THE PITCH:
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Humorous, heartwarming…an Army veteran and a Navy veteran recruit their elderly neighbours in a feisty game of capture the flag to determine who wins the privilege to raise Old Glory each morning in their shared retirement community.
Screenplay by Donovan and Adam Montierth based on their award-winning short film, Reveille. (Click on Facebook Picture to view short film)
Status: In Development
Category: Feature Film
Genre: Comedy
Director: Ryan Little
Writers: Adam Montierth, Donovan Montierth
Producers: Adam Abel, Ryan Little, Adam Montierth, Donovan Montierth
Co-Producers: Eric J. Adams, Barry Van Dyke, Nick Stahr
For investment opportunities, please contact Donovan Montierth at Brothers’ Ink Productions:
Phone: 602-578-5660
Mail: [email protected]
The Film
- Capture The Flag is a poignant comedy about two US Korean War Veterans, one Army, one Navy, who jockey over the right to raise Old Glory each morning in their shared retirement community. To settle the feud, the rivals recruit a colourful band of elderly Vets to play a feisty game of ‘capture the flag.’ As play progresses, the two Vets uncover – and heal — a shared haunting battlefield memory, teaching them the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and valour.
- A portion of proceeds donated to Veterans organizations, like Heal the Hero Foundation (healthehero.org)
- Majority of crew positions to be filled by Veterans in Film & TV (vftla.org)
- Addresses the topical issue of PTSD in a graceful yet compelling manner.
Market Advantages
- Highly targetable niche audience of 22 million US Veterans (and another 100 million immediate family members)
- A commercial ‘feel good’ comedy with wide audience appeal (PG or PG 13)
- Significant appeal to the largest box office demographic (age 50+)
- A targeted cast of world-renown senior actors.
- Modest budget requirements.
- Strong ancillary potential (DVD, VOD, Pay TV, Free TV)
- Significant ‘evergreen’ potential due to perennial viewing opportunities (Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Fourth of July, Flag Day)
- Strong promotional opportunities with Veterans organizations
- Web and DVD special features include oral histories of Korean War Veterans.
- A fitting tribute to Veterans without being political.
Estimated Return on Investment
- Low performance: $9,342,000 return (6.15% ROI)
- Moderate performance: $13,662,000 (55.2% ROI)
- High performance: $18,309,000 (208.0% ROI)
- Breakout performance: $36,675,000 (416.7% ROI)
***Contact us for Terms and Potential Performance Share Analysis
The Film
Lonely and ornery Navy veteran James Archer lives in a sunny golf retirement community, grieving the recent loss of his beloved wife. He is also haunted by the 60-year-old memory of his greatest regret – a ‘friendly fire’ near-kill of a comrade in Korea. James has ostracized all those who love him, and his only real pleasure is raising the American flag every morning in the community courtyard.
James’ routine is unceremoniously interrupted when Lou Addison, a feisty, one-legged Army veteran moves in across the way. He moves into the retirement community to befriend James, because of a promise he made to two amazing women. If he can’t befriend him, he’ll settle for making James’s life a living hell. He’s so determined to have an effect on James’s life that he will either succeed or die trying. James has become his mission for the rest of his life. The only way he thinks he can get through to James is to rattle his cage.
Even worse, Lou challenges James for the right to hoist Old Glory every morning. A spirited rivalry begins, and after a series of escalating pranks, the two rivals decide to settle the score the old-fashioned way — with a no-holds-barred game of Capture the Flag, winner takes all and gains the undisputed right to raise the flag.
James and Lou work overtime to recruit and train teams of very colourful seniors at the retirement home. Half the fun is preparing and strategizing for the upcoming battle with paintball guns lent to them by James’ grandson (who wants to join the military against his grandfather’s wishes).
Game on! Every senior ailment and pratfall beguiles the teams as they attempt to steal the flag from each other’s stronghold. Unfortunately, the game is too much for Lou who is rushed to the hospital. It’s there with James at his bedside that Lou makes a startling revelation – he is the friendly-fire casualty that has haunted James all his life. James’ wife had contacted Lou just before her death asking that he contact her husband.
