Why Film in the Okanagan?

The Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia has a diversity of filming options, plus good seasonal weather waiting to cooperate with your prefect shot.

Here are the reasons ” Why Film in the Okanagan?” :

Production in the OKANAGAN

• Picturesque lakes, like Okanagan and Kalamaka Lake (Lake of many colours ) , majestic mountains, world-class ski resorts, like Silver Star and Big White. Waterfalls and scenic hiking trails easy assessable throughout the Okanagan, like Kettle Valley.

• Picturesque Wineries throughout the Okanagan Valley and Kelowna. Learn more…

• Canada Film Tax Incentives

• Scouting Locations by Okanagan Film Commission – Learn more...

• Screenplay Specs or existing script revisions available through James Montana Scripts at a fraction of the cost.

• Film-friendly permits

• Production and Crew Directory – Learn more…

• Okanagan Film Commission resources – Learn more...

• Easy assess Okanagan Studios – Learn more…

• Easy travel to the Okanagan: hub of the Okanagan Valley is Kelowna International Airport – Learn more…

• Okanagan Accommodations – Learn more…

Scripts

• Limited time FREE storylines available (we only ask that you credit the storyteller in your film) – See storyline examples… ( All storylines will be formatted into a script for a nominal cost by James Montana Scripts) – Inquire here…

• Buy ready-to-go Spec Scripts, such as “Soul Savior”, and sci-fi thriller script “ Black Angels”

• More Spec Scripts in productivity – Learn more..

Award Winning Animation Studios

• Yeti Farm Creative located in Kelowna – Learn more…

• Bardel Entertainment- Learn more…

About James Montana Scripts

• Canadian freelance screenwriting operation featuring pre-packaged spec scripts for sale and free storylines with credit admission in your film.

• Will format free storylines into a screenplay for a nominal cost.

• Located in Kelowna, B.C.

• Contact for enquires on Twitter or Instagram or LinkedIn

By Bari Demers

MILLENNIUM

There are a collection of science fiction films that stick with me over time, no matter how old they are. The one I wish they would consider a remake, is MILLENNIUM.

Storyline : Millennium is a 1989 science fiction film where Time Travellers abduct the passengers and crew of FLIGHT 35, because in the future, there’s so much pollution, the population are sterile and sick. It means the human race is dying ; therefore they kidnap people from the past who were supposed to die in the first place.

Flight 35 experienced computer malfunction* and destine to touch wings with another aircraft. Due to this encounter, the other craft recovered, while FLIGHT 35 was destined to crash, killing all aboard.

The Time Traveller Agents would alter the time-line, boarding FLIGHT 35. They would they replace the “Live Passengers” with cadavers, who had previously died from poor health in their “future timeline”.

However, FLIGHT 35 miraculous survived the encounter, automatically landing in one piece. With emergency crew on hand, opened the hatch. To the investigator on-board, he found the whole crew dead. Not only that, the bodies were burned beyond recognition. Unknown to the investigators, the Time Travellers burnt the cadavers, to simulate what they would look like after the crash.

Each timeline visit would cause catastrophic damage, referred to as a “timequake”. Therefore the Time Travellers would only abduct people that wont effect the future.

However, things go terribly wrong after the Time Travellers try their best to correct their mistakes…

I’ll stop here because it wouldn’t be fair to tell you the whole story. Be great if Disney Studios would plan a remake of MILLENNIUM. Screenwriters (like me) can change the storyline to suit today’s relevant technology. We can also mix up the subplots to keep the viewers guessing the outcome.

Bari Demers

* Makes you think of the recent plane crashed due to on-board computer hardware.

PS : Hope you enjoy my art piece I created above. You can see more of my art on INSTAGRAM – join me ! Or, if you’re a TWITTER fan, see you there too.

About Bari : I produce Spec Scripts for Directors, Agents and Production companies.

Happy Halloween by Shirley Temple

  
Photo courtesy of The Academy. 

Shirley Temple Black was the best adored actress of her time. The whole world was lifted by her spirit.  If you haven’t seen her movies, it a must on everyone’s bucketlist. From 1935 – 38 her dancing, acting and singing made her a number one child Star.

Unfortunately she died last year at the age of 85.  She was loved by all. 

I watched many of her movies and her spirit was deeply moving. 

 It’s as if your heart was opened to the world. 

Incredible beautiful person.  

I know this is crazy, but I like to think, Shirley Temple transformed back into the little girl she was, in the heavenly realm of the afterword, with my lost daughter, singing and dancing together. 

Love you Jenni – one of my screenplays was developed, a story for my little girl, who lost her life at such an early age : Soul Savior 

Happy Halloween!

By Bari Demers 

Time Travel

I watched the movie,”Contact”, once again. I believe it’s the fourth time now, but it’s possibly more.

Without going into the movie, it basically about a radio transmission discovered by SETI, Dr. Eleanor Arroway (played by favourite actress Jodie Foster) who finds a message within unmistakeable pulses of radio waves. They quickly discover, the radio transmissions are coming from the brightest star,Vega, within the Lyra constellation.

