The Fifth Wave

A film by Jason Fischer

Contents

• 
Director's Statement
•  Set up
•  Situation 
•  Pay off
•  Mady
•  Money
•  Christy
•  George
•  Additional characters
•  Production design
•  Story boards
•  Bios
•  Added Value
•  Relevance
•  Inquiries
Director’s Statement

We are living in unique times. There’s a changing of the guard taking place in our country’s history.
The last years of easy, cheap oil are being replaced by a more challenging market. The great oil
fields of the past are drying up and while new ones are being found, they’re not of the same
statue. Consecutively, the rest of the world has caught up to America’s thirst for oil. It’s to the
point where one major energy shock could produce an oil super spike that would give the world’s
economy a massive heart attack. This profound moment is at the very heart of The Fifth Wave
and why I believe this film will jolt the very psyche of its’ viewers with the same amazement,
euphoria and horror that I experienced firsthand while working in it.

My characters are wholly human. Their flaws and talents clearly on display. Like most
around the world, they face problems both personally and professionally, weaving a tapestry that
is life. As the story progresses so do their challenges. Like four sailors on a submarine, we watch
and discover as they sink further and further into the ocean’s deep darkness. It is at this very point
that we learn from and about our humanity.

My vision is to bring the industry’s fierce kinetic energy to life, revealing not only its’ humanity,
but the relevance of global events. Set in a skyscraper high above the Houston skyline, I hope to
create an environment where as the day progresses, so does the living nightmare that
accompanies it. The Fifth Wave is designed to surprise as well as inform its’ viewers. Hopefully,
people will have a whole new perspective of the industry and those that live and breathe it.

Jason Fischer
The Plot
The Set Up

The morning sun rises like a ball of fire over the energy capital of the world.  James
Madison, senior partner, tanned and refreshed from his Hawaiian vacation, enters the
office ready to trade the barrel – again.  James Monroe, junior partner and trading
guru, has been at the office since 5AM working on charts. Crude’s going up – he just
knows it.  George Banes, operations manager, straightens his desk and silently prays
for his son at the hospital, wishing he could be there with him.  Christy Taylor is
focused on making her third day on the job mistake free.  As the four crude traders
begin Monday morning, they have no idea of the tsunami heading their way.
The Situation

What starts with a trading error quickly develops into the most dramatic of days.
George accidentally buys enough crude oil to fill a supertanker. Suddenly rumors of
peace in the Middle East have prices plunging. Frantically Mady and Money search
for someone to take the trade off their hands. Down millions and nowhere to run,
things only get worse. Money’s wife is leaving him. Mady sees a Houston refinery
explode. George’s heart problem escalates. Christy is brought to tears. It’s only
lunchtime and the worst news is yet to come…
The Pay Off

After hours of frantically searching for someone to save them, the market close approaches.
With no hope in sight, the President’s Press Secretary appears on television revealing the
stunning news of a Nuclear Explosion in the Middle East. All eyes are enthralled in the
developing story with the exception of George, whose body finally gives into the mountain of
stress and collapses with a heart attack. While Christy goes to no end to save George’s life,
Mady and Money are more concerned with the stunning news that crude has skyrocketed as
a result of the explosion, instantly turning their staggering loss into a gigantic win. Now up by
millions, the markets finally come to the days close prompting Money to celebrate, Mady to
retire, George to endure the agony of illness and Christy to reevaluate her position all together.
The Characters
James “Mady” Madison

James Madison, sixty-five and with a commanding presence, is a man of a different

era. An era where there was a good old boy way of handling things. A way that is
quickly passing with the rapid speed of modern communication. Torn between his
love to trade the barrel and the love of his wife, letting go of his younger self may be
his most difficult trade of all.
James “Money” Monroe

Hyper intelligent, fit and forty, the man understands the complexities of the trades
and predictions in ways that makes others in the industry jealous and him a boy
wonder. Other than the pride he takes in his only child, his partnership with Mady is
the only successful relationship in his life. This includes his wife and his girlfriend.
Money is living proof that a man that is nothing short of brilliant in one area doesn’t
have guaranteed success in all. In fact, it can be a recipe for disaster.
George Banes

