A Motion Picture Project

Mad Rocket is in development on the independent feature film Queen B, penned by award-winning writer-director, Sean Skelton. A dark dramedy set in Los Angeles and France in 1979, Queen B is designed to have a high production value in spite of its modest budget (≈ $5 million) in order to maximize its return on investment.

The following information and images are intended to outline and illustrate the general concept, story and look of the feature, and provide information about the filmmakers.

the feature

Main Characters

Finn Atwood

Finn Atwood (20s), the male lead in Queen B, works as an executive assistant to his grandfather, Harold, at his long-running B-movie production company in Hollywood. He’s also a struggling writer who’s penning a book of sorts about the history of B-movies, and his notebook entries serve as periodic narration throughout the story. He keeps an eye on his grandfather’s film productions, which are funded in cash with dirty money, and tries to keep them on track. However, Queen B is a story of when things go wrong. And the challenge for our young hero is, can he find a way to right the ship before the thing is swallowed whole.

Mia Taylor

Mia Taylor (20s), the female lead, is a force to be reckoned with but she’s also intensely vulnerable. A talented and popular child actress, Mia was nominated for an Oscar at age 20, but things have gone downhill since. Having fallen victim to the pressures of Hollywood fame, Mia developed a crippling drug and alcohol addiction, severely damaging her reputation. Now in her mid/late 20s, after multiple stints in rehab, she’s fading into the land of B-movies just as the industry itself is collapsing. Too proud (and afflicted) to take her current film project seriously, she has driven it off the rails, but her antics could end more than just her career.

Harold Atwood

The cranky and crooked, yet somehow lovable, Harold Atwood (80s) made a good living executive producing B-movies in their heyday. But that golden era has since passed and B-movies are on their way out, so Harold has succumb to laundering the mafia’s dirty money through his productions in order to stay in business. When things go wrong, he sends his young grandson, Finn, to France to investigate a derailed production. Although Finn eventually makes progress, the situation spins out of control and Harold’s increasingly poor decisions come back to haunt him, and all those in his orbit.

Dominic Greco

Cold-hearted killer and family man, the allergy-prone Dominic Greco (70s) has been tied to the American Mafia for most of his life. While his rank in the mafia is unknown, it’s clear he’s been entrusted with laundering his cohorts’ cash through third-party business ventures. Convinced that B-movies are a safe bet, he’s been “investing” in Harold’s films for about a decade without incident. However, public interest in B-movies has waned and when Dominic looks to Harold for reassurances, Harold chooses to lie to him instead. It’s a risky move and one for which Harold pays dearly.

Miles Bloom

The nerdy-cool Miles Bloom is Harold’s 1st executive assistant and has a passion for B-movies. However, he’s too flaky and unprofessional to handle his duties properly at the office and his hesitancy to inform Harold about a runaway production in France sends things into chaos. As a result, Harold must send Finn - Harold’s grandson and 2nd assistant - to clean up his mess, although Finn is younger and inexperienced. Harold does, however, send a nervous Miles to deliver a message to Dominic, their mafioso investor, which ultimately puts all their lives into a downward spiral.

Wrangler Bowls

Pot smoker and Reggae enthusiast Wrangler Bowls has been an assistant director on B-movies for many years and he’s seen it all, but nothing has prepared him for the likes of Mia Taylor. He has tried everything to reign in the insolent starlet and set his runaway production back on schedule, but all has failed. Finding no path forward, Wrangler and his crew have essentially given up on production and is waiting for something, anything, to happen. A trustworthy mediator, Wrangler tries to give Finn advice in dealing with Mia, but there’s only so much he can do.

Principal Location

The majority of Queen B takes places in a medieval French castle serving as the set of an American B-movie. Pictured below are images from three stunning châteaux, all located in the Loire Valley of western France, which together will serve as the interiors and exteriors of the castle.

The Château du Lude, Château de Brissac and Château de la Flocellière, which are all available for filming, will dramatically raise the production value of the film. Their gorgeous antique furniture and artwork - some of which date back hundreds of years - are production-ready for a 1970s story, which will save the production time and money by largely avoiding the need to furnish the film’s principal locations.

Importantly, the French government offers a 30% tax rebate (TRIP) for international productions, so the film’s budget will be stretched much further by shooting in France, while the film’s aesthetic will benefit greatly from its authentic and opulent French locales.

Look and Feel

Queen B will be shot with the look and feel of a European or arthouse drama while keeping a mainstream audience in mind. The three châteaux with their tall windows, along with the film’s numerous exterior scenes, will enable the extensive use of daylight, which will give the film a cooler/bluer look during the day. Similarly, the abundant source lighting (chandeliers, lanterns, candles) will be utilized at night for a warmer look, and may help reduce the number of movie lights. Darkness and shadows are welcome.

