Complete-film capitalization
Financing is intended to cover production, post, delivery and initial sales/audience activity rather than leave the film searching for finishing money after photography.
CONFIDENTIAL INVESTOR PREVIEW
A FAITH-FORWARD FAMILY DRAMA • LOS ANGELES / HONG KONG
THE SECOND ACT
Some dreams take us away.
Some people bring us home.
THE FILM
When the life you planned disappears, what is still on the table?
After her grandfather’s devastating stroke, thirteen-year-old Audrey is left in the care of Daniel, the uncle least prepared to become a guardian.
Daniel is a struggling filmmaker who has spent years believing the next career break will finally make the sacrifices worth it. A long-awaited opportunity pulls him back to Hong Kong, the city where his ambitions began. Audrey’s estranged mother is there too.
What starts as an attempt to solve two problems at once becomes a reckoning with grief, responsibility, forgiveness and a faith neither Daniel nor his family can keep at arm’s length.
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Faith is not a promise that nothing painful will happen. It is a promise that pain does not have to have the final word.PROJECT POSITIONING
LOS ANGELES
The responsibility.
Home is messy, practical and expensive. It is also where Daniel discovers that the role he feared would derail his life may be the role that gives it meaning.
HONG KONG
The dream.
Neon, harbor light and a film culture tied directly to Daniel’s past. Hong Kong is not a backdrop; it is where ambition, Audrey’s family history and Daniel’s unfinished life collide.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Designed to be financeable at the story’s real scale.
The plan pairs a disciplined independent feature structure with two production territories, a locally supported Hong Kong unit and a launch reserve intended to preserve optionality across faith, family, festival and international channels.
Local Hong Kong leverage
The model brings only essential U.S. creative personnel while sourcing camera, sound, hair/makeup, grip/electric and production support locally.
Audience before platform
Church engagement, Chinese Christian outreach and direct-event options are developed alongside traditional distribution rather than waiting for a single buyer to define the audience.
THE $300,000 PLAN
Fully capitalized through delivery and launch.
The allocation below is an investor-planning framework, not a locked production budget. Final SAG-AFTRA determinations, Hong Kong quotes and cast agreements will govern the production budget.
CAPITALIZATION TARGET$300,000
ILLUSTRATIVE INVESTOR MODEL
Priority recoupment first. Continuing participation after.
For discussion with qualified legal and securities counsel. These are planning terms, not an offering or guarantee.
1
Investment$300,000
Capital contribution
→
2
Preferred recoupment120%
100% of defined producer net receipts until $360,000 returned
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3
Continuing ownership50 / 50
Investor / Studio 828, subject to definitive agreements
Illustrative gross receipts$450,000
Simplified producer net*$252,500
Illustrative investor cash$252,500
Illustrative multiple0.84×
*Simplified planning illustration after assumed fees/expenses. Not a forecast. Real distribution agreements, expenses, definitions and legal documents control.
AUDIENCE STRATEGY
A film with more than one way to reach its audience.
The commercialization strategy is intentionally hybrid: pursue professional distribution and sales where advantageous while protecting direct audience channels when rights permit.
U.S. faith + family
Faith-oriented theatrical, event, TVOD and community channels, supported by church and family outreach.
Primary language: EnglishNorth American Chinese Christian
Asian-American ministries and English-, Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking congregations.
Bilingual promotional + study assetsHong Kong + diaspora
Localized church resources, Chinese-subtitled film assets and territory relationships tied to the production footprint.
Traditional / Simplified Chinese pathwayFAITH CHANGES THE SCRIPT
The movie can be the beginning of the conversation.
The direct-to-church model is designed to extend the useful life of the film beyond a single release window through licensed screenings, discipleship resources and ongoing audience engagement.
“Count what’s still on the table.”
01
Licensed church screening
A shared movie event creates the entry point.
02
Biblical discussion guide
A free post-screening bridge into conversation.
03
Count What Remains
Six-session participant + leader study materials.
04
30-day devotional
An individual continuation of the film’s faith themes.
05
Church campaign kit
Pastor planning, promotion and implementation support.
BEYOND THE FILM
Resources already in development.
5 PROTOTYPE RESOURCES DEVELOPED
Studio 828 has begun building the church-engagement ecosystem alongside the motion picture, so the faith strategy is supported by tangible materials rather than a post-release concept alone.
POST-SCREENING RESOURCE
Biblical Discussion Guide
A concise bridge from the film’s emotional questions into Scripture-grounded conversation for churches, families and small groups.
SIX-SESSION SMALL GROUP
Participant Study Guide
A six-session participant workbook expanding the film’s themes of grief, surrender, responsibility, forgiveness and hope.
LEADER CURRICULUM
Leader & Facilitator Guide
Session structure, discussion direction, Scripture connections and pastoral considerations for leaders guiding the six-week study.
INDIVIDUAL COMPANION
30-Day Devotional
A month-long journey through loss, faith, family and second chances designed to continue engagement after the film or group study.
CHURCH ACTIVATION
Church Campaign Kit
A pastor and ministry-leader framework connecting a licensed screening to discussion, six-week study, spiritual practice and ministry next steps.
