There is no true-life Revolutionary War feature film
We plan to change that
Aegis for Dreams
A revolution in feature filmmaking
Our feature film project will be the first to be produced within a US charity. If we are successful, we won’t be the last.
We are Aegis for Dreams Foundation. We’re a public charity. We own the film rights to the copyrighted feature screenplay Aegis for Dreams, which tells the story of the complicated relationship between General George Washington and his ambitious young aide de camp Alexander Hamilton during America’s War for Independence.
We have received strong, independent validation on the merits of this screenplay – historically, artistically and commercially.
Our Plan
Our plan is to raise large charitable pledges totalling at least $30 million, conditioned on securing an experienced Hollywood producer to produce the film. We plan to exhibit it in theaters and distribute it (along with a teaching guide) to US high schools. Read about our educational mission HERE.
If the Foundation earns a net profit on the film, an independent Charitable Distribution Committee will distribute these profits to soldier charities and youth charities. Read more about our charitable mission HERE.
10 Reasons Why....
... this film deserves charitable funding
- Americans’ history knowledge deficit is an unmet community need which could threaten the existence of our republic.
- In the last 50 years, there has not been one historically accurate film about the Revolutionary War.
- George Washington was indispensable to our country’s Founding, but his story is not well-known to many Americans.
- The interest in the Founding Era generated by Hamilton the Musical has created a high demand for this story – right now.
- This story will be told truthfully – paramount to profit motivations..
- The screenplay is fit for purpose educationally and artistically.
- The completed film will be shown in American high schools.
- The film will initiate a national discussion about our complicated past.
- Our film will motivate other filmmakers to follow our charitable path.
- Film soundtrack: works of Mozart (a direct contemporary of Hamilton).
- Americans’ history knowledge deficit is an unmet community need which could threaten the existence of our republic.
... this is a compelling film project
- An epic true life story of the highest stakes.
- A high-quality script. (artistically, historically, commercially).
- Targeted $30 million budget (minimum).
- A talented creative team can drive the financing of this film.
- Large degree of directorial freedom, subject only to the constraint of historical accuracy).
- Opportunity to provide a great service to our country.
- The opportunity to educate generations of American youth.
- Our commitment to a theatrical release.
- A great professional challenge for a producer.
- Excellent star vehicles for Washington, Hamilton and Eliza roles
"Hollywood isn't making films like this"
Sadly, filmmakers hear this message all the time, across many genres.
Put another way, film investors with finite funds are allocating these funds to other types of films – not yours — regardless of the merit of your project. This is certainly true of Revolutionary War-era films. Since 1973, Hollywood has produced the following number of films by genre:
World War II 100+
Civil War 28
Revolutionary War 2
So here’s the revolutionary part of Aegis for Dreams: we are not beholden to Hollywood decision-making.
As a public charity, we will finance Aegis for Dreams through charitable contributions — from people who seek a reward other than financial profit: to help educate their fellow citizens – and future generations — on this important story of our Founding, and if the film makes a profit, aid our soldiers and our youth.
Factual Accuracy Paramount to Profits
Typically, when a true story is made into a feature film, there is a constant tension between factual accuracy and “not letting the facts get in the way of a good story” — again to maximize profit for investors.
When asked in a 1995 interview whether filmmakers care what historians think of their films, stalwart independent film director/screenwriter John Sayles (Eight Men Out) responded: “I think it’s generally of very little concern,” adding that capturing the spirit of the true story is more the goal. With profit considerations, that is not surprising.
We’re different. With this film project, we have not only a clear path, but a mandate, to shoot higher; that is, to strive to be as historically accurate as reasonably possible. In our view, this story is compelling enough; it needs no embellishment.
Winning the Right to Make This Film
This opportunity to produce a feature film in a charity did not come easy. We had to fight for it.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) grants (or denies) tax-exempt charity status to organizations. In our case, IRS initially denied our exemption. A material reason for this denial was that feature films are the sole province of commercial (i.e., for-profit) filmmakers, the despite our planned activities being wholly charitable.
As a result of this denial, the Foundation was required to, and successfully did, petition the United States Tax Court to reverse the IRS decision. The Foundation gained its public charity (tax-exempt) status via a Court Order reflecting the Foundation’s settlement agreement with the IRS.
