One first job. What could go wrong?
THE HITMAN’S COOKBOOK is a feature film screenplay by Gabriel Dowrick and Ben Phelps. We’re currently at the pre-production stage of financing production.
SYNOPSIS IN A NIBBLE
A talented baker becomes an unlikely hitman when she’s blackmailed into murdering her idol, a celebrity TV chef. But unexpected ingredients – the FBI, the Triad, a young lover and a jealous madman – complicate her recipe for success.
SYNOPSIS IN A BIG BITE
Sugar is a talented baker from New York who’s blackmailed into murdering a gangster’s ex-wife. Sugar doesn’t have the nerve to be a hitman but if she doesn’t pull the trigger, the gangster will kill her. Making matters worse, when Sugar arrives in Sydney she discovers that her target is her idol, a celebrity TV chef. Her recipe for success is further complicated when an FBI agent arrives in Australia to stop the hit. Sugar must now overcome a determined FBI agent, her reluctance to kill her hero, her aspiration to be a successful baker, the distraction of a new romance, a jealous madman, Triad mobsters and a fresh threat against her mother’s life. THE HITMAN’S COOKBOOK is a feature film about a young woman who learns the hard way that you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
GENRE
THE HITMAN’S COOKBOOK will be a crime genre feature film that depicts the secret life of a hitman with a pinch of neo-noir, in the tradition of LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL, IN BRUGES and FARGO. However, the hitmen in all of these films are seasoned criminals. And they’re usually men. THE HITMAN’S COOKBOOK flips these conventions: ‘What if an inexperienced female hitman is forced to undertake her first assassination but nothing goes to plan?’
PROJECT OVERVIEW
THE HITMAN’S COOKBOOK is a collaboration between award-winning writer/director, Ben Phelps, and accomplished writer/editor, Gabriel Dowrick. Between them, they have won over 30 major awards and numerous accolades for their short films, TV commercials and branded content. Their work has screened internationally on TV, online and in over 150 prestigious film festivals from Berlin to Brisbane, Montreal to Melbourne, Tampere to Tropfest.
PROJECT DETAILS
Director Ben Phelps
Writers Gabriel Dowrick & Ben Phelps
Duration 90 minutes
Genre Crime
Setting Contemporary Urban
Shoot Sydney, Australia
Shoot Format Digital
Release Format Digital
The Creative Team
BEN PHELPS - Writer/Director
Ben Phelps is a critically acclaimed Writer and Director from Sydney, Australia. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Film Studies), Bachelor of Laws and Masters of Media Production (Directing), Ben has written several feature screenplays and directed highly successful short films, TV commercials and online content.
Ben’s short films, CHECKPOINT (Screen NSW Young Filmmakers Fund) and NICE SHOOTIN’ COWBOY (Screen Australia), have garnered over 20 awards and been selected for Official Competition in over 100 prestigious international festivals, including 40 Academy Awards accredited festivals. Highlights include major prizes in Australia, USA, Canada, France, Italy, Spain and Russia, plus selection in the final 80 films eligible for the 2011 Oscars after winning Best Short Film at Austin Film Festival.
Head across to the above websites to read more. Awards include:
- Jury Prize – Montreal World Film Festival (Canada)
- Dendy CRC Prize – Sydney Film Festival (Australia)
- Best International Short Film – Cleveland International Film Festival (USA)
- Gold Award – WorldFest Houston International Film Festival (USA)
- Best Short Film – Strasbourg International Film Festival (France)
- Best Fiction Short Film – Australian Teachers of Media Awards (Australia)
- Best Short Film screenplay – Australian Writers’ Guild nomination (Australia)
- Narrative Short Jury Award – Austin Film Festival (USA)
Ben is also an alumnus of the highly competitive creative lab, Accelerator, at Melbourne International Film Festival.
Ben is represented by Redback Media (TVCs, corporates & branded content).
GABRIEL DOWRICK – Writer
Since breaking out with the Best Young Talent prize at Tropfest 2005, Gabriel has focused almost exclusively on screenwriting and editing. Most recently he completed the feature screenplay, SKIN TRADE, a $5M Action/Thriller for Nu-Image (RAMBO, THE EXPENDABLES), slated to shoot in late 2012 with Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jnr. Most recently he was engaged as script doctor on the 3D UK-Chinese co- production, LEGENDARY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON, for Midsummer Films, starring Scott Adkins and Dolph Lundgren. He has a number of other screenplays in various stages of development and is also near completion of his debut novel.
Gabriel is also a freelance editor, cutting over 100 TV commercials and branded content for Google, IBM, AUSTAR, Microsoft, David Jones, Mercedes, Fiorelli, P&O, Country Road, ANZ, GIO and many more. Gabriel’s eye for drama and pacing has also been recognised on the film festival circuit – the films he has edited have been nominated for, or won, over 30 awards at more than 100 international film festivals.
More of his work can be seen at his website.
