A tale of two novels provides an exciting backdrop when an intrepid team of time travelers plunges into the French Revolution only to find that “A Tale of Two Cities” and “The Scarlet Pimpernel” are a lot more real than they thought.

SYNOPSIS:

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!

Story Overview: 1793. The world is in turmoil. The Enlightenment principles of freedom, equality and democracy are sweeping the globe. America has won its independence and now France is in flames. The monarchy has been overthrown, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette have been beheaded, aristocrats are being marched to the guillotine and citizens are being denounced almost as sport. Friends turn against friends, servants turn against masters and wives turn against husbands. No grudge is too small, and no one is safe.

Robespierre heads the Committee of Public Safety, which is anything but safe, and installs the Republic of Virtue, which is just another word for Terror that spreads to every corner of France.

An intrepid team of time travelers wades into this cauldron to solve the mystery of “The Rose,” a valiant French Marquise who was Washington’s top spy during the Revolutionary War. And while what they learn is shocking, it will pale in comparison when the characters from “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and “A Tale of Two Cities” surge to the forefront and turn a simple trip back in time into a harrowing scramble to save their heroes to make it out alive.

Tone & Style: Propulsive time-jumping thriller set during the Reign of Terror where insanity and bloodlust rule the day under the menacing shadow of Madame Guillotine. And while the tone is often hilariously comical as characters from vastly different centuries forge crazy friendships and jell as a team, there are many tense moments of life-threatening danger, terrifying mishaps, shocking revelations and breathtaking bravery and sacrifice as obstacles mount and plans go awry.

The raw emotional power A TALE OF TWO CITIES, the cunning multiple identity mischief of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, the high tension espionage of TURN and the sly period antics of THE SERPENT QUEEN and THE GREAT combine in a rambunctious, highly cinematic and gripping tale of love, devotion, honor and courage in an age where passions run hot, revolution reigns, anarchy is rampant and the fashions are fabulous – if your tailor hasn’t betrayed you.

MAIN CHARACTERS:

Dr. Steven Turner: Former surgeon, keen student of history and co-leader of the time travel team, age 50. Thinks he knows everything and often does. Cautious and risk-averse with a volatile temper, he’s the perfect foil to Laramee’s easy going, grip it and rip it style. Wants no part of the French Revolution but finds his groove by unlocking “The Rose’s” secrets and controlling the mayhem when the flesh and blood characters from two great novels enter the picture.

Kip Laramee: Free-wheeling Indiana Jones-like adventurer who sees time travel as a game where anything goes, age 50. A born leader who inspires others and can talk his way in or out of any situation. Highly adaptable, makes friends easily, totally fearless and always with another trick up his sleeve. Kate’s husband, co-leader of the time travel team and the man every man wishes he could be. And when Laramee meets his lifelong hero Percy Blakeney, it’s off to the races in the wildest adventure the team’s ever had.

Becky Turner: Feisty athletic Yale junior and Turner’s daughter, age 20. Whip smart and crackling with teen energy, she’s taken to time travel like a duck to water. Endears herself to Dani’s team with smart insights and fashion flair, and when the going gets tough and the walls close in, she jumps back in time and recruits three legendary heroes who add their own special brand of swashbuckling swagger to the mix.

Matt Allison: Smart, highly capable Harvard junior and Becky’s boyfriend, age 20. A veteran time traveler himself, he’s thrilled to have a crack at the French Revolution and faces every situation with guts and bravado. A disciple of Laramee’s free-wheeling style who knows how to rock when the chips are down, he uses his computer skills to gin up some shockingly lewd photos of Chauvelin to blunt his blackmail efforts and turn the tide.

Dr. Peter Straub: Professorial Director of a top secret time travel program called The Philadelphia Project, age 60. Deeply devoted to the Turner & Laramee team, he develops head-spinning new gadgets and devices to enhance their experience and make their job easier. But when he gives them a mission, he trusts them completely and lets them do their thing.

Dani Bonvouloir: Headstrong Marquise de St. Cyr and star of the Parisian stage, age 40. Fifteen years earlier and code-named “The Rose,” she became Washington’s top spy with her loyal companions Noah and Bonnie and foiled Benedict Arnold’s treason playing the glamorous Sophie Weston and the hilarious fop Percy Blifil, a precursor of Percy Blakeney. But when John Andre is hanged for Arnold’s treason, Dani quits Washington’s service and returns to France bearing the scars of not being able to save Andre’s life – a guilt that looms large when she meets Percy Blakeney.

