PATRIOT PICTURES PRESENTS

T H E H I S T O R Y

T H E S T O R Y

T H E C H A R A C T E R S

T H E A C T I O N

T H E A T A

T H E M U S I C

T H E P R O D U C E R

Women make the difference!

It is the middle of World War II. As America’s war effort swung into high gear the

Army Air Corps was faced with a critical shortage of pilots. The solution was to hire over eleven-hundred qualified women, most of them already experienced pilots to take on much of the

rear area flying to free the men for combat. They initially flew for several different organizations but in

time they all became grouped under one name. Women Airforce Service Pilots.

WASPs.

Their story is one of honor and courage, of zeal yet a humbling saga. The 1,078 women flew every aircraft in the inventory and were as much aviators as they were ladies. The WASPs' achievements clearly showed that their actions, words, thoughts and deeds were tempered with wisdom. The foundation of the WASPS script harnesses a compelling story of commitment, passion and, above all else, of a patriotic call to action.

They hailed from every region of the country. But they had one unifying common denominator -- an unwavering dedication to serve the nation during a time of war. With purposeful determination to overcome barriers and an extraordinary ability to perform under pressure, the WASPs raised the stakes for society by smashing the conventional wisdom of the day. What had been known in many closed circles was validated for and shown to the world. This film will bring the WASPs to a new generation, educating millions about the historic contributions of these generally under-appreciated heroines.

‘Ginny’ Collins and ‘Sam’ Nash are two of the hottest pilots Ferry Command has, but they still chaff over how they’re treated by the American military. So when they hear twenty-five women will be given the chance to fly in England they jump at it.

Sam can’t wait to see Danny, her older brother. Ginny can’t wait for the different reason. A bomber squadron commander, he has always been her one true love. Now if only he’d admit it everything would be fine. With Danny being cool to her Ginny develops a relationship with Hamilton, a pleasant Englishman who is secretly a powerful force in the covert side of the war. But then Ginny and Lucy engage in a wild, unauthorized race over England that culminates with Lucy dying in a fiery crash.

During this time Danny volunteers for a dangerous mission that Hamilton is running, each unaware of the others interest in Ginny. The truth is, Danny loves her, but he knows he’s probably not going to survive and so he rejects her. And Hamilton, after he finds out about Danny lets her go because he knows there’s no room for him in her heart.

But when Danny’s mission goes wrong, Hamilton gets wind of it and breaks security to tell Ginny. Resignation turns to anger and the women steal a Bomber and go tearing off to find Danny. Ginny, Sam and Ruth have a mad chase with fighters through the fjords and steep valleys of Norway. Winning out over them and with Ginny’s own special talent they manage to find them and steer them towards home and safety. But when they reach England the women have to crash the bomber to clear the runway of fog. And in a final explosive scene Danny saves Ginny and the crew of women from the burning plane just before it blows up.

He came for her, as she did for him and they are bonded together forever. Proving, once and forever, that love will always find you.

THE WOMEN

JENNIFER COLLINS ‘GINNY’ Daughter of a barnstormer, she was raised in the gypsy life of the air show circuit during The Great Depression. After her father’s death she becomes an extraordinary pilot in her own right. Now in her 20’s she flies with a skill and passion only matched by her love for one man.

SAMANTHA NASH ‘SAM’ Nebraska born and raised. Ginny’s best friend and co-pilot. Sister of Danny, lover of flying, Wishing for someone to share it with. Cool water to Ginny’s fire. She fast becoming her equal in skill. Younger, well educated.

RUTH CANTE A belle of Brooklyn. Ginny’s chief rival for best pilot, sharp, angular and nobody’s fool. Angry and short tempered yet cool under fire.

LUCY aka ‘THE DUCHESS’ English ATA pilot, keeps her royal lineage on the QT. Like all English she’s lost people after four years of war. Secretly loves one man, it’s just that he’s the wrong one. Her intense rivalry with Ginny ends badly.

JOAN TOWNSEND Senior ATA pilot and recruiter. 40’s. Cultured but can swear like a sailor. A champion to the cause of women flying as long as it shortens the war. Cold as charity when she needs be, warm as toast the rest of the time.

THE MEN

DANIEL NASH ‘DANNY’ Brother to Sam, secret passion of Ginny. B-17 Squadron leader in England. Professional, dedicated but privately terrified at his odds of survival. First met Ginny on the day her father crashed and burned. It’s a ghost that hangs between them.

HAMILTON STEEDLY PARKS III Cultured Englishman and rival for Ginny’s affections. Mid 30’s. She thinks he’s a nice guy. But in truth he’s a power in the intelligence war against the Nazi’s. In Ginny, he’s met his one true passion that can never be.

