CURRENT
PROJECTS
34th & PARK
(documentary,
85 min.)
How do people treat each other, especially those in
need?
In one hour I transform myself from businessman to bum
and see the way I am treated on the streets. I
impersonate an inebriated homeless man, before heading
back to my 'plush' apartment to rejoin and re-examine my
'real' role in society.
In basically one shot I show how I go from being a
respectable member of society to a homeless man and how
easy the transformation can be. My experiment explores
how our societal status seriously affects the way we are
treated in the world and how it is easier than one
thinks to go from top of the heap to bottom of the pile.
Much of society's reaction to us is simply based on our
outer appearance and it's consequent signifying rank
within our social system. So, let's all learn a lesson
and see how we would be treated if destitution suddenly
happened to us.
'TARDS
(comedy - screenplay, seeking production financing)
Charlie and
Adam are lazy, flunking college seniors. Charlie has been living off Adam
and his parents since he failed out for the second time and his own parents
disowned him. When Adam is suspended for academic reasons, his fed up
parents cut him off too. The spoiled cubs now face having to give up their
rented Beverly Hills bungalow and must make it on their own or face the
horrors of urban squalor. Not to mention Charlie is being threatened by
dangerous loan sharks for outstanding gambling debts. Desperate and
panicked, they drunkenly decide to kidnap someone for ransom.
They leave a
bar, stagger to their car and drive a few blocks. They randomly thwart the
first person they find and take him back to their house. When they get him
inside, they realize they have picked up an autistic savant, Ralph. He is so
severely "touched", in fact, that he does not communicate with them. They
make a half-hearted attempt at tying him to their kitchen chair and pass
out. In the morning, they have forgotten their antics until seeing Ralph
tied to their kitchen chair. The boys decide to take him back but can't
remember where they picked him up and Ralph isn't talking. After giving him
a packed lunch and a few dollars, they leave him at a bus stop. A few hours
later, they find Ralph sitting on their back porch.
Charlie and
Adam decide the only way to find out where Ralph belongs is to kidnap
another, "less retarded" person to communicate with Ralph and find out where
to return him. They go to a local psychiatric institution and find Hank, a
gregarious man with a less than severe Down syndrome affliction. They
convince Hank they are taking him on a field trip as part of his therapy and
take him back to their house. Hank figures out what is happening and instead
of helping threatens to report them to the police if he and Ralph aren't
allowed to stay with Charlie and Adam. In the meantime, Hank develops a dog
sitting business to earn money towards his share and in preparation for his
own exit strategy and other business ideas, namely a drive-thru pizza
restaurant.
Casually one
afternoon, the group is shooting hoops on the house's basketball set up and
are amazed to discover that Ralph does not miss a shot. They decide to let
the "retards" stay and prepare to join a local prize money street ball
tournament with one of Adam and Charlie's other friends, Tyrell. The top
prize is $25,000. However, Tyrell breaks his ankle in a scrimmage and they
are back to square one until Hank suggests a fifth player. A friend of his
from the institute, L.B., is 7-feet tall with a ton of basketball
experience. The trouble is without his medication, L.B. becomes easily
enraged and nearly impossible to contain. Hank convinces Adam and Charlie he
can keep L.B. under control. The three of them return to the hospital and
stage a break out, snatching L.B. form the hospital in the middle of the
night.
Now with a full
team, they practice and scrimmage everyone from Jr. High School kids to
seasoned street ballers, trying to get team chemistry while teaching Hank
and Ralph the ropes with Tyrell's tutelage. With the loan sharks, confused
girl friends, angry doctors closing , nervous parents and the police closing
in, they play in the tournament and somehow come in second place.
Charlie and
Adam are arrested. After testimony from their "hostages", they are given
probation and state sponsored responsibility to provide a foster home and
care for their captives. They leave the courtroom with a newfound sense of
responsibility and purpose. Together, they can pursue Hank's dream of
opening a drive-thru pizza restaurant from their competition earnings since
their debts were exonerated earlier by the mobsters.
PIRATES
(action, drama - screenplay)
In Washington, a federal agent, Joseph Jones, is offered
the job of State Department liaison to Thailand. During
his briefing, we learn that Jack Shaw, a renegade
American operative, has been fighting pirates who raid
Vietnamese refugee boats and often rape, terrorize, rob
and kill those on board. In an extended flashback we
see Jack as a young bureaucrat, experiencing firsthand
the incredible devastation inflicted by the pirates on a
group of unsuspecting boat people. After gradually
learning the ropes, he begins to fight fire with fire to
the chagrin of the administration. The UN sees Jack as
an embarrassment and threat to diplomatic relations.
Joseph is ordered to begin legally and methodically
regulating the situation and to either bring Jack under
control or terminate his operation.
