A famous actress desperate to save her fading career goes back in time to shoot a gunslinger western only to find her fictional character puts a Woodstocky Wild West town and the man she loves in mortal danger.

SYNOPSIS:

SILVER SPRINGS

Tone & Style:

Highly entertaining and endearing time travel “movie within a movie within a movie” thriller set largely in Wild West Nevada wrapped around a timeless love story and lots of great pop/rock music performed live. And while the tone is often warm and amusing, there are many tense moments of life-threatening danger, abject terror and remarkable courage and bravery as an unforgettable cast of characters from the present and the past join together to fight a ruthless enemy who wants to destroy their idyllic lifestyle and send them all to hell.

The classic western drama of HIGH NOON, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER and HORIZON, the Civil War vengeance of SHENANDOAH, the time travel thrills of BACK TO THE FUTURE and the musical exuberance of LA LA LAND and HAIR combine in a highly cinematic and gripping tale of a brave woman’s powerful journey as she battles against impossible odds to make a movie she truly believes in and hang on to a love she can’t bear to lose.

Story Overview:

Hollywood is at a standstill. Raging wildfires from Kansas to Canada have blanketed the West in smoke with no end in sight, making location filming impossible. But Hannah Gold, the biggest swinging dick in town, has a huge gunslinger western called SILVER SPRINGS that’s ready to go and by contract must be made in America. Hannah calls the President, a close friend who she helped get elected and asks for a favor – and boy, it’s a doozy. Meanwhile, aging two-time Oscar winner Julia Stone, the most famous actress in the world, is in a funk. Her big comeback movie has been postponed and now might never get made. Suddenly her agent calls and tells her SILVER SPRINGS will shoot on schedule. But how?

Main Characters:

Julia Stone: Two-time Oscar winning actor so famous she’s known simply as “Stone” struggling with a nasty divorce and a fading career, age 40. Smart, funny and fiercely determined to make SILVER SPRINGS her big comeback movie where she plays Emma Cartwright, a cold-eyed gunslinger seeking revenge for the Civil War murder of her family. Dedicated craftsman, true professional and the driving force of the story.

Rick Howard: World-famous, multi-billion dollar director and former child/teen star, age 60. Clever, resilient and boyishly enthusiastic, known for running a happy set and willing to try anything to get the shot. Wrote SILVER SPRINGS with Stone in mind and was ready to go when the wildfires hit. But if anyone can figure out how to make a blockbuster movie in a time before movies even existed, it’s Rick.

Hannah Gold: Studio mogul, head of Tyrranus Entertainment and the most powerful person in Hollywood, age 55. Ruthless and cunning, she strikes fear in the hearts of even the bravest of men. Refuses to give into climate change, makes a call and works a miracle. But can Stone and Rick handle it? They better, because Hannah Gold’s never missed a release date – and she’s not planning to now.

Tom Rutledge: Ex-Union Lieutenant who came West after the war, fell in love with Silver Springs and became its peaceful, easy Sheriff, age 45. Singer, guitarist, friend of Mark Twain’s and likes getting high. Runs things with a gentle hand and respected by all. But beneath those still waters is a backbone of steel. A widower for five years and father of two young kids, Henry and Becky. Might be ready to let love back into his life and the moral rock of the story.

Will Connors: Ex-Union Sergeant who served with Tom and came West to be his Deputy, age 40. Crack guitarist and singer, loves getting high and has a good thing going with saloon owner Dixie Belle. Funny, laid-back and man of a million stories, he and fellow Deputy Sam feed off each other and are always good for a laugh, like Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little in BLAZING SADDLES.

Sam Jones: Ex-Union Sergeant who came West to forget, found a home in Silver Springs and joined up as Deputy, age 40. Perfect joint roller and tight with Caroline at the psychedelic bakery. Soulful singer in an Eagles-like band with Tom and Will called The Lawmen who perform with the Silver Springs Orchestra & Hippie Choir. Civil War blood boils over after meeting Tyrell’s ex-Rebs and Sam’s more than happy to whip ‘em again.

Jackson Tyrell: Former Confederate Cavalry Major Jack Taggart, responsible for murdering Emma Cartwright’s family during the Civil War, age 50. Moved to Nevada and changed his name to hide his past, now running for Governor. When told that Emma’s come to Silver Springs gunning for him and his men, he wants her dead. But Tom knows Emma is really Julia and tells him to go to hell. Vain, ruthless and desperate to protect his political future at all costs.

