Sean Paul Murphy, Writer

Sean Paul Murphy, Writer
Sean Paul Murphy, Storyteller

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Kairos Prize Semi-Finalists Announced


As a former winner, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate this year's crop of Kairos Prize Semi-Finalists.  I also want to thank Ted Baehr and all the folks at Movieguide and the Templeton Foundation for shining some attention of the lowly film scribe -- especially laboring in the field of faith-based films.

I see a few Facebook friends on the list.  However, you must forgive me for rooting for fellow Marylander Clark McMillian.  I met him at the Movieguide Awards and he's back with a new script now.

Here's the list:

Kevin Aldrich of Springfield, IL for PADRE
Barbara L. Ashdown of Chagrin Falls, OH for HEART STRINGZ
Diann Beck of Denver, CO for ANOINTED
Ken Berry of West Melbourne, FL for GIANT STRIDE
Beth Block of Sylmar, CA for INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Virginia Breen, Sean Coleman & Marcus Webb of Stamford, CT for I AM IN HERE
Livia Brode of Forest Hills, NY for SPIRIT OF KELLS
Douglas Cloud & Jim D. Brown of Brentwood, TN for THE PERFECT GIFT
Elena Casanova & Julia TerBurgh of Kansas City, MO for LEO THE LION: HUNTER'S CALL
Lori J. Closter of Plympton, MA for TOPPING THE WILLOW
Judy Cochran of Orient, NY for THE GARDEN
Rick Conti of Chelmsford, MA for THE SQUATTER
Sherry M. Cook of Acworth, GA for MY DIGITAL LIFE
Dawn C. Crouch of Huntsville, AL for DIRTY RAGS
James M. De Vince of Wallingford, CT for SHADOW OF LOVE
Suzanne C. Doherty of Burke, VA for ELIZA'S STORY
Donald Driscoll of Plum, PA for SHOWDOWN AT DAMASCUS
Justin Eade of Nelson, New Zealand for DRIFT STATION DEEP
Brian Faye of Spanish Fork, UT for JEREMY
Tony Gonzalez of Reno, NV for THE PIANO GOSPELS
Jessica Davis Huettner of La Quinta, CA for NATHAN'S MILE
Armando Ibanez of Burbank, CA for AND THE ANGELS SING
Henry Jernigan & Kim P. Wells of Youngsville, NC for ROCK STAR PARKING
Ernestina Juarez of Austin, TX for JOSEPH'S CROSS
Duane Kellogg of Bridgeport, CT for A WRETCH LIKE ME
Jeannine Kellogg of Minneapolis, MN for ON THE FIRST TRAIN TO SOMEWHERE
Gail Black Kopf of Charleston, WV for SOUL SURVIVOR
Dale Lippman of Chesapeake, VA for SEIZE THE NIGHT
Matt Lofgren & George Andre Tittle of Alameda, CA for 'STRONOMER
Christopher Lovett of Lago Vista, TX for TIES THAT BIND
Jackie Macgirvin of Kansas City, MO for THE DESIGNER BAG AT THE GARBAGE DUMP
Jeff Malphurs of New Smyrna Beach, FL for FULL DISTANCE
Clark B. McMillian, Jr. of Bowie, MD for OUR CORNERSTONE
Anthony L. Morrone & Paul Undari of Bronx, NY for BORN UNDER A LUCKY STAR
Robin Wayne Moss of Colorado Springs, CO for BIBLE DATING 101
Connie O'Donahue of Beaverton, OR for KEEPSAKE
David W. Oler of La Puente, CA for JC2
Jeff Peabody of Federal Way, WA for WHEN MOUNTAINS MOVED
Mary Anne Quigley of Tampa, FL for MACY'S GRACE
Bryan Ready of Honolulu, HI for HOLEY MATRIMONY
Marcia Chandler Rhea & Margaret Ford Rogers of Charleston, SC for THE CAROLINA STORYTELLER
Terry Riley of Dublin, OH for THE CLOCK
Anthony Sands of Burbank, CA for IF THERE WERE THREE
Jeff Saxton of Rochester, MN for ACCORDING TO JUDAS
Annette Siegal of Petah Tikva, Israel for TWO WOMEN
James A. Stevens of Wake Forest, NC for ONE SUCH CHILD
Kathryn F. Taylor of Cary, NC for THE LION'S DEN
Carey Mark Watkins of New South Wales, AUST for THE ENTREPRENEUR
Marc Williams of Denton, TX for THE SLAVE OF TANIVEH
Robert Edward Williams of Mountain View, CA for MARKED TREE
Allen Wolf of Santa Moncia, CA for HOOKED

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Stunt Man Tribute


I wanted to post this tribute to the stunt men who worked on my film "Revelation Road 2:  The Sea of Glass and Fire."   They pulled off all of these stunts and more in ONE DAY.  Stunt Coordinator - Monte Perlin.  Stunt driver - Justin DeRosa.  Stunts by Monte Perlin, Brian Bosworth, Marverick, Ron Kari.


