Travel Tips

Category: Romantic Comedy (Chick Flick)
Circa: Beginning of the new Millennium
Location: San Francisco, Paris, French Riviera, Florence, Venice, Milan
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (some adult content and explicit language)
Proposed Title: "It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better"

LOG LINE: After simultaneous breakups with their boyfriends, 3 American women decide to empty the "baggage" and run away for an adventure in Europe together. Little do they know their dreams of museum-hopping and shoe shopping would turn into a life-changing event filled with nights of glamour and glitz--from the streets of Paris to the Festival du Film in Cannes, and the model runways of Milan. The women go to Europe searching for the marvelous...but what they end up finding is the extraordinary.

Short Synopsis: Opening scene shows the 3 gal pals in the Theater District of San Francisco having their "last soirée" with their beloved (exes). They make a pact to "never look back" and the scene fast forwards to their arrival in Paris. We watch as the 3 friends, with 3 very distinct personalities, go through unpredictable twists and turns of the storyline and charm their way through the City of Lights meeting quirky characters along the way.
They travel south to the French Riviera and arrive just in time to attend the Cannes Film Festival where they are lured straight into the high power, high rollin' lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. After their first night out at the Film Festival, it's 3am and the ladies are stranded in Cannes with no trains operating, and taxis back to their hotel in Nice will cost them $200 minimum. While standing on the sidewalk and discussing their options, in walks a charismatic Frenchman who, in their eyes, was "heaven sent." He rescues the 3 friends and what follows thereafter is a hilarious chain of events.

What was supposed to be a casual 2-night stay in the Riviera to visit the Palace in Monaco and the beaches of Nice, turns into a 4-night stay where each of the women have their own very colorful "story to tell." We get 3 different stories from 3 different points of view--From being whisked away to a private villa in the hills of the Riviera, to the VIP treatment at the private film parties, to meeting a Norwegian Decathlete and his entourage of 20 male models from Milan, who are hosted in Cannes by a famous Italian entrepreneur millionaire. Friendships quickly blossom amongst the 3 women, the Frenchman, the Decathlete, the male models and their never-ending flow of champagne, as they engage in hilarious episodes and profound banter at the Film Festival parties.

After the time spent in Cannes, the women hop on the train to recuperate in Italy. Their trip to Venice is cut short by an invitation to visit Milan through the "eyes of the Model Boyz." The sequence of events that follows takes the women through a whacky "day in the life" of a male model in Milan.
The trip ends with their last night in Paris and the ladies reunite with the charming Frenchman who rescued them in Cannes. The party doesn't end just yet, as he introduces them to his world of clothing designers and funky artists as they celebrate with a proper sendoff in the City of Lights, and they introduce the "3 Crazy Americain Girls" to some of the city's finest nighttime hotspots.

Exhausted yet glorified, the 3 women end their story reminiscing and giddy on the plane ride home, convinced that nobody back home would ever believe this incredible story...and all agree that this would make for an entertaining movie.

Comments: It's "Three Coins in the Fountain" for the new millennium...with a very sexy twist. I mean, what are the chances of meeting and bonding with a charming Frenchman, a gorgeous Norwegian Decathlete, and hot male models from Milan all on the same night...in the same city?! It's a true testimonial that only in spontaneity can we reinvent ourselves and be who we truly are.
It's the trip that coined the phrase, "It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better...."

Category: Epic Adventure
Circa: Thanksgiving 2002 to New Year 2003
Location: Nepal (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Ghorepani, Poon Hill)
MPAA Rating: PG
Proposed Title: Once Upon a Time in the Himalayas

LOG LINE: What happens when a "recreational hiker" from San Francisco decides she wants to trailblaze through the Himalayas? The story unfolds as she ventures out to this fabled land and meets up with a dashing young Adventure traveler who makes a stopover in Nepal as part of his Around the World journey. We watch as the kindred spirits develop their friendship along the trails of the Himalayas and captivate us with the incredible sights, sounds and tastes of this wondrous land and its people.

