SYNOPSIS
Thriller-Dark Comedy
Three women and three men—all billionaires who have been friends since childhood—fly off for a hedonistic weekend of drinking and drugs on a private island off the coast of Brazil. Act 1 reveals a lavish lifestyle that you might expect: private jets, butlers and staff, sports cars, and enough diamond jewelry to buy a small country.
Soon enough, however, we discover that the glitter and gold conceal an ugly reality. Xoana and Preston, the happy fiancés at the nucleus of the group, strain against Preston’s emotional abuse and Xoana’s depression. Barbi, a picture-perfect social media influencer, is in love with successful entrepreneur Dwe, but Dwe—who is hiding a ghastly secret of his own—can barely stand her. Kai, a Chinese lesbian, is tired of homophobic and racist bullying from Graf, a nouveau riche party boy who is desperate to fit in. Without any real adult supervision, the macho competition between Preston, Dwe, and Graf often endangers the wellbeing of them all.
As the weekend unfolds, Xoana is forced to confront her abusive relationship, the long-buried memories of her childhood, and her unraveling mental health, while the men glory in their toxic misbehavior and inflame the women’s rage. When Xoana discovers a note from her mother that unlocks a painful secret, she recruits Barbi and Kai to help her stop the cycle of abuse for good. The tropical paradise transforms into a deadly playground as the women hunt down the men with punishments that fit each crime.
THE WORLD
There are 3,000billionaires in the world, and their offspring make up an ultra-elite club of educated, complicated, wounded children who have inherited the weighty responsibility of improving all life on Earth. It’s a strange job that none of them asked for and most of them fail. The sad truth is many of these kids are, deep down, just seeking the love their successful parents could never provide.
The requirement to be perfect amidst feelings of inadequacy, and the suffocating politesse of “high society” drives many of them to mental imbalance. Drugs, alcohol, and plastic surgery are the norm, and most have hit a wall of self-destruction by the time they turn 25. In RAGER, which draws on the real life experiences of the writer/director, each character is at a critical turning point of choosing wellbeing or annihilation. In order to do so, they must escape the curse of their lineage.
While the global aristocracy, should, in theory, be a haven for civility and progress, underneath its surface are shocking acts of misogyny and sexual assault with few consequences. If anything, discrimination and abuse becomes more sophisticated and covert the higher you get. For those who can afford to buy anything in the world, the thrill of breaking a human spirit or body can be the last great frontier. That said, it’s pretty hard to feel bad for billionaires. This intersection of toxic wealth and toxic masculinity in RAGER offers a darkly funny albeit disturbing look at the life of young billionaires, while providing a cautionary tale about the power of female rage and the dangers of perpetuating a cycle of abuse.
SCRIPT EXCERPTS
Click below to read pdf versions of scenes from Rager.
Xoana and Kai test their friendship by discussing Xoana’s engagement to her unkind fiancé, Preston.
All the friends gather for a lush breakfast, but tensions rise as they casually exchange insults with each other.
A game of hide and seek is determined by the most honest symbol of a man’s worth: his watch.
WRITER / DIRECTOR MISHA CALVERT
Misha is an award-winning writer, director, and showrunner based in New York. She has created five digital series: STRUT (2018 Tribeca Film Festival) which campaigned for an Emmy in 2022, and ALL HAIL BETH, which landed in the top 25 on the iTunes soundtrack charts in 2019.
Her upcoming projects include FAULT, a drama set in the world of women’s pro tennis; PINK FLAGS, starring Raye and Sawyer Spielberg (Panavision New Filmmaker Grant); and CANDY, a musical short created in partnership with singer-songwriter Kate Eberstadt. She is also in post-production on a new comedy series she directed, THE FUCKBOY DIARIES. On the feature side, Misha is developing two narrative dramatic features.
Misha’s work is high-concept and visually driven, with a consistent focus on gender, mental health, power, and the female experience. She is also the founder of Vermilion, an educational arts organization supporting actors and multi-hyphenates.
More info at www.mishacalvert.com.
GOOD QUESTION MEDIA
Good Question Media was created by Dan Bekerman of Scythia Films and Chris Yurkovich of Stellar Citizens Inc. The company, currently based in Toronto and Vancouver, has expanded into Los Angeles with the hiring of their Vice President of Development, Jordan Hart. She runs the US office and oversees Good Question's slate across both film and television. As an Executive Producer in association with GQM, Neil Mathieson supports the team across the slate with focus in business affairs and operations.
This full-service production company oversees projects from inception through distribution, working closely with filmmakers to bring their vision to life. Film and television projects are supported through all stages of development and packaging by the Good Question development fund.
Good Question has decades of experience in creative producing, financing, international co-productions, and service productions, having completed over 25 features in the last 5 years. Prior films include Robert Eggers' THE WITCH, starring Anya Taylor-Joy; COME TO DADDY with Elijah Wood; PERCY VS GOLIATH, starring Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci and Zach Braff; and FALLING, Viggo Mortensen's directorial debut.