Noah Boulonge: Brilliant scientist, swordsman, inventor and a man far ahead of his time, age 40. Repeatedly warns Dani to cool her risky behavior during the Revolutionary War and saves her from several life-threatening jams. His romantic relationship with Bonnie is heartwarming and hilarious and once he gets comfortable with Turner and Laramee’s inquires about their RevWar exploits, becomes a key player in keeping everyone safe from Chauvelin and Robespierre.

Bonnie Macintosh: Dani’s colorful feisty Scottish assistant and the artistic hand behind the Sophie Weston and Percy Blifil characters Dani played during the war, age 40. Hot-blooded, hilariously funny and loyal to the core, she pulls out all the stops when Dani is accused of helping the Scarlet Pimpernel, who turns out to be someone who’s just walked into their lives and captured Dani’s heart.

Percy Blakeney: Wealthy English fop and fashion icon who leads a secret double life as the notorious Scarlet Pimpernel, age 40. Master of disguise and the most wanted man in France, Percy and his young League of Gentlemen save countless aristocrats from the guillotine with flair and cunning, enraging Robespierre. Creator of some of the greatest lines in literature including “Sink me!,” “Odds fish!” and the immortal “This revolution of yours is most intolerable.”

Lord Tommy Lyons: Percy’s handsome lieutenant and personal favorite, age 25. Attending a party at Blakeney Manor, Kate suddenly realizes Lord Tommy is her grandfather. And when Tommy is gravely wounded and captured by Chauvelin, who thinks Tommy’s the Pimpernel, Turner and Laramee fly into action because if Tommy dies, Kate will never be born. But Percy doesn’t know they’ve rescued Tommy and surrenders himself to Chauvelin, igniting a chain of events that spins out of control.

Margo St. Just: Percy’s fashionable wife and old friend of Dani’s from the Parisian stage, age 35. But her past friendship with Chauvelin raises Percy’s suspicions and he freezes her out of his affections. But when Margo finally discovers Percy’s secret identity as the Pimpernel, she moves heaven and earth to save him from the guillotine and wreak vengeance on Chauvelin for trying to frame her.

Robespierre: Ruthless head of the revolutionary government, age 35. Prim but menacing, he’s bent on destroying the monarchy, the aristocracy and the church through a Reign of Terror under the blade of Madam Guillotine. But his number one target is the Pimpernel, whose daring acts of defiance are undermining his authority. And as Percy, Dani and Tommy face their darkest hour, Turner and Laramee will befuddle Robespierre in a masterpiece of deception that must be seen to be believed.

Chauvelin: Robespierre’s dogged detective charged with capturing the Pimpernel, age 40. Former friend of Dani’s and Margo’s before joining the revolution and convinced the Pimpernel is an English aristocrat, he travels to England and blackmails both in a ruthless effort to learn the Pimpernel’s identity. But Turner and Laramee are one step ahead and turn the tables in another hilarious deception. But Chauvelin isn’t as dumb as he seems and captures Lord Tommy, forcing Percy’s hand and plunging things into chaos.

Sydney Carton: Tragic hero of “A Tale of Two Cities” and one literature’s most noble characters, age 25. A cynical alcoholic burdened by a wasted life, he switches identities with Charles Darnay and goes to the guillotine in his place as a final testament to his love for Lucie Manette, Darnay’s wife.

Charles Darnay: Wealthy French-English aristocrat and Lucie Manette’s husband, age 25. Falsely accused of conspiring against the revolution, he’s sentenced to death - only to be saved at the last minute when Sydney Carton drugs him, switches clothes and goes to the guillotine in his place.

Lucie Manette: Beautiful and kind Englishwoman, age 25. Tries to convince Carton that he’s a man of value and his life is worthwhile, but Carton’s alcoholic depression is too far gone to change is ways. Her moving story of Carton’s heroism has a huge impact on Dani and Percy, who both try to replicate Carton’s heroic sacrifice to keep each other safe.

The Three Musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Cunning rogues, master swordsmen, hilariously funny and often drunk, age 25. Recruited by Becky to join the team as back up, they bring their distinctive brand of swashbuckling mayhem to the madness, become confused by who the Pimpernel really is and take a wild ride through Parisian history with Becky and Matt, winding up as chorus girls at the Moulin Rouge.

SYNOPSIS:

Imagine the thrills if "A Tale Of Two Cities" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" gave birth to a wild time travel adventure set in the darkest days of the French Revolution. That's the premise when an intrepid team of time travelers goes back to investigate a letter written by George Washington praising the heroics of Dani Bonvouloir, a mysterious Revolutionary War spy codenamed "The Rose."