‘PAPPY’ MacGLINCHY Older ex-pilot. Flight Sergeant. Friend, mentor and advocate of his ‘Girls’. Scrounger of renown with a girl at every field and a bottomless bag of tricks. A good friend to have and an enemy to fear.

COLONEL REGINALD ROBERTSON American liaison with the ATA for the American WASPs flying in England. Stiff as his swagger stick and thinks women should know their place. A petty tyrant with an agenda. Until he goes one step too far.

Set in the darkest days of WWII for the American Bomber effort in England. When few crews were surviving their 25 mission tour. WASPs travels from the skies of America, with the women working brutal hours to ferry the planes to the embarkation ports to be shipped overseas. Sometimes spending days, weeks crisscrossing the land while on all sides of America the war raged unchecked.

Based on true events (there were American women flying in England as early as 1941). The characters take on the opportunity to fly in England, in a war zone with all it’s inherent dangers.

It was a time of selfless sacrifice, of putting all your own dreams and endeavors on hold as one and all worked long hours for what was called - ‘The War Effort’.

This story will be filmed using the authentic planes from that era combined with the latest of CGI technology and blended together to give the audience a feel for the intensity, terror and breakneck pace of Ariel combat in the second World War. From scene to scene the astonishing skill and expertise of the women and men will be put on display. While some scenes are conjecture there is no doubt that anything shown could have happened.

All this proving that you can’t keep a good girl down.

On the ground that is.

The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British World War II civilian organization that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, maintenance units, scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields. During the war, the service flew 415,000 hours and delivered over 308,000 aircraft of 130 types

In late 1939, Commander Pauline Gower MBE (Photo, top left) was given the task of organizing the women's section of the ATA. There were 166 women pilots (one in eight of the entire service) who volunteered from Britain, the Commonwealth (Canada, New Zealand and South Africa), United States, the Netherlands, Poland and one from Chile. Fifteen lost their lives in the air, including the British pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson. One of many notable achievements of the women is that they earned the same pay as men in equal rank as the men starting in 1943. This was the first time that the British Government gave its blessing to equal pay for equal work, within an organization under its jurisdiction. At the same time, American woman flying with the Women Air force Service Pilots were earning as little as 35% less than male colleagues.

Although initially restricted to non-combat types (i.e. trainers and transports), women pilots were eventually permitted to fly virtually every aircraft flown by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm including the four-engine bombers.

These women changed the course of WWII forever.

It was a time of war

But it was also a time of some of the greatest music ever performed.

Music born of struggle. Sometimes sublime, other times rough and bawdy.

It was a time of the great big bands such as Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Other times it was the rough songs of people facing death at every turn.

WASPS will bring these tunes to the screen to set the mood of the action, to shape the desires of the heart.

And through it all, the music was at the heart and soul of the characters.

Some people like to think it was a simpler time. Perhaps it was in the dangerous realities that formed the day-to-day life of people at war.

But for the men and women that lived it, it was a complex and varied world then as it is now.

And through it all the songs we present will try to show reality that was of a time, but also timeless.

Michael Mendelsohn, Chairman and CEO, Patriot Pictures, has arranged production financing for (or) produced more than 300 films. Most recently, he is producing “Vengeance: A Love Story” (directed by Harold Becker and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Heather Graham, Abigail Breslin and Dianne Wiest). Mendelsohn recently completed "All's Faire in Love..." (directed by Scott Marshall and starring Christina Ricci, Owen Benjamin, Ann Margret, Matthew Lillard, Nadine Velazquez and Cedric the Entertainer). He is the Executive Producer for "Lord of War" (written/directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Nicolas Cage and Ethan Hawke), "Material Girls" (starring Hilary Duff, Anjelica Huston and directed by Martha Coolidge) and “Sand and Sorrow” a project he shared Executive Producer credit with George Clooney (aired by HBO). Mr. Mendelsohn has also arranged financing for such films as [Beacon Pictures and Wolfgang Peterson's] "Air Force One", [Lakeshore Entertainment produced\ "The Mothman Prophecies", the Wachowski Brothers' "The Matrix", Icon Pictures produced "What Women Want" and Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs". Mr. Mendelsohn also currently manages senior and mezzanine debt portfolios for banks and financial institutions specializing in entertainment.

Mendelsohn became aware of the WASPs during a USAF sponsored war mission in the secret enclaves of the Colorado Springs Space Warfare facility and has worked closely with the USAF for over seven years to bring this project to the screen.

Writers Lauren ‘Casey’ Garza and Linda Wake-Garza have created an original screenplay inspired by the courageous and daring lives of the WASPs.

PATRIOT PICTURES

P.O. Box 46100, West Hollywood, CA 90046 Tel: 323.874.8850 Fax: 323.874.8851

Web: patriotpictures.com