A Grand Don’t Come For Free: The Movie

The following is my submission for Anomalous Material’s latest Pitch Your Movie blogathon. The event involves all the participants of the second Hollywood Fantasy Draft.

A Grand Don’t Come For Free

Cast:

Chris Hemsworth – Mike

Emily Blunt – Simone

Andrew Garfield – Dan

Mehcad Brooks – Scott

Mila Kunis – Allison

Ben Mendelsohn - Sully

Lennie James - Mumbles

Melanie Laurent - Ramona

Robert Kayinsky – Man in shirt and tie.

Directed by Steve McQueen (Hunger), and loosely adapted from both the A Grand Don’t Come For Free concept album and the Everything is Borrowed album by the British artist known as The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come For Free is a look at the life of one twenty-something year-old living in Birmingham UK. Trying his best to navigate life, friends, and love, Mike soon learns that losing a grand is the best thing that could have ever happen to him.

Act 1 – “It Was Supposed to Be So Easy”

Mike is a wannabe petty gangster in his late twenties. With no steady job Mike makes most of his money through various cons schemes. When Mike is not out conning unsuspecting bar patrons, he is spending the money he gets on gambling, booze, drugs, and nights at the club. Mike lives in a small house that is cluttered with empty beer cans and a slew of envelopes with the words “past due” and “last notice” on them. At the beginning of the film we see Mike and his friends drinking at his place talking about an upcoming soccer match and his date with Simone that night. Mike’s closest friends consist of Dan, Mike’s childhood friend; Scott, a stoner who still lives at home with his folks; and Allison, a single mother who spends more time partying than she does taking care of her boy Nathan. The day starts to go downhill for Mike when he realizes that the thousand dollars he set aside to pay a local loan shark, Sully, has gone missing. After tearing his house apart, Mike decides to withdraw some more money while he is out returning a DVD at the local video store. After waiting forever behind a slow woman at the ATM, Mike sees that he does not have enough money in his account to pay his debt.

Strapped for cash, Mike pulls a quick con at a nearby grocery store to cover him for the rest of the day and his date with Simone. At her day job, working at the JD’s Sports store with Dan, Simone often looks like she is coping with a hangover from the night before. On this night though, Mike is taken aback by how pretty Simone is when she puts in a bit of effort. Mike and Simone hit it off instantly, they chat about everything from Simone’s relationship with her mother to Mike suspecting that one of his friends might have stolen the thousand dollars. They get lost in conversation for hours and close the restaurant. Things pick up between Mike and Simone rather quickly and they are practically inseparable for the next few weeks and he finds himself spending all his time at Simone’s place.

Blissfully in love, and forgetting all about Sully, Mike dips into the money he has been swindling out of people to buy Simone things, such as a new coat, and taking her out to clubs. It is only when Scott mentions that Sully’s boys have been looking for him that Mike remembers his outstanding debt. Mike and Dan head down to the bookie shop to see if they can buy Mike more time to get the cash. Fortunately for Mike, Sully is tending to other business (i.e. killing a former worker who has been leaking information to Interpol). Mike promises Sully’s second in command, Mumbles, that he will have the money in a week plus interest. Mumbles informs him that the debt is now two grand. Before leaving the shop Dan encourages Mike to place a bet on the soccer match on television. Mike is hesitant at first but ultimately changes his mind when considers that he could possibly win enough money to clear his debts with Sully once and for all. Plus the match looks like a sure thing as his team is up by two goals. Unfortunately, a last minute substitution changes the courses of the match and Mike’s team ends up losing by a penalty kick. His debt has now gone up an extra two hundred dollars.

