12:00, Thu 3rd – Thu 17th August 2017 at On Location in Cambridge
Summer Vacation
This is a feature film project. A young man from Chicago, who struck out on the London woman he can over to meet, takes a day trip to Cambridge, rents a bike, loses his wallet, meets 2 college girls on vacation. Drinking & biking. Will be shooting from an outline, no script. Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe in Grantchester Meadows.
I've written-directed none feature films, won Sundance, and shoot fast, with minimal crew. We will shoot the movie in two weeks, start date is flexible, dependent on the three leads. Mumblecore with a Cantabrigian accent.
BRIEF SYNOPSIS:
Joe lives a solitary life in Chicago. He strikes up an internet relationship with Melissa. She lives in London not online. Joe hates to travel but lured by lured by Melissa's invitation to visit, he decides to fly to London for a long weekend.
The awkwardness of meeting face to face the first time. There is tension as it is clear a relationship is not going to happen and he is there for two more days. Melissa sends Joe off on the train to Cambridge with her bicycle.
On the train Joe loses his wallet (but he doesn't realize this at the time).
Joe rides his bike around Cambridge, goes to a pub off Grantchester meadow for lunch. He sits across from two American women who are traveling together, Jill and Sophie. Jill is outgoing and strikes up a conversation with Joe. Jill and Sophie are buddies, but they are not getting along. When the bill coms, Joe realizes that his wallet is missing, and Jill pays for his lunch.
Sophie wants to press on, but Jill wants to stick around Joe as he makes phone calls to cancel his credit cards and rings up Melissa to report his dilemma. Melissa is at work and isn't very helpful, Jill offers to front the money for his train ticket back to London.
It is unspoken, but Jill (and Joe) want to ditch Sophie. Sophie is annoyed that Jill and Joe are hitting it off.
The bike ride takes them through Grantchester Meadows to the Newnham Riverbank Club, which they are surprised to discover is a naturist club, nude sunbathers with wineglasses in hand. Jill teases the somewhat prudish Joe to take off his clothes and go native. There is the comic tension of them both acting like it is no big deal to get naked in front of each other, feigning disinterest in checking each other out. Sophie is disgusted and leaves. Jill and Joe are glad to finally be on their own.
Jill and Joe continue their ramble through Cambridge, biking and drinking, biking and drinking, getting to know each other.
They take a punt out of the River Cam and as night falls, they get together.
It turns out that Jill (and Sophie) are also from Chicago, so there is the shockingly possibility that this relationship might actually go somewhere.
Jill gets back to the hotel late and Sophie is pissed.
Joe takes a late train back to London, and Melissa is annoyed that he is so late getting back. But when Joe enthuses about Jill, Melissa is jealous. The fact that another woman likes Joe makes him appealing to her. Melissa is competitive and she now wants to sleep with Joe, but Joe turns her down.
Joe lies alone on the couch again, but happily now.
The POV shifts to Chicago, where Jill is living with her boyfriend (which is why Sophie was disgusted).
Jill texts Joe, and they both set on bikes across Chicago, on collision course to get back together.