, [email protected] , 614.264.6679 Nolan Gerard Funk, actor/producer, Independent Talent Group, UK, +44 20 7636 6565 Laurie Ashbourne Sacks, producer, [email protected] Ask us for our electronic packag e TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. We Start with the Script . Page 3 2. Log Line and Setting . Page 4 3. Synopsis . Page 5 4. Our Vision . Page 6 5. Downbeat, 1939 . Page 7 6. Casting: Our Main Characters . Page 8 7. Locations . Page 16 8. Marketing . Page 18 9. Producer Bios . Page 21 10. Director . Page 25 11. Fashion: Head of Wardrobe . Page 26 12. Really Fun Pics . Page 27 13. Contact Us . Page 28 14. One-sheet . Page 29 2 We start with thethethe script … Nicholl Fellowships [email protected] to me Dear Deb, Congratulations! You have advanced into the Semifinal Round of the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. In so doing, yours is one of only 114 entries (out of over 6,300 screenplays) to survive the Quarterfinal Round. During the Semifinal round, four Academy members, drawn from a variety of branches, will read Midnight Swing. Over the past half dozen years about ten Semifinalists have progressed into the Finals; the number will be similar this year. Remember: if you become a Finalist, no later than early October we will ask you to send a short, informal letter telling us about your immediate and future screenwriting plans. If a producer is badgering you to option or sell this or another screenplay, hold off receiving any money for another month or so. For a list to be forwarded to agents, development executives, managers and producers who request it, we shall use the contact information you have given us. Check your contact information below to make certain that it is as you want it: Contact e-mail: [email protected] If this information is incorrect, please change it via your online account or let us know as soon as possible via e-mail to [email protected] or fax to 310-247-3794 . Over 200 copies of the lists were distributed last year. Lists will be distributed after finalists are announced. If earnings have recently made you ineligible, congratulations – and please contact us immediately. Good luck in the Semifinals. Sincerely, Greg Beal Director Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting www.oscars.org/nicholl 3 Midnight Swing LOG LINE : Two young trumpet players revel in jazz, booze and women – until one of them confesses a dark secret that threatens the fate of their band and the friendship of a lifetime. SETTING : This is 1939, a shimmering time when jazz dazzles, swing is King and dance halls across the nation are hopping. Lording over all of this are the boys in the band. 4 Synopsis Summer, 1939. It’s another hot, swinging night at the Starlight – a little joint in a small Ohio town, and all the kids are there to see their favorite local swing band – TEDDY ARNOLD AND HIS BLUE BOYS. The self-proclaimed stars of this band are two young trumpet players, best friends CHARLIE HATFIELD, the sensitive first-chair player who fights hard to keep his sexuality a secret, and JACK DUPREE, a streetwise tough kid who craves attention from the ladies. They know how to play off each other to milk the crowd for applause and affection – much to the chagrin of their bandleader Teddy – who just craves a little professionalism. Weaving his way through the crowd this fateful night is LARRY EVANS – a photographer from the hit magazine DownBeat. Sent to snap pictures of obscure swing bands of the Midwest, the usually cynical Larry is amused by the youthful, showy band. And when Charlie steps forward to perform a solo, Larry’s fascination is unmasked. Larry soon finds himself alone with Charlie in the men’s room. Using his prestige as a DownBeat photographer, he talks Charlie into coming up to his hotel room to look at photographs of famous bands. Alone in the room, Larry convinces Charlie to dance with him. After a couple more shots of booze, Charlie yields to desire and has his first encounter with another man. Larry ingratiates himself into the band when he books a gig for them at the famed Moonlight Garden. Desperate to get his band into the pages of Downbeat, Teddy invites Larry to hit the road with the band. And Charlie, who has found himself gazing moon-eyed at Jack more than once, works hard to keep his heart off his sleeve – and his encounter with Larry a secret. On the road, Charlie and Jack share a night of drunken merriment – until Charlie confesses his real feelings. His secret tears apart