Pitch package, Deborah Jane and Jamie Burke

“Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera” is a pitch package created by Deborah Jane and Jamie Burke to attract interest and investors for a proposed film based on the “hip-hopera” Deborah Jane had created when she was a college student. The two collaborated to write the descriptions, hire actors and a photographer to shoot still images, and do background research aimed at persuading investors that this musical could become a successful film. You can use the markup tools to highlight and annotate this text for discussion.

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What Happens When a Story Goes Untold?

New York, 2013. Social climbing African-American executive LaShelle Robinson has finally found the man of her dreams, Todd Decatur, an adorable journalist … who just happens to be white. Not such a problem, this is the 20th century after all. However, as soon as he proposes, a strange haunting begins ! Night after night, LaShelle tosses and turns as an ancient spirit torments her dreams. Something is screaming through her family’s secret past to stop this interracial marriage. That something is her ancestor, the doomed slave girl Inka.

Louisiana, 1845. Inka, a beautiful African queen forced to be an American slave, is dragged towards a looming apple tree. An angry white mob beats her bloody and throws a noose around her neck – jerking it to its breaking point. She gasps. Eyes dart back and forth looking for someone, anyone to save her. As the jeers of the crowd get louder, Inka screams, “I will not rest until they pay for what they’ve done!” Even as the light is snatched from her eyes she vows an oath to reach her future bloodline…

Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera is a story told through hip-hop, song and dance. Hip-Hop music gives this powerful story a unique twist.

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Main Character Breakdowns

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[LASHELLE ROBINSON] FEMALE 27-35 AFRICAN-AMERICAN is a modern, ambitious financial planner working in New York City. She is estranged from her family and lives with her white fiancé Todd Decatur - the love of her life. Her worse fear is to end up unmarried and alone like her mother. But even as she excitedly prepares for her wedding, something strange and haunting just won’t let LaShelle marry Todd. LaShelle must travel back into her doomed ancestor Inka’ s past, disguised as a slave, to discover the story that has been swept under the rug for centuries - or lose Todd. But can LaShelle save Inka in order to save her marriage?

Role requires a strong musical actress, singer / hip-hop artist.

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[INKA] FEMALE 19-26 AFRICAN-AMERICAN, is a fiery slave queen full of beauty and promise. But her beauty is also her doom. For years her master Quincy watches her, trying to separate her from her husband Moses. Although she does everything in her power to avoid his advances, she cannot fight him off. When Moses is brutally punished, Inka attempts to sneak away while pregnant with her master’ s child - only to be captured as a runaway lave. She is lynched on an apple tree. But even past the gave she vows not rest until her story is told.

Role requires a strong musical actress, singer / hip-hop artist.

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[QUINCY] MALE 45-65 CAUCASIAN is the conflicted, powerful 1845 villain who changes the destiny of an entire family forever. He is a slave master and former traveling pastor, with lust and desires he can’t control. He’s trapped in the taboo attraction for his young black slave girl Inka. He wants to live by his Christian principles, but there is a fire within him that just won’t be quenched, causing him to do the unthinkable. His one act of lust would destroy an entire family.

Role requires a strong musical actor, singer.

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[TODD DECATUR] MALE 29-37 CAUCASIAN

Love is in the air when the dashing journalist Todd Decatur sweeps LaShelle off her feet with a tear-jerking proposal of marriage. Todd constantly asserts his love for LaShelle, rejecting any family or interracial hurdles in order to be with her. But when she runs from him at the altar on their wedding day because of a horrifying haunting, he goes on the adventure of a lifetime to discover the truth behind the haunting - and get his wife back from the time warp before it’ s too late.

Role requires a strong musical actor, singer / hip-hop artist.

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[ABIGAIL] FEMALE 35-45 CAUCASIAN is the dutiful wife of Quincy. She longs for his affection and attention but is constantly ignored. Her suspicions turn to rage when she realizes that he is infatuated with Inka, the slave girl right under her employ. Desperate to keep her man, she orders a pregnant Inka sold in the hopes of regaining her dignity and his love. But will she ever win the love of her husband?

Role requires a strong musical actress, singer.

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[MOSES] MALE 25-35 AFRICAN OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN PREFERABLY DARKER SKINTONE. Moses is a revolutionary and bible-literate slave carpenter. He inspires the other slaves to run to freedom. When his eyes fall on the beautiful Inka at a church meeting, he falls in love. But their love must be hidden. He marries her in secret and plans their escape. But when his wife is raped on his wedding night by Quincy, vengeance is the only thing Moses can see. In defense of his wife, Moses endures one of the most painful agonies a man can go through.

