Screenplay Memories

I like to write screenplays... it keeps my creative side of my mind in check. Many years ago I was trying to figure out a short film I could shoot with available resources... paintball was a new fun thing and would allow me to shoot a short film with gunplay, but without having to spend money on buying a bunch of fake guns, blanks, etc.

So, for days I'm mulling over ways to use paintball in a short film. I was sitting on the couch with my wife and an idea finally struck me. I turned to her and said "what if terminally ill people had to play a version of paintball where the paintballs are filled with poison and the lone winner of the game gets the last available antidote for their illness?"

My wife paused and looked at me in horror and said "Who ARE you?"

That's the price of being married to a screenwriter. Our job is to come up with unique ideas, which can often be very odd and don't necessarily represent the tastes of the writer.

At that point, however, my wife didn't care. She just thought I was sick in the head.

By the way, the short film never got past the idea stage.

Saint Miguel Pro, Priest and Martyr

Everyday I visit the Catholic News Agency website and on it they have the Saint of the Day. One of the Saints really intrigued me and I believe would make a wonderful film. It's the story Fature Miguel Pro Juarez of Mexico. After I get some of the stories out of my head I am thinking about tackling converting his story into a screenplay.

There are so many great elements to his life. His unique personality, his daring, his faith, the social/political turmoil in which he lived, his life of faith in a world where it was illegal... all great movie storylines waiting to be explored.

Below is his story as listed on the Catholic News Agency. It is very inspiring and makes me wonder if I would be willing to die for my faith...

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Born in Guadalupe on January 12, 1891, Miguel Pro Juarez was the eldest son of Miguel Pro and Josefa Juarez.

Miguel was, from an early age, intensely spiritual and equally intense in his mischievousness, frequently exasperating his family with his humor and practical jokes. As a child he had a daring precociousness that sometimes went too far, tossing him into near death accidents and illnesses.

Miguel was particularly close to his older sister and after she entered a cloistered convent, he began to discern his own vocation and at the age of 20 he entered the Jesuit novitiate in El Llano, Michoacan.

He studied in Mexico until 1914 when a tidal wave of governmental anti-Catholicism crashed down upon Mexico, forcing the novitiate to disband and the order to flee to Los Gates, California.

In 1915 Miguel was sent to a seminary in Spain, where he remained until 1924. By the time he was ordained a priest in Belgium in 1925, the political situation in Mexico had deteriorated. All Catholic churches were closed. Bishops, priests, and religious were rounded up for deportation or imprisonment. Those caught trying to elude capture were shot. Celebration of the sacraments was punishable by imprisonment or death. The Church was driven underground.

Fr. Pro received permission from his superiors to return to Mexico incognito and to carry on his ministry undercover. He slipped into Mexico City and immediately began celebrating Mass and distributing the sacraments – often under imminent threat of discovery by a police force charged with the task of ferreting out hidden pockets of Catholicism.

He became known throughout the city as the undercover priest who would show up in the middle of the night – dressed as a beggar or a street sweeper – to baptize infants, hear confessions, distribute Communion, or perform marriages. Several times, disguised as a policeman, he slipped unnoticed into the police headquarters itself to bring the sacraments to Catholic prisoners before their execution. Using clandestine meeting places, a wardrobe of disguises, and coded messages to the underground Catholics, Fr. Pro carried on his priestly work for the Mexican faithful under his care.

In testimony, at the process of beatification, it was reported that at the Consecration of the Mass he celebrated the day before he was arrested, a brilliant light surrounded his entire body and his face and hands and vestments shown so brightly that those attending Mass could not look directly at him.

The next day he and his brother were arrested, having been betrayed by an informant. They were put in jail and held without trial for ten days while the government trumped up false charges implicating Fr. Pro in an assassination attempt on the president-elect, Plutarco Calles.

On November 13, 1927, President Calles ordered Fr. Pro to be executed, ostensibly for his role in the assassination plot, but in reality for his defiance of the laws banning Catholicism.

As Fr. Pro walked from his cell to the prison courtyard, he blessed the firing squad and then knelt and prayed silently for a few moments. Refusing a blindfold, he stood, faced the firing squad, and with a crucifix in one hand and a rosary in the other, he held his arms outstretched in the form of a cross and in a loud, clear voice cried out, "May God have mercy on you! May God bless you! Lord, Thou knowest that I am innocent! With all my heart I forgive my enemies!" As the soldiers lifted their rifles, he exclaimed in a loud voice, "Viva Cristo Rey!" - "Long live Christ the King!"

A volley rang out and Fr. Pro fell to the ground riddled with bullets. A solider stepped up and discharged his rifle at point blank range into the priest’s temple.

Fr. Miguel Pro was beatified on September 25, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

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I'm telling ya, it's a movie waiting to happen. I hope to write it one day and do his life justice in the process.

AARP - Who Are They Representing?

The AARP appears to me to be a good idea gone very bad. They continue to grow more and more left wing with each passing year. For example, they named Harry Belafonte as one of their people of the year... Belafonte is well known as a blatant left-wing extremist.

