SEEDS OF RUST SYNPOSIS

A 50 year old man, James Moore, suffering a mid life crisis returns home to the small farming town he grew up in to “put the pieces back together again.” The twist here however is that his isn’t your “normal male” mid life crisis. When James left just over thirty years ago - right after high school and the sudden death of his mother - he was highly regarded, “a hometown hero,” star athlete with tremendous opportunities coming in from all corners of the country. Instead of exploiting those opportunities however, and much to the surprise and disappointment of family and friends, he passed it all up; the money and fame, choosing instead to quietly move away, far away and study the Bible and make a life doing “God’s work.” For all the years in between he’s moved around the country, an Ordained Minister, selflessly preaching the word of Christ. For some reason however, and again to the surprise of friends and family, his trips home were mysteriously few and far between. Then thirty years later, out of the blue, James woke up one day, literally, and suddenly found himself in a midlife crisis… OF FAITH! With a world in increasing turmoil, and so much tragedy, natural and man-made, his faith in God and Christ had suddenly vanished! Afraid of what he might discover, and with an aching heart, he decided to return to his roots and search for the buried clues of his discontent. While he didn’t expect open arms, he knew he had disappointed too many, it home -coming even worse than he could have imagined. For openers, his father Glen, a lifelong farmer, is now much older and with that more bitter and angrier than ever. And it’s not that the season’s crops were decimated by a Rust disease, or that farming was down in general and the cost of doing business was skyrocketing, those both exist…no, what really has the old man fuming is that he feels that James has squandered every opportunity that life has presented him, never finishing anything. “Every seed you’ve planted, everything you’ve put in the ground, including your mother, has yielded you nothing, not a single fruit has come to bear. You’ve got nothing to show for your years. And that’s not my fault, not your mother’s fault, and certainly not God’s fault,” he scolds his son. Elsewhere, James’ younger sister Mary, who was only 14 when her brother ran from town, also has her problems. Her husband has left her for a younger woman, having his own more traditional mid life crisis. But none of that compares to the real problem in town! James returns home on the heels of a terrible tragedy that lingers over the place like a dark cloud without a breeze of hope that it will move on. A prominent farming family has perished in a deadly, early autumn fire, burning their farmhouse to the ground. And as if that weren’t enough, a challenged local man, Travis, who in the same breath is loved yet also somewhat of a “shame” for the town, has admitted to setting the fire in revenge against the farmer who was a major proponent of “putting him away and throwing away the key.” For James this is a tragedy of epic proportions as Travis, who now sits in jail, headed for a terrible future, was also his best friend growing up, the water boy for the football team, the guy that would always prop him up when the going got tough. James, to say the least, is as confused as ever. This does nothing to help him find his way back to Christ. In fact it is further evidence of a world upside-down and deepens his crisis of faith even more. If James is disappointed, the town is even more disappointed. If ever they needed someone to guide them, give them hope, restore the faith, it is now. And their “hometown hero,” who once abandoned them to do God’s work – which all finally resolved in their heart – has returned home unable to do the very thing they need, give them that hope, that faith, the thing he left them for. Many like Glen now see James as someone who runs from life’s problems – never living up to his potential. As autumn turns to winter, James can’t come to grips with the fact that Travis has done this terrible thing. It just doesn’t sit right. When he suggests that there is possibly some other explanation, a mistake has been made, he’s met with angry retorts, “let it be, it’s over, we need to move on!” All seem content to let the guilt hang on Travis’s shoulders and perhaps, finally be done with the “Travis problem,” a bittersweet consolation. Something inside James will not let it go however, and doing some detective work behind the backs of others, especially the town Sheriff, and old high school teammate, he starts to retrace the events leading up to the tragedy, the timelines. He’s driven by a force that he doesn’t even recognize to get to the truth, a truth he knows is different from the one being hastily accepted in an effort to quickly get past the tragedy. He also knows that no healing will ever take place, real healing, if the ultimate truth is never revealed. Reconstructing the events and without a doubt in his mind, James determines that it would have been impossible for Travis to have started the fire. With evidence in hand, he goes to Travis and insists on the truth. Travis finally breaks down and gives in. It is revealed that a couple of teenage guys, friends of the farmer’s teenage daughter were there that night, goofing around outside the girls window, taunting her to climb down so they could all “hang out.” One of them innocently flicked a lit cigarette on the ground and dry hay quickly caught fire. But it was clearly an accident! Nonetheless, the boys panicked and ran as the fire quickly grew out of control, consuming the house and the family inside. Travis, bicycling home from a nearby town and a football game, witnessed the entire thing. He too knew that he could do nothing to stop the angry blaze. But what he could do is step in and take the blame so the poor teenage boys’ lives wouldn’t be ruined by what he knew to be only an accident. In the process he also figured this was a way to finally give the town what they want, an end to “the Travis problem.” The stories larger resolution however comes in the restoration of James’ faith. In Travis’s selfless act, James witnessed something that was truly “Christ like.” In today’s world, with all its difficulties, one person was willing to suffer so that another’s life, their soul could be saved. A simple act, yet one that would begin to rebuild his faith in God and man… Jim, reborn, returns to do his calling, although this time, staying in town, planting a seed that he would see to fruition.

