Film Synopsis
They were only 96 hours away from collecting a fortune. It was as simple as that. Then someone dropped dead - and things started to get a bit more complicated...
At a school reunion dinner in a remote country mansion, a dozen people are offered the chance to collect a million pounds each. The only catch is that they must all remain on the estate - cut-off from the outside world - for 96 hours. As events begin to conspire against them,can they stay united – or will they turn on each other and lose the cash? TWELVE IN A BOX is a tightly orchestrated comedy that barely pauses for breath as it heads towards a ‘Will-they-or-won’t-they-succeed?’ climax. With deaths, sexual intrigue, kidnapping and spiralling levels of farce and confusion, the film follows in the best traditions of an Ealing comedy.
Backround Info
‘The challenge with 12 in a Box was first not just to lift an Ealing comedy plot and transpose it to the present day, but produce a completely original storyline for the screenplay. Then, during the making of the film, we made every effort to ensure performances and filmic style remained true to the Ealing Comedy philosophy which I feel has a gentle understated style with elements of farce, rather than purely knockabout slapstick. All the cast give excellent performances in the movie, with a nicely balanced combination of understatement and absurd eccentricity which characterised the Ealing Comedy genre. There are some very farcical, mad moments in the film, but generally it provides laid back, gentle entertainment as the film eases into its pace and then builds in momentum as the story unfolds towards an increasingly frenetic climax’ – John Mckenzie, (Writer/Director)
‘12 in a Box was originally conceived in 2005. Producer Bruce Windwood says, “John and I had just finished working together on a short film and were discussing the feeling we both had that the film industry in this country seemed to be missing its self confident “Britishness” which characterised its most successful period up to the 1960’s. We are fans of the classic Ealing Comedy movies, and felt that it was time to re-visit that style of movie; a style which simply sets out to entertain. Between us we hatched the story and then John spent the next ten months writing the screenplay. Raising the finance for the film was not an easy task; we agreed that the film would only work if each of the actors in the many roles were exactly right for the part; we did not just want to throw in a couple of famous “names” for the sake of getting financial backing irrespective of whether they were right for the script. This can be anathema to film backers, but fortunately our financiers understood what we were trying to achieve so we had a free hand to choose the cast we felt exactly fitted the roles.’ – Bruce Windwood (Producer).