Read more about Tax Court case HERE.
FILM SYNOPSIS
Aegis for Dreams is an epic story.
Imagine a slight teenager with no family, prematurely hardened by the harsh realities of life. He journeys alone across an ocean to a foreign land in search for a great destiny. That teenager's name is Hamilton.
He soon becomes gripped by the paramount issue of the day: whether the people of this new land will rule themselves as an independent nation, or by an ancient power that now rules over it. He becomes committed to the cause of this untested nation: America.
America’s oppressor is not just any foe. It is the greatest military power on earth: the Army of the British Empire.
Hamilton eventually enters the orbit of a General of great physical and moral strength, who is charged with a daunting task of leading America’s rag-tag army of farmers and tradesmen in a bloody fight for freedom. That General’s name is Washington.
Hamilton serves as an aide to Washington but is ambitious for his own command. The story delves into the tension between these two men as the American Army teeters toward mutiny.
It is Washington’s virtuous leadership that keeps the Army intact, preserving America’s Independence that was hard won on the battlefield. His relinquishment of power at War's end, unprecedented in modern history, serves as a founding principle of our republic.
Aegis for Dreams presents this epic story for the first time in a feature film.
Washington: The Founder of Our National Character
That’s a big statement, but one that is virtually beyond dispute among historians who study this period.
Professor Gordon S. Wood is viewed by many as the dean of these historians. Listen below as Dr. Wood describes Washington’s critical role in the making of the United States. He references two key events during the War, depicted in our story, which helped to establish our national character.
Washington Suppresses the Newburgh Conspiracy, March 1783
As the war winds down, Washington through his moving words, single-handedly disarms a potential coup d’état contemplated by the Army’s officers, helping to cement the founding principle of civilian control over the military.
Washington Relinquishes his Military Commission, November 1783
Senate Chamber, Maryland Statehouse at Annapolis
At War’s end, Washington appears before the Continental Congress sitting in Annapolis, Maryland to relinquish his military commission. This act was unprecedented in modern history for a conquering general to do so. Professor Wood views this voluntary relinquishment of power as Washington’s greatest act.
“… the moderation and virtue of a single character has probably prevented this revolution from being closed as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish….”
Thomas Jefferson on Washington, 1784
Our Unmet National Need
The following guidelines are included in the mission statements of many American foundations:
… “to fund unmet community needs”
… “:to support underserved communities”
America, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, which exports its culture throughout the globe, has never produced a film about our Founding like Aegis for Dreams.
We are poorer for it.
The Educational State of Our Union
F
A recent national survey revealed that only one in three Americans can receive a passing score of 60 on a multiple-choice test consisting of items taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test.
"This [survey] finding is not about bashing our schools, our students, or our fellow citizens. The importance of this study is that the future of our nation is at stake. Knowledge of a nation’s history by its citizens is essential to preserving all democratic societies.”
Dr. Arthur Levine
Former President, Institute for Citizens and Scholars
President Emeritus, Teacher’s College, Columbia University
The Power of Storytelling:
Making Cultural Impact
Based on the above data, as Americans, we collectively have a knowledge deficit as to their own history, yet as to the history of our Founding, we completely ignore one one the most powerful, culturally impactful ways to teach: by telling stories through feature films.
The making of Aegis for Dreams would be an inflection point in the film industry and change the way stories are told.
We remember compelling stories
Storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to teach
Telling this compelling story is within our reach
“…One of the things that separates theatricality from some other mediums now, is the cultural impact that films make. They make cultural impact.”
Thomas Rothman, Chairperson and CEO
SONY Pictures Motion Picture Group
This is a Unifying Story
The divisions within America are profound. Our differences threaten to overshadow our commonalities. We believe that the film Aegis for Dreams, which shines a light on the heroic and selfless acts of Washington during the War for Independence can serve as a unifying force for our country.
This Film Will Invite a National Conversation
Washington, like America itself, has a complicated history. He led America to victory in the War. He was our first President. He owned human beings. It is difficult to reconcile these facts.
Aegis for Dreams will no doubt spur a healthy and more informed national conversation about these challenging contradictions. We don’t shy away from these conversations, we welcome them.