My Film Pitch Homework:

Title: BLACKOUTS
Storyline:

The film starts in the airport boarding gate for a jumbo jet flight from LAX. The audience are introduced with a cop figure (Sylvester Stallone), 2 bodyguards, and a nervous-looking gentlemen (Shia LaBeouf) together as they board a plane. After beginning fine, mid-flight the lights in the cabin start to blink ominously. The captain can then be heard reassure the passengers that someone is on their way to fix it. The narrative then switches to a flashback to provide a back-story for the film, which shows the cop, Allen Murphy, being briefed with others about a knife-loving mass-murderer (Mickey Rourke) on the loose whose identity is unknown. Back to the flight, an alarm goes off and the captain reports an emergency. Murphy asks to check it out and is shown a stabbed dead body. A blackout then occurs temporarily and a loud female scream can be heard. Flashback: after following a lead, the Murphy and other cops storm an abandoned factory and prevent the nervous gentlemen, Isaac Waters, being slaughtered by the suspected murderer whose face is just concealed. He is now a vital witness as he has seen his face. On the plane, Murphy finds the stabbed airhostess, causing panic among the passengers. Murphy calms the people down only in time for another blackout. However this time, a shadowy voice can be heard overhead threatening to kill everyone slowly if Murphy doesn’t kill Isaac himself. Murphy refuses, the voice laughs evilly, lights return and a couple are seen dead. Murphy is outraged and smashes something. Flashback: papers thump on desk. The head of police orders witness to be taken to a secure location for further questioning. In plane, Murphy determines that the killer cannot be in two places at once and tells Isaac to be vigilant for the murders. Blackout; this time, the lights return to early revealing one of the bodyguards trying to kill someone. Murphy apprehends him and pins him down. Bodyguard commits suicide with a hidden cyanide pill. Flashback: shows the fake bodyguard taking the place of one of the real bodyguards. He then calls the murder who tells him, he will also be on the flight. On the plane, Murphy assigns the remaining bodyguard to fix the lights. When, he is engaged in a fight with someone resulting in the lights being damaged and only temporarily blinking. During the cheering in the cabin, a tall dark figure walks from the shadows with two knives, stops for a stare down with Murphy, before charging towards Isaac. Murphy gets in the way using improvised shields/weapons to fight. The fight shifts towards the pilots’ cabin and results in their cruel deaths as the plane plummets to sea. There is an epic fight between the two with lights blinking and alarms sounding. The murderer is killed, Murphy just saves the plane from total destruction and the remaining people remain safe waiting for rescue. Happy ending J.

Target Audience: 15+ males mainly, as it contains some distressing scenes and violence.

Directors: Micheal Bay (Transformers, Bad Boys), David R. Ellis (Snakes on a Plane)

Producer: Craig Berenson (Snakes on a Plane)

Influences: Snakes on a Plane (influenced the cop on a plane aspect), Devil (blink lights + death aspect)

Marketing Plan: the film would be released in July 2011, summertime to boost potential viewers, plus a 2-day premier opportunity on the weekend before the release to increase the buzz around the film and word-of-mouth. There will initially be a teaser trailer showing the main characters saying important lines, expect only Mickey Rourke’s voice to finish the trailer, and what happens with the blackouts. At around the same time, the website will launch that counts down the time until the film release with a teaser trailer player. Then, for the official trailer, this and more is shown. Once the film is out, the website will shift to show a brief synopsis, info on the cast, the official trailer and a small countdown to the DVD release in September 2011.

Budget: $30,000,000 or approximate equivalent.