Quest for Love
A target of his own vivid imagination a young homeless man, Turtle Man, 26, braves the beautiful, weird, dangerous streets of Los Angeles alone… alone until he meets Desi, 32, a vibrant, free-spirited, homeless African American woman.
Their shared plight bonds them on a sometimes humorous, always dangerous adventure where matters of the heart, secrets, sorrows and lost dreams become far greater challenges than the wild streets they navigate.
Inspired by a chance of real love, Turtle Man confronts the violent burdens of his past in an attempt to win the heart of Desi and earn a second chance at life.
MOOD MONTAGE
Digging Deeper
Driving this adventure is a powerful universal tale; a journey each one of us embarks upon, whether we like it or not, whether we're aware of it or not… a journey to find our deepest desire and our deepest need; to forgive ourselves our wrong-doings and claim the love we've always dreamed of but never felt worthy of.
This deeper theme weaves through every scene, moves us, challenges us and pulls us deeper and deeper into our own hearts mirroring the journey of Turtle Man and Desi.
Vision & Setting
While the authenticity of Turtle Man and Desi’s reality will be the foundation of our storytelling, the universality of our theme, the shared experience of all human beings, will be our inspiration for a truly singular soundscape and visual style.
From Venice Beach to Skid Row, Sunset Boulevard to the Hollywood Hills, Turtle Man and Desi's experiences in these famous urban landscapes are very different than those of the average Angelino or tourist. This perspective will provide the viewer a rare and powerful view of Los Angeles rarely experienced.
CAST - WISH LIST
Turtle Man- Mid twenties: A young Charlie Hunnam
If you can get him to look you in the eye, you’ll see he’s a man with a good heart of an old soul. But he's a loner, his behavior and demeanor driven by a torturous and fractured imagination.
Life on the streets has taken its toll. His grimy weathered face is framed by matted sun-bleached hair and a beard. An old scar mars the flesh around his left eye and amateurish tattoos paint his torso, highlighting a burn scar on his upper back and neck.
Desi- Thirties: Naomie Harris
Engaging and beautiful face with curves that make even her thrift shop wardrobe look sultry. As a dancer Desi is surprisingly good, as a mother, not so much.
She is anything but a fool. Strong willed with razor sharp humor, but her ‘bi-polar’ label has left her unemployable, living out of her car and forced to give up custody of her beloved daughter.
A chance meeting with Turtle Man, gives Desi the chance to share her burden and dare a shred of hope, a sliver of dignity and a whisper of love.
Kurdan- Fifties: Woody Harrelson
Officer Dusko “DUSTY” Kurdan, Caucasian, hard face. Kurdan is a proud man, proud of what he does for his Venice Beach community, proud of being a cop but it’s damn embarrassing to have a son doing a stint in Juvenile Hall.
Kurdan is using every ounce of his strength and wisdom to try and keep his son from screwing up again. He confides in his partner Bellwether; only another cop can understand the power of the gun and the badge and the helplessness of knowing those two things can’t stop his son from choosing wrong. Kurdan gets a fast hard lesson in both while dealing with Turtle Man as he watches over this young homeless man, fooling himself that he can make some sort of difference.
Bellweather- Sixties: Louis Gossett Jr
A lifetime as an African American cop in LA will leave most men broken… and a few to a higher cause. Being partners with Kurdan, a cornbread, right-wing, hard-ass would try most people, but Bellwether has learned to see past words and attitude.
Bellwether’s friendship with Kurden would qualify him as a saint, but it isn’t until he is asked to make an unthinkable sacrifice that Bellwether understands the true meaning of compassion.
Director/Producer- Jason Lehel
Jason's debut film as a director/Producer, "Gaia", premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 and went on to win numerous national and international film festival awards.
Jason joined the film industry in 1977 as an assistant editor before moving to the camera dept where he worked with the great Ossie Morris. Jason worked his way up through the grades on features such as CRY FREEDOM and GORILLAS IN THE MIST.
In 1988 Jason shot his first short film, which was nominated for an Oscar, his second winning a best short film BAFTA. He quickly became busy in features, commercials and music videos, shooting for bands like U2, Guns N’ Roses and even Frank Sinatra.
By 1996 Jason had set up his own production company and had won awards on every short film and commercials he directed and produced.
In 2007 Jason moved to Los Angeles where he's producing commercials and developing several feature films, including his passion project, “Turtle Man”.
Writer- Michael Bruce Adams
As a produced writer with over 23 years of film and television production experience, Michael Bruce Adams has written 34 feature scripts and is a Script Consultant for features, documentaries and television series with clients in Canada, the US, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Michael’s produced screenwriting credits include the award winning feature “Reach For Me”,“A Shine of Rainbows”, the television movie “Taken in Broad Daylight”, the NBA feature length documentary “Nash”, and the comedy series “Top Ten Tips For Health” with Terry Jones of “Monty Python”.
INVESTMENT PROPOSAL
We are currently seeking $1.92 million US dollars from equity investors to finance and complete Turtle Man.
EQUITY INVESTORS
We are interested in working with individuals investing a minimum of $250k and up to the full $1.92 million production budget.
BRITISH QUALIFYING
Turtle Man will be a British qualifying film befitting from all the potential uk tax credits on qualifying spent and EIS funds.
INVESTMENT OFFER
Each equity investor will recoup their investments from all sources of gross revenue received by the entity operating on behalf of the project, First Breath Films, until they receive 115% return on investment (ROI) until paid in full, from first dollar after the distribution fees for P&A, pari-passu with all other equity investors.
Investors will receive a private placement memorandum (PPM) disclosure agreement prepared by our attorney, covering all aspects of our agreement.
PROPOSED STEP FINANCING OVERVIEW
After recoupment, First Breath Films will pay 50% of all proceeds (the “Financier’s Share”) to Financiers and take care of all third parties (e.g., talent, story rights, deferments, etc.) and production staff (director, producer, co-producer, etc.) out of the remaining 50% (the “Producer’s Share”), which includes all distribution revenue streams, including theatrical, TV and cable sales.
Investors will receive an Executive Producer title in the opening and/or closing of the film credit sequence, subject to studio approval.
Turtle Man Production Schedule
STEP 1 FINANCING
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Secure financing through equity investors, tax incentives, tax rebates and pre-sales
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Completed production package; budget shooting schedule, DOOD, cast list.
STEP 2 PRE-PRODUCTION
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Begin casting the lead roles
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Location scout
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Proposed shoot dates: summer/fall 2019
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Complete casting for all roles
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Hire crew
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Secure pre-sales
STEP 3 PRODUCTION
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Begin production in Los Angeles, CA
STEP 4 POST PRODUCTION
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Post production in London UK and Los Angeles, CA
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6 weeks edit
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3 weeks post production sound design, ADR, color correction, master print
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Deliver final film to distributor