Joe and his wife, Catherine, attend a party the US
Embassy in Bangkok. At the reception is the shady Thai
parliament member, Senator Saht, and Jack Shaw himself.
Jack and Catherine hit things off well as Jack offers
advice while making it clear his beliefs that Joe is a
UN puppet. Concurrently, off the coast, the pirates,
under the guidance of their sinister leader, Kak, raid a
Norwegian supertanker. Microchips are found on board.
The pirates loot the ship and kidnap the Norwegian
captain.
The next day, Joe and Catherine tour the Songkla
Vietnamese Refugee Center where Joe is to be
stationed. The place is in obvious need of an overhaul
and new organization. Jack shows up and offers to take
Joe to see "more refugees". Joe agrees and soon finds
himself touring the coastal waters with Jack and his
rogue crew. Jack informs Joe that they are going to
rescue the kidnapped Norwegian captain, an event kept
hidden from the Thai government. On a small island,
there is a bloody gunfight between Jack's men and the
Thai pirates. They rescue the captain, incurring some
casualties along the way. Kak, however, manages to
escape. Joe is shocked by the violence and urges Jack to
do things by the book.
Joe is instructed by Washington not to interfere with
Jack's operation but to hold him accountable for any
criminal acts. The two men, however, are beginning to
develop a grudging respect for one another. When Joe
learns of Senator Saht's nefarious dealings (in both
drugs, smuggled microchips and human slavery), he pleads
with Jack to deal with it through official channels.
Jack agrees, but only to "teach Joe a lesson on how
things really work". Joe then tries to expose and
indict Saht. Meanwhile, in the midst of Joe's
bureaucratic dealings, Jack and Catherine become closer
but prudently avoid intimacy.
Saht is arrested, and then released unconditionally due
to a loophole. Joe becomes despondent jurisdictional
authority is so slow in coming and fears that Saht and
the pirates, who are in cahoots, may compromise Jack or
even himself. Meanwhile, Kak, has been spying on
Catherine and winds up sharing a taxi with her posing as
a fisherman to learn more information on Joe's dealings.
Jack and Joe get word about a Muay Thai kickboxing fight
fixing scandal and that Saht is lining up a large sale
of heroin. They set out to catch the senator in the
act. There is another shootout and Jack is injured.
Kak again escapes. The slippery Saht is again released
with no press involvement.
In retaliation, and as a message to Joe, Kak and the
pirates massacre the Songkla Refugee Center. Then,
Jack's long time friend, Praet, is murdered sending Jack
into seclusion at an ancient Buddhist temple.
Catherine goes to convince him to keep his integrity and
stay away from the fight. Unsure if he will, Catherine
returns to Joe and announces she's leaving Thailand to
return to America. She pleads with Joe to let Jack
disappear or stay out of his way. Just before Catherine
can leave, Kak abducts her. Knowing his methods are the
only option to rescue his wife, Joe goes to Jack for
help.
Through his extensive grapevine, Jack is able to
determine her location and a guerilla-style rescue
attempt takes place. In the final climactic action
sequence, Jack and his rag tag guerilla army corner the
Senator in his mansion. A boat chase ensues between the
main characters. Kak and the senator are killed and it
appears that Jack is also. Or is he... Joe and
Catherine return to America when Washington calls the
mission back as Joe reveals the true news of the
senator's dealings and Jack's demise.
THE EYE OF GOD
(horror, thriller - screenplay)
Michael Taylor
is having a bad day. The commercial he has been acting in is humiliating and
now his old car has broken down in the rain. He's found himself in a church,
calling his wife for a ride. As he waits, he listens to the sermon on the
struggle between good and evil. His wife, Annie Taylor, and Michael are a
relatively happy couple, aside from Michael's despondency over his acting
career in light of his wife's success as a sit-com star and his training in
classical theater. They have a young daughter, Chelsea.
In a stroke of
fate, Michael lands the lead role in a feature film called, "The Eye of
God", a psychological thriller about a man who becomes a serial killer.
During the audition process Michael meets the director, Jack Shaw, and the
writer/producer, Alexander Laurent. Jack, Michael and another actor
competing for the lead role with Michael ride motorcycles to a biker
hangout, they have a discussion on the power and beauty of evil. When
Michael rescues a tourist couple that wander into the violent dive, Jack
knows he has his leading man. The following day, Michael's celebration is
dampened with the news that the other actor has died in an apparent
motorcycle accident/suicide.
The filming of
"The Eye of God" begins. The film begins working its spell on Michael and he
begins having terrible dreams and seeing strange things while awake, like
abnormal swarms of flies around his home and on the set. As filming
progresses, Michael himself becomes increasingly strange: he forces his
vegetarian daughter to eat a plate of meat at a brunch with friends and his
lovemaking turns abusive and almost violent. Jack takes Michael to Tijuana
in the interest of "character research" where he is drugged into
participating in an amateur boxing match. Michael pummels the other fighter
with his bare fists.
