The musings of Sean Paul Murphy: Editor, Producer, Screenwriter, Author. Or, Hollywood -- and beyond -- as seen from an odd little corner of northeast Baltimore, Maryland.
Here's two more exciting ZOOM editions of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.
We all loved the 2015 Hindi language version of the suspenseful thriller Drishyam starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu. However, that film was a remake of the 2013 version in the Malayalam language starring Mohanial. Our viewers suggested that we watch the original. In this episode, we do. Which version is better? Check out our review and find out:
In our remakes episode, we compared the original 1981 handmade cult classic The Evil Dead against its slicker 2013 remake. My question: Why did we leave out the original remake The Evil Dead 2 which is the best film in the series. Check out our review:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
I am awfully quick to give advice about screenwriting in this blog. And some people actually accept it. The funny thing is that none of those people have ever read any of my scripts! They might have seen one of my films, but, with a finished film, it is difficult to say who contributed what. Therefore, to help people decide whether my writing advice is any good, I am posting some pages for your pleasure and perusal.
Inspired by the three-page challenges on the Scriptnotes podcast by John August and Craig Mazin, I have decided to post the opening of some of my scripts in a series of blogs. However, rather than three pages, I am going with five pages because I feel that will provide a more accurate appraisal of my writing and the stories. I am not posting the scripts of any of my produced films. That would be complicated legally since those scripts now belong to their respective production companies. Nor am I posting any script currently under option for the same reason. These scripts are either new or part of my back catalog. Some are ready to be pitched. Others need a little polishing. But you can read the first five pages now.
This sample is from my screenplay Desecrated. The script was inspired by a visit to the horribly overgrown but historic African-American cemetery in Baltimore called Mount Auburn. That visit also inspired my wife Deborah and me to produce a feature-length documentary about the cemetery, which was directed by the great David Butler. Here's the trailer for our award-winning documentary.
Desecrated was a semi-finalist in the Slamdance Horror Competition. It was never officially optioned but Mark Redfield and I nearly put a production together pitting Ken Foree, of Dawn of the Dead fame, against Robert Quarry, of Count Yorga, Vampire fame, as the adult antagonists. Mark and I currently have a handshake deal to do an audio book version. (I'll have to check with him to see how it is doing!)
Here's the logline:
To escape the violence-plagued streets, two young African-American boys take refuge in an overgrown urban cemetery. While avoiding the stern caretaker, Douglas Adams, the boys make contact with the seemingly benevolent ghost of John Woodson, who claims to be imprisoned in the cemetery. However, after they free Woodson, they discover he is more powerful and terrifying than anything on the mean streets.
Here are the first five pages:
I hope you enjoyed those first five pages. You can read the whole script here:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Here's two more exciting ZOOM editions of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.
This week we look at another Indian film inspired by Shakespeare. 2021's Jojiis more loosely based on the MacBeth than the films we have seen based on Hamlet and Othello. In fact, we wonder if the association with the play helped or hurt our enjoyment of the film. Check out our review and find out:
In our remakes episode, we looked at the animated Disney classic Beauty and the Beast and the live action version. To make this episode extra special, we brought on three eight-year-olds to survey the opinion of the target audience. Check it out:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
There are some events that reverberate through a family for generations. One of those events in my Rosenberger family was the death of my 2nd great-uncle John Rosenberger and his son George in a holiday tragedy.
My grandmother Rita Rosenberger Pollock always fondly recalled her uncle John, the brother of her father George, even decades after his death. She remembered visiting his house at Christmas. She said Uncle John took all of the furniture out of his living room during the holidays and set up a wonderful Christmas garden with tracks and trolleys he built himself. He topped it off with an artificial Christmas tree rotating on a stand that played music.
John sounded like he was quite a guy! Sadly, he would leave this world while still a young man, taking his twelve-year-old son with him. On 17 July 1927, a family trip would turn into a terrible disaster.
Here's the story.....
