Jess Neill: The Movie!
Cause Real Life is So Much Better than Anything on the Screen

Plot Summary: Jess Neill, an excitable 20 year old moves from her hometown of Athens, GA located in the rolling green foothills of the Appalachians, to beautiful Camp Augusta for the most intense, insane and exciting summer of her life!

Background: Jess has just graduated from University of Georgia as an English major with a creative writing emphasis. She is thoroughly excited about moving to California for the summer (and perhaps longer?) and have a cabin of her own in the amazing family of people that call themselves Augustans. She has lived for the vast majority of her life in Athens, excepting for the scary and thrilling summer spent alone in New York City last summer, and she is very ready for the change of scenery and to meet all the new people who she will soon call friends. Jess loves reading and writing, and dreams of being a poet and the author of young adult novels.

Settings (in order of appearance):

• Honolulu, HI – birthplace of Jess, although she has very few recollections of this paradise from which she originates
• Athens, GA - a vibrant college town with an active and famous music scene.  The main set of Jess' adventures in life up until now
• Sanibel Island, FL - Home to Jess' father, stepmother and sisters, this gorgeous little island hosts the family's many marine escapades on the boat, in the gulf, and through the mangroves
• New York City, NY - Where Jess spent her third summer in college participating in an internship. Many hilarious and fun stories ensued, and it has since become one of Jess' favorite places on earth.
• Camp Augusta, CA - The one that you all have been holding your breath for. We have yet to begin shooting this location, however it promises to hold an amazing waterfall, beautiful pines and a great number of smiling (and possibly oatmeal smeared) faces.

First Screenshot During Credits: Jess, laying on a bright green field surrounded by daffodils and tulips. She is listening to music and absorbing the last of her many naps in the sun on the North Campus of the University. She gets up and walks through downtown, and the screen flashes to the many scenes and memories she has of Athens. Going to poetry readings at the local theatre, playing in fountains with her friends, writing poetry and talking with friends in the coffee shops, planning road trips and eating fries with feta dip in the fifties diner called The Grill, sitting under a magnolia tree staring up through the leaves to the stars. Jess smiles at all the memories, knowing she will miss Athens, but there are many great things ahead of her. Cut to Jess getting off the plane in California, so excited to have evening embers, campfires, sleep outs, water fights, oatmeal fights, sword fights and so much more...


Characters:

• Jess – Also known as Jessica, Jessie, Jessie-bear, georgia, Scarlett, Miss Jess, JJ, jbird, neill and every so often Ruth, her ill-fated middle name. Tall, brown eyed and curly haired. Often found bouncing up and down in excitement or neck deep in a good novel. Loves heights, ultimate frisbee and colors. Does well in both loud and silly and calm, and contemplative environments. While from Georgia, she only speaks with a soft accent, but does favor the occasional use of the word "y'all."  She is very gullible, prone to singing loudly but not so well, and cooing at small animals.
• Amazing family
• Mother, step-father, Dad, stepmother - a highly supportive parental group including two trained marine biologists, an artist, a forester, an advertiser and an actress
• Two incredible sisters - pictured above with Jess, Abby and Emma are the most marvelous, surprising and loving sisters and are willing to share their big sister and let her fly to the other side of the country, even though she will miss them dearly.
• Close friends - Including Carrie and Becky as the best workout and donut eating buddies (Carrie will be appearing in the main premiere this summer, playing the role of the hyper-creative Art HERO. Look for this dynamic duo causing mischief and mayhem, occasionally in oh-so-fabulous outfits).
• Fellow Summer Staff - While she has not met any of the summer staff just yet, she is eagerly awaiting getting close to the people who are destined to be her very best friends soon!
• You! You and many other campers this summer will play a vital role in this movie. Jess is surely thrilled to meet you and get the film rolling....

Sponsors: We would like to take this moment to thank the sponsors of our film: local bookstores for feeding Jess' literary addiction. Jess' iPod for holding all of her favorite tune-age and making her runs much more pleasant. White tea, green tea and other tea for helping Jess get through many a study session. The North Campus Squirrels for entertaining Jess and allowing her to make up many stories about them and their lives. Southern Cooking for helping Jess get back to her roots, while she normally maintains a healthy veggie and whole-grains-based diet, Jess occasionally feels the urge to fry some chicken and whip out some homemade mac and cheese or chicken and dumplings.

Bloopers: There have been many bloopers in the making of this movie thus far, and many more are sure to occur. Some of the best shots have been:

• Jess, locked in a graveyard alone at night.
• Jess, lost in Harlem New York.
• Jess, stuck under her bed (occurred only this morning).
• Jess, stuck in a tire swing (she hopes that Carrie does not bring photo evidence of this escapade).
• Jess, stuck in a subway car.
• Jess, stuck in a subway car while the tunnel was on fire.
• Jess, stuck in an elevator that plummeted below the building with 17 other students.
• Jess, stuck up a tree.
• Jess, locked in a closet.
• Jess, falling mid-sentence, not breaking conversation and standing back up like nothing has happened. (This happens frequently on and off set, in fact, this occurrence has probably doubled production time. If you plan on spending anytime with Jess, this will serve as a warning for you.)

Luckily Jess is an extraordinarily bouncy individual and has rebounded from all situations with great ease and a minimal number of bruises.

Coming this May (oh so excitedly) to a Camp Augusta near you...