Things get off to an exciting start as Becky and Matt race each other across time and Laramee tags the treasures in the tomb of Ramesses II, narrowly escaping the the Indiana Jones boulder of death. As the team reunites at their mansion on the Massachusetts coast, Dr. Peter Straub, head of the Philadelphia Project time travel program, arrives with Washington’s letter, which was found in an old Colonial house in New Canaan along with a distinctive mantel clock and a gold signet ring bearing the seal of The Rose. The mission: go back in time and find Dani, who was the young Marquise de St. Cyr, so they can hear her story firsthand and find out what she did during the RevWar to earn Washington’s praise.

Straub says Dani served the Patriot cause from 1778 to 1780, but something happened in 1780 that caused her to return to France before the war ended and it’s unclear when she returned to New Canaan. So in order to find her, they may have to go to France. Turner wants no part of the French Revolution but Laramee and the rest of the team are thrilled by the prospect and the kids eagerly bone up on “A Tale of Two Cities” and ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel” to get ready.

Equipped with specially modified phones called tPods that can take them anywhere in time and change their clothes to fit the era and tCam pendants and stickpins that record video directly into the tPods, the team starts in New Canaan in 1792, a year before Washington wrote his letter. But when they arrive at Dani’s house and a caretaker tells them she still hasn’t returned, going to France is the only option – to Turner’s dismay and the team’s delight.

Paris, 1792. The French Revolution is well underway and the two great novels come to life as Percy Blakeney and his band of heroic young Englishmen are busy saving aristocrats from the guillotine while Sydney Carton is planning to switch identities with Charles Darnay and die in his place. Dani, now a famous actress under the name Danielle Duvalier, meets Percy at the Comedie-Francais and is shocked by how much he reminds her of the foppish Percy Blifil, a character she played with stunning success when she spied for the Americans fifteen years before.

The time team arrives at Chateau St. Cyr and meets Dani and her former spymates Noah and Bonnie and after deftly breaking the ice and overcoming their skepticism that they really are from the future and mean no harm, Dani recounts her story in a vivid, extended flashback.

The time team is stunned to learn that Dani and her spymates foiled Benedict Arnold's treason, which would have won the war for the British and ended America’s hopes for independence. Dani had fallen in love with John Andre, the young British spy chief and tried desperately to save him when he was trapped behind American lines, but Andre was captured and Arnold fled to the British. Dani begged Washington to spare Andre’s life, but when Andre was hanged in late 1780, Dani quit Washington’s service in a rage and returned to France a broken woman, suffering deep guilt over her failure to save Andre’s life which still grips her fifteen years later in the form of suicidal depression.

But there’s more. The team is further shocked to learn of Dani's recent encounter with a very real Percy Blakeney, and Dani is shocked to learn that Percy is really the notorious Scarlet Pimpernel. Turner is terrified when he learns Chauvelin was there too and warns Dani that if Chauvelin suspects she’s friends with the Pimpernel, she’ll go to the guillotine. But Dani brushes it off, confident that her position is safe. Laramee can't believe his fictional hero Percy really exists and when he proposes going to England to meet him, Dani, Noah and Bonnie insist on coming along.

Meanwhile in Paris, the prim, ruthless Robespierre berates Chauvelin for not having caught the Pimpernel. Chauvelin admits the Pimpernel has been a clever adversary, but has deduced he and his League are English aristocrats raised by French nannies, which is why their French is so fluent. Impressed by Chauvelin’s deduction, Robespierre sends him to England to investigate.

We move to a party at Blakeney Manor near London where the worlds of "A Tale Of Two Cities" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel" collide. Laramee, dressed exactly like his hero Percy and imitating him to a T, performs a hilarious version of “A Dedicated Follower of Fashion” that brings down the house. And when Kate meets Percy’s dashing lieutenant Lord Tommy Lyons and realizes he’s her grandfather, the emotional joy is magical.

But it’s not all sweetness and light. Percy is callous towards his French wife Margo because he mistakenly thinks she’s helping Robespierre and Chauvelin, and Margo doesn’t know that Percy’s the Scarlet Pimpernel. And Dani, who’s sworn to keep Percy’s secret identity secret, is torn between her growing affection for Percy and her friendship with Margo, which goes back to their days at the Comedie-Francais.

And it gets worse. Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette from “A Tale of Two Cities” arrive and grimly recount how Sidney Carton switched places with Darnay the night before his execution and went to the guillotine in his place. Carton’s heroic sacrifice has a deep impact on Dani and Percy and both wonder if they’d have to courage to do what Carton did to save the life of someone they loved.