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), Monday, July 18, 1927:
SEVEN DROWNED, 3 RESCUED IN NEARBY WATERS
-----
3 Die, Woman And Baby Saved As Boat Capsizes In Back River
------
YOUTH, 19, DRAGS GIRL FROM PATAPSCO
-----
George W. Jones, 18, Loses Life While Swimming In Quarry Hole.
-----
Four persons, including a man and his son, were drowned, and a woman, a 10-year-old girl and a baby were rescued yesterday in three bathing accidents in and near Baltimore. Three other persons lost their lives in Anne Arundel county waters.
Three of the persons were drowned and the woman and baby were rescued after a rowboat had capsized about 200 yards from shore while a party of Baltimoreans was swimming in Back river. In another accident a youth lost his life while swimming with several companions in an abandoned quarry at Cherry Hill, Brooklyn.
Youth Saves Little Girl.
The little girl was rescued from the Patapsco river by a youth, 19 years old, who ran more than 200 yards to the end of a wharf, dived into twelve feet of water and saved the child after she had fallen from the wharf.
John V. Hennegan,* a law student who was graduated from Calvert Hall in 1926, affected the rescue. When the accident occurred he was playing ball on the lawn at Thompson's Sea Girt House, Twelfth avenue and Seventeenth street, which is conducted by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. August Hennegan, 2708 Oak street.
Dorothy Orwig, of the 500 block South Milton avenue, fell from the wharf while playing with several other children. She sank and the other children ran screaming to the house.
Young Hennegan, fully clothed, dropped his bat and dashed to the end of the wharf more than 200 yards away, plunged into the water and seized the struggling child. In a few moments he had pulled her to safety. She was taken to the shore of George Davis, where she had been visiting, and soon recovered.
Three Die As Boat Capsizes.
Three other victims were drowned at Triple Union Park, a Back river shore about a mile north of the Sparrows Point line, when fifteen persons were clinging to a rowboat which capsized. A man and his wife rescued a woman, while a small baby was placed in a life preserver and taken to shore.
The dead are:
John Rosenberg [sic], 40 years old, 2000 block East Preston street.
George Rosenberg [sic], 12 years old, 2000 block East Preston street.
Mrs Mary Worthman, 21 years old, 2000 block Ellsworth street.
All were members of a party of Baltimoreans visiting at the shore owned by George Worthman, father-in-law of the drowned woman.
Woman Is Rescued.
Mrs. John Williams, 2000 block Ellsworth street, was rescued by Mr. and Mrs. James A. Hunt, 2000 block Ellsworth street, who brought her to shore while other members of the party were making unsuccessful efforts to find the bodies of the three victims.
A detail of police from Essex recovered the bodies in nine feet of water.
Drowns In Quarry Hole.
George Washington Jones, 18 years old, 1217 Durst street, drowned in sixty feet of water while he and several companions were swimming in Blue Pond, a pool in an old quarry at Cherry Hill.
James Foster, 15 years old, a Sun carrier, finally brought the body to the surface after several dives. Foster had attempted to save Jones' life, but failed. Jones was taken to the South Baltimore General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and the body was sent to the morgue. He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Florence Keamp.
Imagine the excitement the Rosenberger family felt that day. They would escape the sweltering heat of crowded East Baltimore for a Sunday afternoon at the beach. Their host, George Worthman, who owned the riverside property, was a neighborhood friend. He was a grocer who lived at 2027 Ellsworth Street, which was located across an alley almost directly behind the Rosenberger house. They took the Sparrow's Point trolley line out to Back river and walked the final mile with their friends. No doubt they carried a picnic lunch with them and the air was filled with laughter. Obviously, they got carried away that afternoon. Fifteen of them, including Uncle John, his twelve-year-old son George and Worthman's daughter-in-law Mary, piled into a rowboat that capsized in nine feet of water....
Here's another account of the incident:
Lead article from The Baltimore America on July 18, 1927:
2 SONS DROWN WITH FATHERS;
THREE PERISH IN BACK RIVER
- - - - -
Washington Contractor Dives to Succor Sinking Boy,
But Both Die in Herring Bay.
- - - - -
South Baltimore Quarry Hole, Herald Harbor
Also Claim Victims; Four Baltimoreans.