An everyman just getting by, George Banes is the prototypical good guy. One that
sacrifices for an average life of happiness versus a life of intense competition and
monetary value. But this choice, as is so often seen, does not exempt him from the
pain of everyday reality. George is at the wall, with a son at deaths door and the
stress of bills mounting. It was one brief pause that started the nightmare rolling…
now if he can only live through it.
Christy Taylor

Thirty and energetic, Christy Taylor has had enough of the struggle with idealism and
it may just be time to give the real world a chance. Following up on her parents
suggestions, Christy enters this “Hall of Presidents” as a novice to the industry
though not naïve to the world. With all her might she tries to pull it together to make
it through the grueling day, summoning a focus and concentration she has not
known yet in life. And after a day like this, she may never know it again.
Production Aesthetics
Storyboards

Mady’s
Dream

Storyboards

Floor
of
the
NYMEX

Storyboards

The
Hall
of
Presidents

 Production Design
The Work of Lauryn Leclere


Lauryn Leclere began working as an art director

and illustrator for several Hollywood production
designers. Alex McDowell (Minority Report,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fight Club)
and Don Burt (2009 Oscar winner for Benjamin
Buttons) were both early mentors.

In 2004 Lauryn won the Art Director’s Guild Award

for Excellence in Production Design with a
commercial for Fema. Other well known spots
include the first Budweiser Frogs super bowl
commercial, the Xerox series of toga clad time
travelers directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the
Caribbean) and the Coen Brothers spots for
Honda, Budweiser and H & R Block.

Some of the directors Lauryn has worked with

include Joel & Ethan Coen, David Fincher,
Barry Sonnenfeld, Gore Verbinski, Sam Bayer,
Simon West, Tony Kaye, Danny Boyle, Bruce
Dowad, Michael Bay, Brett Rattner, Brad
Silberling, Phil Joanou and Fredrik Bond.
Marketing
Marketing Strategy:
Objective:

• Create a groundswell of interest by segmenting the demographic and honing into the specific
geographic and niche targets specifically the top 5 DMA’s and tech and finance aficionados.

Online:

•  WOM targeted program that hits the tech and finance demo across the top blogs and industry sites
•  Social Networks – Facebook “trading” application, sneak peeks of the film
•  Financial relevant site take-overs – CNN.com, Financialtimes.com, etc.

Print:

•  Newspaper – Wall Street Journal, NY Times ads

•  Magazine - 3-5 market advanced screening program with Tech or Financial publications

Television:

•  Stunt on shows like Colbert Report, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, Larry King

Radio:

•  Cast and filmmaker interviews on relevant national radio shows

Stunts:

•  Cast and filmmakers to ring the bell on Nasdaq

Added Value: Product Placement
Objective:

Add products and estimated values needed to dress the set based on specific call-outs in the
script by working with companies to get products donated, production will be able to save a
significant amount of money against the production budget.

Targets:

Technology should be the first focus as it could provide thousands of dollars in savings through
borrowed product / traditional placement

•  Phones - cost of phones plus activation cost (Estimated value: $30K)

• Computers – cost of computers, monitors, etc (Estimated value: $5-$10K)

• Televisions – aim to secure the main flat screen TV in the office since it provides the most
exposure (Estimated value: $5K)

Other priorities:

•  Carbonated Soft Drink (CSD) – plenty of on-screen exposure to warrant cast and crew
deliveries (Estimated value: $2K)

•  Cell Phone – work with a carrier to aim to get service discount in exchange for exposure
although these are harder deals to negotiate; target Sprint since they’re active in the film space
Bios
Director’s Bio

Jason Fischer

Since graduating from The University of Texas it has been a wild ride for Jason in the corporate
world.  Brokerage, banking and energy trading are just some of the industries he’s been involved in.  
While at Prudential Securities and later as part of the Prudential Energy Group, Jason witnessed the
everyday drama of the capital markets. He also saw firsthand the stunning collapse of Enron as part
of its trading group.  Going Independent was his first feature film in which he co-wrote and co-
produced.  The award winning film had favorable reviews in Variety, Ain’t It Cool News, The Houston
Chronicle and The Houston Press.  Jason’s own script The Fifth Wave deals with crude oil hitting an
all time high. The Talk is his most recent directorial project, while currently he and Dionne Jones are
penning The Untitled Robert Evans Biopic for Paramount selected by the famed producer himself.
Producer’s Bio