We move to an even bigger party at Lord Grenville’s where Turner, Percy and Laramee, playing Percy's twin brother Ramsbottom, befuddle Chauvelin with a barrage of foppish silliness. But Chauvelin is determined to find the Pimpernel and blackmails Dani and Margo into helping him, threatening to expose Dani as the Marquise de St. Cyr and Margo with arresting her brother Armand, who is secretly a member of Percy’s League.

Back in Paris, Tommy is shot and captured trying to rescue Armand and Chauvelin, thinking Tommy’s the Pimpernel, throws him in La Force. But Turner and Laramee know that if Tommy dies Kate will never be born, so posing as undercover cops Crockett & Tubbs, they befuddle Robespierre and Chauvelin in a tour de force of deception, learn where Tommy is being held and using their tPods, spring Tommy from prison and get him safely back to England.

But Percy doesn't know Tommy's been rescued. And remembering Sydney Carton's heroic sacrifice, Percy surrenders himself to Chauvelin in exchange for Tommy's life and gives him his Pimpernel signet ring as proof of his identity. As Chauvelin and Robespierre celebrate Percy's capture, Dani also remembers Carton's heroics and in a breathtaking act of courage and deception, Dani switches identities with Percy hoping to make amends for failing to save John Andre.

Things have spun totally our of control. As Dani goes to the guillotine pretending to be Percy, Becky zips back in time and grabs the Three Musketeers. The combined teams stage a daring rescue in central Paris and whisk Dani to safety, but Becky and Matt’s tPods malfunction and send them and the Musketeers careening through Parisian history, narrowly escaping the Nazis, the Phantom of the Opera, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and "The Da Vinci Code's" Silas before hilariously landing in the chorus line at the Moulin Rouge.

Percy, Margo, Tommy and the League reunite in London and Percy and Margo forgive each other for doubting their devotion. But Laramee needs to neutralize Chauvelin once and for all and using lewd pedophile pictures photoshopped by Matt, Laramee blackmails Chauvelin into leaving Dani alone and plucks Percy’s Pimpernel ring from Chauvelin’s desk and drops it in his pocket.

But the danger’s not over. A few months later, a crazed mob burns Chateau St. Cyr to the ground and Dani, Noah and Bonnie escape with their lives and return to New Canaan. And on July 4th, 1793, Washington’s letter to Dani finally arrives praising her heroics during the Revolutionary War, which helps Dani comes to terms with her failure to save John Andre and start living her life again.

But one more surprise awaits. As Turner, Laramee, Kate, Becky and Matt enjoy a July 4th picnic at their mansion in Massachusetts, Dr. Straub arrives with a special guest --- Noah! Having read their report and realizing that Noah was a man far ahead of his time, Straub went back to New Canaan and offered him a two-year stint with the Philadelphia Project so he could see the future for himself. Everyone’s delighted to be together again and as Turner reflects on his new understanding of Dickens’ immortal words “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,” Laramee and Kate slip the Rose and Pimpernel rings worn by Dani and Percy on their fingers, knowing they have big shoes to fill to live up to their legacies.

Commercial Appeal:

A Thrilling Blend: The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities, Benedict Arnold’s treason and time travel to the French Revolution blended together and brought to life like never before.

A riveting, action-packed story world where history, entertainment, education and adventure go hand in hand to deliver an unforgettable viewing experience.

All-Star Cast: Featuring some of literature’s and history’s greatest heroes and villains: Percy Blakeney, the League of Gentlemen, Chauvelin, Robespierre, Sidney Carton, Lucie Manette, John Andre, Benedict Arnold, George Washington, Dani Bonvouloir, Noah Boulonge, the Turner & Laramee time travel team and the legendary Three Musketeers, adding their own special brand of swashbuckling mayhem to the madness.

Cinematic Sweep: Stunning locations, sweeping vistas, magnificent costumes, shocking disguises, thrilling battles and desperate chases; Madcap antics, clever disguises, close calls, near misses, shocking betrayals, last-second heroics and head spinning spy v. spy deceptions; The grandeur and horror of late 18th Century Europe, where the fashions were fabulous and the guillotine dripped with blood.

Marketing Potential: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! is the type of movie global audiences crave. Action, adventure, time travel, sci-fi, history, literature, comedy, tragedy, entertainment and education all wrapped up in one epic film set during a time when fashions were fabulous and the world was ablaze. The passions and desires that drove events in The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities and America’s fight for independence in the Revolutionary War are the same passions and desires that drive us today, making it a film that audiences all over the world with both connect with and thoroughly enjoy.