- - - - -
Merry swimming parties in Baltimore, Back River, Herring Bay and Herald Harbor ended in tragedy late yesterday, when seven persons were drowned.
Four of those who met their deaths in Maryland waters were Baltimoreans. The others were residents of Washington.
Two fathers were drowned with their sons, and all of those who went to watery graves died while members of their families looked on in horror.
BOAT SPILLS THREE.
Three were drowned when a boat capsized in Back river off Triple Union Park. There were:
Mrs. Mary Wortman, twenty-seven, 2040 Ellsworth street.
John Rosenberger, thirty-five, 2020 East Preston street.
George Rosenberger, twelve, son of John Rosenberger.
A youth was drowned while swimming in "Blue Pond," on Cherry Hill, South Baltimore. He was George W. Jones, eighteen, Cherry Hill.
All of the bodies of the Baltimore victims were recovered within a short space of time, with the exception of the boy, George Rosenberger. His body was not found until late last night.
Here's 2020 East Preston street today. It is the house with the pink curtains.
BAY SWALLOWS TWO.
Two of the Washingtonians, a father and son, were drowned off Owings Beach, Herald Bay, twenty miles from Annapolis. There were: Roland Johnson, forty a contractor, 7524 Fourteenth street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and Frederick Johnson, twenty-one, his son.
The other Washington resident drowned in Maryland was a fourteen-year-old boy. He met his death in Herald Harbor, near Annapolis, shortly after six o'clock. He was Abie Gilman, fourteen, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Gilman, 318 Buchannan street, Northwest, Washington.
Mrs. Wortman was the daughter-in-law of George Wortman, who purchased a shore in Triple Union Park just four months ago. She and her husband with the Rosenberger family were guests of the elder Wortman yesterday.
DIVE FROM BOAT.
The woman, with Rosenberger and his son, were members of a party of about fifteen who were diving from a small rowboat about 200 yards off shore. Several of the party clung to one side of the boat, causing it to upset.
Mrs. Wortman and the father and son disappeared under the water. While efforts were made to rescue them, others aided several members of the party who could not swim. A baby in the party was tossed into the water when the boat turned over. It was rescued by two men in a motorboat.
Mrs. John Williams, 2031 Ellsworth street, was about to sink when she was pulled to shore by James A. Hunt, 2022 Ellsworth street. A number of persons on shore who saw the mishap rushed in motor boats and skiffs to aid in the rescue.
DRAG FOR BODIES.
Patrolmen J. Wesley Hughes, James Lawson, Fred Peters and James W. Guy of the Essex Police Station hurried to the scene to drag for the bodies. Rosenberger and Mrs. Wortman were found immediately.
The 2000 block of Ellsworth Avenue today, where the Worthman family once lived.
This sad tale was one of the first stories my grandmother Rita told me about when I began doing the Rosenberger family tree. It still resonated deeply with her seventy years later. Needless to say, John's immediate family was even more shaken. John's son Elmer told me that his older brother Leo, who was seventeen at the time, was so overwhelmed by survivor guilt that he grabbed a gun when they got home and attempted to kill himself. This disaster probably affected his family in ways they probably couldn't fully comprehend themselves.
To me, the tragedy is further compounded by the fact that no photograph of John remains today. His son Elmer told me that he remembered seeing a small one of his father, ironically dressed in a bathing suit, but it has been lost. I feel sorry that his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have no visual reference for him.
Here's his death notice:
ROSENBERGER. -- Suddenly, on July 17, 1927, JOHN G., beloved husband of Annie Rosenberger (nee Schwindel).
Funeral from his late residence, 2020 East Preston street, on Wednesday, July 20, at 8:30 o'clock; thence to St. James' Church, where a Requiem Mass will be said at 9 o'clock.
The deaths of John and his son George created a financial crisis within the family as well. There was no money to put markers above their graves in Holy Redeemer Cemetery. That's sad. Still, their graves may be unmarked, but they were not unmourned. Or forgotten.
May they rest in peace.
