ONCE UPON A TIME
THE
IN SAN FRANCISCO
BLACK HATCHET
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - LOGLINE - SYNOPSIS - PITCH DECK
POSTER
DEV PITCH DECK
ONE-PAGER
THE BLACK HATCHET FEATURE SCREENPLAY
91 Pages
Action, Adventure, Revenge, Martial Arts, Thriller, Historic, Epic
Adult, Female, Male, Asian, Multicultural, Diverse
Based on real people, true stories and events.
LOG LINE
A GHOST VIGILANTE RISES FROM THE SHADOWS – TWIN BLADES PARCHED FOR JUSTICE, VENGEANCE IN HIS VEINS. WHEN HATCHET MEN SEX TRAFFICKERS ABDUCT HIS SISTER, A SCARRED COWBOY REBORN AS THE BLACK HATCHET CARVES A SAVAGE PATH, RACING AGAINST TIME TO SAVE HER BEFORE SHE IS SHIPPED TO SHANGHAI.
WHY THIS STORY
THIS IS A BIG, PULPY, PERIOD MOVIE WITH A REAL HOOK: A SCARRED BROTHER BECOMES BLACK HATCHET AND CUTS THROUGH SAN FRANCISCO’S CRIMINAL ABYSS TO RESCUE HIS SISTER AS THE CITY ITSELF BURNS. THE CONCEPT IS CLEAR, THE WORLD IS VIVID, AND THE CLIMAX HAS EVENT-MOVIE SCALE. THIS IS THE KIND OF MATERIAL THAT CAN SELL ON PREMISE IF THE BUDGET AND PACKAGE ARE DISCIPLINED.
TONE
HAUNTING. MYTHIC. EMOTIONALLY CHARGED. OPERATIC. EMANCIPATING. GOTHIC. INTIMATE. WILD WEST. A PRIMITIVE VENDETTA JOURNEY THAT FUSES BRUTAL ACTION WITH EMOTIONAL DEPTH, BALANCING PULPY SPECTACLE, HISTORICAL AUTHENTICITY AND MORAL COMPLEXITY AGAINST A LAWLESS BACKGROUND.
THEMES
AT ITS HEART, THE STORY IS A POWERFUL EXPLORATION OF JUSTICE VERSUS VENGEANCE, GUILT VERSUS VINDICATION AND FAITH VERSUS FURY. IT EMBODIES THE SACRIFICES THAT SHAPE HEROES AND THE UNBREAKABLE BOND BETWEEN BROTHER AND SISTER, PROVING THAT LEGENDS ARE NOT BORN, BUT FORGED THROUGH SUFFERING - AND THE HUMANITY THAT SURVIVES EVEN IN THE DARKEST TIMES.
WORLD
SAN FRANCISCO. 1906. THE BARBARY COAST. CHINATOWN. OPIUM DENS. GOLD RUSH TUNNELS. SALOONS. ALLEYS. MT. SHASTA CATTLE RANCH. CITYWIDE QUAKE AND INFERNO. A FEROCIOUS, VISUALLY STRIKING, RARELY EXPLORED PERIOD GLOBAL AUDIENCES HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE - SET IN ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST DANGEROUS UNDERWORLDS.
CREATIVE INTENT
“THE BLACK HATCHET” IS WRITTEN AS A FOUNDATIONAL ORIGIN STORY GROUNDED IN REAL EVENTS, WHERE VIOLENCE, LOVE AND SURVIVAL COLLIDE IN A COLLAPSING 1906 SAN FRANCISCO. IT BLENDS KINETIC ACTION WITH EMOTIONAL TRAGEDY TO EXPLORE HOW GRIEF CAN FORGE AN OUTLAW AND HERO. AT ITS CORE, IT IS ABOUT MERCY VERSUS RETRIBUTION AND WHETHER REDEMPTION CAN EXIST INSIDE A CULTURE SHAPED BY VIOLENCE.
VISUAL STYLE
PAINTERLY YET GRAPHIC, THE FILM DRAWS ON THE CHIAROSCURO OF REMBRANDT TO SCULPT FACES, ALLEYS, STREETS, DENS AND VIOLENCE WITH DRAMATIC LIGHT AND SHADOW. PAINTERLY YET GRAPHIC, NATURALISTIC PERIOD DETAIL, RICH TEXTURES AND CINEMATIC SCALE CREATE A TIMELESS ORIGIN MYTH SET WITHIN THE CRIMINAL UNDERBELLY, DESTRUCTION, SMOKE, FIRE AND CHAOS OF OLD SAN FRANCISCO.
STORY OVERVIEW
A SCARRED COWBOY IS TRANSFORMED INTO THE BLACK HATCHET AFTER HIS SISTER IS KIDNAPPED BY THE SHANGHAI GREEN DRAGON TONG SYNDICATE IN 1906 SAN FRANCISCO. AS HIS QUEST DESCENDS INTO THE CITY’S MERCILESS UNDERWORLD, HE BECOMES BOTH HUNTER AND HUNTED, CROSSING PATHS WITH TONG HATCHET MEN AND GREEN DRAGON ASSASSIN WHO TOOK HER. MEANWHILE, HIS SISTER FIGHTS TO SURVIVE CAPTIVITY AND RESIST HER CAPTORS. THEIR PATHS CONVERGE AS THE CITY ERUPTS INTO THE CHAOS OF THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRESTORM, COLLAPSING THE OLD WORLD INTO ASHES. IN THE AFTERMATH, VENGEANCE AND SALVATION COLLIDE IN A FINAL RECKONING THAT FORGES A LEGEND
BUILT FOR EXPANSION
“THE BLACK HATCHET” IS AN ORIGIN MYTH WITH A BRAND PRIMED ANTIHERO. A HIGH-STAKES, HIGH-OCTANE, MEDITATION ON GUILT, GRIEF AND DELIVERANCE PURPOSELY WRITTEN AS A NEW IP READY FRANCHISE IN THE MOST LUCRATIVE DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL GENRES - ACTION AND ADVENTURE. THE STORY AND SEQUELS LAUNCH TOWARD SHANGHAI AND A GLOBAL CRIME EMPIRE. PROOF-OF-CONCEPT COMICS SOLD OUT ON AMAZON AND AT COMIC-CONS. PLUS, MULTI-PLATFORM GROWTH AND INCOME POTENTIAL FOR GAMES MERCH, STREAMING AND EPISODIC TV.