Act 2 – “Blinded by the Lights”

Still unable to raise enough money to pay Sully, Mike is starting to get stressed as the deadline approaches. Mike and Simone also seem to be arguing a lot more these days. To take his mind off of things he decides a night out with his friends is in order. After slipping in a small baggie of drugs past the bouncer Mike does a few lines of cocaine to loosen up a bit. While waiting for Simone to show up after work, Mike decides to take a few shots at the bar with Allison and talk about things going on in their lives. An hour later, an extremely drunk Mike wonders why Simone has not returned his text. Believing he is hallucinating due to the drugs, Mike start seeing distorted images at the club. One of those images is a woman who looks like Simone kissing another man. Another image is of Scott and Dan getting into an argument. Scott appears to be trying to stop Dan from talking to Mike. Confused and in need of air, Mike and Allison step outside for a quick smoke. Mike wanders off while Allison is trying to get a light from the bouncer. Wandering aimlessly Mike accidently crashes a wedding and gets into a fight with some of the wedding guest. Luckily Allison finds him and takes him home before the cops show up.



The next day, hung over and bruised, Mike heads to McDonalds for a bite to eat. While at the restaurant he sees an attractive woman standing in line with a guy wearing a simple white shirt and black tie. Unable to take his eyes of the woman, Mike does not notice that Mumbles and Sully have entered the restaurant. Mumbles puts his hand on Mikes shoulder and grabs him tightly. Sully walks up to the woman and starts to kiss her. The man in the white shirt gets the hint and takes off. Sully introduces the woman as his girlfriend Ramona. Sully then tells Mike that he has been more than patient but it is now time for him to pay up. Not having the funds needed, Mike offers up his services as a con artist to Sully. Hardly impressed with this offer, Sully motions for Mumbles to take Mike out back and teach him a lesson. As they head out the door Ramona pipes up about having a solution to fix everything. Ramona request that Mike be her new errand boy as Sully killed her last one. Reluctant at first, Sully agrees and tells Mike that after working for Ramona, he will have wished that Sully killed him when he had the chance.

Sully informs Mike that his first assignment is to keep Ramona occupied at the park for a few moments while Sully and Mumbles conducts business nearby. Sully clearly instructs Mike that he is not to leave Ramona’s side at all cost. While walking to the park, Ramona informs Mike that she and the man in the white shirt are actually undercover Interpol agents building a case against Sully and his links in organized crime. Flashing her Interpol badge, Ramona informs Mike to go home and keep away from the bookie shop for the rest of the day as a major Interpol raid is going to happen later that night.

Act 3 –“Everything Is Borrowed”

Still in shock from what he had just learned, and unable to get a hold of Simone, Mike heads over to Scott’s house to tell him everything. At the apartment Mike notices, Simone’s coat over the arm rest of Scott’s chair. Mike questions Scott about the jacket but Scott pretends to be intensely watching something on television. Irritated Mike starts to piece together his hallucinations at the club and Simone’s distant behavior over the last few weeks. Mike accuses Scott of fooling around with his girlfriend, but is stunned to hear Scott say that it has been Dan. As luck would have it, Dan walks in a ten minutes later to pick up the coat. Not seeing Mike sitting at the table in disbelief, Dan mentions that he and Simone, who is waiting in the car, are going to the pub for a few pints. Before Dan can finish his sentence, Mike lunges at him and punches him in the face. As Dan falls to the ground, Mike starts wailing on him. If it wasn’t for Scott pulling him off of Dan, Mike would have killed him. As Mike leaves he gives a startled Simone a cold look as he walks by Dan’s car.

A few weeks later Mike, who has not left his house since the events at Scott’s house, lets Scott, Allison and her son Nathan into his place. Scott apologies for not telling Mike sooner but admits that he was in a tough spot since he was friends with both of them. Mike forgives him and they all sit around chatting for a bit. Mike tells them both that he has been doing a lot of thinking and plans to start making something of his life. The incident with Sully opened his eyes to how low his life had gotten. After a while, Scott leaves and Nathan falls asleep on the couch. Mike and Allison continue to talk until 2 am. The next morning Mike wakes up optimistic for the first time in a long time. Allison is asleep upstairs and Mike gets Nathan some cereal. Suddenly there is a knock on the door and Mike opens it to see the repo men on his doorstep. As the men take all of his stuff away, Mike spots an envelope behind the television set. There, in all its glory, is the grand that Mike had thought he lost several weeks ago. The film ends with Allison, Nathan and Mike on the street watching the repo men load their truck. Allison extends her hand to Mike indicating that he is welcome to come home with her. With only the clothes on his back and a grand in his hand, Mike smiles and confidently takes Allison’s hand and walks toward a new life.

