TURNCOAT

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me."
Hi, my name is Will Gilbey. I’m a screenwriter, film editor and director. Some of my past credits include: A Lonely Place to Die, Rise of the Footsoldier, The Wee Man, Boogie Woogie and Rollin’ With The Nines.
I’m looking to raise enough money to prep, shoot and complete TURNCOAT – a ten-minute short film that I’ve written. TURNCOAT will be the first short film I’ve directed since the multi award-winning ‘Father’s Day’ in 2009.

“Just the facts, ma’am.”
In the dead of night, two cops break into a house, drag the homeowner out of bed and slap the cuffs on. One of the cops watches the suspect whilst the other affects a search of the premises. But it’s not long before we realise these guys don’t have a search warrant and their motives are far from pure. As the stakes get higher the homeowner begins playing the two cops off against each other, leading to an explosive, bloody climax.

Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?
Betrayal, money and murder are the holy trinity of the noir thriller and they’re all present and correct here. These stories strip us right down to the core as human beings, revealing our basest fantasies and delving deep into our dark hearts. It’s regular folks doing bad things to each other in the dark: something that has made this genre a success time and time again – whether it’s the Coen brothers starting their careers with Blood Simple or Nicolas Winding Refn firmly cementing his with Drive. TURNCOAT is a fast-paced, edge of your seat genre story. The film hooks you in and doesn’t let go. There’s no respite, no easy choices: just ten minutes of breathless, adrenalin-pumping cinema.

“You got today and today only to show me who and what you're made of.”
So far Neil Maskell (Kill List, Nil By Mouth) is attached to play one of the cops. Neil is one of the most exciting actors in the UK - a huge talent and a veteran of the UK acting scene. We’re lucky to have him on board and I know he’s going to turn in a powerhouse performance.
There are two other roles to cast and both will by filled by established British talent. I am currently talking to a couple of very talented actors but can’t yet confirm their involvement so stay tuned for updates.
Michael Richard Plowman is going to be composing the music score. Michael has been creating award-winning and internationally recognised music for the past twenty five years (A Lonely Place to Die, Age of Heroes). He was nominated for Breakout Composer of the Year in 2011 by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA).

"There is no way you can perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork."
Every penny raised goes towards the TURNCOAT movie budget. This will cover hiring equipment, renting locations, feeding the crew, paying for their travel and expenses, post-production, visual effects, the sound mix, and finally, festival submissions. I'm not getting paid, neither are most of the people involved - we just want to create something we can all be proud of and make a success out of it.
What happens if more than the specified amount is raised? Everyone who donated will be invited on an all expenses paid trip to Vegas for… no, scratch that: Vegas is still a few years away. What we’ll actually do is put any extra money raised straight into the film to make it look and sound even better.

“You wanna go to jail or you wanna go home?”
Once it's finished, I'll be submitting TURNCOAT to film festivals and trying to create a really strong profile for the film. Once it has had its festival run, TURNCOAT will be put online for the whole world to see (although project backers will get to see it before anyone else, even festivals, via a super-secret online link).

"Who can trust a cop that won't take money?"
If you look over to the right of the screen you’ll see various options for donations. All will be received extremely gratefully and the rewards vary depending on how much you donate. There should be something for everyone. I’m going to thank you in advance since you will be helping to bring a really cool story to the screen. So… from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!

“I say what I mean, and I do what I say.”
Even if you don’t donate I’d be eternally grateful if you could spread the word. Facebook, Twitter, blogs – please do your best to get TURNCOAT out there. Anything you can do to help raise the profile of this campaign and get TURNCOAT financed and up on a cinema screen would be very much appreciated.