For example, in a recent visit to Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, a communist and vocal hater of the freedom-loving U.S. of A., Belafonte said in a speech to local socialists "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people ... support your revolution."

Excuse me Harry... there are millions of people in the United States who support a communist dictator who hates America? Really? You sure you didn't mean Canadians or Cubans or French or Chinese? You sure you meant Americans or was that the senility speaking?

And AARP head honchos... question for you... weren't the communists and socialists the ones against which you put your lives on the line to defeat? You remember during W.W. two? Or did you forget that too?

Here's a refresher... Communists/Socialist = Bad. Democracies/Republics = Good. Communist Dictator = Bad. American President = Good.

This is the easy stuff... so please review and repeat as reality only gets more difficult from here.

The AARP was also strongly against Social Security reform. Why? I don't know... coverage for people in the AARP age range was guaranteed not to change. The change wouldn't happen until their liberal bodies were safely six feet under, but by using their heavy lobbying tactics they have helped secure the fact that Social Security will certainly not exist for me and my children.

Thanks AARP!

What surprises me is that the members of the AARP are supposed to be a part of the "greatest generation." A generation which valued America, capitalism, freedom and sacrifice for the greater good of the country. Now they've turned into socialist supporting selfish clods who, with continued bad decisions and poor guidance, are certain to replace their title from the "greatest generation" to simply the "latest generation."

Into The Blue (2005)

What's the difference between a film actor that is beautiful to look at and one you can't take your eyes off of? If I knew, I could make a million dollars. What I do know is that the film Into The Blue is filled with the former, not the latter.

Into The Blue is the story about a couple of Bahamas resident down-on-their-luck, beautiful looking treasure hunters that come across a potential find and, during the course of scouring the ocean floor, find a missing plane full of illegal drugs.

The film stars Paul Walker and Jessica Alba, who look great in bathing suits but don't necessarily shine on screen. I've always like Walker as an actor but, like Matthew McConaughey, should be or could be a leading man, but never quite commands the attention of true leading men like Denzel Washington, Harrison Ford or, another beautiful actor, Brad Pitt. Whatever that magic ingredient is, Walker has yet to find it. Maybe as he grows as an actor he will, but for now he's just another one of the "beautiful people."

The story is interesting and the actors committed, but the end result is a relatively forgettable film. I wanted it to be better, but I was disappointed. I think this film would be best appreciated by snow bound northern residents who will find great joy in the stunning blue water and toned, tan bodies while they are bundled up next to the fire place waiting for Spring.

For those of us living in Florida, there's not a lot more this film can offer that isn't readily available at our local beach.

The Evolving Political Affiliation

In having a discussion with a co-worker, I realized today that our political affiliations evolve during the course of our life.

• We are idealists as children because the world is so simple to understand.
• We are liberals as young adults because we have no money and need assistance.
• We are conservatives as we age because we begin to make money and don't want anyone taking it from us.
• We are socialists as we enter retirement because we don't have a lot of money and need the government to provide our health care.

Sure, it's a simplified evaluation, but seems pretty accurate to me.

The Ipcress File (1965)

This weekend I watched an old espionage film on Turner Classic Movies starring Michael Cane called The Ipcress File. Made in 1965, the film is directed by Sidney J. Furie, who does his best to create interesting visual images. He often layers the frame with levels of information, crowding the image with items in the foreground and background. But, no amount of direction can overcome a slow, unintriguing plot line.

I'm guessing the film was made in reaction to the success of the James Bond films. However, watching the film forty years later... well, it just doesn't hold up that well. The pacing is lethargic, the uncovering of the plot is sophomoric and the ending of the story is unfulfilling. Cane, playing an agent who lives in the gray areas between right and wrong, is moved to a new department in order to uncover the plot behind missing scientists.

He is briefed, along with his new team, on the suspected bad guy's name and that he is very hard to find. In a moment of unparalleled brilliance, Cane decides to go to Scotland Yard and finds that the guy has parking tickets occurring consistently at the same place on the same day each month. No one else has thought of this? This is what makes Cane so good? Or does it just make the rest of British Intelligence looks inept?

So, he finds the guy, follow him, loses him, finds him, uncovers more stuff, etc. The bulk of the storyline, however, is Cane not only fighting to get the bad guy, but fighting his departments internal red tape. Does that sound interesting? No. Is it interesting on film? Nope.

I can handle any sort of dated spy film if the unfolding of the story is at all interesting and/or entertaining. Unfortunately, The Ipcress File is neither.

The 39 Steps (1935)

The 39 Steps was on Turner Classic Movies the other night... I can't wait for TCM to be shown in High Def! I used my DVR to record it and my children and I sat down to watch the Hitchcock classic last night. The film was made during Hitchcock's early film career when he was based in England. The 39 Steps was one of the first of his films shot in England that was also successful in the United States and began to pave the way for his eventual move to Hollywood.