Not long after this intriguing discovery, the founder of keeping the project alive, billionaire S.R. Hadden, provides Eleanor with hidden inside mechanical drafting plans. This leads to constructing a space-age device with a flight pod. It’s believed this pod will provide them access to space travel by means of wormholes.

After a series of conflicts and failures, Dr. Arroway is zipped through space and time, while on earth only a few seconds of time pass by, but to Eleanor 18 hours quickly disappear.

It’s science-fiction and indeed a movie to add to your list, if you haven’t seen it yet.

To me, “Contact” sparked another interesting concept of space travel.

Consider, if you may, what if we could travel across the Cosmos without leaving earth at all.

By means of “holographic projection” of ourselves.

With exoplanets approximately 500 light years away, it would still take over 8 million years at the speed of light, (17500 years to reach one light-year) before even reaching one of these planets. But say we could propel our image faster then the speed of light by folding space and time.Theoretically our holographic-selfs could explore our vast universe, reaching M-source-Planets.

Just imagine the implications of such a trip?

Is it just a dream or maybe a real vision into the future? Scientists would surely dispute my claims, rationalizing with their mathematical calculations, but a dream is the start of a vision.

The beginning of reality.

Will mankind be the Leaders of Space Exploration on a universal scale?

Only time will tell. Maybe it’s time to remove the “time-factor” from the equation by folding it into space.

It’s time to think outside the box and reach for the stars by using Time Travel.

By Bari Demers

Indie verse Blockbuster Films

As a freelance screenwriter, my writing tasks require working on more than one script at a time.

My script, “Black Angels” is a SciFi horror genre great for anyone who loves CGI special effects, a strong storyline, action-pack thriller and makes a perfect fit for the movie screen.

Making Black Angels is without a doubt a costly adventure, bringing it to the large screen, hopefully as a Blockbuster.

The reality in producing film today requires a strict budget, making Indie Films the most probable choice. Too many times lately you hear of a large budget film going bust. It’s an eye-opener to the film industry.

Steven Spielberg predicts an “implosion” of the film industry quoting,” …you’re gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you’re probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln.”

The competition verse Indie Films and Blockbusters are turning the movie industry upside down. Indie Films are not new, with Robert Redford’s Sundance Film festival just celebrating 30 years featuring thousands of successful films.

In order to be competitive within the film industry, screenwriters are pushing out as many short scripts as they can. The format scripts for screen are roughly between 20 – 100 pages long (one minute screen = one page), depending on story.

FORMAT

Each screenplay has three sequences, beginning with introducing the Protagonist,( the hero),who displays some kind of flaw. You have to explain their world they are live in and the dramatic situation.

Towards the second sequence, you let the viewers know the predicament, which leads the MAIN Antagonist, (the villain). It gets to the point where your hero must make a “life or death” decision ; turning back is not a option. The hero must now head forward with his choices, good or bad.

The stakes are high and the viewer is glued to the tension, ready to go overload.

The third and last sequence of your storyline, ” What must the Protagonist sacrifice? ” Will it end well or in complete disaster ? And is there any twist to end your story ?

The ending should leave your audience in awe sending the story viral.

INDIE FILMS

Indie films are budget conscience and viewers love seeing them. The stories are short with a meaningful strong message.

The “Indie buzz” at Film Festivals is apparent amongst actors, directors and producers. It’s becoming too oblivious, too many “movie goers” are falling short, due to competition with your local cable provider, including Movie Central and the Internet.

The competition will change the way we view movies; it’s a new era in film.

MY SCRIPTS

One of my scripts I’m working on lately is based on a true story, called,”Missing”. It’s about a young Hunter, up in Williams Lake, B.C. who went missing for over 16 hours in the wilderness, only to be hunted by a 800 lb Grizzly.

It’s an intense “action-drama” screenplay where the viewer wonders the fate of this young Hunter. It’s perfect as an indie film.

If you’re looking for a big blockbuster film ?

Then look no further than, “BLACK ANGELS”

LOGLINE:

War Hero Commander Cardin is forced to re-colonize on a new planet, BLUE EARTH, before their species is destroyed along with a darker threat, BLACK ANGELS.

SUMMARY:

100,000 years ago, the SIRIANS began its journey,changing life on Earth, forever. Escaping their dying planet SIRUS 5, King Osiris order his elite Emperor Guards under General Jason’s command to take on the mission only referred to as BLUE EARTH.

Leading the way is seasoned War Hero Commander Cardin who is torn between his duty and the recent loss of his brother. Complicated by his irrefutable love for Karen and their savage fight against rivals, the JOTUNN’S (Savage Reptilian-Humanoids) and an unknown creature lurking the planet, only known in folklore as BLACK ANGELS.

Whatever is your fancy in films, I believe I have what you are looking for.

By Bari Demers

The below photo is a picture of a Grizzly my daughter took, while in Banff National Park in Canada. Myself, I have come up close and personal with a Griz, not by choice. It was indeed one of the most scary ordeals of my life.

