the pathfinders synopsis june 14
TRANSCRIPT
8/12/2019 The Pathfinders Synopsis June 14
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U TOPIA PICTURES Vancouver, B.C.
The Pathfinders
light comedy adventure
STORY
pompous English travel writer and a down to earth American test car driver set out from Halifax in 1912 to
be the first to drive across Canada and win the grandprize. They face seemingly insurmountable obstacles as there is noroad. But by far the greatest obstacle turns out to be each other.
It’s 1912 and there is no road that connects all of Canada. ABritish Columbia politician thinks this is a national disgrace andoffers a prize to the first travelers to navigate the country by car.
Thomas Wilby, 45, a pompous English travel-writer takes up thechallenge. He persuades the Reo Motorcar Company to supply
him with a car and driver, Jack Haney, 23, a down-to-earth American mechanical whiz. Wilby knows nothing aboutautomobiles, has a lousy sense of direction and significantly,doesn’t drive. But, at Halifax Harbour, Wilby demonstrates hisskill at self-promotion, filling a flask with Atlantic seawater, tellingthe press he will upend it in the Pacific.
As Wilby needles the Yank, treating him like a servant and fails tocontribute anything tangible, Haney’s ardour for the adventureflags. Feuding escalates, danger too. Barriers to travel are barelysurmountable. Only Jack’s ingenuity gets them through. Jackrealizes he should have taken his sweetheart’s advice and never set-off. Wilby’s doubts grow too. At Lake Superior there is no road.The battered and dispirited Brit wants to quit. But both men digdeep and continue battling nature, doubts, and each other. Jackfinds resources he never knew he had, and becomes a man. Wilbytrudges on, shamed by Haney, but gaining respect for him. Eachhas their eyes on the prize, yet even when that seems to be slippingaway they still display a dogged determination to complete theirodyssey.
When the mountains of British Columbia appear, both menbriefly put away their enmity as they face life-threatening hazards.But as the goal draws close, the spoils seemingly within reach,greed raises its ugly head - suddenly it’s every man for himself.Finally, months after the journey began the pathfinders drive theircar onto Kitsilano Beach. Wilby pours his flask of Atlanticseawater into the Pacific. They have blazed a new path across thiscountry.
DEVELOPMENT
Final Draft. Development funding provided by Telefilm Canada,The Harold Greenberg Fund and BC Film. Looking for co-producers, distribution and financing. Entertainment One (eOne)is interested in Canadian and International Disttribution rights.
UTOPIA BIO
Producer Elvira Lount and writer, director, producer LaurenceKeane are partners in Utopia Pictures, based in Vancouver,B.C. which has several feature films in development.
Elvira produced the dramatic feature SAMUEL LOUNT, thestory of her ancestor, a leader of the Canadian Rebellion of1837 who was hanged for treason. The film was produced inassociation with the CBC and received five Genie nominations(Canadian film awards). Elvira has produced over fiftydocumentaries including the award winning BABY CLOCK.She is a graduate of the University of London, England (BAEnglish, History and Philosophy) and has a background in allaspects of the media, having graduated from the MediaResources Program, Capilano College, North Vancouver.
Laurence was the director, writer and executive producer ofSAMUEL LOUNT and producer/writer/ editor of the sci-fimusical comedy BIG MEAT EATER, distributed by NewLine Cinema in the US and Palace Pictures in the UK. BIGMEAT EATER was hailed as one of the best pictures of the
year by British critics and has become an underground cultclassic. It was re-released on DVD by KOCH VISION of New
York. Laurence has written 16 screenplays and works as a storyeditor. He has an MFA in Film Business and Production fromthe University of Southern California School of Cinema in LA,a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from the Universityof British Columbia, and is a graduate of the Simon FraserUniversity Film Workshop. He has produced, directed, writtenand edited several short comedies and documentaries and workedas a newspaper photographer and book editor. He began hiscareer in the 1970s, at the NFB and the CBC.
June 2014 News
Utopia Pictures Ltd.www.utopiapictures.com
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