Jack Flash: Free-spirited head of the Hippie Commune, hot air balloon master and natural born leader, age 25. Brilliant singer and ace rock and roller born to the stage like Mick himself. Deeply committed to the town’s alternative lifestyle, he rallies his crew like Wellington at Waterloo when the Rebs try to burn down the town and leads the defense in the final battle. “Sing sweet and shoot straight” is more than a motto – it’s their creed.

John Elton: English-born singer and piano player who came to America in search of wide open spaces and found his dream in Silver Springs. A brilliant performer and band leader with a delightfully dry sense of humor, he leads the Silver Springs Orchestra & Hippie Choir through many classic rock and pop classics from the ‘60s and ‘70s and does a star turn on several hard rockers, giving his namesake a real run for the money.

Richard and Karen: The town’s effervescent carpenters and brilliant songwriting team, age 25. Richard: a brilliant composer, orchestrator and keyboard player with a great ear for melody. And Karen: who’s rich alto voice brings down the house on several numbers and breaks our hearts when Julia and Tom are separated by time with a stunning rendition of “Superstar.”

Caroline: Beautiful hippie chick and Sam’s girlfriend who runs “Incense & Peppermints,” the town’s psychedelic bakery and candy store, age 25. Sweet as can be and always on a high, her legendarily potent cookies include Purple Haze, Good Day Sunshine, Black Magic Woman, Cinnamon Girl, Crystal Blue Persuasion, Vanilla Fudge, Ruby Tuesday, Orange Blossom Special, Mellow Yellow, Jackson Brownie, Savoy Truffle, Cool Cherry Cream, Nice Apple Tart and Ginger Sling with a Pineapple Heart.

Buck Clayton: Former Confederate Cavalry Lieutenant under Taggart who helped murder Emma’s family, age 45. Sees Emma (played by Julia) in Dixie’s Saloon and rides back to Carson City to warn Tyrell. As Tyrell’s No. 2, he leads a gang of four other ex-Rebs who work on Tyrell’s sprawling ranch and also participated in the atrocity. Committed to protecting Tyrell, but wary of tangling with Emma and Silver Spring’s ex-Union Lawmen.

Dixie Belle: Feisty, strong-willed proprietor of Dixie’s Saloon and Deputy Will’s girlfriend, still beautiful at age 45. An excellent actress, she performs several key scenes with Emma as Rick Howard and his crew shoot their movie, questioning the steely-eyed gunslinger’s thirst for revenge and warning her not to bring trouble to the peaceful town of Silver Springs.

Ransom Stoddard: Silver Spring’s venerable attorney and wise man, age 65. Like Dixie, Stoddard plays several important scenes with Emma, first when she tells him she’s going to gun down the men who killed her family and needs a good lawyer, and later, after Emma miraculously guns down Tyrell and his gang in the movie’s climactic scene, Stoddard delivers a passionate speech to the jury in her defense.

Henry and Becky: Sheriff Tom’s kids, age 10 and 8. Both whip smart and love it when Tom quizzes them in history and geography every night at supper. They take a shine to Julia when she comes into the picture and as their love starts to grow, Becky steals the show asking Julia if she’s going to marry their Dad because he really needs a wife and they really need a Mom. And when Tyrell takes the kids hostage, Julia goes full Emma Cartwright in a gunslinger tour de force.

The Orchestra: Silver Spring’s own Pet Sounds orchestra of 30 crack musicians, capable of playing anything. Rock, pop, country, ballads. You name it, they own it. Under Richard’s and John Elton’s direction, every song is performed live and shines like a diamond with horns, brass, woodwinds, strings, guitars, fiddles, keyboards, percussion, drums, bases…There’s never been an orchestra like it, and Brian Wilson would be proud.

The Hippie Choir: Like the Broadway production of HAIR, 30 beautiful, high-spirited voices in love with life and capable of singing anything. Under Jack Flash’s direction, they let it fly and go up, up and away in song after song, all performed live and often surpassing the originals. And when Tyrell’s gang threatens the town, the hippies grab their Winchesters. Because the one thing everyone should know is that Silver Springs is no ordinary town. They sing sweet and shoot straight – and they never miss.

SYNOPSIS:

After a stage-setting newscast about the raging wildfires and life-threatening smoke smothering the West, we move to Hollywood where studio mogul Hannah Gold refuses to give into the crisis. Her blockbuster Western SILVER SPRINGS is ready to go and must be shot in America, and with time running out and millions at stake, she calls in a breathtaking IOU.