When James returns to the community to hoist the flag once more, he now adds an extra salute – this one for his comrade Lou Addison, who showed him the power of forgiveness, the meaning of friendship, and the dignity to soldier on.
View Coverage on the Script from the Black List:
The Team
In 2004, twin brothers Adam Montierth & Donovan Montierth along with writing partner, Jason Walters, wrote, produced and directed a little 35mm film that changed their lives. That film, which started out as a tribute to their grandfather, was called Reveille and starred film and American Forces Veteran’s David Huddleston and James McEachin. Reveille soon was screened at over 50 film festivals, winning over 20 awards and was shown on The Pentagon Channel and the American Forces Network. In 2007, it was viewed by the Armed Forces in Balad, Iraq, became a viral sensation by being viewed to over 5 million people on Google Video (before there was YouTube) and won the twins an Emmy Award.
During this time, Adam and Donovan recruited the talents of Nick Stahr, Neil Mather, John Waldron and Adam Devaney to join Brothers’ Ink producing team. Brothers’ Ink Productions produced their first feature film in 2014, Locker 13. The film has now grown to include 4 Kindle eBooks, a Graphic Novel and the full-length feature starring TV favorites Ricky Schroder, Rick Hoffman, Jon Gries, Jon Polito, David Huddleston, Krista Allen, Tatyana Ali, Curtis Armstrong, Jessie Garcia, Jason Marsden, Jason Spisak and Thomas Calabro.
Director Ryan Little grew up in Vancouver, Canada where he began working in the film industry as a camera assistant. In 2004 he directed his first feature SAINTS AND SOLDIERS which won 16 “Best Picture” film festival awards in addition to being nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. It went on to win the $100,000 grand prize at the Heartland Film Festival that same year. Since that time Ryan has directed over nine feature films, television and commercials including AGE OF DRAGONS staring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones and FOREVER STRONG staring Sean Astin, Neal McDonough and Penn Badgley. In 2015 he directed the film WAR PIGS staring Mickey Rourke and Dolph Lundgren. Ryan worked with Executive Producer Dean Devlin on the TNT series LEVERAGE and went on to direct episodes of television on the series GRANITE FLATS and EXTINCT. He is a member of the Directors Guild of American and currently resides in Los Angeles.
View his film reel at https://vimeo.com/273034137
Producer Adam Abel started his filmmaking career in 1994 at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, California in the creative affairs group at the age of 17. Through this early experience, he decided to make a career of entertaining people. While working full time in the industry he studied at UVU and BYU. Upon graduation, he started Go Films with friend and fellow filmmaker, Ryan Little. Go Films’ first feature, Saints and Soldiers drew attention and praise of critics and audiences alike; winning best picture in over fourteen film festivals around the world and nominated, twice, for the coveted Independent Spirit Awards.
Adam’s award-winning career has continued with feature films that include Outlaw Trail, Forever Strong, Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed, Saints and Soldiers: The Void, Freetown and We Love You, Sally Carmichael. His Emmy-award-winning documentary work has included Larry Gelwix: No regrets, Joan of Arc, The Journey Home: Vietnam Veterans and Kirtland: Americas Sacred Ground.
Adam has demonstrated a gift for bringing true stories to the big and little screen.
Adam’s first television series Extinct premiered Oct 2017 on BYUTV. You can stream all the episodes at BYUTV.org/Extinct.
To See Go Films, Movies and TV Shows go to http://gofilms.net/
Eric J. Adams is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and novelist. He co-produced and wrote the feature film Supremacy (2015), starring Danny Glover and Joe Anderson, winner of an African Movie Academy Award. He also produced and co-wrote Archie’s Final Project (aka My Suicide) (2010), starring David Carradine, which won 21 major international film festival awards including the Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Jury Award and Audience Award for “Best Picture” at the Gen Art Film Festival, and the “Outstanding Achievement in Film Award” at the Newport Beach International Film Festival. The film was also an official selection at SXSW, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and the Seattle Film Festival.
