EXT. SARASOTA HOTEL POOLSIDE - NIGHT


Kim (27), dressed in an elaborate magician assistant’s costume and a fancy hat, pops open two beers. She hands one to Chris (41).

He tries to clink her bottle but she stops him.

                            KIM

            Do it with your left hand.


                            CHRIS

            Left hand... Why?


                            KIM

            If you do it with your right hand,

            it’s seven years of bad sex.


                            CHRIS

            Scary.


The clink bottles with their left hands. Chris steals a look at her strange but sexy outfit.


                            CHRIS

            So what are you, a lion tamer?


                            KIM

                      (snickers, insulted)

            I do magic.


                            CHRIS

            Magic? What kind of tricks? Can you

            pull a rabbit out of that hat?


                            KIM

            I can. If you want me to. I can

            make things disappear. I can also

            make things a-ppear.


                            CHRIS

            You know, I always wondered. When

            you make something disappear, does

            it really disappear, or does it just

            show up later. Someplace else?


                            KIM

            Do you want to disappear?


                            CHRIS   

                        (considers it)

            Does it hurt?


                            KIM

            I don’t know. You want to find out?


Kim smiles then puts her hand up to Chris’s forehead. He feels her close.


                            KIM

            Are you ready?


Chris nods and then closes his eyes.

The Jonestown Defense.

The Jonestown Defense is a new American feature film about Christopher Waite, a businessman struggling with both a collapsed economy and a personal life in freefall.  In the span of one hot Florida weekend, Christopher is forced to face the destruction of his marriage, the potential loss of his child, and the onerous task of firing the employees at the tech company he manages. The Jonestown Defense tells the gripping story of how professional corruption and personal narcissism nearly destroy a man who thinks he’s fighting for financial survival but discovers that what is truly at risk is his soul. 


The characters, dialog and dramatic arc of The Jonestown Defense were organically created in an actors’ workshop in NYC, and later on the location shoot itself.  Production spanned the course of more than two intense weeks of filming in and around Sarasota locales. The scenes were shot in a largely improvisational style, with points of view and emotional beats changing and evolving as the actors pushed themselves into personal narrative territory while remaining true to the authentic reality of the film’s characters. Raw, free form, and improvised though it may be, The Jonestown Defense is nevertheless anchored by solid filmmaking and seasoned craftwork.


Currently in post-production.  Coming in 2010.

Our Kickstarter video:

 
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