Setting The Stage

[Currently out to A-list actors.]

A co-lead who faces the most difficult transformations of his life during its final complex chapter. If he has time to face the truth about his life he may find the resolution he seeks. A secret trauma from Merwyn’s past strikes at the heart of what we must tell the truth about in order to heal as a nation. What happens when we dare face it all and deal with the consequences?

[A John Krasinski type.]

The father/nephew in his late 30s represents what’s possible when men step up. Women often default into caregiving roles in families, but when men in the audience see a man on screen taking on the complexities of caregiving in an admirable way, it helps shift cultural expectations. Ellis is a single dad facing pressure from all sides when a shocking loss makes it even worse.

[A Sadie Sink type.]

Amanda is Ellis’s daughter and as she prepares to launch, his choices will help her set the course of her life. She courageously leans into the challenges that create grit and wisdom as she learns how to heal by dealing with reality head-on, breaking intergenerational patterns that have caused a great deal of pain, and preparing her for a bigger life than she would have had before chaos struck.

Academy Award-Nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo is confirmed in the role.

Has turned a recent loss she thought she could not endure into a universal love that has expanded her capacity to give. She knows more about what matters most now—and sees a surprising future for the remaining years of her life. Something that was unimaginable may be the path she was meant to follow from the beginning.

[A Marisa Quinn type.]

Left a successful career on Wall Street when her family needed her most and her old life felt bankrupt. Inspired by her traditional Apache culture, she’s found her calling as director of a care facility where she shows what’s possible when deeper values are respected. She may also discover in unlikely events with interesting people the potential for a new kind of family.

[An Alex R. Hibbert type.]

A budding connection to Amanda provides insight into a world he didn’t know before. And a chance meeting with Merwyn is inspiring for Jamal, but triggers memories that force Merwyn to reconsider his past. Jamal will decide if succeeding at things many who are older and more experienced would recoil from are the very things he has strength to embrace.

[A Dave Bautista type.]

Steps in boldly to offer a stranger a lifeline after having faced the worst of it alone in his own life. Friendships like theirs are hard to create in a world that doesn’t value what they do. When Ellis finally realizes he can no longer make it on his own, their powerful alliance changes everything.

[A Cush Jumbo type.]

Runs the company where Ellis is skating on thin ice. Her best friend Claire works with them and Zuri feels the urgency of protecting her. She forces Ellis to take responsibility for Claire’s safety on top of the crushing demands he faces at work and at home.

[A Carey Mulligan type.]

Jeopardizes her life and those of her children without realizing the potential consequences of her inaction. Hiding the truth because of shame doesn’t make it go away. It just escalates the crisis.

[A Steven Yeun type.]

A care provider like Jon faces the breakdowns and breakthroughs on the front lines in ways that are hilarious and touching. It’s the unsung heroics of the ones who show up every day to do the real work around living and dying that hold it all together.

[A Rhea Perlman type.]

Making music for the “old folks” is her passion. Maria is a volunteer entertainer who enthusiastically shares her homemade songs with all who will listen (and some who prefer not to).

[Terrence is a Derek Webster type]

Enduring what many find tragic is their poignant dance. They got through everything else in life and know what it takes to go the distance with each other. It isn’t what has happened to them, it’s what they make of it that keeps their love alive.

Lydia Nibley Award-winning Producer/Screenwriter

ON THE ROOF is based on my experience as the caregiver of an uncle with dementia while being a single parent of a teenage daughter.

At first each of us spun in our own orbits, but in the end, we were unified in a three-generational love story. We could have broken and closed our hearts under the strain, but instead we broke open to love harder and deeper.

I’d learned this as a child caring for my grandmother who lived with Parkinson’s for 40 of her 80 years, and again when my father died of ALS when I was 17, the same year my daughter was born and I made my way in the world on my own.

As we cared for my uncle we did very hard things and became people equal to those challenges. There was also unexpected humor and joy. This story is what i wish our family knew and could have seen on screen when we faced it.

My daughter practices palliative care with great compassion. And my life is committed to telling stories that entertain while exploring the complex, confusing, and richly humane experiences we share.

Producer, Ardees Rabang

I had the unique experience of being a key member of the production team with George Lucas and Rick McCallum at Lucasfilm Ltd from its heyday as an independent film company to the sale of the company to Disney.

My expertise spans all areas of production, marketing and publicity, and global distribution.

But beyond my professional commitment, what draws me to ON THE ROOF are my personal experiences.

Our family is dealing with the impact of Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I bring my “producing” skills to pulling our extended Filipino family together to care for our immigrant grandparents and parents.

I’ve worked on some of the best-known and most successful movies of our time—the Star Wars prequels and other films.

And now I’m committed to stories that make a measurable difference in the world. ON THE ROOF is a powerful film I know will stick with people and remind them of why we love movies.

Funding and IMPACT Teams

We have a funding team of 7 experts in film finance and philanthropy actively seeking development funds and funding for film production, as well as the domestic/international IMPACT plan.

We are also working with 3 companies to develop the IMPACT plan of the project as part of development.

Official announcements about partners will be reported in the trade press soon. (This photo is a placeholder until these announcements are made.)

Producers

We’re bringing on producers as ambassadors, putting the script into the hands of those who can give it a green light soon and move into pre-production.

Our team will align with producers who collaborate with major studios, co-producing partners, talent, sales agents, distributors, and streamers. Those who have produced a number of films of similar budget and scope and who love to make films they know will create a lasting legacy.

Director

We’re reaching out to A-list directors who have a personal connection to the material of the story. Directors who love prestige dramas with comedic elements and large societal resonance.

Casting Director

With development funding we’ll work with a casting director who has an extensive network of agents, managers, and actors to identify ideal talent for the cast in consultation with the director and producers.