Short Synopsis: The scene opens during Thanksgiving Dinner where the young woman breaks the news to her parents and siblings that she's leaving on Christmas Day to trek the Himalayas. Being the youngest of the kin and having never pulled off this type of adventure by herself, she is prepared for backlash from the family convinced that they would try to talk her out of it. Instead, she is met with proud acceptance by the parents and jokes and cheering by the older siblings. There is a sense of relief at the moment, but then sheer anxiety sets in as she departs on Christmas day. Not knowing what to expect as she arrives at the airport in Kathmandu, she is greeted with sensory overload upon her arrival with the delightful clash of colors and noise that Kathmandu offers any weary traveler after such a long journey from home. The cacophony is soon mellowed out once she meets the handsome Adventure traveler as the bond between the two quickly develops.
Along with their Nepalese Trekking guide and porter, the pair take off on an adventure through the hills of Nepal and share intimate details about their very different lives and what brought them to this magical land.
Fast forward to New Year's Eve and the pair celebrate in the midst of snow and rain with the bottle of champagne that was stashed in the backpack and carried all the way through to the summit of Poon Hill.
The trip, and the life lessons she learns from this dashing Adventure traveler, proves to the young woman that in life there truly are no boundaries. Nothing is out of reach in this world. If you set your mind to it, you can accomplish just about anything----and it's the new experiences you encounter and the people you meet along the way that form the core of your soul.

Comments: This has the potential for including some of the most magnificent cinematography and footage of the Himalayas and the peak of Mt. Everest. Scenes include the dashing Adventure Traveler gazing off into the distance at the massive "Roof of the World" making a vow to one day conquer her.
Fast forward 4 years later and we are re-introduced to the dashing Adventurer as he takes his last step into thin air onto the majestic peak and proudly waves his country's flag, becoming the first ever Egyptian national to summit Mt. Everest.
(17 May 2007)

CONGRATULATIONS, DEAR PRINCE!!!

Subtext of the Plot: You just never know when you may find yourself in the presence of greatness.

Category: Road Trip Comedy
Circa: 2002
Location: Naples, the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, Capri), Rome
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (some adult situations and explicit language)
Proposed Title: 220 Steps
Celebrity Cameo Appearances: Denzel Washington, Gwen Stefani, Gavin Rossdale, Mariah Carey, and John Tesh (John WHO?)

LOG LINE: When 4 friends decide to rent a villa in Positano, Italy for some R & R, a zany sequence of events follows them throughout their stay in the Amalfi Coast. A memorable holiday filled with laughs, celebrity sightings, and a fast-talking Italian playboy named, Raffaele.

Short Synopsis: Opening scene shows a quick vignette taking place at a spa in London where one of the four friends converses with her male masseuse about their world travels. He inspires her to "not miss out" on the Amalfi Coast and that she must go.....go soon!
So fast forward to 6 months later and the woman drags her friends through planes, trains, and automobiles to get from San Francisco all the way to Positano, Italy. The story follows the friends as they make their way to the southern coast of Italy and immediately engulf themselves in the warm culture and all the colorful local characters.
Their hilarious adventures start to escalate during their 2nd night in town when they have a chance meeting with a "fast talking Italian playboy" who offers the crew (one at a time) a ride back to the villa on his 2-person Vespa. He soon becomes smitten with one of them and that leads to hilarious one-liners and inside jokes amongst the friends during their 2-week holiday as he quickly turns into the possessive Italian boyfriend to the object of his affection. The twists and turns of the story emerge as more friends fly in and join the party at the villa and footage of the crew is filmed as they sail up and down the coast and have chance encounters with celebrities along the way. (Drinks with Denzel, sailing and shopping alongside Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale during their honeymoon in Capri, and visiting Mariah Carey's favorite late night hotspot in the Amalfi Coast).

