POINT DUME is a powerful thriller set in the tumultuous world of Hollywood's hustlers and players. Tom Styles' (John Cassini) life is missing something -- he'd like extra money, extra sex, and extra excitement. In fact he'd like to be just like his movie producer boss Harlan Dix (Jack Klarr)...and when Harlan gives Tom his beach house for the weekend his dream is about to come true...or is it? It seems someone forgot to tell Tom that along with the money and power comes greed, deceit, and sometimes a touch of murder.

It all starts when Tom tells a 'little lie' to lure an innocent young woman (Tara Subkoff) to 'his' beach house -- trouble is she's not that innocent. Soon he's the target of an elaborate 'blackmail' scheme. Things escalate quickly to a murder and Tom is now a desperate man. It only gets worse when Harlan's wife (Adelaide Miller) shows up in black lingerie and $2 million of Harlan's stolen 'mob' money -- not to mention the 'dirty' cop (Joe Estevez) on her trail. It will take every trick ever devised in Hollywood to get himself out of that house.

A quaint seaside motel in Malibu. A beautiful woman, Gina Doran, is dressing. Movie mogul, Harlan Dix, is loading his gun and packing bricks of cocaine into a beach bag. The phone rings. It's an unknown caller telling Gina to bring the drugs to a secluded beach. Gina descends a dramatic staircase to the beach. A scuba diver mysteriously appears out of the surf and exchanges the drugs for two million dollars, cash. But, it's not that easy. As Gina heads back she's confronted by a beautiful, six foot, murderess who takes the money and pushes her two hundred feet to her death over a seaside cliff.

Later, we catch up with Harlan Dix at his office. He has asked his assistant, Tom Styles, to read the impossible sum of eight scripts for his weekend homework. To make things easier, Harlan has generously offered him the use of his posh, Malibu beach house, where he'll have some peace and quiet. Harlan and his wife will be in Laguna Beach trying to patch up their rocky, Hollywood marriage.

Tom leaves work early and arrives at the stylish home, where he immediately heads to the beach. It's a beautiful day and the scripts can wait. Soon he's approached by a gorgeous, wanna be starlet, Angela Wallis, who thinks she's meeting Harlan Dix, the famous movie producer. Tom plays along with her mistake and invites her up to "his" beach house.

We sense something's wrong when Angela unlocks the front door. During a wild session of lovemaking, Angela tries to strangle Tom with her bra. Close to death, Tom has the best sex of his life. Angela apologizes, says she sometimes just gets a little carried away. Her pimp, the sleazy Calvin Watkins, has now shown up and agrees. He thinks the sex was so good, that it's worth five thousand dollars, and wants to be paid. This whole thing was a set-up to blackmail Tom, but (not being Harlan) Tom doesn't have any cash. He struggles with Calvin, whose gun goes off, killing him.

Tom's freaked out and wants to call the police, but Angela persuades him to let her call Lucky, a lowlife hood who'll get rid of the body if Tom wires ten grand to an all night check cashing place. Tom doesn't have the money, but pretends to send it. He and Angela almost have the body outside, when someone pulls in the driveway. Scrambling to hide Angela, Tom runs upstairs and hides while the intruder fumbles around downstairs.

It's Carla Dix, Harlan's stunning wife, and the murderess from the beginning of the story. As Tom hides, he watches a drunk Carla, undress and notices that she's been beaten and bruised. She punches a mirror and collapses to the floor, crying hysterically, fist bleeding. Tom comes to the rescue and scares the hell out of her. She's a feisty woman who threatens to kill him with a bust of Beethoven if he doesn't explain things. Carla calms, as Tom explains. Carla says that she left Laguna early after her and Harlan had a fight in which he beat her. Desperate, she makes her move on Tom. Frozen in a weird moment of excitement and confusion, Tom falls under her spell.

Carla is now fast asleep as Tom goes to finish up with Angela. Carrying the corpse, they hurry across the highway to Calvin's car. Angela is off to deliver the body to Lucky for disposal. Tom goes back inside.

A dark and deserted stretch of the coast highway, Angela pulls off the road. She opens up the trunk and, you'd better believe it, Calvin is alive -- this was all a scam too. They're now headed to Lucky's, a run down road house, to split up the money. Lucky, a "used piece of spent trailer trash", is in no mood to celebrate. He never got the wire transfer, and since Calvin already owes him a great deal of money, he kills him. He forces Angela to take him back to this "rich movie producer's" house, he'll just collect it himself.

Tom is silently gathering his things while Carla sleeps. The doorbell rings. He has no choice but to quickly answer it. As he does he's caught by Lucky's mean "right hook," who proceeds to administer a severe beating. After seeing "Harlan's" wealth, Lucky pulls a gun and is now demanding $100,000. However, he's offering a deep discount; $10,000 dollars for each finger he cuts off Tom. He pulls out a large hunting knife and begins to hack into Tom's pinky when Tom screams out "I'm not Harlan!!!! I'm just an assistant!!!! This wakes Carla who comes down the stairs carrying a 9mm semi-automatic, looking very sexy in her black lingerie and tossled hair.

