"Nutshell" News

December 1998: Well, the script reading of "In A Nutshell" has come and gone and I would say that overall it went well. There was some good feedback from those that attended and I feel confident that the script is sound and will only need some minor tweaks in order to prepare it for production. This is very encouraging, especially since it really hadn't gone through too many rewrites prior to the readthrough. The feedback from people that I spoke with is that they could see it clearly as a movie, which makes it easier to take it to the next level.

What is the next level? The next level will be taking it [ IN A NUTSHELL] into production, but when and how will all depend on the response I am able to get from "Damaged Goods". I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: October 4, 1998. "In A Nutshell" has been selected as a finalist in the Telluride IndieFest script competition. The script competition is part of the Telluride IndieFest film festival which is held December 4-6th of this year in Telluride, Colorado.

A Screenplay by Jason Francois

In A Nutshell was born out of a desire to combine strong creative elements, controllable, yet exciting environments and commercial appeal in order to make movies that stand out from other films and even more among monetarily challenged films. The core of the writing is strong characterizations and odd comical timing laced with a slightly twisted view of the world around us. In a Nutshell takes a wacky premise and infuses it with enough reality and mental chaos to keep the viewer or reader locked on until the end, leaving them satisfied that they haven't spent two hours to be handed another predictable ending. Instead they are left satisfied that the conclusion is one that fits the characters and rewards their intelligence as well as opening questions, in their minds, about guilt and the line between sanity and lunacy.

With many hidden psychological elements and what can only be described as intelligent-absurdist-word play, In a Nutshell delivers a film that is both simplistic on the surface and complex enough for those that must find the hidden meaning to ponder over for weeks.

In a Nutshell is a wickedly, amusing comedy for a broad audience range. It has a small and harmless connection to a criminal element. It has a hint of love and warm fuzzies, as well as a lot of head-butting confrontation and, oh yeah, lots and lots of psychotropic drugs, which have a tendency to play with the minds of the clinically sane.

That said, it would be fair to call In a Nutshell a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for the nineties or a Cuckoo's Nest for those with short attention spans.

THE WORLD OF In A Nutshell

The world of In A Nutshell is that of an old, but functioning, time-worn institution. A world in which sunshine is a luxury often forgotten or unnoticed by it's wonderfully insane residents. Look past it semi-foreboding exterior, past its barred windows and secured hallways and you will find people like yourself in every way, except for the fact that they have long since crossed the line between sanity and lunacy.

The world of In A Nutshell is a world at which the uninitiated may scoff or pass off as harmless; a mistake which could easily push one over the previously mentioned line, never to return.

This is the world in which a trained killer is about to enter and begin his most daring mission, a mission which could cost him the remnants of his sanity.

THE SYNOPSIS

In A Nutshell is a dark-comedy, feature about a hitman named Antonio who is sent into a mental institution to find the whereabouts of a large quantity of stolen diamonds, but finds instead that the line between sanity and total lunacy is not to be taken lightly. Antonio's boss, Mr. Little, devises a master plan to find out whether Colin, the now catatonic diamond thief, really has gone crazy over the retaliatory murder of his wife or if he's just "hiding out". Undaunted by their lack of an "inside man", the decision is made to institutionalize Antonio with the mission of making Colin give up the whereabouts of the stolen diamonds. Antonio is to follow out his mission and "terminate" the thief for his wrong-doings and then be released. A simple plan except for a multitude of problems that arise. The first is an annoying busybody named Thierry, who acts as the story's manic tourguide and quickly lands Antonio in "hot water". Secondly, the doctor that was "muscled" into admitting him is missing-this is also the doctor that was to release him. Thirdly, Antonio, new to this environment is subjected to a barrage of psychotropic drugs which send him into a downward spiral of drug-induced psychosis from which he may not recover. Although he is drugged and confused by his surroundings, Antonio continues haphazardly towards what could be his final mission, to kill Colin, accidentally killing one of the institutions cherished residents in the process. In the wake of such problems and in the midst of such a volatile environment, he finds a dysfunctional camaraderie that the life of a hitman would never afford him. His original mission becomes a side note to the fear and guilt that is developing, guilt over that which he does so well; kill, and fear of a creator that he is certain is out to get him. He finds little comfort in the keepers of his "old world" that have all but abandoned him in his new home away from home due to their own pressing problems.

Through Antonio's drug-induced neurosis and Colin's silent guilt, we see changed occurring in the characters as they try to hold onto the sanity they have while searching for some type of redemption for their inner pains. Evolving through multiple plot twists and a myriad of wacky supporting characters and events, the movie culminates in a surprising twist and a unique character transformation that makes a strong statement about guilt and its effect on the human mind.