Comments: Some gorgeous footage can be filmed to showcase the beauty of Positano and the surrounding villages, and demonstrate everyday life on the island of Capri. The holiday teaches them a valuable lesson about the beauty of their friendship, understanding the richness of the Italian culture.....and how one should never try to hide from a possessive Italian boyfriend at 3am (otherwise he will never stop circling your villa with his Vespa!)

Category: Drama
Circa: 2005
Location: A village near Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
MPAA Rating: PG
Proposed Title: Tumaini (Hope)

LOG LINE: The story follows 2 friends as they decide to give up their luxury vacation and the comforts of home and set forth to live and work in Africa for awhile. They decide to experience their first time on African soil working as volunteer teachers hoping to teach young children the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic. Instead, what they soon discover is that they become the students and their students (and the people of Tanzania) teach them the fundamentals of some of life's most difficult lessons.

Short Synopsis: The story begins by following the 2 female friends as they plan out their next great European holiday to the Greek isles. With the vacation dates locked in, all that's left to do is decide on which fabulous islands they want to visit. After a tearful "reality check" during a heartfelt presentation on the plight in Africa, the 2 women decide to cancel their Greek escapade and turn their focus on the issues going on in Eastern Africa. With open minds and open hearts, they open themselves up to the people of Tanzania, and the life lessons begin.
Riveting and heart-wrenching footage of what goes on in the overcrowded and under-funded orphanages, schools, village medical clinics, and the push to get more African citizens aware of the HIV/AIDS plague and prevention. They become witnesses to the struggles a child in Africa has to deal with everyday just to survive.
It is during one of their last visits to an orphanage where they are introduced to the luminous baby girl with the "bright light in her eyes" who was abandoned at birth and cared for by the caretakers at the orphanage. They named her "Tumaini" which is Swahili for hope and she soon becomes the symbol of how one's smallest efforts can turn into something very powerful and incredibly positive. A lesson that we can truly change the world one person at a time.

Comments: The film travels through the early life of the little girl and the woman who makes it her life quest to make sure this little one doesn't get left behind. From her life in the orphanage, to the tormenting and corrupt rituals of the adoption process----and the "angels" who were sent to pull them through it----finally culminating into her life in America as an official U.S. Citizen, we are quickly enamored and mesmerized by this loving child who is as independent as she is strong, adaptable, and good-spirited.......and has never forgotten where her Swahili name "Tumaini" came from. It's a compelling drama and feel-good story filled with compassion and triumph over some of life's biggest obstacles and portrays how limitless and powerful the mother-daughter bond can be.

Category: Foreign Romance (French/English subtitles)
Circa: 2003 to Present
Location: North America, Europe, Asia, the South Pacific
MPAA Rating: Unrated (NR)
Proposed Title: Lightness

LOG LINE: A free-spirited and fiercely independent American girl meets a handsome and daring French Businessman and the collision of their worlds evokes a visually poetic adult fairy tale that spans several continents and several years. Soon after their first encounter in London and Madrid, he whisks her off on a trip around the world and helps her discover life beyond any self-imposed boundaries.

Short Synopsis Fate brings two people living on two different continents together and they soon find themselves in a tantalizing new world. She is American and he is French and they soon break down the language and culture barriers to quickly discover they have the same passion for life, and the same views on love, sex, fantasy, freedom, commitment....and "lightness." Both are looking at the world "in the same direction."
With their endless blend of wit and cheekiness, the two lovers engage us as they journey through some of the world's most exotic locations. We are the voyeurs to their exhibition as we witness their relationship evolve to the point which they begin to read each other intuitively...and push their limits of sensuality to its core. A fascinating, provocative film that forces us to think about what really matters most in life.

Comments: This story captures the essence of human relationships explored in depth with the backdrop of some of the most glamorous and exciting locations in the world: London, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Brugge, Tokyo, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, etc.....
From the arousing "other side" of Paris underground, to the uninhibited streets of Tokyo and the breathtaking islands of the South Pacific, it is a thought-provoking look at how two people from two different worlds transform their lives into a type of human poetry where no rhyme and no reason are necessary.