Since Tom still thinks he killed Calvin, Lucky and Angela want their money to get rid of the body and keep their mouth's shut. Tom is in trouble and Carla knows it. Lucky's not all bad however, he lowers his price back down to ten grand. Carla says she'll go to the bank Monday, but they'll have to stay the weekend. Tom and Carla tie them up, and stick them in the guest room, then go back to bed.

A quiet Sunday morning, Police Lt. McSorley is at the door and informs Carla that Harlan was found dead in Laguna Beach. She doesn't seem too upset, nor is she very good at answering the lieutenant's questions. McSorley warns Tom to stay away from Carla, "she's big trouble."

It's looking more and more like Carla killed Harlan. Tom demands an explanation from her. She confesses that Harlan was dealing drugs to support their lavish lifestyle, and he did most of his large deals with the police. McSorley is probably a bad cop looking for two million dollars that Harlan never showed up with. She says she's on her way to Mexico before they kill her. She warns Tom that he's in a lot of trouble, not only because he killed a pimp, but because he's now implicated with her. She begs him to run away with her. She thinks they could have something together and that she would be willing to take care of him. She hands him a small key and says it opens a locker at the airport that contains the two million dollars. She has the money after all. She only took it because she knew Harlan wasn't going to leave her with anything in the divorce. Tom says he needs a few minutes to think things over and heads downstairs for a drink.

Downstairs, McSorley grabs Tom at gunpoint, then Carla, shortly thereafter. He rounds up Angela and Lucky and wants to know everybody's story. Angela confesses that Tom really didn't kill Calvin and that it was just a scam; they're just a couple of small time grifters, and couldn't they just go home. McSorley confesses he's a bad cop, and wants his money. When nobody starts talking, he gets things going by killing Angela. On a weird power-trip he acts like John Wayne and shoots at Lucky's feet to get him to dance, then shoots him in the back. Tom's had enough. He confesses what Carla told him about the money. McSorley makes a phone call and waits for his partner to pick up the money from the airport.

Meanwhile, in Laguna Beach, a still alive Harlan, wakes up in a hotel bathtub, completely covered with blood. It looks alot worse than it really is. He's had a rough night of alcohol and beatings. He cleans up, grabs his gun, and is out the door.

Back in Malibu, McSorley's partner calls. There's no money at the airport. Tom now knows Carla is lying, and is probably setting him up. McSorley wants to know how each of them would like to die. Deciding on Russian Roulette, Tom gets his turn first. "Click", an empty chamber. Now it's Carla's turn. She takes the gun and immediately fires toward McSorley. "Click", empty. Before she can squeeze the trigger again, he shoots the gun out of her hand. After two more tries, it's Tom's turn again, and the odds aren't looking too good. Tom puts the gun to his head and closes his eyes. BAM! Noticing he's not been shot, he opens his eyes to a dead McSorley.

Standing at the door is Harlan, holding a smoking gun. Much to Tom's surprise, Carla and him are happy to see each other. Harlan apologizes to her for their fight then tells how McSorley showed up in Laguna looking for the money and started beating him. When McSorley asked who was smart enough to steal two million dollars from him, Harlan mentioned Carla. That's why McSorley showed up in Malibu. Carla denies it saying Tom stole the money and told her where it was. She can prove it and does by opening her suitcase full of cash. Hoping that Harlan will shoot Tom, she tells him that they were lovers. Harlan now points the gun at him. Tom says she's lying. Harlan could care less who's lying. What's important to him is that they love one another and they now have the money to enjoy it. As they kiss, Tom takes advantage of the distraction and picks up the revolver. Carla begins laughing. She notices that it's the gun with one bullet in it. Tom can only shoot once, then either of them would surely cut him down. Tom is checkmated.

Harlan lowers his gun and they begin walking out the door, headed for Mexico, then some Caribbean island. Tom can only watch as the two lovers get away with it all. He can't believe the treachery and double crosses he's just witnessed. Harlan says, "Don't knock it. We've lasted longer than most Hollywood marriages."

For further information, or a copy of the finished screenplay, please contact: Mark J Gordon / President, Wildcat Ent, Inc.

Wildcat Entertainment, Inc. Presents

POINT DUME

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Formerly a cinematographer know for his dark "Noir" moods in his lighting, Mark J. Gordon has turned his interests toward directing. Still sticking with his "Noir" roots he follows up his first feature "Sunset After Dark" with another dark thriller -- "POINT DUME."

POINT DUME was filmed mostly in the San Pedro area near Los Angeles harbor. Mark J. Gordon collaborated with cinematographer Bill Russell and production designer Amy Danger to select a wide array of unique locations that provide the ambience for this inventive story to embody. "We wanted the locations to have a 'not too polished' appearance since the story is about people who are all still climbing their own ladders of success," says the director. "The story is supposed to take place in Malibu but we shot most of the story in San Pedro because everything in Malibu is so sterile." The film was shot entirely on location - in real buildings and houses. "I think the audience can feel if you are shooting on a set or not, and since we were trying to create a very believable experience for Tom Styles, I think this choice proved to be effective."

