A Crime For Charlie is a crime film being produced by Blankfist Entertainment.

Synopsis

It is a humorous crime story about the naïve plans of murder conceived by scorn and heartbreak. The story focuses on an inept, spineless homebody named Charlie Newbanks, who’s finally reached his breaking point. His life has become a constant source of dread since he became married to a controlling, yet delusional, overachiever, Joy Newbanks. Taking out her frustrations for a lack of personal accomplishment, Joy relentlessly belittles Charlie over his hopeless appearance, his incompetence, his mumbling and even for his only source of escape, his subscription to a hunting and fishing magazine, which she forbids him to read.

Things take a turn for the worse when Charlie’s lovelorn and manipulative eighteen-year-old mistress, Nicole Lasseter, ends their secret love affair, claiming she cannot share him with another woman... not even his wife. After Charlie refuses her proposal to divorce his wife Joy and marry her, she sets him up by leaving a telltale sign of their adulterous affair for Joy to find.

Discovering Charlie’s betrayal, Joy kicks him out declaring that she’ll never divorce him without taking him for a king’s ransom in alimony. Seeing no other escape from his bullying wife, Charlie’s won over by Nicole’s scheme to murder her. But, neither of the two knows the first thing about murder.

Armed with only a knife and his hopeless incompetence, Charlie stalks his wife as she exits her work. In an exciting, albeit uncomfortably funny conclusion, Joy turns the tables on her ‘would be’ killer and does so by using what he favors most, his hunting and fishing magazine.

Director's Statement

A Crime For Charlie is a throwback to the great suspense stories of Hitchcock, where the impetus wasn’t only on the details of the crime, but more importantly on the final straw that pushes a man, or woman, to such an extremely wicked end. It’s the set up of the character’s journey that is equally as crucial to successful suspense storytelling as the creative twist ending or the crimes themselves.

I see the true potential of A Crime For Charlie as not only a suspense thriller, but also succeeding from the honest, and to some lesser degree even-tempered, comedy found in movies like Sideways, The Royal Tenenbaums and Fargo. This is a story of deception, manipulation, and, above all, the unethical, selfish ends to acquiring what ails the characters. In essence, they’re attributing human qualities.

The twists that unveil for our unlikely love triangle are a variety unseen in film, and, what’s more, the characters’ plight are universal as they, much like a lot of us, search out their comforts, their contentment, and their possible self vindication. At its heart, this is a film about the characters’ interpersonal relationships, and the individual idiosyncrasies that spur their immoral and ill-fated choices.

Theme

“Fight or Flight” is the primal survival phenomenon all humans display when facing a potentially dangerous situation. Within the time it takes to breathe a single breath, the human mind must come to a decision to either face the danger or flee.

That is, of course, unless you are Charlie Newbanks, the hero of A Crime For Charlie. He neither moves out of harm’s way nor resists it. His stance is one of inaction, until his hand is forced by two manipulative femme fatales.

Therein lies the building block of our theme: How inaction robs you of your self-reliance. It is through self-reliance, or independence, that we are capable of existing.

Charlie has the words “Survive Yourself” tattooed on his stomach, reinforcing the notion that at some point he has wrestled with the theme and decidedly chose to avoid it altogether.

Pertinent themes: Avoid vs. Pursuit, Escape, Elude, Changing one’s nature, Manipulation.

Vision

The story takes cues from classic Hollywood Noir, but there is an honesty and comedy to the story that surpasses the brooding grit of the traditional indications of this genre. Therefore, it would be lazy and on the whole disserving to the story to create an edgy, gloomy visual to accompany it.

The film, at its heart, is about the characters’ interpersonal relationships, and the individual idiosyncrasies that spur their immoral and ill-fated choices. This is where the focus of the film will be given.

Therefore, keen attention must be paid to create a close, intimate world where the characters exist, emotionally separated from the rest of the planet where they remain focused only on their wants, their needs, and their selfish motivations. These characters are the vehicle for the story, not the other way around. Once the camera is rolling, the characters and plot are the center of the focus – the camera shall aid them, not call attention to itself.

The shots will be close and tight, to really give a sense of exclusivity and intimacy they each share – And to help separate them within their world to show how they are outside of the realm of recognition for the laws of society.

These are three selfish and self-serving people, thus the cinema language must strengthen this concept, however when Joy and Charlie are sharing a scene, the shots will be wider and the spatial distance between them will reinforce their estranged remoteness.

Lighting and setting will be natural, as if there is no question that these characters could and in fact DO live here in this world, thus giving a convincing authenticity to their plight. The audience needs to believe they’re real, they exist, and the very treachery and crime is being concocted before their eyes.

By giving the cinema language and lighting an honesty and legitimacy, we give the characters the room to be the liars.

Management

Summary

Paul Papadeas and Heath C. Michaels are the managing partners of a Los Angeles, California based Production Company, which has been formed for the sole purpose to finance, produce and exploit a short length motion picture currently entitled "A Crime For Charlie".

Blankfist Entertainment is affiliated with the Los Angeles, CA based Filmmakers Alliance, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit film collective providing support to independent filmmakers. This organization will serve as a Fiscal Sponsor for the company, accepting donations, grants and gifts on behalf of the film from foundations, corporations, private businesses and personal contributors. All contributions will be tax-deductible.

External links

A Crime For Charlie website

Filmmaker's Alliance website