A Second Chance at Once in a Lifetime
FANTASY | ROMANCE | MUSIC
Logline: Killed two decades after his fifteen minutes of fame, the soul of a middle-aged drummer wakes up again in his twenty-something body for a second chance at rock ‘n roll dreams – and love.
If you could go back and relive just one moment from your past…
…what instant would you choose?
And what would you do differently?
Synopsis: After dropping Sam off at junior high school, his mother is killed in a car accident right in front of Sam and all his friends. A decade later, while straddling him during sex, his first and only love dies from a drug overdose. Sam’s rock and roll dreams, passions and ability to connect with anyone or anything die with her. He withdraws into a lucrative business career, disconnected from love and music for the rest of his short life. But when a freak accident takes Sam in his prime, his soul finds a way back to his 23-year-old body – and offers him the miraculous second chance to relive it all – better.
For full pitch package and screenplay email Heather@HeatherHale.com for password
Details
Executive Summary
Once Again is a gritty, unapologetic look at one man’s journey from a broken childhood, through a hedonistic youth to an alienated adulthood – and back again. It tracks how he deals with tragedy, loss, addiction and love until one fateful day, his accidental death gifts him with a surreal second chance – a “do over” – to re-emerge into one key moment – and change what he might’ve handled better. Our non-linear approach to this high concept promises great cinematic, cathartic and marketing potential.
Can Be Shot Anywhere
A low budget film flexible enough to be shot virtually anywhere, Once Again’s team will shoot in the state with the most generous tax incentives, in the city with the most cost-effective and logistically efficient – but still visually appealing – resources. Written with an eye to limited crew moves, the film will extensively tap in-kind resources that include a recording studio, music clubs, existing music rights and the possibility of a joint venture with a few high profile rock Bands (discussed below). Once Again promises hyper-efficient pre-production, principal photography and post-production and crowd-sourced momentum paired with an excellent festival campaign strategy for profitable distribution at the right budgetary price point.
Distribution-Worthy, Financing-Attracting Talent
We will make “finance contingent” queries to top, distribution-worthy SAG talent until we have secured the funds to make official pay or play offers with a firm start date. Ideally, all the marquee-worthy talent will agree to work for favored nations’ SAG Schedule F ($65,000) flat rate deals. We will negotiate either shared net profits or guaranteed box office bumps with every player we can, to kick in after the investors have recouped their initial capital and 20{5f4a21c874a1b05ced36ffa604a17927d75a245014f5f9697817562dcb3c41cf} profit.
Music Integration Opportunities and Prospective Strategies
Love and music are universal, evolving with us as we change – or don’t. The decades or stages of our lives are often punctuated by iconic songs. Ideally, our intention is to negotiate the rights to three very short clips of classic rock songs indicative of the mid-1980s era (i.e.: The Cars, AC/DC, Rush, Ozzie Osborn, Scorpions, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, etc.). Alternately or in addition, we can record new covers to eliminate the sync fees and only pay the label fees or negotiate with one of several high profile (possibly Christian rock bands, such as Building 429 or Sidewalk Prophets, to expand and diversify our marketing reach) and/or other rock/hard rock bands (such as Chasing Day) to record era-establishing sound-alike or reminiscent new originals for our soundtrack.
This strategy, if done as a “win-win” joint venture, might even position us to stage our lead drummer to get a few 2nd unit shots during one of their concerts or even a few smaller tour engagements. The rest of their band could possibly play themselves as minor roles in the film for credibility follow-through. We are also researching high profile actors who can drum (who may have their own band) or existing drummers from high profile bands who’s auditions promise great acting chops. In an ideal world, we’d premiere at SXSW (the South by Southwest® Conference & Festivals, known for their celebration of the convergence of film and music – and appreciation of the screenwriter!). Our efforts will be to secure enough sufficient marketing budget to throw a huge premiere party – with this band performing – for publicity and crowdsourcing (word of mouth) momentum – to drive the subsequent (hopefully profitable) distribution.
The soundtrack can be developed together as a joint venture. Such a score would enhance the film for a broad audience of rock and music fans while simultaneously attracting the huge and active adult Christian audience – an affinity group that doesn’t only limit their viewing habits exclusively to saccharin-sweet, G-rated “preaching to the choir” films but many appreciate their values firmly reflected in gritty, real world R-rated dramas, too. Without risking alienating a more secular audience with anything too heavy handed, Once Again will appeal to a diversified audience without compromising any of its core (harsh) truth.