Click the boxes around "The Beecroft Series"
image to view each of the individual projects
Teaser Trailer
Introduces the magical, mysterious world
of Beecroft Manor in "The Beecroft Series"
(For a backgrounder, click here)
The
Beecroft Series
Young Sam can't
imagine how much life is about to change after he meets Befany, whose unusual great grandma
lives across the street in a senior’s residence called Beecroft Manor. Sam learns that the monsters of his imagination, that he'd known about
previously only from books and films, are very real, and
that for an ordinary boy like him to have found out about them
may be very dangerous indeed!
(The above is the SERIES premise; for individual STORY loglines, view each of the five titles available in the links below)
► Young-Adult Dark Fantasy (Rated PG-13; see below)
► Five ~100 page feature scripts (also formatted as ten 60-minute TV episodes + full Bible)
► Five 3-4 page detailed synopses
► $3-8 million budgets, approx. (see Financials, under Production Notes, below)
► © 2010-2016
These screenplays represent a series of (so far) five campfire-creepy coming-of-age stories in which my pre-adolescent heroes deal with baddies both of the human kind (bullies, dealers and bigots) and paranormal kind (magic, myth and monsters): As if poverty in a tough neighborhood isn’t bad enough!
Set somewhere between “Harry Potter” and “Stranger Things”, this modestly-budgeted series is suitable for the tweens and up crowd and could generate gigabytes of social media. And, like many stories that feature youngsters as the pivotal characters, you can cast well-known performers in the adult roles to enhance the appeal to mature audiences.
Dream cast suggestions: I have already reached out to some of these (and others not listed) or their reps
► Leading characters in all parts - Sam, Befany and Davey (each 10 years old for Parts 1-3; 12 years old for Parts 4-5): TBA
► Part 2.
The Vampyre of Beecroft
(104pp):
Mrs. Madison (
Rose Byrne
,
Amy Adams
, or
Winona Ryder
)
(104pp):
Mrs. Madison (
Rose Byrne
,
Amy Adams
, or
Winona Ryder
)
► Part 3.
The Rougarou of Beecroft
(102pp):
Alfred (
Bill Nighy
,
Ian McKellen
, or
Morgan Freeman
)
(102pp):
Alfred (
Bill Nighy
,
Ian McKellen
, or
Morgan Freeman
)
Note: The first 10 pages of each screenplay can be viewed by clicking the large image on the top left of each of the five individual project pages, Parts 1-5 above
Production Notes
Production Method: Explanation of the wisdom and virtual necessity of filming Parts 1-3 simultaneously
To Director Candidates: We intend to give the director “final cut”, but three priorities must be met: The budget cannot be exceeded, the release dates are firm, and the below R-Rating must be maintained.
Scheduling: Parts 1-3 have been fully scheduled (preview of most common report, the Strip Board, for Part 1 is here). The original dates are easily updated, and the entire schedule for the Trilogy will be streamlined considerably if filming is done simultaneously instead of consecutively.
Locations: For parts 1-4, a primary/elementary school, retirement/nursing home, apartment building - all set in a poorer area of town. In Part 5, Sam and Befany move from adjacent units 205 and 207, in their old apartment building, to separate houses in nicer parts of town. But they still go to the same school, and they still visit Beecroft Manor as often as they dare! (Another “location” consideration is that the stories are set in a temperate climate of warm summers and cool snowy winters.)
Financials: Parts 1-3 have been fully costed-out at $16.9 million USD, total, if filmed consecutively (individual budget top sheets available on each project page). A consolidated budget was prepared, if all three parts were filmed simultaneously, at $15.4 million (top sheet is here; full budget available upon request). The net total budget necessary for all three parts would be about $10 million after the application of expected tax incentives of 30-40%. Also, sales forecasts (based on films of a similar-budget over the past 7 years) can be seen here. Fundraising is active and ongoing.
Fundraising
“How to make a successful film without millions of dollars from Hollywood?
Here's what one Indie producer is doing:”FREE DOWNLOAD: https://www.integerentertainment.com/free_ebook
“The Hag of Beecroft“, first of an upcoming franchise “The Beecroft Series”
Screenplay Evaluations
Series Review: YouTube influencer Novum, creator of highly-regarded indepth film analyses, has contributed a detailed evaluation of the five screenplays of The Beecroft Series.
Ratings Review: PG/PG-13 with a comprehensive report from KIDS FIRST! (which matched in key metrics a summary by the MPAA)
Note: While it is felt strongly that Beecroft is a fun “kids series with big scares in it”, as opposed to a “scary grown-up series with kids in it”, the stories are not appropriate for very young children. For example, when the little old witch does her witchy thing on the bad guys, it could make such kids wary of their grandmothers! As well, some serious issues are exposed obliquely or head-on throughout the stories: Racism, drugs, death, elder/child abuse, etc.
Accolades
The entire series achieved “Nominee” status (equivalent to “Finalist”) in the Swedish International Film Festival
(submitted April-July), and The Vampyre of Beecroft was declared the overall Winner for July!
