A set piece would be when Texas Rangers with the help of a local sheriff are making their way through the impregnable thickets that cover the floor of the piney forest. All is quiet. All of a sudden dogs rush out of nowhere and everywhere in the underbrush, barking, snarling, and howling. The Rangers raise their weapons, expecting to see the feudists burst out of the woods. Instead, their ears are met by the sound of cow horns blowing through the tree limbs. One comes from the northeast. Does another blow come from the south? Southeast? As soon as the dogs appeared, they vanished toward the blowing of the horns. “Well, that does it,” says one of the Rangers, lowering his Winchester. “We’ve lost the element of surprise and might as well head back to Hemphill.” The local sheriff smiles with relief.
It is called Saints in the Broken City
It is a sports drama
In the vein of Remember the Titans
It is like The Blindside meets Invictus
It follows the long-suffering but passionate Who Dat fanbase
And the powerful national corporation the National Football League
As they seek to rebuild New Orleans after a disaster using the New Orleans Saints and the Superdome as symbols of hope.
Problems arise when the Saints lose games and the NFL seeks to exert its power over the local economy
Together the power of the local community will win over corporate commoditization and inspire the nation
The idea came to me when the Saints won the Super Bowl, and it inspired me that anything was possible as I headed to college.
It is called Whiskey Chitto Woman
It is a Western road trip drama.
In the vein of Nomadland
It is like Little Women meets Cold Mountain
It follows determined pioneer woman Ellen Johnson
And naïve teenage boy Sammy Jones
As they take a hazardous journey through the outlaw-infested, devastated countryside of post-Civil War Louisiana to retrieve her husband Aaron whose leg has been amputated.
Problems arise when they encounter highwaymen and Ellen wonders how Aaron will adjust as a disabled man in an agrarian society.
Together their determined pioneer spirit and love will overcome the obstacles in their way and finish their journey strong.
The idea came to me when I was doing genealogy research while reading Whiskey Chitto Woman I found out that Aaron and Ellen Johnson were my great-great-great uncle and aunt.
It’s called God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers
It is a War Drama
In the vein of Joyeux Noel
It is like Gone With the Wind meets All Quiet on the Western Front
It follows the common Billy Yanks of The Army of the Cumberland
And the common Johnny Rebs of the Army of the Tennessee
As they battle the elements, their officers, and each other to survive a meatgrinder of a war.
Problems arise when they are thrown against each other at one of the bloodiest battles of the conflict.
Together, their shared humanity, mutual respect and the Spirit of Christmas will help them rise above the brutality of war and show each other grace and kindness.
The idea came to me when I was reading God Rest Ye Merry, Soldiers and was astonished at how mortal enemies showed each other more respect than people removed 150 years from the events do, and how the message of peace and forgiveness as shown by the soldiers Blue and Gray is one our nation desperately needs to hear right now.
My unique approach is a war movie set at Christmastime but takes place after Christmas Day during the 12 Days of Christmastide and in which the changing cultural meaning of Christmas is a major element in the story’s healing climax.
A set piece would be the night before the battle when the regiments of the Confederate and Union armies are lined up and facing each other. The musical bands of each regiment try to outplay the other with different songs. The Northern bands play “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and their version of “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” The Southern ones play “Dixie” and their own version of “The Battle Cry of Freedom.” Then a band starts playing “Home, Sweet Home.” Every band takes up the tune. Then every tongue, Blue and Gray, takes up the chorus. Soon the entire battle lines of both armies are singing the song in unison. When it ends not an eye is dry.
It is a War Drama.
In the vein of Top Gun: Maverick
It is like Hacksaw Ridge meets Valkyrie.
It follows bitter German fighter pilot Franz Stigler.
And rookie American bomber 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown.
As Franz seeks a Knight’s Cross by shooting down American planes and Charlie tries to keep his crew alive.
Problems arise when the Americans start bombing Franz’s homeland and Charlie’s plane is heavily damaged by enemy fire.
Together their sense of chivalry, honor and duty will result in one of the most remarkable acts of humanity during World War II.