2022 marks the premiere of their two newest films. SLASH/BACK sees Maika and her ragtag group of friends pitted against alien invaders when they set their sights on the girls' tiny arctic hamlet, Pang. This teen adventure melds Inuit culture and the sci-fi genre as the girls show them no one messes with the girls from Pang. Directed by Nyla Innuksuk with Sierra Affinity for international sales, the film debuted at South by Southwest.
In partnership with Netflix, HOUSE/WIFE (formerly IVY) stars Alice Braga as Grace, who is wheelchair-bound and recovering from an accident when her husband moves their family into his new smart home prototype. He is convinced Ivy, the house's AI system will help her recuperate. However, Grace soon finds herself left with an AI who has very different plans. Directed by Danis Goulet (Night Raiders), HOUSE/WIFE premieres on Netflix in 2022.
Though varied in tone, genre, and format, the Good Question slate is unified through new voices with integrity and vision, with many future favourites soon to come to audiences worldwide.
PRODUCERS
DAN BEKERMAN
As founder and president of Scythia Films, Dan Bekerman is one of Canada’s most prolific feature film producers with broad experience in creative producing, financing, international co-productions, and service productions having completed over 25 films in the last 6 years.
Recent credits include FALLING, Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, a UK/Canada Treaty Co-Production, which celebrated its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020 and was an Official Selection at the 73rd Edition of the Cannes Film Festival as well as TIFF; the A24 hit THE WITCH, winner of the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as two Independent Spirit Awards; COME TO DADDY, a New Zealand/Ireland/Canada Treaty Co-Production starring Elijah Wood released by Saban; HOUSE/WIFE starring Alicia Braga, and SLASHBACK which has its premiere in March 2022 at SXSW.
Scythia also produced THE FRIENDSHIP GAME, starring Peyton List from Netflix’s COBRA KAI, and COLD COPY featuring Tracee Ellis-Ross and Bel Powley.
JORDAN HART
Jordan Hart is a producer and executive in Los Angeles with a successful track record developing scripted and documentary projects for film and television. As the Vice President of Development at Good Question Media, she sources and shepherds a diverse slate of features and series towards production.
Prior to Good Question, she served as Director of Development for the Oscar-, Emmy-, and BAFTA- winning company, Little Monster Films, developing the series EDGE OF THE UNKNOWN and PHOTOGRAPHER for NatGeo and an upcoming film for Netflix. At Baltimore Pictures, led by Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson, Jordan worked on features including PATERNO for HBO and THE SURVIVOR, which premiered at TIFF in 2021. She also supported hit showrunner, DJ Nash, on two NBC sitcoms-- GROWING UP FISHER and TRUTH BE TOLD.
After receiving her bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a master's from Boston University, Jordan began her career in acquisitions at FremantleMedia.
CHRIS YURKOVICH
Chris Yurkovich is a queer, transfemme Toronto, Canada based producer and co-founder of Good Question Media, a full-service production company championing projects with unique voices, integrity and vision, where they work on an innovative slate of TV and film projects. Taking pride in every project they tackle, Chris always pushes their talents and those of the people around them to the furthest extent possible, living by the motto of 'strong scripts lead to stellar productions.'
Chris previously served as Co-founder of Stellar Citizens where they oversaw content development and creative producing as Head of Development. In 2017 they began working in the narrative film space where they executive produced the Imaginative People's Choice Award winner KAYAK TO KLEMTU alongside Scythia Films.
Recently, Chris produced SLASH/BACK which premiered at SXSW in 2022 and is currently executive producing INEDIA by director Liz Cairns starring Amy Forsyth, set for a 2023 release.
THE FEMALE GAZE
After 130 years of white heteronormative storytelling in film, the female gaze still feels subversive. Yes, there is gender parity in lead roles on television, and the centering of female stories has become more common. However, the less palatable edges of the female experience are a territory Hollywood is just starting to explore. The style and gaze of RAGER embraces these edges with a mainstream tonality that has successful precedent.
For example, the abuse of women is handled masterfully in Mary Harron’s iconic AMERICAN PSYCHO. Much like RAGER, it uses violence to crank the winch of patriarchy while anesthetizing us with its stunningly dark humor. Amy Heckerling’s CLUELESS, centers outrageous wealth and comedically selfish characters in the same way RAGER does. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s KILLING EVE, on the other hand, spotlights physical violence and unstable mental health while not shrugging off the sex appeal of either of its main characters.
This is the sweet spot where RAGER lives tonally. The cast will be recognizable, and the cinematography as fun, flattering, and adventurous as a dark comedy thriller can be. From the beginning we side with the women, who have agency and take up space. We look through their eyes with the camera lens and empower them with the camera angles. Attractive as the women are, we admire their physicality onscreen without male-gaze-sexualization. Instead, we get gratuitous male nudity at key moments. And when the power dynamics shift and the women take over, we enjoy hunting down their male assailants, the camera tracking with us as we run and sometimes literally turning upside down to match Xoana’s transforming worldview.