Meanwhile, star actress Julia Stone is in a funk. At age 40, her career has hit the skids, her marriage is on the rocks and SILVER SPRINGS, her big comeback movie, has been postponed indefinitely. Her agent Sid Stein tries to soothe her, but Julia’s forlorn. Everything’s gone to hell and she’s not getting any younger. Suddenly Sid tells her that Hannah’s pulled some huge strings and SILVER SPRINGS is ready to roll.

We move back in time to 1880s Nevada and enter the small town of Silver Springs, a peaceful oasis in a violent time 50 miles south of Carson City in the middle of nowhere. But Silver Springs is no ordinary town. It’s the Woodstock of the Wild West, filled with actors and musicians and singers who love to get high and play music from the 1960s and ‘70s and is home to funky venues like Alice’s Restaurant, James Tailors, Who’s Next Barber Shop, the Fillmore West and the Hotel California.

Up on Rock Ridge, a grizzled old prospector named Gabby sees a huge C-130 land in the flatlands. Terrified and having no idea what it is, he giddy-ups his mule and warns Sheriff Tom and his laid-back Deputies Will and Sam that the Martians have landed and they’re going to eat the town. The lawmen – all ex-Union soldiers and awfully hard to ruffle – tuck Gabby in a cell with a bottle of whisky so he won’t alarm the town and ride off to investigate. They reach the crest of the ridge, look down and see exactly what Gabby saw. Except now there’s 20 people milling around wearing shorts and t-shirts, looking like nothing they’ve ever seen.

But at least they don’t look like Martians, so the lawmen ride down, stop 200 yards away and fire a shot to get their attention. The actors assume they’re location scouts, but director Rick Howard and Julia know better. Rick trots up full of enthusiasm, introduces himself and says they’ve come from the future to make a movie. The conversation is fascinating as Rick explains what a movie is and the lawmen wonder how anyone can travel through time. Rick doesn’t know himself, but says his boss got permission from the President and here they are. Rick seems pleasant enough and the lawmen see no harm, and when Julia joins them, the attraction between Tom and Julia is electric and the lawmen invite them to stay and make their movie.

But there’s a problem. While the small production crew agrees to stay, when Rick and Julia tell the cast they really ARE back in the Wild West, the actors revolt (“No cell service! No internet! Indians!!”) and demand to go home. As the plane flies off, Rick and Julia are bereft. But the lawmen tell them Silver Springs is full of actors and talent and Rick soon has a great cast and a ready-made set at his disposal. They develop a cover story (“We’re from New York and we’re doing a play, and the whole town’s the set”) and they’ve brought plenty of period clothes and costumes to fit in. And knowing there wouldn’t be electricity, Rick and his inventive DP Dave brought 200 phones to serve as cameras, which they’ll set up all over town with generators and power supplies to keep the equipment running. It’ll be a challenging shoot, but if anyone call pull it off, it’s Rick.

Julia and Rick fall in love with the town’s ‘60s vibe (“It’s like Woodstock!”) and the Sheriff’s Office is perfect for several key scenes in the script. They gorge on potent cookies at Caroline’s psychedelic bakery, visit the hippie commune with its teepees and hot air balloons and are invited to the Friday Night Jamboree, where the whole town gets together to sing and rock out. When Tom leaves Julia at the Hotel California to go home to have supper with his kids, Julia is momentarily crushed. But when he tells her he’s a widower and single Dad, the spark of romance that’s been building starts to flame.

The movie starts filming as Julia, playing the cold-eyed gunslinger Emma Cartwright, rides slowly into town like an angel of death dressed like Clint Eastwood in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. She enters the Sheriff’s Office and tells Tom, Will and Sam, playing themselves, that she’s come to kill five men who murdered her family. The scene is tense and beautifully done, and when Emma tells them it happened 20 years ago during the Civil War, we dissolve into a gripping flashback.

1862: A farm in Virginia. Fifteen year-old Emma is having supper with her father and four older brothers when a Confederate Cavalry troop led by Maj. Jack Taggart and Lt. Buck Clayton ride in and demand Cartwright’s sons join the fight. Cartwright refuses to turn his sons over and when tempers flare, the Rebs shoot Emma’s father and brothers in cold blood. Emma is spared, but her eyes bore into Taggart and Clayton, sealing them in her memory and her in theirs.