The idea came to me when I was reading A Higher Call by Adam Makos and it reminded me of my own transformation from viewing all Germans as cartoonish Nazis involving someone named Franz.
My unique approach would be a World War II event told mainly from the German perspective in which Americans are seen as the faceless enemy dropping terror from metal beasts in the sky and our protagonist must come to see them as human.
And if written and directed in the tradition and with the maturity of David Lean, John Milius, and Kevin Reynolds, it could be a classic which blends the action and adventure with thought provoking lessons in the futility of nation building, the arrogance of imperialism, and the empty self-defeatism of refusing to know when to give up, surrender, forgive and bury the past. If told right, Shelby’s Expedition into Mexico could be a healing journey.
A set piece would be on July 4th when Shelby draws his men up in parade formation on the banks of the Rio Grande. Five of his officers take the Confederate flag, weigh it down with rocks and wade into the river. Then they gently lower it into the water. Former Confederate officers, officials and soldiers watch from the bluffs on the American side. Mexican soldiers look on from the southern bank. Shelby, in a rare show of emotion, tears off the black ostrich plume from his hat, wades out into the water and throws it into the folds of the flag. Tears run down the cheeks of hardened veterans as the flag disappears beneath the muddy waters. From now on, Shelby’s men will follow his ragged battle-scarred guidon. From then on, this stretch of the Rio Grande will be known as the Grave of the Confederacy.
Short Pitch
It is called Antietam
It is in the vein of A Bridge Too Far
It is like All Quiet On The Western Front meets Gettysburg
It follows the common Johnny Reb soldiers of The Army of Northern Virginia
And the common Billy Yank soldiers of the Army of the Potomac
As they fight to survive and win a war for either national independence or national unity.
Problems arise when Johnny Reb’s army is caught spread out and Billy Yank’s army is sent to battle him in head-on, piecemeal attacks.
Now together their individual courage, bravery and humanity will combine to produce dozens of human-interest stories on the Bloodiest Day in American History.
Logline: When 46 hard-fighting Irish-Texan cannoneers face off against an invasion of 15,000, it will result in the only medals issued by the southern Confederacy.
Short Pitch
It is called The Battle of Sabine Pass
It is a war action movie.
In the vein of 300.
It is like Fury meets Glory.
It follows ambitious, jovial Irish officer Dick Dowling
And young runaway drummer boy John Drummond
As they fight to free the Texas coast from Yankee invaders and prejudice against Irish and Catholic immigrants.
Problems arise when most of the Texas army is pulled from the coast and Dowling and his forty-six men find themselves the only ones to stop an invasion of 15,000.
Together their skill, training, dedication to each other and Gaelic love of fighting will result in one of the most lopsided victories of the war.
The idea came to me when I read a paragraph about the battle in The Civil War: Strange & Fascinating Facts by Burke Davis and it grabbed hold of my Irish and Texan descendent soul.
My unique approach is focusing on one unit of artillerymen called The Davis Guard and their struggles with military life, war and bigotry against Catholic Irish.
A set piece would be when Dick Dowling is standing on top of the mud pile called Fort Griffin. He has told the Davis Guard that their officers want them to retreat. “What say you,” says Dowling in a thick Gaelic accent. “No, no!,” reply his men. “Shall we fight,” he ask them. Fight, fight, fight,” they reply in unison. “It’s too hot to walk back to Sabine City,” one jokes. Just then a courier rides up. He carries a small Confederate flag. Dowling grabs the flag, crawling higher on the parapet and waves it toward the approaching gunboats. “Dick Dowling is a dead man before that flag shall come down!”
Target audiences would be men and women 20-70, teenagers, military buffs, action movie fans, history buffs, Civil War reenactors, naval buffs, Navy veterans, service members and their families, Catholics, Irish Americans, Irish people, and of course, Texans.
Audiences would want to see it for its epic stand of fighting Irish against overwhelming odds, its action, adventure, and themes of courage, brotherhood, honor and devotion to duty.