their friendship. Jack, confused by his own feelings for his closest friend, has sex with as many girls who are able and willing. Their anger and fear carries over into their performances ... and while their music is at once fiery and brilliant, the band is ultimately torn apart. Welcome to the swingy-hot summer of '39, when romance, passion and lust run rampant through the Teddy Arnold and his Blue Boys Dance Band – not only in their sexual awakening, but in the very music they strive to play. 5 Our Vision Set during a time when America was about to lose its innocence, Midnight Swing explores that one brief, beautiful moment we all have before we realize we’re on the other side of adulthood. We chose 1939 to mirror the innocence and naiveté of the country with our characters. We plan to use the Arri Alexa camera package to shoot our picture. This camera offers superior image quality and has been used by many Oscar-nominated films. In our first two acts we will utilize a color palette that is rich and vivid; jewel-tone blues , hot pinks and oranges , fiery reds , lush greens – to showcase the zest and energy of our young characters. As our characters grow up and are faced with making tough personal decisions we begin to see a wear and tear on youth itself. To help illustrate this we plan to gradually bleed out the color. By the end of the movie we are immersed in a world that is less shimmering and vivid. We are now in a world with watery colors , muted tones and a much more gritty feel. We are now on the other side of youth. 6 DownBeat, 1939 America is swooning over Clark Gable, Mickey and Judy are putting on a show in the barn, and kids everywhere are terrified of those flying monkeys from a land called Oz. On the music front teens can’t get enough of the hot new jazz that’s exploding across the country. These young pepper-shakers dance so hard they have to replace the floor every year at the famed Savoy. This has adults of a respectable reputation puzzled. Where does one go to hear these sounds? If you want a real jamboree just hop a train to New Orleans to hear the Southern-fried wail of brass from Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five . Or head on over to Chicago where you can catch King Oliver for a grand night of sizzling jazz at the Royal Garden Cafe. Up in Harlem Duke’s blues-soaked rhythms add a touch of sophistication to the Cotton Club. Twelve-hundred miles away Bennie Moten and Count Basie get the crowds jumping in Kansas City, while Goodman and his Orchestra swing out in every venue from East to West. But if you want to catch a lively night of real stomping and swirling – of madness, mayhem and merriment – you need to visit those small towns where some of the most obscure little bands of the Midwest blow the roof off the joint. Dear reader, we suggest you put on your best and head to a little joint in Ohio called the Starlight to catch the antics of Teddy Arnold and his Blue Boys Dance Band . You never know what’s going to happen when those cats take the stage. – L. Evans, DownBeat Magazine 7 Our Main Characters CHARLIE HATFIELD , 22, is a young man with a natural talent for music. One of the hottest trumpet players around, he’s fortunate to find himself soaking up the limelight on a local level with Teddy Arnold and his Blue Boys Dance Band. Charlie’s inner conflict is his ever- growing love for his longtime best friend, Jack DuPree – the second-chair trumpet player. Considerations: Freddie Highmore Daniel Radcliffe Logan Lerman Josh Hutcherson Micky Shiloah Harry Styles 8 Our Main Characters JACK DUPREE , 24, is not the brightest crayon in the box, but he’s showy and daring and a real piece of eye candy for all the ladies – not to mention Charlie. Jack is a little rough around the edges having had to take care of his lush of a promiscuous mother for most of his life. With no real father figure to bring him up, he leans toward his bandleader, Teddy, for approval and praise. His bond with Charlie is intense. They share the same painful desire of wanting to make it big. These two friends also share a craving of acceptance that they’re not getting on a personal level. Nolan Gerard Funk Independent Talent Group, UK Attached 9 Our Main Characters TEDDY ARNOLD , 50, is the desperate bandleader. Not the most handsome of fellows, and lacking certain skills when it comes to women, he relies on his young musicians to pull in the crowd. A sad sack most of the time, Teddy really only comes alive when he’s onstage with his boys.