Pitch Your Movie: It’s Only Divine Right

The end of TIFF is quickly approaching for me. I have four films tomorrow and then I will have reached twenty-four films max for this year. I hope to start posting some TIFF reviews next week after I take a day or two to decompress a bit. First I need to take care of some commitments I made prior to TIFF. As I mentioned in a previous post, I took part in a Hollywood Fantasy Draft a few weeks back over at Anomalous Material. Over the last three weeks all the participants of the draft have been pitching their film ideas. As my pitch is scheduled for tomorrow, I opted to post it a day early as not to conflict with all my TIFF films. Why I choose a date during TIFF is beyond me, but I tried my best to scrape something together in the few moments I had available in between screenings. On a side note, Castor of Anomalous Material has generously allowed me to feature all 27 pitches in a special edition of Pitch the LAMB later this month. So be sure to check that out as well.

It’s Only Divine Right directed by Spike Jonze

Tagline: Sometimes doing nothing is the greatest crime of all.


The Cast

Johnny Depp – Salvador Bramalea. A con artist who lack of action, and mental instability, leads to major consequences.

Brad Pitt – Daniel Bramalea. Salvador’s brother who is the “muscle” in the con. Daniel’s love for money supersedes almost everything else in life.

Rosemary Dewitt – June Geogra. A human rights activist that frequent butts heads with mayoral candidate Newbury. June also strikes up relationship with Salvador.

Denzel Washington – Stanford Newbury. A mayoral candidate that goes to great lengths in a attempt to win the election.

Julianne Moore – Annie Sithy. A psychiatrist who tries to help Salvador with is reoccurring visions. Annie is also a drug addict. Annie and Daniel are romantically involved on the side.

Don Cheadle – Detective Roland Queensway. He is in charge of tracking down the Woodland Killer

Salma Hayek – Sofia Newbury. She is a trophy wife who spends most of her days drunk. Until the chance to become an instant celebrity arises.

Charlotte Rampling – Margo Bramale. Mother of Salvador and Daniel; it is Margo who organizes and plans all of the family’s cons.

Zooey Deschanel – Detective Ashley Shin. Queensway’s new partner who just made the ranks of detective a few months ago.


The Pitch


Prologue
The film opens with a close up on a young man whose face is looking directly looking into the camera. He is attractive, in his twenties, and is talking to someone who we do not see. Judging from the conversation they have just had a late night rendezvous and are making plans to met again. Without warning a clear plastic bag is placed over the man’s head and he struggles to grasp for air. As the man fights to stay alive we see a gloved hand appear from behind him and covers his mouth. The eerie sounds of his last moments are still heard as the screen goes black.

Act I
The next morning we see Salvador Bramalea (Depp), his brother Daniel (Pitt) and their mother Margo (Rampling) eating breakfast at a diner. The Bramalea family are con artists who are set to make the biggest score of their careers. The con consists of convincing a local mayoral candidate, Stanford Newbury (Washington), that they have special ties with the infamous Ianccio crime syndicate. Stanford believes that the Bramelea family can use their mob ties to help facilitate a victory in the upcoming election. Little does Stanford know, but it is Salvador and Daniel who are sabotaging his competition. Salvador arranges for a few key opponents to get into compromising situations (e.g. photos with women who are not their the candidates wives, drug use, etc.), while Daniel is the muscle of the operation using physical force to sway members of city council to vote for Newbury. Although Salvador and Daniel are the best at what they do, there has always been a level of jealousy between them due to Margo favoring Daniel over Salvador.

