Production: the Bear (Short Film)
Location: Toronto
Employer: hilbot productions. A Ryerson University student movie project
Duration: 1 week max, starts November 10th 2007
DIRECTOR: Eva Michon.
SYNOPSIS:
John is invited on a fishing trip with his French Canadian brother in law, Denis, and is soon the odd man out being the only British man among Denis' French Canadian executive friends. Along the way they cross paths with Pierre, an English-hating sovereignist who is invited on the trip and clashes with John. Pierre tells a tall tale of the great man-eating grizzly bear living at the camp site, and Denis prepares a shotgun in case they should meet it. John is put to the test and given the task of protector the first night, and in a frightful moment in the pitch black night, is awoken to find something stamping around outside their one-room cabin. He grabs a gun and shoots, barely missing Pierre, the 'bear', in a bumbling stroke of luck. It turns out British men should not be considered natural leaders of men arbitrarily, and Pierre's tall tale of the bear is replaced by one of the Shakespeare-quoting Brit who saved him from the vicious bear.
8 minutes, Classically Animated (Rotoscope), Color. (we fill film you live-action then animate you)
Apply to: Hilary Dean. Email: thebearfilm@gmail.com
5 breakdowns:
1. Either gender / 6-10 yrs. / White. John's grandchild
2. Male / 31-40 yrs. / White. JOHN - A polite Brit who moved to Montreal for a woman, and suddenly has a hard time ordering a Labbat 50 in French without getting into a fight! A man who grew up in the city and is not the type to go fishing or shoot a gun, on a whim. He is not the fondest of bears but would rather scare it away than shoot it in the heart. British accent required.
3. Male / 31-40 yrs. / Any Ethnicity. BOBBY - He is the French-Canadian chum and enabler of all, the kind of man who shows up at a party, has a great time, but never seems to bring anything to eat or drink. Quebecois accent required.
4. Male / 51-60 yrs. / Any Ethnicity. DENIS - John's French Canadian brother-in-law and mentor. He is on the waiting list for a new heart and close to the end of his life, but due to clever insurance wrangling, he is a wealthy man who is able to treat his friends and family to the utmost hedonism. A man with an incredible lust for life and sense of humor about death. Quebecois accent required.
5. Male / 25-30 yrs. / Any Ethnicity. PIERRE - A Francophone waiter and separatist who has lived his entire life within a three block area of Montréal. He has a "Fleur de lis" tattooed on his forearm and spends every day of his life slinging trays of beer at drunk business men. A professional teller of tall tales, he feels slightly threatened by John's presence and lashes out at him in front of friends. French dialogue required.