MR. TALENT is the story of a gay, badly aged one-hit wonder, now a celebrity judge, who suffers a fatal heart attack on camera and whose soul bonds to a young singer, a streetwise Romanian single mom. Soon they discover none of this was a coincidence, as supernatural forces are at their heels for the betrayal he committed against his family to rise to the top and for her, as she's damaging the relationship to her child the same way. On the run, they must set things right in time or will be dragged to hell.

SYNOPSIS:

OVERVIEW / CONTEXT

At its core, one major question is driving MR TALENT: How do we achieve a "good death" (after blowing the most consequential decisions in our lives magnificently)? Let’s not fool ourselves, we are all going to die — and so is everyone dear to us. We tend to ignore this and deny the consequences. But the next thing you know — BAAAM — reality hits you right in the face. I know what I’m talking about, as my mother died way too early, which almost destroyed the whole family. Neurological research shows each of us struggles with the same pre-death stages. Our subconscious mind decides what emotional events of our lives we have to face in blinding lucidity — the regrets of words left unsaid, things left undone, and losses we were terrified to deal with. In MR TALENT, the protagonists explore themes such as parent-child relationships, the search for identity and a parent’s death — themes relevant to everyone. Anyway, there’s no need to be depressed. This film will be a fun ride as the SWAZYE/ GOLDBERG dynamic from GHOST meets the crazy ascension of DOGMA and the wittiness of RICKY GERVAIS in GHOST TOWN to give a glimpse into the AFTERLIFE. By the end, the audience will say, “If I’d known dying was that freeing, I’d have tried it a lot sooner”. And that’s what I wish for every soul in this world. Life is something precious we should not waste.

SYNOPSIS

Every year, the same procedure: it’s the Christmas edition of the heavily scripted talent show ‘Music Quest’. Only this year will be the showstopper.

HARRY (30s), washed-up ex-boyband member and celebrity judge, suffers a fatal heart attack on camera! The ‘surprise’ appearance of his hated ex-bandmate BARRY (30s) pushed him over the edge. On stage, he proposed a bet and threatened Harry to reveal a dark secret about the origin of the band’s only hit single — but the worst of all: he kissed Harry against his will in front of the entire audience.

MIO (23), the streetwise contestant and talented Romanian single mom, rushes to his aid. At the very moment when Harry’s soul leaves his body, she touches him and gets a jolt from a PARAMEDIC’s defibrillator. His soul bonds to her, and she can’t help but see and hear his ghost from now on.

While stalking Mio to help her with his ‘status’, Harry witnesses two beefy Romanians take Mio’s five-year-old son DRAGOS hostage. Mio has borrowed a small fortune to move to London and cover the entry fee for the ‘Music Quest’ finals. And now the loan shark’s enforcers are squeezing her to repay the debt. Her only way out is to win the show and the £100,000 prize money.

Our heroes don’t know yet; the overworked demons AZRA and KAHMUEL have already taken over the bodies of the two thugs. They deliver souls to their destined home: HELL. Before death strikes, the two infiltrate bodies close to the target. All smooth and undercover —because wings are out of fashion in public these days — they suck in the deceased’s soul. But this time, they have to stay undercover a little longer than they’d like. They can’t just take a soul from the in-between world: it must inhabit a body.

Desperate, Mio pressures Harry to help her. The bet made by Harry and Barry involves Mio singing Harry’s new single in the Christmas Eve finals, while Barry will back her competitor ANDREW (10). Needless to say, Harry was just cocky during the show and only had the first lines written. If Mio and Harry can finish his song in the 24 hours left until the show, she might win. And everything starts perfectly when they realize Harry can merge with her and control her body.

Except Barry is already ahead of them to outbid Mio. Being a poor songwriter, he pressures JOHNNY (40), Harry’s best friend and agent, and steals the first few bars to turn Harry’s song into his single for the finals.

As time is running out and Harry’s genius is failing the duo, he admits Barry was about to reveal Harry wasn’t the brains behind the band’s first and only hit. He stole it from his father, a skilled orchestra director, and never wrote a single line in his life.

To save his new and first genuine song and keep Mio and her son from harm, the spectral songwriter must reconcile with his estranged DAD (70s) and turn the tables on Barry. That is easier said than done. The two are divided not only by Harry's betrayal. It's the open wound the death of Harry's mother caused when he was a teenager. Both unable to cope with the pain, Harry was driven out of the house and lived on the streets until music saved him.

Just as they arrive at Dad’s, the demons show up and reveal themselves. They are fed up with this undercover sh**. They don’t want to sit it out if Harry shows up, and they’d rather starve their host’s bodies than deal with human needs any longer. They want to go home, and they want that soul! Mio, who needs Harry’s/Dad’s help, claims Harry’s not with her at the moment. Azra confronts Mio with a choice: “We’ll give you a chance to win the show. Merge with Harry during the finals. Otherwise, we will take Dragos’ soul to hell.”

Will Mio turn on Harry to save her son? Will Harry sacrifice himself? Does Dad have an ace up his sleeve to save his son this time?

MR TALENT (FEATURE)