MOONSHINE CHAPEL
Written by: Mand Paskuski
Play Me:
Moonshine Chapel
LOGLINE
MOONSHINE CHAPEL (Crime. Comedy. Western). THE CLOCK BROTHERS, two escaped convicts in the years of prohibition, start a floating speakeasy - on a floating church boat.
SLUGLINE
You are my moonshine,
My only moonshine!
INTRODUCTION
Crime. Comedy. Western.
Set in the Southern States of America on the wetter side of the Mississippi line and inspired by The Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino's dazzlingly unique Spaghetti Westerns.
We're foist into following at first sight our heroic protagonists:
THE CLOCK BROTHERS on their journey to delve into the family business.
Thing about that is: Their father was a known-about-town Reverend but their grandfather was a known-about-town Moonshine maker. So, it begs the question...which line of the family business should they walk on?
Outrageous! Vibrant! Rich in Character!
Moonshine Chapel is a total cinematic adventure.
story
When two brothers, EMMITT (28) and DUNCAN (27) CLOCK, are thrown in the pokey, they discover the truth about their grandfather's criminal past and decide to pick up where he left off.
They seek out an old acquaintance: FATHER DANIEL (40's) a.k.a F.D. and persuade him to help them with their plan to build a traveling speakeasy. They aquire one other accomplice, a devote aspiring nun, MORI (Late 20's) and conduct their outfit all along the Southern States.
After a bout of success, an enemy of their grandfather's BOGARD (50's) attempts to sabotage their enterprise.
It's up to them to dodge the law, out-smart Bogard and build themselves a legacy they can be proud of.
TONE + STYLE
The visual style will be energetic, rhythmic, and smooth. Ultra-wide shots to show the scale, scope and breadth of this world contrasted with extreme close ups on our character's as they emote through this journey. The cinematography will make you question your current sobriety with vibrant colors, green and yellows, pushed to their maximum saturation point.
Like the moonshine they're selling, we too should feel a little saturated.
Because the story takes place in the summer of 1921 it will contain many period-appropriate details (clothing, drink glasses, cars, radios, etc.) That being said, many advanced technologies will pepper in as well (neon signs, electric lights, camera techniques) to blur the sense of reality just enough to bridge the gap between old and new world. This balance is critical to maintain a sense of nostalgic harmony while embracing the exciting advancements in cinematography and current filmmaking.
The soundtrack will be fun! A blues soup of: John Lee Hooker, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Elmore James, Skip Jones, Son House, Robert Johnson, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Sugar Blue, Muddy Waters and more.
Soulful, Groovy, Heart-quickening, this soundtrack will act as the steady current of the story guiding us where we need to go.
THE CLOCK'S
EMMITT CLOCK (28), is blind optimism and charm. He could talk his way into a bar at five years old if he wanted to. He talks fast the way someone with a lot to say does. Despite his rough childhood, he's kept his disposition up and takes after his grandfather more than his actual father - a man who all but hated him. He's a romantic, a true southern gentleman, with a genetically inherited infectious smile.
DUNCAN CLOCK (27), is calm, calculated and steady. He is the yin to his brother's yang. He's not as lucky with the ladies as Emmitt but it isn't for lack of handsomeness. He has plenty charm though it is subdued for he's a serious thinker and speaks only when something is worth saying.
THE REVEREND JOHN CLOCK II (40's-50's), A man whose eyes you wouldn't want to meet when he's angry. Even his presence is chilling. Ashamed of his mother and father he left home when he was old enough to split and built himself a chapel. He married a woman he didn't love, had babies he didn't want and lived his life mainly in a state of disgust for the world around him. So hateful even that he didn't name either of his sons after his father so that the Clock legacy would die with him. His one last gift to his sons before he dies is to cut them out of his will completely and sell the only thing of any value.
JOHNNY BOY CLOCK I a.k.a JBC (60's). Whatever his son wasn't to his grandchildren, JBC made up for it. He especially loves Emmitt on account they're two sides of the same coin and think alike. He's a man of love, beholden to a woman whose soul is fiery and stubborn. Altogether too trusting, and he sadly learns his lesson for it in the grand story of life.
MAROWA CLOCK (80's), She is eighty when we meet her but you'd never know it. Her zest for life is as loud and omnipresent as it was when she was twenty. She does not suffer fools lightly and will not hesitate to point a pistol your way if you deserve it. Her profession may be the thing keeping her young: A Maistress of a Bordello in the Bayou of the South known as Satan's Swamp and it suits her fancies just fine.
PRINCIPAL
CHARACTERS
FATHER DANIEL a.k.a F.D. (50's), is a reformed sinner who found God because of proximity. The closer a person is to a thing the easier it is to accept it as part of their life, and so, being the son of a preacher man himself...he quit his crime outfit and became a preacher too. Now, that's not to say he's gone entirely straight...times are hard. He does what he can to survive and doesn't waste time feeling too bad about it. He's the kinda man to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
MORI (Mid to Late 20's), is sweet, acquiescent, and utterly gullible. She has a slight, let us say, not altogether holy-appropriate problem that is impeding her from fulfilling her purpose of becoming a nun. She's never been kissed let alone had a boyfriend but that doesn't stop her from being curious. Despite her lack of experience, Mori is wise beyond her years and a true old soul whether she wants to accept it or not. She's not as innocent as she'd like you to think she is and incidentally it means she's a lot of fun.
BOGARD TANNERMAN (Late 70's), is grime, grease, and loathing. People who know him well, wouldn't know a thing for he keeps much to himself and never lets his guard down. He possess no faith in any thing or any one including his two sons and extra-muscle: Mobe. Cigar smoke follows him wherever he goes and lingers in his wake. A true business man, meaning nothing is personal and yet he knows deeply how to hold a grudge. He hates everyone who doesn't serve him, but more than the rest, he hates The Clock Family.
MS. MABEL WALKER WILLEBRANDT (30's), is the Assistant Attorney General in charge of Prohibition Enforcement or in other words: co-chairwoman of the no-fun-club. Everything about her is annoying from her voice to her twice-too-tight panty-hoes. The accent from which she spouts is East Transatlantic and scrapes against the smooth buttery accents we get accustomed to hearing. She's intelligent, calculating and sharp as a whip.
CAPTAIN MANDANDY (50's), is the true hobo of the world. A showman, living off the world as the world lives off him. He runs and operates a fantastical showboat with a company of like-minded vagabonds and is beholden to himself only. At this stage in his life he feels a sense of unfulfilled devotion, a debt that needs to be paid in regard to the salving of his sinful soul. Even men such as him have deep faith and are in fear for their souls, which is where he is when we meet him. He's got that Clock charm radiating about him, so it's no surprise when his meets Emmitt and Duncan it's some kind of love at first sight.
LONG JIM JAKE (60's), a no-good, jail-frequent toothless neanderthal with fleas and somehow we just love him. He's irreverent, fun and always hanging by the seat of his sorry pants. Jake is that guy we all know with plenty the crazy unbelievable stories and crazy as they are we're on the edge of our seats to hear them. He's the dirty uncle, the bad Santa, the smelly hitch-hiker and believe it or not, the loyal best friend, too.
table read
Watch a cast of actors perform a cold read of a scene from Moonshine Chapel!
From Left to Right: Mand Paskuski (Writer), Jeremy Klassen (Script / Action), Michelle Robertson, Jackson Carswell, Julian Nelson, Ryan Graham, Eva Tavares, Kapila Rego, Reece Thompson, Mark Lingelbach & Caroline Flohr.