TREATMENT BY
DYLAN MARANDA
and
SEQUOIA
First off, thank you so much for letting me pitch on this amazing idea. It really hits close to home, and the opportunity to be a part of a new message for Variety isn’t lost on me. I’m thankful for our shared history and the chance to work together on something that really sticks with people.
I appreciate you being open to my ideas during our call, and I want you to know that I see this as the start of an ongoing conversation about how we can make this the best spot it can be. If anything here doesn’t feel quite right, just let me know — we’ll talk it through together.
All that said, let’s dive in.
These were the words I kept coming back to while reading your script. What I love most is that it’s something we can all relate to — whether it’s excelling at our favourite sport, being transported by our favourite music, having a creative breakthrough, or even achieving our wildest dreams.
This feeling is never more attainable than when we are children. It’s harder as we get older, but when we’re young, we have the ability to believe that we can become this version of ourselves. This is part of what makes kids so special.
It’s when we ALL should get to feel truly Unlimited.
It’s the joy of these dreams that I want to bring to the screen.
So, how do we do that?
How I want to tackle this with you is simple.
Keep it about the kids — let them and their Variety parents guide our process.
I want to come up with one “Unlimited Scenario” for each kid we cast and let them fulfill what that means to them on screen.
Whether it’s painting a masterpiece, being an astronaut, writing a book, or playing a sport — we create a minimal but strikingly art-directed scenario to capture them living that scene.
When we open on these setups as we hear the lines, it creates an effective contrast that sets us up for our midpoint more powerfully.
Hearing that they aren’t limited by something like a wheelchair while we see them sink a basketball shot and hear the roar of the crowd — only to then have the crowd go silent and the lights dim to a spotlight when we hear what they are limited by (access to specialists, cost of mobility equipment, etc.) — really drives home just how important and effective donations to Variety are.
With this approach, I feel we are in the best position to create something that is powerful, joyous, and truly unique, all while keeping it about the kids themselves as the heart and soul of this cause.
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No denying it, casting is absolutely key for this — but I see it as the most exciting part of the process.
As part of our casting, we need to think about both the kid and the scenario.
Using a combination of casting and real Variety kids is ideal. The more we can dive into what makes them tick, the better.
I think during our call, we should be asking the kids or their parents when, where, or what dream makes our talent feel most Unlimited. It can truly be anything — the more creative, the better.
One last thing to note is the number of cast members we intend to work with. I would encourage us to limit the total. Let’s talk about it, but maybe to stay consistant with stills, we could limit it to 6-8 hero talent -- with the ability to use more as featured OCPs for the final portrait. We could also consider designating certain “hero” setups or cast members to stay efficient and make the most of our time — and our talent’s time.
For the purpose of this treatment, I’d love to run through a couple of “hypothetical” casts using some of the kids the client has pointed out, as well as our potential casting partner, Kellow:
Despite his orthotics, he says his dream is to eventually join a soccer team.
Zoe Cross with Kellow
There are pictures of her on the casting website showing her as an avid painter.
Charlotte as a Variety Kid
To show that this concept works with those who are restricted by speech and movement. She uses an eyetracking device to communicate. Her dream is to study psychology and creative writing.
So, how does that show up in our approach to creative?
How I picture this is a selective and unique approach to our art direction and visuals.
This involves a few carefully chosen pieces of production design, singular lighting per setup, and 2–3 shot “buckets” — all while having the kids deliver 1–2 lines.
Let’s break down how that could look for our three hypothetical cast members:
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A soccer ball rolls into frame over turf, the lights glowing like a traditional stadium.
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A foot stops it in its tracks, orthotics around the ankles.
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A wide shot: a small square of turf on the ground, a goal in the background, lit with high stadium-style lights. Ridhyan is clad in a custom uniform.
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Confidently, right to camera — “I am not limited by this!”
- A textured cut: he lifts a trophy, confetti falling around him.
- A paintbrush hits a canvas in close-up; we zoom out to reveal a beautiful nature painting.
- Wide shot: Zoe is intensely focused, painting in her wheelchair. Warm, dappled sunlight filters through leaves onto her face. Finished canvases and a workbench with paint surround her.
- “I’m not limited by what I have.”
- She turns the canvas around and signs her name in the bottom corner.
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Close-up of eyes, darting; the movement of a screen reflected in her glasses.
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“I’m not limited by any condition,” we hear her system say.
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We punch out: the light whirrs and changes, words darting around projected in the studio behind her.
- We see the Tobii system she is using — plugged into an art-directed, old-school typewriter. Pages and pages of writing whir out of the typewriter and dance around her, raining down as she writes her best-selling book.
This is just a sample of what we could create depending on our cast. Each setup is designed to have a unique approach tailored to the talent’s real story, easy to switch between, and shot in a timeframe that is both efficient and healthy for everyone involved.