'MOUTHPIECE' FILM SEEKS $15 MILLION (3/11/15)

     Way back in the 70s Robert Kelly was an ambitious attorney who found himself helping people who others viewed as 'untouchables'.

     Street people were his clients, and he often helped women get out of jail for a variety of alleged crimes.

     As the road turns, Kelly befriended many of these people, helping them get their lives together, and out of the courts.

     Kelley didn't make just friends along the way, he found the ire of Atlanta officials by defending many assumed members of organized crime syndicates. 

     He wrote about the experiences, and turned it into the screenplay 'Mouthpiece' in 2001.

    "In the Disco era, Atlanta was a popular city for prostitution," said Kelly.  "These women got together and divided the city into territories, including a Commission."

       Kelly explained that the story is about the "old Atlanta" where corruption and gang warfare spread into the "...gritty underbelly of the city". 

     Years later, the script is now buzzing the ears of Hollywood types who are looking for a story.  And this is a true story.  In three parts.  It will soon be told by Atlanta's Long Shot Productions.

     Richard Tavernaro teamed with Kelly in 2012  as CFO to make the screenplay come to life with budgets, plans and---with some luck and a lot of conversation, get the movie funded.  That is going to take about $15 million dollars.  

     More money will make a better movie.  To Tavernaro and Kelly, 'Mouthpiece' is so gripping---it not only needs to be told, but will probably be adored by Hollywood.

     "This is one of those timeless stories," said Tavernaro, "...not about Robert Kelly, he's the witness to the story, but it's about the stories of the people on the street."

     "'Mouthpiece' is a screenplay that could even be translated into different eras, including the 1920s, 1940s, and  1960s," said Tavernaro.  "Though these girls represented the dregs of society, they saw themselves as business women.  That, in itself, is timeless."

     Lately the movie contracted with legendary music producer H.B. Barnum, who has signed on as Music Producer for the film.

    Barnum has arranged for many notable musicians including Gladys Knight & The Pips,  Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, Etta James, Nancy Wilson, Martha Reeves, The Temptations, The Jackson 5, The Marvelettes, O.C. Smith, Frank Sinatra, Lou Rawls, The Supremes, Al Wilson, B.B. King and Puff Daddy.

     To see a preview of the movie, there are many teaser videos on the Internet, or follow http://www.longshotprod.com/

---Ray Macon