Role requires a strong musical actor, singer / hip-hop artist

A special thanks to the actors who modeled for Strange Fruit (in order of appearance): Tennille Hill, Karla Thurman, Grant Rosen, Benjamin Watts, Christie Hayes & Moses Mpanga. Thank you to our wonderful photographer Juni Banico.

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Character Relationship Dynamics [Lashelle, 2013]

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Nightmares haunt LaShelle as she prepares for her wedding.
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Her love for her fiancé Todd knows no barriers… yet.
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But the strange dreams and signs warn her not to marry Todd.
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She must travel through time to uncover the dark secrets of Inka and her family’s history.

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Character Relationship Dynamics [Inka, 1845]

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Slave queen Inka longs for her freedom.
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Moses teaches Inka how to read the stars. They plan to follow them to freedom after their wedding.
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But a jealous Quincy wants Inka all to himself.
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After death Inka’s spirit haunts LaShelle, trying to stop her interracial marriage.

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Character Relationship Dynamics [Quincy, 1845]

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Quincy keeps a journal of secrets.
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But he cannot quench his desire for Inka, no matter how hard he tries.
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Quincy destroys her husband Moses in the worst way… inside out.
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Consumed with passion, Quincy does not even see his pleading wife Abigail.

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Strange Fruit Production Team

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Deborah Jane, Creator: Deborah Jane is a screenwriter trained at USC Masters Screenwriting Program and at Stanford University. She originally wrote Strange Fruit: The Hip-Hopera as a play at Stanford. After an immensely successful run, and a plaque for artistic excellence, Deborah Jane decided to adapt the play into musical screenplay form. Deborah Jane is Bill Cosby Television Fellowship winner and a Disney Screenwriting Fellowship finalist. She has interned at several production companies, including Paramount, BET, Mara Brock Akil’s The Game, and TBS. In addition to screenwriting, she is a hip-hop recording artist and infuses her passion for hip-hop and theatre into her work.

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Jamie Burke, Producer: Jamie Burke is an actress and producer who has acted in independent films like “Close Call,” “The Garden” and the “The Pink Conspiracy.” She studied digital filmmaking in Paris. Before entering the artistic world she graduated from UCLA with an Electrical Engineering degree. She produced the successful Strange Fruit photo shoot, as well as several short films. Jamie Burke enjoys Brazilian martial art Capoeira in her spare time.

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Undenyable Muzic and Motion Picture Group: Executive Film and Music Producers: Pave Diamond, Perry McBride

Undenyable Muzic and Motion Picture Group, LLC is a multi- faceted music label and motion picture company that promotes a positive universal message of love and unity. Undenyable is currently developing a hip-hop musical in conjunction with C/E Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. They are extremely excited to embark on Strange Fruit.

www.weareundenyable.com

Special thanks to our incredible producer Joseph Rubio, amazing interns Erika Harrell, Lulu DeBoer, and wonderful visual artist Todd Harris.

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America Loves Musicals!!!

With hit shows like Glee and Smash, musicals are becoming a bigger phenomenon and more popular than ever. Now more gritty and raw, musicals are used to explore many different elements of life. Strange Fruit is no exception. Using the most popular musical art form today, hip-hop, Strange Fruit bravely goes into uncharted territory through innovative means. Strange Fruit is a film that digs up the deep roots of our American past, discovering how slavery affects interracial relationships today. It’s a powerful and poignant film, full of music, drama, humor and passion. It’s aimed to be a musical sensation.

Sample Box Office Gross Comparisons

MOVIE COST GROSS
The Help 25 million 169 million
Dreamgirls 70 million 100 million
The Color Purple 15 million 98 million
Chicago 45 million 306 million
Back to The Future 19 million 350 million
Precious 10 million 47 million

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Why Now?

When movies with interracial themes are bringing in big box office dollars both stateside and internationally, as well as picking up academy awards (The Help), there is an increased desire for more of these films. America has experienced much transformation recently. With Obama taking office, the country has had to look even closer at the many implications of race relations – and the strange roots that they come from.

Strange Fruit is bigger than race. It’s about family; our immediate families, and the multi-cultural American family that we’ve become. It’s about pioneering into a shared past, uncovering dark secrets that have separated Americans for centuries. It’s about exposing the human drama of our past that still haunts us today. This is a story that brings the American family together in a deep and powerful way.

Using hip-hip music keeps this story fresh. Hip-hop culture is an international juggernaut that connects different races and cultures all over the world. It’s young, innovative, and socially stimulating. Packed with high-energy songs, big dance numbers, and socially conscious rap, Strange Fruit will bring in a diverse tent-pole audience that attracts both younger and older viewers.

Thank you for embarking on this Strange Fruit journey with us. We couldn’t be more thrilled for you to be involved in the creation of this film!

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