Dionne Jones

Born and raised in Houston, Dionne Jones was chosen on of the original forty to attend the
inaugural class of The Actor’s Studio Master of Fine Arts program at The New School in
Manhattan. While there, she studied with such great artists as Arthur Penn, Ellen Burstyn, Estelle
Parson and Lee Grant. While in New York, she performed at The Circle in the Square where she
starred in Hecuba, Major Barbara, That Midnight Rodeo, and Burn This. Upon graduation with
her Master of Fine Art, she returned to Texas and began making the rounds as an actor doing
various commercial, industrials, independents, and features. She just completed three
screenplays: Wisteria’s Daughter, Playing to Win (Fox 2000) and Student Body Presidents, which
she co wrote with Jason Fischer. In addition to that, her play The Goat Shearing went up at The
Westbeth Theatre in 2004. Currently, she and Jason Fischer were chosen to pen The Untitled
Robert Evans Biopic for Paramount from the famed producer himself.
Producer’s Bio

Leo Canneto

Leonardo Canneto is an Argentinean born, New York raised photographer/designer/musician/

filmaker . In 1991, at age 18, he wrote and recorded pioneering industrial band "Virus23" debut album.
The band went on to release 3 more records and toured the United States extensively thru the mid
90's. During this period he continued to hone his skills as a photographer as well as being a part of the
developing multimedia art scene in NYC. By 1996 he switched creative gears and dove head first into
the world of photography, graphic and web design, doing work for major NYC advertising firms and
brands. In 2002, Leonardo relocated to Los Angeles and started his own graphic & web design/
photography/music studio, http://materialdsign.com, which he still uses as his headquarters for
various creative endeavors. Notable projects include the full design and layout of "Every Monday
Matters"(2008), a book published by Thomas Nelson and currently featured as a weekly blog on
TheHuffingtonpost.com.He has done photography, web design and album artwork for major label
artists (Universal, Geffen, EMI, etc) as well as promotional art and websites for various films and film
production companies. He is also the creative director for Musexpo, a global music and media
conference that has held events in London, Sydney and Los Angeles since 2005. He has recently
turned his talents to film. He's been busy directing, editing and producing music videos, as well
producing Jason Fischer's "The Talk" , USS Rock N Roll's comedy pilot "Mind Machine" and various
other independent short films. He is currently developing 4 screenplays and looks forward to sleeping
a full 7 hours in 2009.
Co Producer
Beth Aranda

Beth Aranda was born and raised outside of Los Angeles in a small town at the end of the 110
freeway, San Pedro, where filming is as common as the tankers coming in and out of the port. She
would often see signs with funny names and then a year later noticed that same name was a film.
After her father took her to see the remake of “A Star is Born” she decided the entertainment world
was a world she wanted to be a part of.

After a brief glimpse into acting Beth decided behind the camera was where she wanted to plant
her career. With no connections within the industry she climbed the ranks the old fashioned way,
with a lot of hard work. Starting at the bottom as an intern, she successfully worked her way to
producing through music videos, feature films and tv commercials. Now with almost a decade as
a producer she has traveled the world doing what she loves, filming. She has worked with the big
production companies as well as the boutique production companies. Treating each commercial
the same Beth manages to facilitate the director’s creative vision while coming in under budget.
This balancing act, achieved with an innate sensibility and years of experience, brings the creative
vision and budgetary concerns into total alignment making everyone happy.
Assistant Director

Chris Medak

Christopher Medak’s romance with film began in his early years. Growing up in London as the
son of Hungarian film director Peter Medak (The Ruling Class and Romeo is Bleeding), his love of
his father’s sets became his vocation. Moving to Los Angeles in the 1980, he began as an
apprentice under John Kohn and Barry Spikings at EMI Films giving him the opportunity work on
such great films as The Jazz Singer and Francis.

His set education was formed on many non-union B movies for Roger Corman, Sandy
Howard and Billy Fine. As the years drew on he was able to work in many areas of film making
from assistant editor Art Dept, Set Dresser, Grip, Dolly grip and finally settling in the production
dept acquiring experience in features under great 1st AD’s as Newt Arnold on Like Water for
Chocolate, Bucky Smith on Pontiac Moon and Herb Gains on Natural Born Killers, Born on the
Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth.