About this same
time, Michael befriends a priest, Peter Magnus, through his wife. Peter also
happens to be an artist obsessed with violently graphic images. Peter,
however, tries to offer the slowly souring Michael an alternative to evil.
Meanwhile, as the filming continues, so does Michael's decline. He sets up
two DVDs in his den and begins watching violent horror films and pornography
and reading literature to further immerse himself into his character,
becoming more solitary and morose and further ostracizing his family and
friends. Soon, his den starts looking like a cabalistic shrine with
religious cult symbols filling the walls and desktop.
Aside from
isolating himself in his den, Michael also begins spending more time with
Jack, who becomes more of a force in Michael's brainwashing at the hands of
Alexander and a mysterious executive producer. Ominous events mount: a stunt
woman dies in a strange accident on set, Michael buys a gun which he brings,
after another manic dream, to his wife's dinner party with the intention of
inciting an argument and using it on the guests. By a narrow margin, he is
somehow able to stay his hand and call Peter, whose friendship he's been
neglecting.
Michael visits
Peter, who upon reading and researching the script, tells him that "The Eye
of God" is the name of a ancient cult which flourished a thousand of years
ago. Michael sets out to confirm these suspicions. When Michael calls back
Peter, he finds out the priest has been murdered and his chapel desecrated.
Enraged, Michael confronts Jack with his gun at Jack's home. Jack is again
able to subdue Michael with his power and the two of them attend a Satanic
Sabbath and complete their bond in a savage ritual. Michael disappears, only
to show up at the priest's funeral and mock his wife, daughter and the
mourners, screaming that "The Eye of God" is watching them.
Michael moves
to the desert for the last few days of filming, where Jack and Alexander
complete his brainwashing and Michael has another series of dreams which
catapult him into darkness - he meets the executive producer in a
hallucination of great evil force. When he awakens, he rides home to execute
his family. In the final moments before he does, he has other images of
sweet memories with them. The forces of goodness inside him overpower the
obsessive evil ones and his family is spared. Michael rides to Jack's home
again where the director and writer await him with the news of his
consecration by the final deed. Michael confronts them with forgiveness.
Alexander orders Jack, whose armor has been cracking, to kill Michael. Jack
and Michael have become friends and Jack, his soul torn and unable to escape
the hold of the cult, takes his own life. As the police arrive to find
Michael cradling Jack's body, Alexander has disappeared.
The final
sequence in the movie is of a newscast previewing Michael's interview from
jail about his accusations of murder and Satanism in "The Eye of God". The
last shot is of Alexander sitting in a coffee shop reading the entertainment
section of the newspaper showing a full page spread with several accolades
for the movie. Across the street is a movie theater with a large crowd lined
up to buy tickets under a marquee which reads: NOW SHOWING - Michael Taylor
in "The Eye of God".
THE REAL BATMAN
(action, horror, thriller - screenplay)
Orville Ray, an anthropologist and professor at Columbia
University, well respected by faculty and students,
searches a remote jungle in Peru for the ruins of a
lost, bat worshipping society. With two local guides, he
locates the remains of an immense underground city.
There he finds a giant stone mural that indicates the
city to be the remains of the lost culture of bat
worshipers. The three men make camp for the night in the
labyrinth. It is a full moon they see through a hole in
the earth.
Orville wakes
to find one of the guides is not in his sleeping bag. As he and the other
guide become separated in their search for their companion, by the beam of
his flashlight, Orville locates a magical discovery: he comes into a second
giant cavern where a fire burns in a distant altar. Thousands of bats line
the ceiling. Pushing onward, Orville swims his way across an underground
stream to the altar. It is shiny and inviting by the fire.
There he is
seduced by a beautiful, hypnotic woman he finds in the ruins. During their
surreal, steamy lovemaking, the dark, exotic goddess turns into a horrible
bat-like monster that drinks his blood and forces him to drink hers. She
nearly kills him as she climaxes.
Orville manages
to escape her hidden, decaying, terrifying temple through the help of the
other surviving guide and wakes up from a semi-coma in a hospital back in
New York City, surrounded by his friends and colleagues.
As the next
cycle of the moon moves towards fruition, Orville starts to experience
strange feelings and physical pangs. He suspects the worst.
When the next
full moon rises, he transforms into a humanoid sized bat-like creature with
an insatiable blood lust. In his rage, he slaughters and devours a man in a
New York park. By pure chance the man he has killed is a child murdering
pedophile that has terrorized the city. While no ones suspects Orville is
connected to the case, “The Bat-Man” is front page news. Only Orville knows
the horrible truth.