The acting will be naturalistic and understated, while the cinematography will be a mix of styles, shifting from obscure to lofty to handheld. Some scenes will have a cinéma vérité feel while others a smoother, more gliding aesthetic, including moments that represent the POV of the deceased entities - the previous owners who were murdered in the castle and whose spirits continue to inhabit the estate, albeit in an unthreatening manner.

Because of its minimal yet grand and aesthetically appealing locations, Queen B can be filmed relatively quickly while retaining a high production value, all in spite of its modest budget.

Comparable Films

While Queen B prides itself on having a largely original story, a few contemporary films with a comparable feel might be: Saltburn, Licorice Pizza, Lady Bird and Call Me by Your Name.

The closest in terms of budget, Call Me by Your Name - also about young Americans in Europe - was produced for $3.5 million and grossed $49.9 million in box office returns; Lady Bird was produced for $10 million and grossed $80 million; Licorice Pizza essentially broke even and Saltburn is a new film that has grossed $16.2 million as of December, 2023.

Brief Synopsis

On April 5, 1979, the largest B-movie production and distribution company, Allied Artists, went belly up - an unmistakable sign that audiences were looking for something different. The B-movie industry, as we knew it, was doomed. The story of Queen B begins on this day, and while it is the tale of a single film production, it serves as a metaphor for the eventual demise of the genre.

A darkly comedic drama (or dramedy) set in Los Angeles and France, Queen B is hardly a typical love story, but the arcs of its two central characters - Mia and Finn - lend credence to the old adage of opposites attracting. And while the references are subtle, there are occasional nods to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Act One

Queen B begins with Finn Atwood, a young assistant at a fledgeling B-movie production company in Hollywood, discovering a horror film his company is financing appears to have derailed. At the behest of his curmudgeonly 86-year old boss (and grandfather), Harold, Finn makes the trip to France where the production is filming in a medieval chateau in the Loire Valley.

Act Two

On location, Finn learns the beautiful yet troubled lead actress, Mia Taylor, is the crux of the problem. A fallen A-list movie star, Mia has lost her status in the industry because of her abrasive attitude and addictions to alcohol and pills. Finn confronts the flippant young diva, but his threats ultimately fail to influence her. Having contempt for the amateurish script and her talent-free costar, Mia regularly abandons the set, ruining the day's shoot. She has also moved into the chateau and forced the other cast and crew to stay at a nearby hotel, financially strapping the production. Worse yet, Finn learns the director has abandoned the film, and $40K in cash from the film's budget has disappeared along with him.

Against Mia's wishes, Finn moves into the castle, but the issues persist. However, with the help of boredom - and some mysterious entities - they soon begin to interact socially. Mia learns that Finn is writing a journal about B-movies and how they’ve effected his life and society as a whole. Against his better judgement, Finn allows an insistent Mia to read his work. He gathers that Mia is a misunderstood artist that found fame too early and has suffered as a result. 

Pressure mounts as we learn that the L.A. Mafia has been financing Harold's movies for more than a decade, laundering their dirty money through his films. Dominic, the mob's bag man, discovers the issues on the film and pays the missing director a visit at his home in the Hollywood Hills. The encounter spins out of control, leaving the director and his girlfriend dead, and Dominic badly injured. 

Impressed with his writing - a talent Finn did not know he had - Mia convinces a reluctant Finn to rewrite a scene in the pathetically bad horror script. She loves the results and agrees, finally, to cooperate with the production as long as Finn continues to rewrite the script. He agrees, and soon the long-awaited progress sparks a renewed energy on set. Unfortunately, back in L.A., an injured Dominic takes his revenge upon learning that Harold has lied to him while misusing the mob's money to cover the overages on the horror film.

Act Three

Mia invites Finn to dinner in the castle’s dining room. They share their secrets and Mia informs him that an elderly French couple that was murdered at the chateau has been interacting with her supernaturally, and Finn reveals he has had a similar experience. She takes Finn to their graves, located by the pond, where they discuss the inevitability of death. Finn admits that he has fallen for Mia. They project a classic French film on the castle walls - one of Mia’s favorite pastimes - and make love. 

Unbeknownst to them, an injured and betrayed Dominic has made his way to France, seeking the balance of the mob's squandered money, unaware of the recent progress that's been made on the film. Unfortunately for our heroes, even if Dominic was privy to this development, there would still be hell to pay.

THE TEAM

Contact

sean@madrocketfilms.com