The 39 Steps has so many of the classic Hitchcock elements... an dashing and handsome innocent man on the run, spies, war secrets, an educated and identifiable villian and a love interest. Hitchock would recycle these elements over and over again through out his career, fine tuning them, making them better and more effective with each subsequent film.

Also in The 39 Steps were doses of Hitchcock's humor, which is used to great effect to allow the audience to release pent up emotion from previous suspense scenes. There are also the first glimpses of scenic pieces he'll use in later films, such as a villian in a balcony during a performance (The Man Who Knew Too Much), introducing an eventual love interest on a train while avoiding the police (North by Northwest) and looking through binoculars to uncover a major plot point (Rear Window).

Even though the logic of the story is overly simplified by today's standards, the execution of the film is so well done that it is entirely forgiveable. The 39 Steps is a great way to see the seeds of the cinematic language of suspense that are hinted upon by Hitchock in this film and for which he will use to much greater effect later in his career when he reaches his prime in the 50's and 60's.

Addressing The Symptoms, Not The Problem

As I was watching the Bucs/Redskins game, at one point the NFL had a commercial about a youth center where kids could play and learn. It made me realize that society has made great strides in all the areas of helping people, except in the one area that matters most... family. There are libraries and after school clubs and learning centers and youth trips and boys clubs and girls clubs, etc., etc., etc.

We've spent all of our energies filling voids cause by the disintegration of the family unit instead of just fixing the family. We wouldn't need all of these social projects if the family unit was strong and intact.

Our nation was so much stronger when we didn't have all of these club and groups and events... we didn't need them because our families were so strong, our neighborhoods so protective and our priorities in line.

Now we simply say you can do whatever you want and we'll pick up the pieces. You can have sex whenever you want with whomever you want, you can have kids whether your married or single or gay or straight. If you have a kid out of wedlock and can't take care of them, we'll build complexes to fill their time keeping them distracted instead of educating you on how not to be a single parent.

Or, if you can't be bothered with owning up to your own sexual mistakes, you can burden the medical industry by contracting a deadly sexual disease or you can kill the baby growing inside of you because it'll cramp your style.

At the end of the day, the message we are sending is clear... do whatever you want and damn the results. We've successfully trained our children that actions do not result in direct consequences, that responsibility is a choice, not an obligation and that others will solve your problems instead of you solving your own.

I could list a hundred other examples, but it's all the same thing. No one is allowed to tell you how to live your life, but everyone is responsible for fixing your life after you screw it up.

Fix the family and all of these other problems will disappear. Don't fix the family and nothing will get better.

We spend millions of dollars on bandaging the scrapes on our face, instead of sewing closed the gash on our collective jugular veins.

Unless our treatment changes, it's only a matter of time before our society has bled itself dry.

Bucs Season Ends With A Whimper

Well, the Buccaneers' season ends with a whimper as they lose to the lowly Redskins 17-10. Two turnovers gave the Skins a 14-0 lead and the Bucs could never quite overcome the early deficit.

Let me say that you cannot turn the ball over in the playoffs and expect to win. The Redskins made enough plays to win the game. That being said, on both turnovers that resulted in points, I believe the Bucs were jipped on the calls.

For example, on the first interception, the Redskin player was running with the ball toward the end zone when he was tackled and fumbled. The refs said he was down by contact and that the play was not reviewable. My question is, if the person does not have possession of the ball, how can the play be considered over? The player can be down by contact, but since he doesn't have possession of the ball, the play should not be over. A lot of players were on the ground and the play continued. Why? They didn't have the ball. And neither did the Redskin when he landed on the ground.

Secondly, on the Williams fumble, it looked to me that Cadillac's leg was pulled up by the Redskin as he got off the ground, meaning the player was down and the ball would not have been returnable past that point. The refs said they couldn't see it. Maybe they need 106" widescreen HDTV like I do, because it was pretty obvious from my seat at home.

The touchdown that wasn't by Sheppard was disappointing. It appears that the rules were changed this year where a player must have possession of the ball all the way to the ground, instead of just having possession with two feet on the ground. Of course, that is, unless, it is a fumble return where, even if you don't have possession of the ball, you're down by contact.

I know I'm sounding like I whining about sour grapes, but a playoff game calls should be consistent and every call went against the Bucs.

The defense played very well. The Skins could only muster 122 yards of offense, which is pathetic. Yet they didn't have to do any more as we gave them 14 points.

At the end of the day, the Bucs earned the loss. It's a shame because this team will be drastically different this year. Alstott, Rice and Brooks may not be back. Hovan is an unrestricted free agent, Simms is a restricted free agent and many of our key coaching staff will not be back either, including defensive line coach Marinelli and other coaches.

Such seasons like this one are rare to come by and its a shame to see it end this way with a bunch of shoulda-coulda-wouldas. The Redskins made more plays than the Bucs and they got the win. I wouldn't say they earned it, but they got it.

Kudos to Jon Gruden for taking a team in a "building year" to the playoffs with an offense full of rookies. Probably his best coaching effort yet.

This off season will tell a lot about our hopes for next year. Lets hope we can keep some of our key defensive players and continue to build a stronger, complete team.