  Feature Film The Redemption to shoot in Nova Scotia Canada in October 2010. Canadian Actor Resumes accepted at Stone Cold Productions Limited, 9 Culrain Crescent. Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2X 2Z7
REDEMPTION IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A VIDEO GAME PRODUCER INTERESTED IN CRATING A GAME BASED ON OUR SCRIPT AND MOVIE. contact Hank White at stonecoldproductions@gmail.com
REDEMPTION
“It is by going down into the abyss that we discover the treasures of life.”
Joseph Campbell
OVERVIEW
REDEMPTION has the potential be one of the most unique hybrid films ever made. On one hand, it’s action-filled road thriller that conjures the adrenaline of classic grindhouse films. On another level, it’s also a true hero’s journey; a post-modern myth, full of striking cross-cultural spiritual imagery that elevates this material way above pulp. At its most basic character level, this is a beautiful and wrenching story of two outcasts, Avery and Jan, who make an incredible journey through a dark and morally-perverse Canadian landscape. Through their experiences of life’s worst, they grow as human beings to embrace their identity, and find redemption.
It will be my primary task as a director to make sure that these three essential levels of the screenplay are rendered to the screen in a sublime blend: REDEMPTION will be a literate thriller that explores fascinating cultural conflicts and modern issues; a film that will excite genre audiences, while also attracting intelligent, critical viewers who will be provoked and moved by the film’s characters and deeper themes. All these colourful, twisted characters are united around the search for Redemption; no one is given short shrift, and in my filming, I will constantly be seeking behaviours and beats that will further dimensionalize them.
This film has been described more than once as ‘Dances With Wolves’ meets ‘Pulp Fiction’. Yes, there is the mythic underpinning of the first, and yes, there is a striking black comedy and criminal humanism of the latter. But my primary reference for this film is ‘No Country For Old Men’ : a recent indelible tale of morally-challenged misfits on a cross-country journey. Like REDEMPTION, it’s a film that explores man’s nature in its pitch-black extremes: greed, ambition, evil—but counterpointing always with the human potential for good. The gritty palette of color, the ever-shifting tone, the deadpan comedy, the starkness, the sparing music score, and the power of silence in that film is something that I will aspire to achieve in REDEMPTION.
VISUAL THEMES AND SYSTEMS
From the opening page, this script has indelible visual qualities, especially around the Hero’s journey and Spiritual quest. One of my main visual schemes for the film will be to show the Native imagery and Biblical imagery, side-by-side, often simultaneous. This is the hybrid faith of the post-missionary, post-modern age that is itself redeemed by the story, finally arriving at a place of conciliation and rebirth by the conclusion.
There is a vital imagery around Water in this film that is always evolving: in the beginning, there is the Fall-- Niagara Falls, as an unstoppable frightening torrent, but also embodying the force of Nature. This is the titanic struggle that Avery must face against the forces of darkness, as he gradually embraces his inner ‘warrior’ to achieve transformation. It is also the inexorable power of love—Jan’s interrupted maternity which she must embrace and with all its danger and implications. A fascinating image exists in Act Two of the St. Lawrence River as a serpent (which is an example of both native and biblical imagery): a key icon of the Canadian heartland, polluted by depravity, has become the vector eastward toward the ‘Heart of Darkness’.
There are also some great visual possibilities with respect to the classic hero’s journey—Avery’s beginning in the boxing ring shows him to be—initially-- a debauched caricature of the ‘Warrior’, his true unspoken self. The bar itself is a vision of hell, and the stark depiction of the dark side of Niagara Falls—a crime-controlled haven for chaos and sin is a side of the city not often seen on film. With the sound of the ubiquitous tourist-helicopter blades shadowing all. This is a spiritual combat zone—a place where evil has invaded and won. A place that needs a Warrior, who is not yet ready to show himself. These images make Avery’s journey not only powerful in an emotional sense, but truly iconic in a mythic sense.
Another important image is the Story—the personal mythology that assures identity and grounds us to nature and family. This is seen in Nathan’s voiceover story, which is at one point seen against the eternal granite of the Canadian Shield. He, more than anyone, represents true good, because he has not lost his sense of self. We see that Jan, in particular, is starved for ‘stories’, because she has none—her whole life has been a constructed dirty lie, in which even she has participated. The water images at the motel, with Jan showering, desperately trying to cleanse; her very obsession with water on the journey is one of the character traits that gives her unique personality. This is another nice example of the screenplay’s interconnected imagery—visuals, theme, and character—that will be certainly put up on the screen.
From the diseased fountains of Thatcher’s mansion, the film arrives at the quiet lake on the reserve. This perfectly underscores the true sense of peace and identity that Avery Stone has found, as well as the ultimate completion of our theme/visual system.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Budget limitations mean that we will have to find-- rather than build-- most our sets. A comprehensive design scheme will be achieved by very thorough scouting, and a very clear sense of what is being sought in terms of color and architecture.
The subject matter of this film is very dark, so it’s key that that there is ALWAYS a point of visual interest in on the screen. The color red will be pervasive—in design and costumes, there will also be pops of color or light detail in all scenes. In the Branko’s club, we’ll also use mirrors to great effect—a natural part of any stripclub, it will also be used to subtly foreshadow the murk of distorted identity, for Avery and for Jan.
The Motel will have blue and green prominent—the heron’s natural colors seen through a filter of sin and desperation, trying desperately to achieve a ‘family’ state. Much like our characters.
In Thatcher’s mansion, whites and gold will prevail, suggesting wealth and decadent influence. But these colors will all be a little pushed, as Thatcher himself is such a twisted falsehood.