Emma teaches herself to shoot, slowly but surely becoming a crack shot. Now a grown woman at 21, Emma stands in the corral with twin revolvers on her hips and a dozen bottles arrayed around the fence. She drops her head and grows perfectly still, then quick-draws her guns, spins in a circle like a slow-motion dancer and fires 12 shots, blasting each bottle to shards. Knowing she’s ready, she rides off wearing a black short brim hat and tan duster to wreak her revenge.

A map of the US with a red line tracks her progress as she slowly moves west, hunting her prey. Danville, Nashville, Dodge City, Waco and Tombstone - each town punctuated with a gunshot and starburst – followed by dirty handwritten note with ten names on it, the five at the bottom crossed off and five to go with Taggart’s and Clayton’s names at the top.

We return to the Sheriff’s Office, where Emma tells the mesmerized lawmen “Five down, five to go. Fifteen years of hell an’ high water but I’m still standin’ and half of them ain’t. Better for you if you don’t get in my way.”

Over drinks at Dixie’s Saloon, the lawmen tell Rick and Julia that it’s a great story and rings true in every way. And when Sam asks if Emma finds the remaining five Rebs who killed her family, Rick and Julia smile and say, “Oh, yeah.”

Filming continues with several key scenes involving Emma, then the whole town gathers at Strawberry Fields for a crazy old school baseball game that’s like the Keystone Cops playing the Bad News Bears. After the game, Tom and Julia have a cozy family supper with Tom’s kids where the precocious Becky hopes they get married “because Dad needs a wife and we really need a Mom.” Unable to hold their affections back any longer, Tom and Julia make love under the stars, sealing their devotion forever.

Filming continues in the saloon with a scene between Emma and Dixie sitting at a table in the back. But standing at the bar is Buck Clayton, now 45. He catches a glimpse of Emma and remembers her stone cold eyes from when they murdered her family. He asks the bartender who she is and the bartender, thinking it’s all part of the script, tells him it’s Emma Cartwright, who’s come west to kill the men who killed her kin during the war. Clearly rattled, Clayton rides north to Carson City to warn Taggart.

Suddenly fiction becomes deadly fact. Taggart, who’s changed his name to Jackson Tyrell and become a powerful nativist rancher running for Governor, knows his political future is over if the atrocity gets out and decides to take Emma off the board. He and Clayton and their four ex-Rebs ride down to Silver Springs and demand the lawmen hand Emma over. But the lawmen, who’ve been told the story is fiction and know Emma is really Julia, refuse to give her up. Civil War blood boils over and the lawmen throw Tyrell’s gang out of town, knowing this is far from over.

Julia and Rick are shocked when they hear what’s happened. Rick swears the script is fictional and Julia’s furious because Emma Cartwright’s not real. But Tom says none of that matters. “You’re real as far as he’s concerned, and he wants you dead.” Tom says it’s up to Tyrell what happens next. If they come back, they gloves will come off. But for now, all they can do is wait.

That night, the four ex-Rebs gallop in with guns blazing, throw a paper-wrapped brick through the Sheriff’s window and set fire to a store across the street. The townspeople fight frantically to keep the fire from spreading and Tom, Will and Sam almost die battling the flames. The next morning, they find the paper-wrapped brick with the note that says, “Give us the girl or we’ll burn the whole town.” The towns-people demand to know who the desperados were and why they shot up the town. Tom knows if he tells the truth, the people will insist that Julia and Rick leave, which Tom doesn’t want. So he spins a story about “some people in Carson City not liking our music or the fact that we like gettin’ high,” which unites the town in common cause. Tom says the lawmen will teach the desperados a lesson, reminds them of their motto “Sing sweet and shoot straight” and tells them to prepare for war.

In a daring airborne assault led by the lawmen and the hippies, five hot air balloons sail north and drop dynamite bombs on Tyrell’s Double T Ranch, terrorizing Tyrell and killing several men. The gloves are off and now it’s a fight to the death.

The hippies and townspeople, all armed with Winchesters, take positions on the rooftops as a balloon flies overhead to scout. Julia wants to fight, but Tom won’t risk it. After a furious argument, Tom orders the Deputies to take Julia to her hotel room and tie her to a chair.