Be sure to check out my book The Promise, or the Pros and Cons of Talking with God.  It is available in paperback and on Kindle courtesy of TouchPoint Press.

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Saturday, November 9, 2013

"Open My Eyes" wraps in Florida

Director Gabriel Alfonzo

My new film, "Open My Eyes," directed by Gabriel Alfonzo, just finished twenty-one days of shooting in Florida.  Gabriel Alfonzo had directed a number of Spanish-language films.  "Open My Eyes" is his first English-language film.  I'm very excited.  I've been waiting for a director to give one of my scripts a hot, Latin feel.

Here's the synopsis from the IMDB:

"Photographer Paul Sanders has a passion for beauty - especially beautiful women.  But in his spiritual blindness, he admires on the creation and not the creator.  When Paul becomes physically blinded in a freak accident, he is forced to reconsider what true beauty means - and where it comes from.  With the help of Abigail, a recovering alcoholic and down-on-her-luck singer, Paul realizes the meaning of love and the power of the Gospel to change people's lives.  Although he can no longer see, for the first time in his life, his eyes are open.  A film of faith and forgiveness, "Open My Eyes" proves that even the hardest hearts can be turned and that broken lives can be healed if only we are willing to believe."

How did I get involved?  Let me tell you.

For a number of years, I have posted scripts on the webpage InkTip.   In fact, the folks at the Kairos Prize paid to list my winning script, "I, John."  One day, Gabriel contacted the folks at InkTip looking for a screenwriter with faith-based experience.  They pointed him to me.  It was a happy marriage because he had already seen and enjoyed some of my previous films.

Gabriel came up with the original concept of the film.  He had previously hired a writer, but he wasn't happy with the results.  He initially wanted me to re-write the script.  However, I didn't like the original script either.  I liked the original idea, but I thought the script went off in an entirely wrong direction.  I told him I wanted to start over again, and I wrote a long, detailed treatment.  He liked the treatment and wanted to hire me.  There was only one problem.  He wanted to go into production immediately, and I was already bogged down on other projects.   I was working on the contentious treatment for "Revelation Road 3," writing the first draft of "The Shallow Grave," and finishing up the re-writes of "The Engineer."  I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it on time alone.  I needed help, and I knew just the right person.

Timothy Ratajczak and I hadn't written a script together in over a year or two.  We had worked on nine scripts together over five years, but now we were working separately.  Why?  Simple economics.  We were paid the same amount of money per script whether we worked on it together or separately.  By working separately, we both doubled our income.  Fortunately, Tim had the time to work on this script with me and Gabriel gave his approval so we could hang up the shingle once again.  Even working together, however, we were a week or so late.  Still, it all worked out well.  Everyone was happy with the script and we can't wait to see the footage!



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Monday, November 4, 2013

Best Documentary: "Sacred Ground: The Battle for Mount Auburn Cemetery"



I am proud to announce that my documentary, "Sacred Ground:  The Battle for Mount Auburn Cemetery," won the Best Documentary Award at the Churches Making Movies Film Festival in New Jersey.  I want to thank the festival, and all of the people who helped make the film a reality.  I also hope the award will bring further attention to the plight of Baltimore's historic African-American cemetery.  The film is currently being considered by a number of cable networks and film distributors.

Here's the trailer:



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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Writer Tip #7: How To Make Movies For A Living


If you want to write movies for a living, work with people who make movies for a living. They're the ones who can keep you busy and put food on your table.  Don't get excited when you get interest from someone who makes a film once every five years. Unless it's Stanley Kubrick, and he's dead.  If your producer is still working a side job, you shouldn't anticipate him freeing you from yours.

The film business is pretty much like every other business. The more you work, the greater your income.  Seek connections with people who regularly make movies.  Not just a guy who made a grade-Z zombie film seven years ago.

That's pretty much it.

Other Writing Tips:


Preview my horrifying new novel Chapel Street on Amazon:


Learn more about the book, click Here.

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Monday, October 14, 2013

"Sacred Ground: The Battle For Mount Auburn Cemetery" plays Churches Making Movies Film Festival.


My documentary, "Sacred Ground:  The Battle For Mount Auburn Cemetery" just played the Churches Making Movies Film Festival in New Jersey.    This is fifth film festival to play the recently completed film.

Director David Butler and myself at the festival.

"Sacred Ground:  The Battle For Mount Auburn Cemetery" is a feature-length documentary about community activists and family members battling a Methodist church for control of historic Mount Auburn Cemetery.  For years, Mount Auburn was the only place in Baltimore, Maryland, where African-Americans could be buried.  It is final resting place of lightweight boxing champion Joe Gans, the first African-American world champion in any sport, and numerous leaders of the early civil rights movement.  It is a registered historic landmark that has fallen into such horrifying condition hat bones litter the ground and weeds cover all but the highest monuments.  It is a tale of grave robbing, grave recycling and every other terrible thing that could possibly happen in a cemetery.