One day Salvador has a disturbing vision. A series of images flash before his eyes but they do not make any sense. There is Salvador is in a priest’s robe, Daniel has a beard and is in a wheelchair, there is a man crying, a glamorous looking woman on CNN, and an angelic looking woman staring at him. Salvador tells Daniel about his vision but his brother quickly dismisses it as a result of lack of sleep due to all the late nights on the Newbury job. Later that evening Salvador is watching television and a breaking news alert discusses the recent murder of Alan Jamis, the man from the opening of the film. The reporter points out that the murder echoes those of the Woodland Killer from a few years back. The Woodland Killer had notoriously violated and murdered several young but was never caught. The reporter claims that Jamis was known for his homemade custom jewelry which often featured characters from Japanese anime. The news report featured reactions from three prominent figures: Detective Roland Queensway (Cheadle) who is involved with the investigation; mayoral candidate Newbury; and June Geogra (Dewitt) who is a human rights activist. Detective Queensway tells the reporter that the police have several leads and will be doing everything they can to catch the murderer. Salvador instantly recognizes Queensway as the man who was crying in his vision. Newbury gives a statement regarding how he will be taking a tougher stance on crime than the current mayor. Salvador notices that Newbury’s wife, who is standing beside him on television, is the same woman Salvador saw on CNN in his vision. The last interview is of June Geogra who criticizes the politicians for ignoring the crime in poorer areas of the city. Salvador is stunned to see that June is the angelic person in his vision.

Act II
Soon Salvador’s visions start to become more prominent in his day to day life. It even affects his and Daniel’s work as Salvador starts to lose grip on reality. He frequently see June’s angelic image following him wherever he goes. Frustrated, and slightly concerned that his brother is going mad, Daniel arranges for Salvador to meet with a local shrink, Annie Sithy (Moore). Daniel, through his shady connections, often supplies Annie with illegal drugs. Some of these narcotics Annie gives to her patients and others she keeps for her own personal use. Daniel and Annie have also been intimate on more than one occasion. During one of their psychiatric sessions, Salvador confides in Annie that he has had visions similar to this when he was younger. Annie informs Salvador that he needs to seek out the focal point of the vision, the angelic June.

Salvador eventually seeks out June at a protest she has organized outside to the police station. Queensway comes out side and he and June get into a heated debate. Queensway threatens to arrest June and her protestors if they do not disband immediately. Before Queensway can give the order to his officers, Salvador swoops in and defuses the situation with his charm. As Salvador and June leave, Queensway orders his partner, Ashley Shin (Deschanel), to conduct a background check on Salvador as something does not sit right with him. June and Salvador start to spend more time together as June believes that Salvador is a fellow activists. As the two get closer romantically, Salvador is conflicted about telling June about both his true profession and his visions. Amidst this there is another news report about the body of a young boy surfacing. Newbury’s wife, Sofia (Hayek) is at home drinking herself into a stuper mocking her husband for not have the stones to catch this guy. Newbury chastises her for been drunk at ten in the morning.

A few days later Margo, Salvador and Daniel have a meeting with Newbury regarding the final three weeks before the election. Margo assures Newbury that things are on course and that the few problem areas will be dealt with shortly. While in Newbury’s office, Salvador sees a unique looking bracelet on the floor. He goes to pick it up but Newbury quickly steps on it without even breaking his stride. Newbury informs the Bramalea family that they need to speed up the timelines in order to get results. He adds that they need not bother with the little things that do not concern them otherwise the consequences will be steep. This last point seems to be geared towards Salvador who is slowly getting up from the floor.

Outside the office Salvador informs his family of what he saw. Salvador does not like the latest vibe he got from Newbury and contemplates terminating this particular contract. Daniel is adamantly opposed to this idea as they have invested too much time and effort into the project. Margo, as usual, agrees with Daniel as the money is too good to pass up and the job is almost over. Margo orders Salvador to stay home for the remainder of the job as his mental instability could ruin everything. Despite his better judgment Salvador opts to stay quiet and ignore what he saw earlier that day. All is quiet for a few days until there is a thunderous knock on the door of the Bramalea home. Detectives Queensway and Shin have come to question Salvador about the brutal murder of June Geogra.