Letter From Corbin

To my dear friends in Kipling,

It’s been some time since I visited you last, but please know I continue to work diligently on my promise to bring film production to your wonderful town. I know we were working together to make “3 Day Test” our first project and had worked hard for over a year to secure the necessary further funding to make that happen, but unfortunately, for one reason or another that never came to be. But as my parents always taught me, “perhaps its for a reason.” Well, I’m pleased to announce what I feel is the greater purpose in all this. First however, a small set up:

Early this summer my father passed away at the age of 82. It wasn’t sudden but nonetheless a shock to the system. Not long after, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer - she’s actually doing fine due to the miracles of modern medicine and the outlook is good. Well these two events, so close together, sent me on somewhat of a soul searching journey, specifically wanting to understand why God would test me in this manner. I spent the better part of the summer in somewhat of a haze.

Before all of this however, I had already been discussing with Kipling Film Productions the prospects of changing our first film to something that the money they had raised thus far could fully finance so we could get going. I laid out a story that still doesn’t have a proper title but for now I call “Seeds of Rust.” I summarize it below. With Kipling Film Production’s blessing I started on the script, which I had a “feel” for, but lacked the real juice to give it the heart I knew it deserved. Then the sad events of the summer happened and suddenly it all made sense. I became more personally involved in the story I wanted to tell. Since then, paper and pen have not had a moment’s rest. I’m blazing through the script and have never felt so positive about anything I’ve written… or the prospects for it. I’m writing in detail, using every corner of Kipling I can, diving deep into the goodness of the town, and all of you for inspiration. My plan is to, as with 3-Day Test, fully cast the movie with locals, with exception of a lead role that I will play. (We do need at least one recognizable so we can make some money!) All scenes will be shot in and around Kipling so I’m writing to that specifically as well.

My goal is to be done with script by the end of September, early October at the latest and then start shooting somewhere in November for several weeks. I’m writing the film with great scope and will continue to shoot specific scenes – on weekends perhaps – over the next six months so that I can capture all of the seasons and colors that Kipling has to offer. It is a project like no other, close to my heart on a variety of levels. It has a purpose now beyond making movies and simply bringing film production to Kipling. That will be accomplished, but at the same time we can also enlighten an increasingly turbulent world and show Kipling off as more than the town that just gave a house away in the Red Paperclip trade. We can show Kipling as a place where, if we all work together, we can overcome anything and ultimately help build a better society.

So, in short, while the calendar pages have been turning, please know that you have never left my heart and I am busy working hard to fulfill my promise to you. I think my father would be proud!