CHARACTERS
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XOANA
20s, Brazilian, enchanting beauty both inside and out. Beneath her “perfect woman” facade, she’s also sheltered, spoiled, and trapped in a life she never asked for, including being engaged to Preston who is unkind to her mental health.
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PRESTON
20s, hot, aggressive, insecure. Preston needs to feel respected, marry the “right woman” and stay rich…you know, alpha male shit. He resents Xoana, whose depression is—in his mind—selfish and lame. Forever paranoid she’ll cheat on him.
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DWE
20s, elegant, autonomous, the real alpha male in the group. In addition to all the ornaments of success as a self-made man, Dwe seeks to be accepted by his white peers after a lifetime of covert racism. Hiding a few skeletons, and it’s not pretty.
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BARBI
20s, gorgeous, influencer, good friend to Xoana and Kai. Can come off as superficial as her namesake. She could have any man she’d like, but has been obsessed with Dwe for years. Hasn’t found her purpose yet above being beautiful and fun.
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GRAF
20s, entertaining, outrageous, sometimes rude “new money” who grew up in the Middle East and is desperate to fit in. Graf loves attention and is the life (and drug dealer) of the party. Dwe and Preston are the closest thing he has to real friends.
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KAI
20s, cynical, grounded, hilarious, the eyes of the audience. Kai is the successful child of wealthy parents in mainland China, but when she came out as gay she was nearly disinherited. She’s fought for self-respect and needs it from others.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
I’ve been developing the script for RAGER since 2019, when I began a radically honest analysis of my relationships with men. It was puzzling, because as a strong, smart, highly independent woman I despise discrimination and violence against women in any form. My romantic relationships with women have been beautiful and empowering. And yet, I continued to be drawn to abusive men until just a few years ago.
It’s taken me a long time to be able to even admit that, and it fills me with questions. How? Why? What the actual f**k? My last relationship almost ended in marriage with a very rich, mentally unwell young man. He was physically abusive in the end, which finally served as a wakeup call for me to break the negative cycle for good. I’m fascinated by my own reasons for staying in abusive dynamics, and by the proliferation of violence in the upper echelons of society. It seemed like the wealthier my partners were, the more sociopathic they were. Fortunately, I’ve gone from wanting to marry a hot rich man to wanting to become a hot rich man, metaphorically. So Xoana’s journey is my own, give or take about thirty billion dollars.
RAGER is a way for me to analyze the synergistic relationship of wealth and abuse. Are they synonymous? Inextricable? Is it possible to be a highly successful man and view women as more than objects or trophies? What actually causes mental illness, and how can we effectively treat it? Does wealth inevitably corrupt the wealth-holder? As a queer woman with a string of fancy exes, I have been able to both infiltrate elite society and keep something of a distance, but I have been shocked at how I still get sucked into the value systems of the rich even when trying my best to stay grounded.
You would think that racism gets better the higher up you go, but I found that it just became more covert and actually doesn’t change that much. While the core of RAGER examines power dynamics around sex and gender, racial discrimination and white indoctrination are also essential components of toxic wealth. In readings of the script over the past year I’ve enlisted various consultants to help me understand the lived racial experience of Xoana, Kai, and Dwe. The script is both hilarious and grotesque in its raw examination of oppressive power dynamics. The sexual assault scenes are all based on real incidents, and the games were pulled from “fun anecdotes” I collected over the years. In the world of RAGER there are no heroes, but we see how much worse things get when you add misogyny to classism.
CASE STUDIES
UNDER $5 MILLION BUDGET
Truth Or Dare (2018)
Budget: $3.5 million
Box office: $95.3 million
$41.4 million domestic
Major Awards: NA
Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)
Budget: $5 million
Box office: $9.7 million total
$9.7 million domestic
Major Awards: NA
Pearl (2022)
Budget: $1 million
Box office: $9.4 million total
$8.9 million domestic
Major Awards: Speculated Oscar Nom
FEMALE-LED FILMS
Not Okay (2022)
Budget: $8 million
Box office: NA (4th most streamed movie on release)
Domestic: NA
Major Awards: NA
Promising Young Woman (2020)
Budget: $8 million
Box office: $18.8 million total
$6.4 million domestic
Major Awards: 1 Oscar + 4 noms, Golden Globe, BAFTA
Zola (2020)
Budget: $5 million
Box office: $5 million total
$4.8 million domestic
Major Awards: Film Independent Spirit 2 wins
ENSEMBLE FILMS
Fantasy Island (2020)
Budget: $7 million
Box office: $48.5 million total
$26.4 million domestic
Major Awards: NA
Us (2019)
Budget: $20 million
Box office: $255.2 million total
$175.1 million domestic
Major Awards: 1 SAG nomination
Ready or Not (2019)
Budget: $6 million
Box office: $57.6 million total
$28.7 million domestic
Major Awards: NA
THE SOUNDTRACK
Listen below to the hit songs built into the script, in order of appearance. These tracks aren’t locked but give you an idea of what to expect for the official soundtrack.