These false colors will be contrasted with those of the natural world. The Canadian landscape itself will be a key part of our design: True greens and blues, in the forests and waters. A beautiful red captured eternally by granite. These will be seen most prominently in the Canadian landscape as seen by car. The initial view of the Niagara vineyards, when Avery initially makes his escape suggest Paradise. And the Tobique reservation, which despite its poverty and fall from grace, becomes an oasis for Avery’s soul. Further to this, the interior of Nathan’s lodge will have all earthy wood tones and artifacts, to suggest his deep and unchanging identity and quality.
In all scenes I will try to create powerful visual contrasts that invite the eye and challenge the mind. Always seeking the corruption/innocence paradox at the core of the film. On the motel television, a children’s program plays while a rape occurs in the background. In Kelly’s veterinary clinic, there are small animals in cages as Jan in withdrawal finally confesses who she is in order to get drugs. These animals can suggest innocence at the beginning, then becoming wild and primal as Jan’s admission becomes more devastating.
Avery’s Car is a very important design element— it’s a 90’s Mustang, fast, probably bought when he was at his peak of fame, or perhaps with the spoils of his criminal affiliation. The car is so prevalent, with this being a road movie, that it should be almost a character in the film. Especially with its many ‘refinements’ when it is outfitted for a kidnapping. The dark tinted windows create a kind of enclosed world for Avery and Jan. Sometimes, at night, they are only lit in quick flashes by passing headlights, or a cigarette lighter’s brief spark. We should feel that even their faces are a constant mystery to each other, that it is so desperately hard to know another person truly. And even harder to know yourself. Especially for two characters who’ve so thoroughly lost their way and distanced themselves from the painful truth of identity.
In the lighting of the film, I’m going to be closely following Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ it its classic employment of light and dark imagery (as did ‘No Country For Old Men’). The shadows, where important things hide, will be quite black, while those elements which are lit are even more heightened and vibrant. This will give the lighting scheme of the film a stark beauty and a depth of composition appropriate to this mythic tale.
CASTING AND PERFORMANCE
The treatment of performance scenes and action scenes will be critical in REDEMPTION. My approach will be like Neil Jordan in the intimate character-oriented scenes, and like Sam Peckinpah in the wider action-based scenes. Picture the tender simplicity of the ‘Scorpion and the Frog’ story in The Crying Game. That’s what the car scenes between Avery and Jan will be like. In Act 3, on a smaller scale, the confrontation at Thatcher’s Mansion will have a very ‘Battle of Bloody Porch’ feel, like the last famed act of The Wild Bunch.
REDEMPTION is very much an ‘actor’s film’, and we have some very great ones interested. For Avery, we have a strong commitment from the rising young Aboriginal actor Glen Gould (Cashing In, One Dead Indian). Glen is dynamic up-and-comer, a Nova Scotian, and a superior actor. Glen recalls the young Charles Bronson in his gravity and physicality— and he has also lived a very similar arc to Avery in his personal life. He is perfect to play our central character. For Jan, every actress who reads the part wants it.
Contact Hank White at stonecoldproductions@gmail.com
FRACTURED
Approximate running time: 15 minutes, 30 seconds
Written and Directed by Joseph G. LeClair
1st Assistant Director Lisa Heyden 
Sound engineer/Foley - Don Macdonald,
Jeff Macdonald and Hank White
Music performed by - Maia Bruce
Produced by Hank White.
2008, Stone Cold Productions Limited
Director of Photography Darryl LeBlanc
Fractured can be viewed at www.cbc.ca/download
FRACTURED was produced by Hank White with Associate producer Lisa Heyden
A quiet, contemplative film about life and memories, Fractured is ultimately a film about life’s precious gifts, a daughter’s love and a father’s memories of his family.
Fractured- The newest movie by Stone Cold Productions tells the story of Robert Landon, a retired librarian, who enjoys his books and the company of Virginia, his cello playing wife. For Robert this seems to be the perfect existence. However as the movie delves deeper into Robert's world we learn that everything is not as it appears and that slowly this wonderful world is falling apart. Devastated, Robert is left with the realization that everything he loves is fading away. Robert's only hope emerges from the love of his daughter, who through her own cello playing tries to anchor Robert in his sea of confusion.
Written and directed by Joseph G. LeClair
Cinematographer Darryl LeBlanc
Editor and CGI Darryl LeBlanc
Featuring performances by George Barkhouse, Holly Stevens, Debora Barkhouse and introducing Brooke Bernard.
For more information, contact:
Hank White (902)452-2066
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Demo The Cab Driver https://www.actra.ca/actra/images/faces/video/34877.mov
“The Cab Driver" a 30 minute short, Produced by Hank White for Stone Cold Productions, was written and Directed by Joe LeClair. DOP Matthew A. MacDonald. Music by Todd Harrie.
This film is about a Cab driver who is struggling with various complex problems, and has many hurdles to cross before he finds out what is truly important in life, In this case, his daughter.
Todd Harrie "I loved this film from the first (demo) showing. I was fortunate to be involved in this process very early, and have had the opportunity to work with the film's writer very close at many stages of production. I used many minor cords and dark strings to create total suspense, and an un-easy feeling throughout the film."
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“Intersection” a 23 min short produced by Hank White for Stone Cold Productions and Hank White Production, Written and Directed by Joe LeClair. DOP Matthew A. MacDonald and Joseph LeClair.Music by Todd Harrie.
The Film is primarily about a famous poet who lost his wife, and because of this tragidy, and many other knocks, he has become a street person. He makes enough money to eat (and drink) by witting poems and songs for people.
The other character is a business man who is down in life also, but for very different reasons. He is stressed with every day life occurrences. He has learned to hate incompatance and waste.
The two meet, and this "intersection" results in an interesting plot change.
Film songs by Todd Harrie
Singing song for little girl
The intersection has happened, and the main character dies
Closing credits
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