Timothy Ratajczak, Festival Organizer LaVonne McIver James and yours truly


Here is the trailer:





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Saturday, September 28, 2013

Gaming the IMDb


The Internet Movie Database is an essential tool for all aspiring filmmakers.  Even established ones.  It is the single best source for information for and about people in the motion picture business.  Trust me, whenever someone in Hollywood hears your name for the first time, they immediately type it into the IMDb.  The IMDb usually tells them all they need to know:  whether you are credible.  You're not anyone, unless you're on the IMDb.

Surprisingly, considering its industry-wide use and acceptance, the bulk of the information is provided by users.  Therefore, it is open to manipulation.  And, if you a young filmmaker marketing a low-budget indie film, you should manipulate it, but be smart about it.

1).  Getting your film on the IMDb.

In the old days, the hardest thing was getting you undistributed film onto the site itself.  The managers only want to include "real" films.  Therefore, unless your film featured some well-known individuals, you had to provide evidence that it had actually been screened before the public.  Fortunately that is not a problem anymore for the independent filmmaker anymore.  Go and register your film on the sister website withoutabox.com.*  Withoutabox is a fabulous service that helps independent filmmakers submit their films to festivals.  And, at the basic level, it is free.  More importantly, if you register your film with withoutabox.com, it automatically goes onto the IMDb.  Viola!  Problem solved.  What are you waiting for?

2).  Rating your film.

IMDb users can rate your film on a one-to-ten scale, one being the worse, ten being the best.  Obviously, since film festivals and potential distributors will check the IMDb, you want a good rating.  So what do you do?  You send out an email to all of your cast and crew and friend and families and ask them to give your film a good rating.  You do the same thing on Twitter and Facebook.  A couple days later you check on film and discover that eighty-seven people gave it a ten-star rating.  Whoopppeee!  Sadly, however, you overall rating is now only 1.2.  Why?  The IMDb has an algorithm to detect cheating.  And, once the program flags your film, it will be a long, hard slog to get it out of the basement.

Personally, I've frequently had this problem without any cheating involved.  I have written mainly faith-based films which people either love or hate.  They elicit a tremendous amount of ones and tens.  It usually takes months of genuine release before IMDb algorithm brings the overall rating up to reflect reality.

How does the young indie filmmaker get around this and still get a good score?  Easy.  Get all of your friends to rate the film but make sure they are varying the vote.  Make sure most of votes are in the five-to-nine rate.  Throw in an occasional one-or-two, too.  That way, it looks more honest, and you'll end up with a higher overall score in the end.

3).  User reviews.

Of course you want your potential distributor to see a host of glowing user reviews about your film on the IMDb, and I'm sure your friends, family, cast and crew are perfectly willing to provide them.  However, you have to make them credible.  Whenever I check out an extremely low-profile indie film, I am always suspicious when I see ten or fifteen glowing, 10-star reviews.  I test my suspicions by simply clicking on the users to see how many other reviews they have written.  If this is the only film they reviewed, I know it is by someone with a vested interested.  All credibility is lost.  Therefore, if you want to review your film (or have others do the same), take the time to review at least five or six other films as well.  It will give your review more credibility.  Also, if you're doing a question and answer session at a film festival, be sure to ask the audience to review the film on IMDb themselves when they get home.  If they really liked your film, they just might!

4) .  Credits.

Okay.  You just made your indie film.  It was low budget, so, not only did you write, produce and direct, you also did the cinematography, production design, location scouting, make-up, hair, wardrobe, set decorating, casting, transportation, lighting, editing, craft services, etc., etc., etc.

Don't be an idiot.  Don't list every job you performed.  Nothing is more embarrassing than having fifteen credits on the IMDb and having them all on one film.  Distributors aren't going to notice that and think, "Wow, this man is Orson Welles reincarnated.  We must have this film!"  No.  What they will think is:  "Man, this most be a really low budget piece of sh*t.  They couldn't afford to hire anybody."  Trust me, if you are the director, you are going to get all the credit for the success of the film anyway.  It is unnecessary to give yourself credit for every job you performed.  I don't list everything I did on films.  Here's my rule of thumb:  I don't take a credit unless I am seeking work in that discipline.

Those are my accumulated words of wisdom.  Good luck gaming the IMDb, my fellow filmmakers.

Here's my IMDb listing:  Sean Paul Murphy

*Withoutabox went gone out of business in after this blog was written. Filmmakers and festivals alike rebelled after the company began anti-competitive practices and raised fees excessively when they held near monopolistic power. Most filmmakers use FilmFreeway now for the same services.

General Filmmaking Blogs:

The Art of the Pitch, Part One, Or, Batting For Singles

Let's stay in touch:

Follow me on Twitter: SeanPaulMurphy
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