ADDENDUM:
Ann Rosenberger Patek, granddaughter of John Rosenberger, added these comments when I posted the blog to Facebook:
"Sean, Thank you for sharing this story. If I may elaborate based on what my father, John's son, shared with us. My grandfather was a carpenter by trade and was asked to go on this boat on which he had worked. It was a celebration of sorts. My grandfather did not really want to go, as he couldn't swim. My Uncles, Leo and George, accompanied him. The boat could only go so far towards the shore. They had small life boats for those who couldn't swim to take them to shore, which the 3 of them took. Others on the warm July day decided to swim to shore, but it was farther then they thought, and when they realized they couldn't make it, they hung onto the small life boats. When so many did, the boat capsized. My grandfather couldn't swim, nor could my Uncle George. My Uncle Leo could a little and at one point had his brother by his belt loop but lost him. A very tragic day indeed. My dad never wanted my brother, sister and I around water without him or my mother. Of course we understood why. Ironically my dad joined the Navy and served in WW II and the Korean War."
News item about Elmer in the Navy
Ann's daughter, Rachel Kathleen, the great-granddaughter of John Rosenberger, added these comments about her grandfather Elmer.
"Thank you for sharing this story. I know how much it shaped my Pop-Pop's life. He was often very nervous when any of us took trips, etc. but we always said, "He had a good reason to be," and we always made sure to call him...multiple times.
My Pop-Pop's faith always amazed me. Even after that tragedy he was still so faithful in God. He never wavered.
He had a lot of amazing qualities, but what I always appreciated the most was that he was always focused on helping other people...family, friends, neighbors, strangers. Anytime he could do something for them, he would. When you mentioned the financial stress his family endured during this time, it reminded me that my Pop-Pop, who was very sharp, stopped going to school after eighth grade. He stopped so he could send his younger brother Jimmy to school. That was probably one of the first of so many countless acts of selflessness that he did. Even with just an eighth grade education, he could do math in his head faster than most people I knew."
Elmer and wife Mary
*John V. Hennegan, the hero who saved the little girl, died on June 7, 1990. Here's his obituary:
John V. Hennegan
Worked for state
John V. Hennegan, a retired field investigator for the Maryland Department of Employment Security, died of a heart attack June 17 at Arlington Hospital in Arlington, Va.
Mr. Hennegan, who was 81 and had lived in McLean, Va., since last year, was the last of the Hennegan family to run Thompson's Sea Girt House restaurant in Baltimore.
A Baltimorean for most of his life, he attended Calvert Hall College for grade school and high school, graduating in 1926. He was voted Calvert Hall Man of the year in 1986 and was a past president of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
He loved horses and often visited the Pimlico racetrack. He was secretary of the American Trainers Association, an organization of horse trainers, from 1965 to 1985.
He is survived by his wife, the former Doris Bannister of Baltimore; a son, John B. Hennegan, Baltimore; and two daughters, Beverly Oremland and Pamela Moore, both of Baltimore.
A graveside service was held for Mr. Hennegan June 21 at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Christian Brothers Development Fund, P.O. Box 20089, Baltimore, Md. 21284.
Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.
You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
Here's two more exciting ZOOM editions of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.
This week we look at one of the true masterworks of world cinema: Satyajit Ray's 1955 Pather Panchali. This neo-realistic film tells the story of a poor Bengali family in rural India in 1910. It is a beautiful but heartbreaking film with a mainly non-professional cast. It is first film of Ray's Apu trilogy. Check out our review:
In our Remakes episode, we couldn't resist the 1996 version of H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau, starring the warring divas Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. This movie had one of the most troubled productions in film history, but how was the end result? Watch our review and find out:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
I am awfully quick to give advice about screenwriting in this blog. And some people actually accept it. The funny thing is that none of those people have ever read any of my scripts! They might have seen one of my films, but, with a finished film, it is difficult to say who contributed what. Therefore, to help people decide whether my writing advice is any good, I am posting some pages for your pleasure and perusal.
