THE PRINTS

A PARK RANGER, an amateur nature photographer, is on the job when he
takes a few stills. He goes to the town bar, an equivalent to Hooters, drinks a few beers, watches some sports, hangs with some friends, makes an unsuccessful pass at one of the waitresses and gets depressed. He goes home alone, passes out. When he wakes up he decides to check out what he caught on film. Unknowingly, he caught a family of bears in several of his shots. He inspects them closer. One of the bears is extremely muddy. The photos reveal that he has captured, on film, the image of a young woman covered in mud. She looks like a teenage BEARWOMAN living with a BEAR MOTHER and her CUBS.

He tracks back to the place where he took the photos and looks at the ground where the bears and the woman are indicated in the photos. Footprints indicate his photos
are indeed accurate. There happens to be a legend in the area (the Pacific Northwest) of
a Bear Woman, which originated among the Native Americans. The Bear Woman has evolved over the years into a cultural icon. The cartoon figure of a bear woman is featured on postcards, baseball caps and sold at tourist stands. The only one who seems to actually know the Bear Woman is a crazy woman, TERRY, who lives in a self-fashioned hermitage that she created with her ancient airstream trailer up on top of a mountain.

The Park Ranger has a best friend who is Native American. This introduces a whole Native American community into the story and is the roots of the “bear woman” legend. The Park Ranger becomes obsessed with his mission to first confirm the reality of the bear woman and then to meet her. As he investigates her life he learns details of her loves and losses. His fascination with her story creates a process of lessons that enable him to embrace the reality of the Bear Woman in a meaningful and surprising way. It’s good timing because the cubs are getting ready to leave the mother. Somehow, he must reach out to her, help her overcome her fear and then embark on a rehabilitation plan in order to help her to remember her human vocabulary and human emotions. And then, somehow he must protect her from the world. Here is where it gets complicated. Everybody, including Jay Leno wants to meet her and exploit her and photograph her and create fashion for her and well, it is an exponential problem and she just doesn’t have the social skills for all that. Neither does he. The bear woman’s only friend, that crazy woman, Terry, who lives in the air stream trailer up on top of the mountain, is the only one who can create a bridge between the girl and the rest of the world. Somehow the Park Ranger must convince Terry and then help her as well, since she must also overcome all her personal issues to save the Bear Woman, help the Park Ranger, the people of the town and also - the bears.

Locations include:

Several different nature mountainous locations, one including a river and another with a cave for the Bear Den
Log cabin
Trailer
Town road
Town store
Town diner
Town Bar
Town City Hall
Town Hospital/doctor’s office
Park with Tourist Center

Who do I imagine in the Bear Woman role?
It would be so wonderful to cast a young Native American actress.

Parkranger? Um… That young guy, I think the actor's name is Blackthorn or Blackburn, yah.

Would cast from the Native American community all the Native American roles.