Act III
The papers are baffled about June’s death, several articles question whether or not the Woodland Killer has finally found a taste for women after molesting and killing so many young men over the years. The news of June’s death sends Salvador over the edge and he is unable to tell what is real and what is not. He spends two days in bed hallucinating and getting deeper and deeper into his vision. On the day of June’s funeral several journalist are there to get a few sound bites from Queensway and Newbury. Margo, Salvador, and Daniel attend the funeral as well. After speaking to the press, Newbury comes over to give his condolences to Salvador. As the two men sake hands, Newbury slips one of June’s earrings into Salvador’s palm. Newbury then tells Salvador and his family had better stay the course or more of their loved ones will meet the same fate. Shocked, Salvador can only listen as Newbury explains that is the one conning Salvador’s family and not the other way around. Newbury states that he and the Ianccio family have been close for years, and he knew the Bramalea’s where lying to him since day one. The only reason he did not say anything was mainly because it was cheaper to use them.

Salvador is barely hanging on mentally but is determined to avenge June’s death but he needs more evidence. He follows Newbury to one of the campaign offices one night. There are faint sounds of a young man screaming for help. As Salvador turns down the corridor the sounds get louder. Soon Salvador reaches the door where the screams are coming from. Peering through the window he sees Newbury on top of a young Asian man who is struggling to fight him off. The Asian man is the same man that was crying in Salvador’s vision. Salvador reaches for the door knob but feels the cold end of a gun on the back of his neck. He turns around to find Daniel staring back at him. Daniel admits that he has been the one abducting young men for Newbury. Daniel has not only been getting a large paycheck for his services, but Newbury has promised him property in the Caymen Islands. Salvador knows he is losing touch and must get the young man in the room away from Newbury. Figuring he was a dead man either way, Salvador turns and opens the door. Before Daniel can pull the trigger he is shot in the lower side from behind. Detective Shin, who has been following Salvador for the last few days, appears in the hall and checks to see it Daniel is still alive. Daniel is still alive but has suffered severe nerve damage. Salvador pulls Newbury of the man and starts to punch him relentlessly. Detective Shin stops Salvador before he kills Newbury.

Fast forward two years. Newbury’s trial is over and he is serving a life sentence behind bars. The trial reveals that there were many more victims than anyone could have anticipated. Sofia writes a best-selling tell all book about what is was like to be married to a serial killer. She uses her new found fame to peddle her book on the television talk show circuit. Daniel, who is now paralyzed, serves 15 years in jails for his crime. Though Salvador has visited him a few times, Margo is driven mad with grief. As for Salvador, the guilt from of June’s death still ways on his mind. Having covered his tracks in regards to the con, Salvador spends the rest of his days in a seminary trying to atone for his sins. Thought the visions are not as frequent, he is still haunted by the luminous vision of June every now and then.

Who Is In Your Acting Dream Team?

Recently Anomalous Material brought together 27 movie bloggers to take part in a Hollywood Fantasy Draft. Over the course of 10 rounds, and several days, each blogger assembled their own film dream team. Below is the team I ended up with after the draft. Although I was near the bottom of the draft order I am very happy with the team I sekected. Now I just need to figure out roles for them all.

The Actors

Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, Rosemary Dewitt, Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek, Don Cheadle, Charlotte Rambling, and Zooey Deschanel

The Director

Spike Jonze

Starting next Monday each participant will be sharing their movie ideas for their dream cast. Each day a new movie pitch will be featured on both the bloggers main website and the Anomalous Material website. At the end of the three weeks, all the pitches will be collected and featured in a special edition of Pitch the LAMB over at the Large Association of Movie Blogs.

What type of film would you make with this cast? Action flick? Comedy? Drama? Horror? Romance? Etc. Let me know in the comment section.