My Elevator Pitch with Steven Spielberg

My elevator pitch is how I’m going to explain my screenplay (Black Angels) within a two minute span, sparking interest with my viewers. But first, I must captivate their interest in the first 30 seconds.

FIRST 30 SECONDS

Let’s pretend I’m being interviewed by Steven Spielberg.

I now have 30 seconds to capture Mr. Spielberg attention, or he will kindly usher me out the door.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Welcome to Dreamworks Movie Studio. Please, have a seat. I hear you have an interesting sci-fi screenplay called BLACK ANGELS. Go ahead and tell me about your script.

ME: I’m writing a science-fiction thriller set 100,000 years ago, where an intelligent civilization are forced to leave their dying home, Sirus 5. It’s up to an elite military team to get a newly found planet, ” Blue Earth” ready for colonization.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: So, what makes this sci-fi any different from others?

ME: Black Angels is based on a Historical Event Theory, Mankind’s evolution was jump-started by an intelligent race (known as the SIRIANS) from the Sirius Cluster, crossing their genetics with ours. They were believed to be the missing link, making us who we are today.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: What problem or problems are you trying to solve?

ME: Our reluctant hero, Karen Jefferson must carry out the mission so her people can colonize earth before it’s too late, while trying to overthrow their revels, the Jotunns and an evil force lurking throughout earth. What happens next is horrifying, changing mankind forever!

STEVEN SPIELBERG: So, Karen is the main protagonist? What is the obsession that drives her?

ME: Karen is emotional torn between her irrefutable love for Commander Cardin and her mission to help her people colonize before her home planet is destroyed. But the Jotunns stand in her way and to make it worse, the evil force causes chaos.

(My 30 seconds are now up – but I believe I have capture interest by Steven Spielberg)

STEVEN SPIELBERG: It sounds like the main antagonist are the Jotunns. Who are the Jotunns?

ME: The Jotunns are a Reptilian revile enemy who cause havoc, but are not considered the main antagonist. Their main antagonist so happens to be the evil force lurking planet earth. And there’s a twist to the overall plot, which will change the outcome to our story.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Excellent, sounds like an interesting story, but what makes it different from Aliens or Prometheus?

ME: Black Angels is based on a real theoretical historical event that actually changed mankind into who we are today. It’s base on ” The Gods of the Heavens” Theory, whereas Aliens and Prometheus are fictional accounts based on an evading host.

The Gods of the Heavens even take us to our present day of UFO events. So, in theory, my screenplay can lead into a trilogy of science- fiction stories.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Is Black Angels a cost effective movie?

ME: Yes. With the use of CGI visual effects, Black Angels can become a budget based movie. We can even trim the characters, if need be.

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Do you have a Synopsis ?

ME: Yes I do – Here it is

STEVEN SPIELBERG: Great. We’ll get in touch within you soon. Thank you for coming.

ME: Thank you for this opportunity. I appreciate your time and it’s wonderful to finally meet you, Mr. Spielberg. I know this may sound cliche, but I have been interested in your movies ever since I saw JAWS, ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

And so, that would be end of your elevator pitch, but not necessary the end of your screenplay. With the funds collected, the project may even be the next blockbuster movie, BLACK ANGELS.

By Bari Demers

PS:
I have enjoyed all of Steven Spielberg’s movies, including Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc, War of the Worlds (saw the original movie when I was 8 years old) and other favourites, such as The Goonies and Hook.

One of the most dramatic movies I watched by Steven Spielberg is the historical drama, the Schindler’s List, a 1993 classic film scripted by Steven Zaillian, based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Australian Thomas Keneally.

What About Black Angels?

What’s my Screenplay About :

Black Angels of Sirus 5 takes place over 100,000 years before mankind ever had a foothold on earth. It’s about an intelligent civilization desperate to find a suitable planet before their Sun Star, Sirius C becomes a “Red Giant” destroying home planet Sirus 5.

A highly trained elite military force of six women along with six men and two androids. The story focuses on the accomplishments and relationships of the women with their political male counterparts.

It brings to light the relationships between the women, such as Corporal Karen Jefferson and Science Officer Gill Christopher. How their secret past intertwines, complicating the overall mission on the new found planet,” Blue Earth”.

The women are the backbone with revealing twists throughout the thrilling horrifying plot of Black Angels of Sirus 5.

The men think they’re in charge, but it’s really the women who control the outcome of the storyline.

What the team doesn’t know turns into a horrifying experience, sure to change the fate of mankind forever!

My screenplay is based on past theoretical stories, where it has been said, man was visited by an intelligent species. At a time when mankind hadn’t yet evolved from “Ape-man”, but suddenly took a giant leap into the development of our evolution. It’s believed mankind was genetically crossed with the “Gods of the Heavens” known as the Sirian race.

Check out my Synopsis for more info

If you enjoy science-fiction movies and behind the scenes, join me on twitter @JRobbMontana

By Bari Demers
My photo above was taken by me in Mexico during sunset.

Black Angels of Sirus 5

Black Angels of Sirus 5

100,000 years ago, the SIRIANS began its journey,changing life on earth forever.