Roaring Into The '20s

TONE & STYLE: A reimagined Gatsby Bond movie with all the action, high stakes, vainglorious villainy and unflappable courage you’d expect. But instead of 007, we have three highly individual and liberated young women who delight in danger and never say die. And while the tone is dark with menace, there are many hilarious moments of Jazz Age antics and blasé bon mots. The stakes are high, the music is hot, the fashions are fabulous and the pace never lets up in this rambunctious and wildly unpredictable story world filled with breathtaking action, gutsy heroics, witty humor and strong female agency & progressive values that will find strong traction with today’s audiences. The glitz and glamour of THE GREAT GATSBY, the sly upper class humor of JEEVES & WOOSTER, the gangster noir of THE UNTOUCHABLES and BOARDWALK EMPIRE and the greed is good ethos of WALL STREET and CITIZEN KANE combine in a thrilling, highly cinematic and cautionary tale of what can happen when a ruthless tycoon seizes power and turns back the clock to the good old days to “Make America Great Again.” STORY OVERVIEW: Europe is reeling from WWI. Fascism is on the rise, unemployment is soaring, Empires are collapsing and Britain’s women still don’t have the vote. But things are different in America. The Jazz Age is jumpin’, business is booming, the stock market’s soaring, the good times are rollin’ and The Babe is knockin’ ‘em out of the park. But someone’s about to pull the plug on the nonstop party, crash the market and bring the Roaring ‘20s to a roaring stop. And three liberated young women with a taste for Tanqueray and Tommy Guns will have something to say about it. The Jones Girls: aka The Countesses of Townshend. Ace fighter pilots, deadly as scorpions, seductive as Mata Hari, funny as hell and never far from a stiff drink, they saved England’s bacon in WWI and became the Realm’s greatest living heroes on the strength of their distinctive personalities, teamwork and complimentary skills. The girls aren’t superheroes and possess no magical powers. Instead - like Bond and Indiana Jones - they succeed through an inspiring combination of guts, brains, tenacity and guile. Their commitment to female empowerment and equal rights mark them as women far ahead of their time regarding social norms, sexual liberation, fashion sense and their often libertine lifestyle. Daring and formidable in an era when women’s rights are scorned, the girls make their own rules and never back down to anyone. Mo: The cool, sophisticated eldest sister, age 28. A bold and visionary leader who can see the future when no one else can. Champion of equality with a strong moral code, Mo sets the tone for the girls and has the final say in operational strategy. But she never suffocates her sisters’ individuality, giving them free reign to accomplish their mission in whatever ways they choose. Larry: The intellectual middle girl, age 26, whose love of literature, Shakespearean wit and knowledge of all things mechanical provide keen insights and surprising solutions to even the most challenging problems. Gives Scotty Fitzgerald the title for his new novel and encourages him to see it through because the Muse is a fickle mistress who needs time to reveal her charms. Curly: The youngest and wildest and girl of many talents, age 24. A wizard with weapons and one-liners whose powers of concentration are enhanced by large amounts of whisky. Rambunctious, hilariously funny and always up for a good scrap, her skills as a safecracker pay huge dividends. Out-toughs the tough-guy gangsters and teaches Legs Diamond a lesson that really sinks in. World War I is six years gone. Fascism is on the rise. At their ancestral home Fountain Abbey, Mo, Larry and Curly Jones – who saved England from Baron von Braun’s invincible Led Zeppelin in WWI and became the Realm’s greatest living heroes – are feeling adrift without a war to fight and an enemy to kill. Plus, they’re mad as hell. Parliament has dragged its feet on women’s suffrage and in an explosive meeting at Downing Street with new PM Stanley Baldwin and former PM David Lloyd George, the girls announce they’re leaving. The men are aghast! Who will protect Britain from its enemies?? But the girls are adamant. Until women are granted equality, England can bloody well fend for itself. Enlisting the amusing Chips Chippington – ex-war hero and the girls’ favorite companion – they pack their formidable arsenal of weapons, WWI biplanes and enough liquor to float a battleship and set sail for America, the new economic and financial master of the world. We arrive in New York, the Jazz Age's beating heart, where post-war America’s gone stock market crazy. From the richest man to the poorest shop clerk, everyone’s throwing every dime they can into the market – and no one seems to lose! But danger is lurking. Mr. Moneybags – a 350 lb. fascist titan and the richest, most ruthless man in America – has terrifying plans in store. At his fortress-like Wall Street headquarters, Moneybags decides to drive the market sky-high and then crash it to the ground, bankrupting the country and leaving every business and industry ripe for the picking at pennies on the dollar. And in the unregulated market of 1924, there are no laws preventing it. Meanwhile, Chips and the girls attend a huge party at Gatsby’s in West Ham, Long Island where hundreds of tuxedoed