'Slidin' Home' Double Play as Script Posted
December 1st 2008 00:38
A quick scan of most online dictionaries pulls up a lot of synonyms for that very fashionable of words today - especially if you are a financial journalist - 'crisis'.
Having been splashed over the front pages of the world's newspapers ad-nauseum for the last few weeks, one would've thought some originality from pundits and their sub editors might have prevailed. Like 'predicament', or 'pickle', maybe? How about 'bind', 'dilemma', 'pinch', 'quandary', or 'stew'?
I'm not trying to be too light-hearted with events on Wall Street and other world markets, I've been touched by them too, but in reality, these things will pass, and it is, after all, only money. My point is, that such a grave word should be reserved for truly grave events.
Like a child suffering from cancer. In this case, Danny Lathan, the central character of member Jodi Johnson's story submission, Slidin' Home. In fact, it was the idea of how different members of the one family handled the same crisis personally that inspired Johnson to create her uplifting, charming, yet moving story.
"I'd been rolling the idea of Slidin' Home around in my head for a year or so," explains Johnson. "I wanted to tackle the issue of how family members can be faced with the same crisis, in this case Danny's health, but deal with the news in totally different ways."
Slidin' Home is the story of baseball fanatic, Danny, who at the tender age of 12 is enjoying his remission from Leukemia. His enjoyment of life however, is hampered by his over-protective single mother who has endured his illness gripped by the fear of losing her most precious possession.
An aspiring writer, Danny enters a sports writing contest, the first prize of which is the chance to interview players from his beloved Boston Red-Sox, in person, at Fenway Park.
Still haunted by Danny's once-grave condition, and now gripped by the knowledge of the disease's return, Sharon conceals Danny's winners letter, complete with tickets to the ball game. Her father, Merle, discovers her deception, and when his appeals to her commonsense fail, decides to take matters into his own hands, whisking away his grandson for an 'unscheduled' trip to see "The Green Monster" in the flesh.
Incensed by her antagonistic Father's actions, and worried about Danny's health and safety, Sharon embarks on a cross-country chase, aided by her kind - and single - neighbor.
With law enforcement chasing them, and Sharon on the warpath, Merle and Danny must use all of their combined cunning and fortitude to let Danny experience what might very well be his last dream.
Creating characters that all could empathize with was an important part of Johnson's plan to challenge Audience Alliance members in determining who the good guys really were. While an initial reading of the synopsis could easily suggest it was the over-protective mother, Sharon, who was painted as the baddie, nothing could be further from reality according to Johnson.
"I definitely want the audience to empathize with the mother in this story. She is the antagonist to some degree, but really it's the disease that they're all warring against. The mother is a 'superstar' in the scheme of things. She has gone through a tough time, loves her son, and is justified in her actions to want to keep her son safe."
From Johnson's perspective, Grampa Merle's risky behavior is the result of his own burning desire for both Danny and Sharon's welfare. "I wanted the grandfather to act on the wisdom life has brought him over the years. He is a retired doctor who has been all over the world treating the sick and dying. He's had to watch families 'shut down' around loved ones to brace against loss instead of helping them embrace the life they still have. He does it not to spite his daughter, but to shock her in to 'living' again, too."
Member reaction to date has been positive for Slidin' Home, with the concept sitting on an 80/100 Quality Rating Score. Demand for more detail of the story has been clear, with 50% of voters wanting further content to help them see how the story and characters develop.
In response to this, Johnson has provided the full screenplay for Slidin' Home, which is now online and available to members. "It is a great read," according to Member Services Spokesperson Brett Stringer. "I liked the concept from the get go, but the screenplay really brought a lump to my throat as all of the characters were unveiled, and the complexity of the emotions for all involved became movingly apparent."
Click here to go through to the Slidin' Home project page, where Greenlight voting is available, as is the newly posted Screenplay in PDF. With the exciting changes recently announced for Member Submissions, all members are invited to visit the Member Submission section and vote. Click here to go to Member Submissions.
Having been splashed over the front pages of the world's newspapers ad-nauseum for the last few weeks, one would've thought some originality from pundits and their sub editors might have prevailed. Like 'predicament', or 'pickle', maybe? How about 'bind', 'dilemma', 'pinch', 'quandary', or 'stew'?
I'm not trying to be too light-hearted with events on Wall Street and other world markets, I've been touched by them too, but in reality, these things will pass, and it is, after all, only money. My point is, that such a grave word should be reserved for truly grave events.
"I'd been rolling the idea of Slidin' Home around in my head for a year or so," explains Johnson. "I wanted to tackle the issue of how family members can be faced with the same crisis, in this case Danny's health, but deal with the news in totally different ways."
Slidin' Home is the story of baseball fanatic, Danny, who at the tender age of 12 is enjoying his remission from Leukemia. His enjoyment of life however, is hampered by his over-protective single mother who has endured his illness gripped by the fear of losing her most precious possession.
An aspiring writer, Danny enters a sports writing contest, the first prize of which is the chance to interview players from his beloved Boston Red-Sox, in person, at Fenway Park.
Incensed by her antagonistic Father's actions, and worried about Danny's health and safety, Sharon embarks on a cross-country chase, aided by her kind - and single - neighbor.
With law enforcement chasing them, and Sharon on the warpath, Merle and Danny must use all of their combined cunning and fortitude to let Danny experience what might very well be his last dream.
Creating characters that all could empathize with was an important part of Johnson's plan to challenge Audience Alliance members in determining who the good guys really were. While an initial reading of the synopsis could easily suggest it was the over-protective mother, Sharon, who was painted as the baddie, nothing could be further from reality according to Johnson.
"I definitely want the audience to empathize with the mother in this story. She is the antagonist to some degree, but really it's the disease that they're all warring against. The mother is a 'superstar' in the scheme of things. She has gone through a tough time, loves her son, and is justified in her actions to want to keep her son safe."
From Johnson's perspective, Grampa Merle's risky behavior is the result of his own burning desire for both Danny and Sharon's welfare. "I wanted the grandfather to act on the wisdom life has brought him over the years. He is a retired doctor who has been all over the world treating the sick and dying. He's had to watch families 'shut down' around loved ones to brace against loss instead of helping them embrace the life they still have. He does it not to spite his daughter, but to shock her in to 'living' again, too."
Member reaction to date has been positive for Slidin' Home, with the concept sitting on an 80/100 Quality Rating Score. Demand for more detail of the story has been clear, with 50% of voters wanting further content to help them see how the story and characters develop.
In response to this, Johnson has provided the full screenplay for Slidin' Home, which is now online and available to members. "It is a great read," according to Member Services Spokesperson Brett Stringer. "I liked the concept from the get go, but the screenplay really brought a lump to my throat as all of the characters were unveiled, and the complexity of the emotions for all involved became movingly apparent."
Click here to go through to the Slidin' Home project page, where Greenlight voting is available, as is the newly posted Screenplay in PDF. With the exciting changes recently announced for Member Submissions, all members are invited to visit the Member Submission section and vote. Click here to go to Member Submissions.
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