Eric is also the author of six books, including the suspense/thrillers Birdland (Hodder & Stoughton), Plot Twist (St. Martin’s Press), and the true crime bestseller Loss of Innocence (Avon Books). He wrote and directed To Save A Child, a documentary on teen suicide, narrated by Mariel Hemingway, as well as a number of other documentary and short films. As a journalist, Eric has written for dozens of national and regional periodicals, including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Wired, and Salon.
Barry Van Dyke, Producer. Barry Van Dyke, second son of comedic actor Dick Van Dyke was born July 31, 1951, in Atlanta, Georgia. Barry grew up in New York until the age of nine. It was then that his family moved to Los Angeles. Barry was introduced to the pitfalls of stardom at a very young age when his father had made it big in show business. Still, he chose to go that route.
Barry attended Pierce Junior College where he majored in Theatrical Arts. He has guest starred in such shows as The A-Team, Murder She Wrote, Remington Steele, The Dukes of Hazzard, and many others. He had regular roles on Harvey Korman Show, and The Redd Foxx Show and starring roles on Airwolf and Galactica 1980. His television movie credits include The Canterville Ghost, Stalk the Wild Child, Murder 101, and It Happened at Lakewood Manor. In 1993, Barry signed on as a starring role in the television series Diagnosis Murder as Detective Steve Sloan, a Los Angeles Police Detective in the Homicide Division, opposite his dad, who played Dr. Mark Sloan. Barry has thoroughly enjoyed working with his father.
Actors Attached or In Negotiation – LEAD
JAMES ARCHER – Lead. He is the Sunrise Senior Living community’s resident curmudgeon ever since his wife Doris died one year ago. He’s crotchety and grouchy — and those are his two best features. The only thing he lives for is raising the community flag every day. He sees this as his sole purpose and his sole honour as a retired and decorated Navy man.
Dick Van Dyke – Attached.
LOU ADDISON – Lead. He moves into the retirement community to befriend James, because of a promise he made to two amazing women. If he can’t befriend him, he’ll settle for making James’s life a living hell. He’s so determined to have an effect on James’s life that he will either succeed or die trying. James has become his mission for the rest of his life. The only way he thinks he can get through to James is to rattle his cage. He’s a retired Army man and decides that the best way is to challenge James for the rights to the flagpole in the community.
Louis Gossett Jr. – Attached.
Actors Attached or In Negotiation – SUPPORTING
ARMY TEAM:
BURGESS. Retired Air Force. He is a quiet, articulate man of learning who never stops learning. He is a little bothered by the fact that he never earned a Purple Heart.
Paul Dooley – First Choice for the Role, Script is Out to Actor.
MARNIE. Retired Army. Married to Burgess, Marnie is strong and determined. She has had no problem putting any man in his place because she’s had to do so her whole life in order to create her successful military career. She fights for the right to play right alongside the men in the capture the flag game.
Rita Moreno – First Choice for the Role, Script is Out to Actor.
MIAMI. He’s a big, tough Marine (even though he was a cook), naturally loud and proud. He’s of the old adage that you can take the good ole’ boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the good ole’ boy. Hard of hearing…or is it hard of listening?
Barry Corbin – Attached.
CROSS. A retired country doctor, served in the Red Cross, hence the nickname, Cross. He’s a thin man, unusually light on his feet. He’s quite taken by the new dance teacher, Laura.
Terence Hill – First Choice for the Role, Script is Out to Actor.
NAVY TEAM:
CLINTON. Retired Coast Guard. A very large and formidable man with one overriding fear — water. He joined the Coast Guard because he never wanted to fight, not because he was afraid. He’s a pacifist to the core but will do his duty and live up to his obligations. A trusted confidant.
John Amos – Attached.
RANCE. The only civilian in the group, he’s a bookish man with glasses. He’s very interested in lawn care and is never seen without his best friend and partner, Tae.
TAE – Korean American. Retired Korean Army. He’s Rance’s equal in every sense and his mirror image if that mirror image was made in Korea. He carries a secret that he actually served in the North Korean Army but defected to the US shortly after his service. He was a tunnel rat in the Army.
George Takei – First Choice for the Role, Script is Out to Actor.
Jake, 20s. He is the idealistic grandson of James and looks at his grandfather with love and respect, even though lately it hasn’t been returned with equal measure. He wants to join the Navy and is surprised when James rails against it.