Tyrell and his Rebs and a gang of 60 gunmen gallop south. The balloon sees them coming and sends the signal. As Julia struggles to free herself, Tom’s housekeeper trips and falls and Henry and Becky jump in a wagon to get the doctor. The gunmen gallop into town and as Tyrell and the Rebs drop back, a hundred rifles open fire and start mowing them down. As the slaughter continues, Tyrell sees the wagon with Becky and Henry approaching and takes them hostage.

Sixty gunmen lie dead in the street. Suddenly Tyrell, Clayton and the four Rebs ride in slowly with Tyrell holding a gun to Becky’s head demanding Emma Cartwright. A hundred rifles fall to the street. Suddenly Emma Cartwright steps from the Hotel California and swaggers towards the Rebs, demanding they release Becky.

Becky runs into the saloon as Emma stops 40 feet away. Venomous insults slice like knives and as Tyrell and the Rebs dismount and surround Emma with guns leveled, Tyrell says he’s “gonna do you like we did your kin, then burn this town to the ground and everyone in it.” Emma drops her head and stands perfectly still. Suddenly she draws her guns and spins in a circle like a slow motion dancer. Twelve shots ring out and when it’s over, Tyrell, Clayton and the four Rebs lie in the street looking like the most surprised dead men you ever saw.

Tom, Will and Sam stare in shock. Rick does too – but for a totally different reason. Julia just did the climactic showdown scene exactly as written: script perfect and without missing a beat. It’s the most courageous performance in movie history – and maybe of all time.

With the town now safe, filming concludes with Emma’s murder trial. The jury finds her not guilty and when Tom awkwardly proposes they get hitched, Emma accepts.

Back home in LA, a heartbroken Julia sits on the beach watching the sun go down as an equally heartbroken Tom sits on the crest of Rock Ridge as the sun sets over Silver Springs. Two years later, Julia wins her third Oscar for SILVER SPRINGS and during her acceptance speech, the tears flow freely. Hannah Gold offers Julia a three-picture deal worth $100 million, but Julia interrupts the pitch and tells Hannah she’s got to go back.

Julia returns to the town she loves and everything looks the same. But as she walks down Main Street with a small valise, she stops suddenly and stares in shock. A beautiful life-sized statue of Emma Cartwright stands on the exact spot where Emma gunned down Tyrell and his Rebs, saving the town from destruction. The statue captures Emma in all her glory, from her steely gaze to her flat brim hat to her faded poncho to the twin six guns on her hips. And as Julia stares at Emma with pride and wonder, a feeling of love washes over her like she’s never felt before.

Channeling Emma for the last time, Julia enters the Sheriff’s Office and in her steely gunslinger’s drawl, asks a shocked Tom Rutledge if he’s “still a-hankerin’ to get hitched.” Tom is definitely still a-hankerin’ and Henry and Becky are thrilled Julia’s come back to be their Mom. The two star-crossed lovers from world’s apart tie the knot in a boisterous ceremony and in a huge production number, the whole town sings and dances down Main Street and into Dixie’s Saloon for the wildest party the Wild West ever saw.

But the show’s not over. With Julia front and center, the Silver Springs Orchestra, Hippie Choir and cast return for a blistering three-song encore that brings down the house.

Commercial Appeal:

Compelling Themes: The collision of past, present, fiction and fact. The guts to take on a job and see it through - no matter what. The universal magic of music and the power of love across time. A unique and exciting addition to the burgeoning western genre driven by the recent popularity of YELLOWSTONE, 1923, 1883 and HORIZON.

Incredible Cast: Dynamic and compelling mix of present day and Wild West characters each with their own distinct personalities, goals, desires. A female lead playing two roles that become so entangled she can’t tell them apart as she shocks and surprises us at every turn.

Cinematic Settings & Songs: Breathtaking battles, stunning locations, sweeping vistas and wondrous revelations that bring the grandeur and passions of the Wild West to life like never before. Plus amazing live performances of pop and rock classics from the ‘60s and ’70s that capture the mood, define the moment and bring joy and dimension to the story world as it unfolds.

Marketing Potential:

With the profound resurgence of westerns driven by the popular success of YELLOWSTONE and its spinoffs, SILVER SPRINGS should do very well in the burgeoning genre based on the strength of its unique story world, its exciting mix of modern and Wild West characters, its powerful slate of LA LA LAND-like musical performances and above all, its compelling portrait of a brave woman who viewers will root for and cheer as she battles against impossible odds to make a movie she believes in and hold on to a love she can’t bear to lose. It’s a golden project with a tremendous upside and has all the makings of a huge international hit.