Inspired by the three-page challenges on the Scriptnotes podcast by John August and Craig Mazin, I have decided to post the opening of some of my scripts in a series of blogs. However, rather than three pages, I am going with five pages because I feel that will provide a more accurate appraisal of my writing and the stories. I am not posting the scripts of any of my produced films. That would be complicated legally since those scripts now belong to their respective production companies. Nor am I posting any script currently under option for the same reason. These scripts are either new or part of my back catalog. Some are ready to be pitched. Others need a little polishing. But you can read the first five pages now.
The 4 Sided Triangle is one of many scripts I wrote with my friend director Lee Bonner, who ultimately co-wrote and directed my first produced feature 21 Eyes. When I met Lee Bonner, he was a top commercial director and a budding director of episodic primetime dramas. He had also been an RCA recording artist with his band The Lafayettes. Their most famous song was Life's Too Short. Here it is:
The band was more popular abroad than it was in the United States. The Beatles used to cover Lee's song Nobody But You during their days in the clubs. (Paul sang it.) I remember reading an interview with Robert Plant where he mentioned another one of their recordings. I immediately called Lee and told him about it. Lee's response: "Who's Robert Plant?"
Despite Lee's lack of familiarity with the lead singer of Led Zeppelin, I was excited to write with him because he is a talented filmmaker and always a pleasure to hang out with. I am revisiting The 4 Sided Triangle because it came dangerously close to being made once upon a time.
The first script Lee and I wrote together, West Rhodes, was set predominately on boats on the Chesapeake Bay and deemed too expensive to produce independently. We wrote The 4 Sided Triangle as a lower cost alternative. When we completed it, a possible SAG strike was looming and everyone was trying to get in one last film. We were going to do it if we could get Christopher Walken for the leading role of Bobby, the obsessive dance instructor at the art college. (He would have been perfect!) Walken read the script and agreed to do it. However, at the last minute, we didn't pull the trigger. Lee had an idea for a spy thriller, that could only star Michael Caine, he wanted to pursue instead. So bye-bye to The 4 Sided Triangle. However, we lifted the two lead detectives from this script and made them the lead characters in 21 Eyes.
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
I was walking up Charles Street in downtown Baltimore and I saw early-90s Robert Redford walking slightly ahead of me. Rather boldly, I trotted up to talk with him. I told him I admired his work. I carefully praised some of his more obscure films, like The Hot Rock and Brubaker, to appear more than just a casual fan.
We continued to chat, I can't remember about what, as we walked. Finally, Redford turned and asked what I did for a living. I told him I was a screenwriter. He said, "So,what do you have for me?"
Wow. I couldn't believe it. Robert Redford was asking me to pitch him. Now, the dream must have been set in the present day, because I immediately thought of my most recently completed scripts Chapel Street and Final Table. I kind of panicked, because there wasn't a suitable role for him in those scripts. I finally remembered by old reliable calling card The Long Drive. He'd be perfect for the role of the former President.
However, before I could tell him about the script, Redford grabbed his upper left arm and winced. Then he said his chest hurt.
"You're having a heart attack," I shouted.
I took out my phone to call 9-1-1. However, it wasn't my iPhone. It was an old-fashioned flip-phone.
While I dialed 9-1-1, Redford got down on his knees in pain. The operator answered. I said, "Robert Redford is having a heart attack. I need an ambulance."
"Where are you?" she asked.
I looked around. I wasn't on Charles Street anymore. I didn't know where I was.
"Tell me where you are?" she said again.
Redford was now moaning in pain. The area was crowded with people, but I still didn't recognize any landmarks.
"Wait a minute, I'll find out where I am on G-P-S," I told the operator.
I took down my phone and looked at it. It was still just a flip phone. There was no way to get the G-P-S coordinates from it.
Then I realized that, because I had a stupid flip phone, Robert Redford was going to die.
Before he read my script!
That's what really horrified me: That Robert Redford would die before he read my script.
I woke up with a very vivid memory of this dream. I was shocked. I couldn't believe how utterly shallow and self-centered I was in it.
Oh, well. I guess once a screenwriter, always a screenwriter.
Sorry, Mr. Redford.
Damned Flip Phone!
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