Distribution Plan
The cornerstone of the sales and distribution strategy for Capture the Flag is a worldwide theatrical release. The targeted audience demographic of men and woman 50 years of age and older is regarded as the largest segment of the movie-going audience. It is also one of the most underserved. Based on comparable films, the modest budget, the strength of the cast and the commercial story appeal, the Producers of Capture The Flag are confident that the film will enjoy significant success at the box office and beyond.
The Producers intend also to capitalize on what is expected to be very significant interest from the 22 million strong Veteran community and will work with the largest Veterans’ foundations and associations to enhance awareness of the film in conjunction with the domestic distributor’s marketing strategy. The Producers have already begun such conversations and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
The sales and distribution strategy for the film will be divided to meet the requirements of the two major markets: Domestic (US & Canada) and International. Distribution rights to the international territory are typically sold on a wholesale and territory-by-territory basis, usually with a minimum guarantee paid as an advance against future receipts earned through the exploitation of the film in each territory. The sales, called “presales,” are made by an international sales agent contracted by the Producers to sell the film. To maximize the film’s value, the film is packaged with commercially significant talent prior to bringing the film to market. During preproduction, the Producers will seek to attach commercially significant talent to facilitate the selling process.
Foreign sales agreements once negotiated, provide a specified and guaranteed minimum amount to be paid by the local distribution company upon delivery of the finished product. These binding agreements are often used as collateral for securing financing for a film, and can often amount to 50% or more of a film’s production budget.
In the Domestic or North American market, the sale of theatrical, VOD, DVD, pay television and free television (broadcast/cable) will be handled in a variety of ways and the strategy will reflect the market appetite. The Producers will pursue both negative pickup deals (see below) from major studios, television, and video distributors, and/or OTT/cable channels, as well as an all rights worldwide, deal. The LLC will also approach speciality distributors such as Miramax/Dimension, Fox Searchlight, Lions Gate, Focus and New Line.
In a negative pickup deal, the Producer pre-sells to distributors a variety of exploitation rights, such as theatrical, home video, Transactional VOD, Subscription VOD, and pay and free television, which may be licensed. Normally, the Producer will receive a guaranteed price for these rights upon completion and delivery of the “negative” (or master film print) of the film to the distributor, hence the term “negative pickup.” Distributors provide Print and Advertising financing (“P & A” funds) or turn to third parties to do so. This approach avoids the cross-collateralization of revenues from media and often results in lower distribution fees and elimination of studio charges and accounting practices that can limit revenue for creative participants and investors.
The Producers may also engage one of the major talent agencies (CAA/WME/UTA) to assist in the sale of domestic rights. Such a determination will be made at such time as the cast is in place, as their representatives will want to ensure the success of the film.
The prospects for pre-selling the film appear strong given:
- the potential to attract high profile, senior actors
- the strong commercial value and modest budget
- the targeted niche market of 22 million US Veterans (and another 100 million immediate family members)
- the built-in target market of family and 50+ theatrical filmgoers
- the recurrent selling and viewing opportunities (Flag Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Christmas)
- the significant potential for high net revenues from Transactional VOD sales and rentals via sales partnerships with Veterans organizations
- a topical subject, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, which will greatly assist in the success of a low-cost public relations campaign
- potential for strong DVD sales, considering older audience proclivity for DVD purchases, and the inclusion of numerous DVD special features on the Korean War, the senior actors in the film and more
The Producers are also aware that the distribution landscape is evolving quickly and will take advantage of the rapid expansion of fast-growing platforms, such as Subscription VOD (Netflix, HuluPlus, Amazon Prime) and Transactional VOD (iTunes, Amazon). These markets represent significant potential sales opportunities for Capture The Flag and offer the potential for 70-90% revenue retention by the LLC, greatly reducing risk and accelerating payback for investors.
For More Information Or a copy of our Movie Prospectus and Comprehensive Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) please call or email:
Donovan Montierth or Adam Montierth
Brothers’ Ink Productions
602-578-5660 [email protected]
480-326-2326 [email protected]