01WATCHLicensed screening
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02DISCUSSBiblical guide
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03STUDYSix-week curriculum
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04PRACTICE30-day devotional
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05CONTINUEChurch relationship
Prototype status: Materials are in development for investor, ministry and market discussion. Scripture references and theological notes should receive appropriate pastoral/theological review before publication. Final church/public-performance, clip-use, publishing and distribution rights remain subject to definitive agreements.
POTENTIAL REVENUE STACK
Multiple windows. No single dependency.
01Festival + market launch
Awareness, reviews, sales meetings and positioning.
02U.S. faith / family
Distribution, event or minimum-guarantee opportunities where available.
03Hong Kong / Macau
Territory licensing, platform or theatrical pathways if supported by local buyers.
04TVOD + direct events
Targeted transactional and community revenue before lower-value library windows.
05SVOD / AVOD / FAST
Longer-tail licensing and library value.
06Church + ancillary
Screening licenses, resources, publishing and educational/community opportunities.
CORE ATTACHED CAST
A trained ensemble built around the family at the center of the story.
The film is designed to move forward on the strength of its attached ensemble. Recognizable supporting talent is an enhancement strategy, not a financing dependency.
Elliott Brown
Daniel
Writer • Director • Producer • LeadRuskin School of Acting • Meisner program graduate
Niki Sterner
Kelly
Principal supporting castRuskin School of Acting • Meisner program graduate
Jonella Landry
Val
Principal supporting cast • Hong Kong travel roleRuskin School of Acting • Meisner program graduatePERFORMANCE FOUNDATION & TALENT NETWORK
Shared craft. Relationship-driven access.
Elliott Brown, Niki Sterner and Jonella Landry are graduates of the Ruskin School of Acting’s Meisner program, giving several members of the ensemble a shared performance vocabulary rooted in truthful, relationship-driven work.
Elliott also participates in the school’s Master Teachers program. Established working actors teach within that environment, creating credible relationship pathways for selective approaches to recognizable supporting talent.
Shared performance language
A useful foundation for an intimate drama built on restrained family relationships rather than spectacle.
Warm-introduction potential
Relationship-based outreach can be more credible than unsolicited casting approaches.
Selective, not dependent
The strategy is to elevate concentrated supporting roles only where the creative or market value can justify the economics.
Important: A professional relationship pathway is not an actor commitment. Any target casting remains subject to performer interest, representation, availability, economics, approvals and signed agreements.
STRATEGIC CASTING & PACKAGING
Small supporting roles can create outsized presence.
Financing creates the ability to make selective approaches where a recognizable actor may improve creative credibility, faith-audience awareness, publicity or territorial positioning without rebuilding the film around marquee-star economics.
PRIORITY TARGET • NOT ATTACHEDHENRY
JH
James Hong
A natural bridge between Hollywood legacy, Asian-American recognition and the film’s Hong Kong identity.
- Creative value
- Henry is the story’s spiritual and generational anchor.
- Packaging value
- Recognition across generations and an unusually strong thematic fit.
- Production fit
- Concentrated supporting role designed for limited shooting days.
PRIORITY U.S. TARGET • NOT ATTACHEDRICKY
NM
Neal McDonough
Mainstream screen recognition with potential additional resonance among faith and family audiences.
- Creative value
- Authority and dramatic weight in a concentrated supporting role.
- Audience value
- Recognizable billing can increase trailer, press and faith-market awareness.
- Production fit
- Target only if availability and economics support measurable value.
ALTERNATIVE U.S. TARGET • NOT ATTACHEDRICKY
RM
Rob Morrow
Established film and television recognition that can add familiarity and professional credibility at the supporting level.
- Creative value
- A grounded dramatic presence with adult-audience familiarity.
- Packaging value
- An alternative path if the primary U.S. target is unavailable or uneconomic.
- Production fit
- Supporting-role economics remain the controlling principle.
HONG KONG PACKAGING
Let territory value inform the final choice.
MAY
A priority Hong Kong role. A recognizable actress with strong English and emotional fit can support authenticity, local publicity and buyer conversations.
KELVIN
A strategic supporting role that can be cast locally, with specific choices informed by chemistry, relationships, economics and distributor feedback.
Packaging principle: The Second Act is built around its attached ensemble, not celebrity dependency. Prospective names shown here are confidential creative and market-positioning targets only. Their inclusion does not represent an offer, agreement, endorsement or participation in the project.
VISUAL IDENTITY
Warm California light meets electric Hong Kong night.
The marketing language deliberately mirrors the story: warm Hollywood aspiration on one side, saturated Hong Kong density on the other, with Daniel and Audrey caught between the worlds.
Development key art is shown as concept material only. Final billing, credits and cast representations will reflect contracted agreements and distributor requirements.
INVESTOR ROOM
Core project materials.
These development documents are provided for confidential discussion. Financial scenarios are illustrative and film investment is speculative.
THE ASK
Help us make the film at the scale the story deserves.
A $300,000 capitalization is intended to finance a professionally completed feature photographed in Los Angeles and Hong Kong, delivered for market, and launched with the materials required to pursue faith, family and international audiences.
SEEKING$300,000Production financing through completion, delivery and initial sales activity.