Mark J. Gordon knows and loves Los Angeles. Not only was he born here, he's a fourth generation native. "I have a continuing love affair with this place, not only visually, but with the people who are drawn here as well." Gordon adds "My last film "Sunset After Dark" as well as my next film "The Adrenaline Junkies" are set in L.A., I don't think I could ever run out of interesting stories to tell about this place."

Gordon actually lived in Point Dume one summer, a secluded piece of land that sticks out into the Pacific Ocean just north of Malibu California. "The area is really quite mysterious, the whole place used to be an Indian burial ground. Big houses built along cliffs and all you see from the road is a large gate and a mailbox. I thought it would be interesting to do a story about what goes on inside those gates. Lots of high profile celebrities live there like Jonny Carson, Bob Dylan, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, as well as the widow of legendary L.A. writer John Fante. I think there is alot of mystery behind the walls of the elite....problems and dramas that only real serious money can bring on -- greed and deception go hand and hand with fame and fortune."

POINT DUME is the second feature film for director Mark J. Gordon, who co-wrote the screenplay with John Shiban (from a story by Frank Spotnitz) and produced with John Scherer and Steve Harpst. The film boosts one of the most original and provocative screenplays to come out of the true independent ranks in recent memory. Originally conceived by Frank Spotnitz and Mark J. Gordon as a quirky 'Russ Meyers' --'Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill' sort of black comedy, the screenplay took on many incarnations. With the addition of the talented comedy writer John Shiban to the team, POINT DUME is a rare mix of high drama, clever rapid-fire dialogue, quirky characters, and a plot with an abundance of twists and turns. What we ended up with is a dark comedy that contains alot of hidden truths about the human experience." Gordon met both John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz while attending the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Frank Spotnitz collaborated with Gordon as the screenwriter of "Sunset After Dark."

When asked about the challenge of telling a complex story well enough to keep the audience involved Gordon replies --"If you completely understand the screenplay, and understand the journey of your main character, then you can take this extremely complex story and make it accessible to the viewer. Even if they don't catch every detail and nuance, the clues are still there in the film and they will be paid off at the end of the picture. It also makes viewing it a second time an enjoyable experience, when you can sit back and see all the things you missed the first time around. I wanted a story that would twist and turn and lead us through a maze that we were happy to finally find a way out of."

Through the process of preparing his film for production, Gordon remained focused on the central plot line of the film, the story of a man who tells what he thinks is a harmless lie to get something he wants. "It's really a story about how everybody is deceiving everybody to some degree or another," Gordon explains. "But it's also about how everybody is unhappy with who they are in life, and how they are dying to be somebody else."

Gordon knew that casting the Tom Styles character was crucial to the success of the film. "He had to be a guy who appeared to be honest, but also would be capable of telling a lie without the audience losing sympathy for him, someone who is entirely human." Gordon adds "in the initial castings I was looking for a Chris O'Donnell type, someone who's real innocent, but when John Cassini came to read, I changed my view of the character and immediately gave him the part. John is from Toronto, and has this kind of 'east coast' thing happening, which at first I thought was a problem, but he turned out to be perfect for the part, I think we feel for him and we understand how he could tell a lie. Tom Styles may be naive and a nice guy, but he still must have the wherwithall to pull off the charades he gets away with. The truth is, he's really not that innocent. Tom is basically a very lonely guy. Even though he is living in L.A. and working in Hollywood -- he still can't really meet people. When Angela first approaches him he thinks he;s finally met someone that he can truly connect with. Some one he can talk to, and I think it's a real tragedy when he finds out he's been deceived."

For Gordon, working with an ensemble cast brought many unanticipated pleasures. "What was really interesting was that, because all the actors came from very different disciplines and backgrounds (stage, screen, stand up comedy), their portrayals of the characters and the relationships were infinitely more complex, making for a more dimensional film. "All the actors were very giving right from the first rehearsals. When you work with dedicated actors that put the script first - lots of great things start happening. Veteran actor Joe Estevez was a real pleasure to work with. What really impressed me was how he handled guns. He made it look very easy and when we were shooting inserts and trying to match actions he did in the wider shots we really realized his skills. He was also able to draw his weapon very quickly."

"I tried to constantly create tension between the characters. If you look at the characters closely -- not one of them is who they say they are. The situations are not what they appear to be. Even Tom Styles learns quickly to lie. Tom is the everyman put into an unusual set of circumstances. As the target of an extortion scheme he must use any and all tactics he has learned to get out of the situation. I hope that people like the film and are truly going on this journey with Tom Styles down into hell and back . I hope that they truly feel for him as he is betrayed constantly. and I hope that we can all look at how this film applies to all our lives."