men and glamorous Flapper girls are dancing the Charleston and jumping in the fountain and hit it off with the handsome Scotty Fitzgerald, who’s writing a Jazz Age novel called “Long Island Lullaby.” The girls think it sounds like a pop song and when Larry suggests calling it “The Great Gatsby” after the wildly popular Great Houdini, Scotty’s eyes light up epiphany. Wayward young aviatrix and champion stunt pilot Amelia Earhart lands on the lawn looking for New Jersey and gadfly Bertie Wooster and his incomparable manservant Jeeves also arrive skulking in exile after Bertie’s latest cock-up, which has banned him from Aunt Agatha’s and Aunt Dahlia’s tables. Delighted to find some exciting new friends, Mo invites them all to spend the summer at their stately mansion across the bay “living like one big happy family in an East Ham sandwich” with a perfect view of Gatsby’s green light. Eager for a piece of the Jazz Age action, the girls open a hot club in Manhattan called “Mo’s” and though it's an instant hit, it’s across the street from Moneybags’ far more traditional club. Moneybags, Legs Diamond and his gang of thugs storm into “Mo’s” and in a hilarious snarling standoff, the girls out-tough the tough guys and Curly beats Legs to the draw. Moneybags vows revenge and that night, ten gangsters try to torch the girls’ mansion. But the Jones team is ready. And in a wild Untouchables shootout with Tommy guns, six gangsters are killed and four escape. But not for long. Larry and Amelia take to the air in one of the girls’ WWI fighter biplanes and with Amelia piloting and Larry on the guns, they track the getaway car through the wilds of Long Island and rip it to shreds. Suddenly the stock market crashes, bringing America to its knees. Banks close, men jump from buildings and millions go broke overnight. Moneybags starts buying stocks for pennies and soon owns every blue chip, radio station and newspaper in the country. His plan has worked perfectly and no one suspects a thing – except the Jones Girls, who know there’s only one way to deal with a power-mad despot. And when the "Mo’s" club is firebombed and gutted, Mo declares war on Moneybags. Desperate to save what’s left of the economy, Congress grants Moneybags unlimited powers to put the country back on its feet. Now Dictator in all but name and vowing to “Make America Great Again,” Moneybags starts printing Moneybucks with his face on every bill, offering 10 Bucks to the dollar. Moneybucks trucks appear in cities and towns hawking the plan and playing tinny music from the 1890s that drives people crazy. Moneybags blimps hover over Manhattan, martial law is declared, secret police are deployed, Draconian decrees are issued and curfews are imposed as newspapers and radio stations, all owned by Moneybags, spout his MAGA propaganda. And in the blink of an eye, the Roaring ‘20s come to a roaring halt as a fascist version of the 1890s takes hold. The girls know the only way to end this is to kill Moneybags and expose his power-mad scheme. Mo, Scotty, Amelia, Larry, Curly and Bertie scout Moneybags’ Citizen Kane castle on the Hudson as Chips and Jeeves visit a WWI surplus store. As night falls over the city, three Sopwiths flown by Mo, Larry and Curly roar in and in a thrilling display of balletic combat flying, shred the blimps and head up the Hudson. Guards at the castle gates are disabled by WWI knockout gas and Chips leads the team onto the grounds. Suddenly the Sopwiths roar in and open fire, blasting the castle and catching Moneybags, Legs and their gangsters by surprise. Moneybags hides in an underground vault worthy of Fort Knox and when the gangsters storm outside, they’re gunned down by Chips’s team despite Bertie’s asinine attempts at bravado. As Mo, Larry and Curly head inside to finish the job, Legs gets the drop on Mo – but Curly gets the drop on Legs and kills him. The girls find the vault and Curly, using her legendary safecracking skills, spins the vault open revealing a stunned Moneybags surrounded by billions in gold bars. As Scotty, ever the writer, types up a full confes-sion and signs Moneybags’ name to it, the girls march Moneybags to the edge of the swimming pool strapped with heavy gold bars. And as Chips, Jeeves, Bertie and Amelia watch, the girls shove Moneybags into the deep end and bid “The Great Fatsby” good riddance. A joyous nation celebrates the end of Moneybags’ Reign of Terror and as bells ring out and freedom returns to the land, President Coolidge thanks those unknown heroes responsible for Moneybags’s death, promises to get America back on its feet and vows to never let it happen again. But the visionary Mo isn’t so sure. “There will always be another Moneybags, and the next one will be worse.” As the Roaring ‘20s come roaring back and the parties return to Gatsby’s, the team stands at the end of the dock watching the green light across the bay. Scotty has finished “The Great Gatsby” and as he quotes the immaculate closing lines, everyone smiles except Bertie, who thinks it needs work. Chips throws Bertie in the bay and as the team heads up to the house for a batch of Jeeves’s incomparable martinis, they ponder the best way to kill Bertie and be rid of him forever. Scotty warns they’ll never get away with it, but the girls know better. “We’re The Jones Girls, Mr. Fitzgerald,” Mo says without a hint of irony. “We always get away with it.”