He has also worked on hundreds of music videos with directors such as Julian Temple ,
Christopher Cunningham , Nigel Dick, Sam Bayer, McG, Mark Romanek Mathew Ralston on and
on. This led to working with a very healthy roster of directors in the world of commercials and
allowed him to work all over the world in varied conditions and cultures. He is A Member of the
DGA listed as a 1st AD for features, TV & commercials.


Relevance
Relevance
New Discoveries Unlikely To Soothe Major Oil Cos' Growth Woes
By Isabel Ordonez

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- The recent string of massive oil discoveries around the world are good news for major oil 
companies, but not necessarily the key to solving their most pressing challenge: long-term production growth.#

Despite their plethora of ongoing multi-billion dollar projects, major oil companies' producing fields are continuing to
decline faster than they are able to find and develop new resources -- and new discoveries would need at least a
decade to start production, analysts said. This could leave companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Royal Dutch
Shell (RDSA), BP PLC (BP) and ConocoPhillips ( COP) unable to achieve their promise of even a modest growth in the
next few years and force Wall Street to change the way it values these companies' stock.#

"Despite some high profile start-ups and high levels of industry activity, net production growth will remain an almost
insurmountable challenge for the U.S. and European integrated oil majors out to 2020," said the report released
Friday. "Growth will remain elusive," and companies won't be able to keep the production increase promises that
they've made -- potentially resulting in a negative market reaction once shareholders realize the value of the
companies is lower than expected, according to the report.#

"The one thing that (analysts) can all take from whatever (major oil companies) tell us is that growth is going to be less
that what they said," Argus Research analysts Phil Weiss said.#

Major oil companies have been struggling for years to maintain, let alone raise, their output as their traditional fields
dry up and rising nationalism in resource-rich countries makes it harder for them to access new deposits.#

However, oil majors would need at least 10 years to fully see the benefits of these ventures, leaving analysts worried
about their ability to increase production by 2% to 5% a year, as some have offered.#

"In a five year-window, it's going to be very difficult to see any growth at all," said Kenneth Medlock, an energy fellow
at the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.#
Relevance
Total's Preparing for the Coming Oil Shortage
by David Lee Smith#
September 24, 2009

Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Paris-based Total (NYSE: TOT), is talking about peak oil without precisely using the
term, in either French or English. According to de Margerie, whose company ranks third in size in Europe behind Royal
Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) and BP (NYSE: BP), worldwide oil supplies may fall short of demand as early as 2014.
That's actually a year later than the International Energy Agency's April prediction that 2013 may be the year in which
demand exceeds supply. According to de Margerie, the market is anticipating that shortfall, rather than allowing current
supply demand dynamics to set prices. Were the latter to be the case, he believes that crude would be trading below
$60 a barrel. Both Total and the IEA are concerned about the amount of oil and gas investment that has been deferred
as crude prices have fallen from last year's highs.
In Total's case, second-quarter production was the lowest in nine years, as OPEC cuts and the worldwide recession
took their toll. For that reason, the company is taking a number of steps to deal with what it believes lies in its future.
For instance, it's discussing an expansion of its relationship with Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) in Brazil, where it believes its
technological expertise can benefit the state-controlled oil company's efforts to produce oil from big discoveries that lie
more than 20,000 feet beneath water, sand, rock, and shifting salt. Those conditions will make production difficult and
likely drive it back several years.
And aside from the potential of Brazil, Total is already a partner of Petrobras in parts Nigeria, Angola, and Bolivia. At the
same time, Total has teamed up with Russia's Gazprom and Norway's StatoilHydro (NYSE: STO) to develop the gas-
rich Shtokman field located in the Barents Sea.
On the downstream side, the company, which is Europe's largest refiner, may trim some assets. Refinery sales have
been slow, but Total pointed to the 45% stake in its Vlissingen refinery sold to Lukoil, after exercising preemptive rights
over shares offered to Valero (NYSE: VLO) by former stakeholder Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW). On the other side of the
coin and counter to Europe's oversupply of refining capacity, Total is working on a 400,000-barrels-a-day refinery in
Saudi Arabia and looking to expand its presence in China with a possible stake in a second refinery there.
Inquiries

Please direst inquires to :

Jason Fischer – jason@fischerjones.com / (310) 770-6410

Dionne Jones - dj@fischerjones.com / (310) 721-2323

Leo Canneto – leo@fischerjones.com / (818) 987-7916

.
* Line Item Budget Available upon request