Treatments
All material shown is copyrighted or registered w/ the Writers Guild of America

The Christmas Fund-Razor

Genre : Comedy

Logline : Two rival sisters who are famous singers, hold a fundraising Christmas concert to help their father and his church build a charter school for at-risk children. Comedy ensues as parodies are done of their celebrity friends, as they sing Christmas songs and act as presenters.

MAIN CHARACTERS

Kathya Douglass – (30s) Working hard to be a pop diva, but not quite there yet. Has had several hit songs and nominated for a Grammy once. In the top 30 of female R& B acts. She is the oldest sister. Has been married three times, now single, based in Los Angeles. Her dad, the Reverend, stirs up competition between the sisters. He also wants her to not be so wild on stage but loves her. She uses her connections to bring in the biggest names in R&B and rap. She secretly is trying to get Michael Jackson to appear. Kathya and her sister had a crush on another P.K. (preacher’s kid) who will be visiting the concert.

Lena Douglass – (30s) Considered tie with Yolanda Adams as the top Gospel female. Several Grammys, but less money that her sister. Conservative but VERY competitive. Never married yet, but looking for a good Christian man that Daddy would be proud of, even though she is known to date wild, pro basketball players. She tries to stay near her dad in the Phoenix area as much as possible. Daddy’s girl. Uses her connections to bring celebrities from R&b and Gospel. Trying to get MJ to appear also. She awaits the arrival of the P.K. so she can steal him for herself.

Rev. Cletus ‘Doc’ Douglass - (50-60s) Much like the father of the two Williams sisters in tennis. He pushes the girls, makes them compete between each other, it has made them stars. Runs a large Super-Church in the Phoenix area. Sees the results of the poor school system and at-risk kids w/ no direction. Wants to build a Charter school to concentrate on entrepreneurial skills, the arts and sports. It will take millions to build, even though his daughters contributed a million each, more is needed. Agrees to have the concert shown on Pay per view (profit), then taped and sold as DVD, videos and CDs(profit). None could suspect the surprise ending.

The TREATMENT

The show starts out with the choir singing an uplifting, Christmas tune. Rev. Cletus ‘Doc’ Douglass comes out and preaches passionately. His subject is about being a good shepherd and the responsibility to the flock. He says he sees the deterioration of the public schools system (quotes statistics) and young people from the ghetto being tossed aside and written off. The concert tonight is to raise funds for building a new Charter school that will better prepare our children buy this hi-tech, profit driven world.

He does an introduction for each of his diva daughters. Kathya, the oldest, is an R&B/pop singer who had made a lot of money. Lena is one of the queens of Gospel. Announces that “each has donated a million each, but more is needed. Tonight’s broadcast is on pay per view and we encourage you to make a pledge over the phone lines. Tapes and CDs will be available later.”

First, Kathya performs a Christmas song. Backstage Rev. Doc builds up competitive fire in Lena by telling her how good Kathya is. He does the same to the other sister when Lena sings a Christmas song. In between acts, they are bickering : they take pledges over the phone, announce presenters and performers.

Their celebrity friends also help in those three areas. Parodies of these celebrities are done. Celebrities parodied include: Prince, Kirk Franklin, Oprah, Macy Gray, Anita Baker, Tammy Fay Baker, Snoop Dog, Barry White, Jennifer Lopez, Yolanda Adams, TD Jakes, Stevie Wonder, Ziggy Marley, Aretha, Al Sharpton, James Brown, Little Richard, Al Green, Jesse Jackson, MC Hammer, Cisco, Della Reese, Farrakhan, Busta Rhymes, Whoopi, Billy Graham, Bill Cosby, Lenny Kravitz, Outkast, Spike Lee, Dennis Rodman, Lil Kim, R.Kelly, Shaggy, Don King, Rick James, Whitney & Bobby. (Not all need to be portrayed; it depends on availability of actors, costumes, etc).

The childhood heartthrob of the two sisters, Christian Bonet, calls the church, leaving a message on the answering machine that he will be at the show and can’t wait to meet them. He shows up. He is dashing and all that they ever wanted. Over the course of the evening, the rivalry is so intense that they start pulling each other’s hair, fighting over him. Just before the finale, he is taken into custody by security guards, from the insane asylum. He knocked out his lawyer, escaped from the mental hospital and has been using his identity. The real Mr. Bonet is a happily married man in Laughlin, Nevada.

Meanwhile, each sister is trying to contact Michael Jackson to get him to perform. Mike’s Lear jet goes down in rural Arizona before he gets either message. His flight crew is knocked out and he has amnesia. Knows he has to get to LA for some reason. Hitchhikes and catches ride with Native Americans, Rednecks and Sanctified Black family who don’t know who he is. Eventually he winds up at the church where the concert is, and is put on stage, just as the Rev. is trying to exorcize demons from Mike Tyson. It doesn’t work for Tyson, but Jackson gets his memory back. He goes into his dance routine, then does a song. All performers and presenters come out at the end for a finale song (We Are the World?) and closing remarks.