He confesses to
his best student, Ricky, and, eventually, to his love interest, a persistent
news broadcaster, Julia Andover. Naturally, they are reluctant to believe
him.
On the next
full moon, however, the Bat-Man strikes again, honing in on the racing blood
and accelerated heart beats of those committing a violent crime. This time,
he prowls the city managing to control his blood lust enough to find and rip
apart only the vilest of criminal elements. But Orville knows in his heart
that it is only a matter of time until his dark side overwhelms him.
Meanwhile, as
the Bat-Man news continues to grab the top headlines, the city's arch
criminal, the truly heinous, Dr. Death, becomes more enraged by this
“sideshow distraction” disrupting his plans to take over the city.
Orville, now on
a mission known fully only to himself, goes public that he knows the
Bat-Man. He organizes a revolutionary group of urban students and workers
orphaned by Dr. Death's assassination of Jimmy Doyle, Ricky's uncle and the
city’s prominent Children's Rights figure. Doyle was “eliminated” by Dr.
Death for opposing Death's "legitimate" corporate takeover of industrial and
residential properties, some of which housed disenfranchised youth.
Orville's
grassroots organization springs up overnight, calling itself “Friends of the
Bat-Man”, and actively supports his mission to clean up the city of
organized crime and corruption led by Dr. Death and his corporation Wax
Enterprises, and take the streets back from the corrupt, criminal and dark
forces.
They enact a
vigilante justice against Dr. Death’s criminal organization that terrorizes
the city neighborhoods. Unbeknownst to them, they're also battling City
Hall, as we learn the Mayor is in cahoots with Dr. Death. This culminates in
an allusive appearance by Orville, who is now public enemy number one and
may be suspected of either being, or at least, abetting the Bat-Man. While
adulated as a hero, Orville fights the darkness growing within him, as he
prepares for a final showdown with the city’s arch-criminal.
Now being
hunted by both the cops, their Chief Detective Nick Francuso, and Dr. Death
and his henchmen, Orville has one more thing to do before he ends his reign
of dark street justice: eliminate Dr. Death and his criminal underworld's
twisted plot before he corrupts and controls the city.
The battle
becomes personal for Orville as Dr. Death kidnaps some of his family members
and friends as bait to lure the Bat-Man into a final confrontation. In an
epic showdown, the Bat-Man annihilates Dr. Death, reigniting hope against
the corruption and crime plaguing the city. Finally, in the aftermath,
Orville escapes to Peru on one last mission: confront and destroy the
Bat-Goddess and his own cursed fate.
This story
explores the comic book superhero, action, horror, thriller genres.
OF THE WEST
(western, adventure, action - screenplay in development)
Jefferson 'Jack' Alexander is a successful young
businessman in 1885 New York City. His family has been
there for generations and though born into privilege, he
is, at 32, a brilliant financier. On the eve of his
society marriage to his longtime girlfriend, Jack gives
in to his deep misgivings about the lifestyle he has
chosen/been chosen for and takes a train to the west to
be a cowboy.
Arriving in a town with a name like Cheyenne or Loredo,
Jack enlists as a deputy in a posse. Jack witnesses his
first lynching as an outlaw he pursues is caught. He
stays on as a deputy, and through the deadly results of
a feud, becomes sheriff. After he has killed the
remainder of the outlaws he quits his job and, baptized
in blood, becomes a bounty hunter. In the townspeople
he finds the same rules as his eastern society roots and
takes to the plains with his beloved horse, practicing
his shot and hunting down criminals. As Jack becomes
more disillusioned with the corruption of society he
turns against the law and becomes an outlaw, robbing
trains. In this extreme freedom he is able to function
at what he perceives as a higher moral level.
Having become an independent and somewhat ruthless man,
Jack becomes intrigued with the Native Americans and
takes to their ways. Eventually, he finds meaning and
compassion in their vision and joins them in attacks
against the pale faced invading white man. There too, he
becomes disillusioned. Finally, after five years he is
captured and brought back to New York where his trial is
the talk of the year. He is a celebrity and is said to
have never killed anyone that didn't deserve it. After
being found guilty, and before he is executed, his old
fiancée helps him escape.
BANGKOK HEAT
(crime thriller - screenplay in development)
A New York City detective tracks a serial killer to
Bangkok. There he teams up with a local cop to track
down and bust the murderer before he strikes again.
SHRIMP BOAT FISHERMAN OF CHALOKLUM VILLAGE
(documentary feature - in development)
The day to day lives of a small group of Thai fishermen
working and living on a shrimp boat off the island of
Koh Phangan, Thailand. An intimate and intense
portrayal of the difficult lives these men lead,
subsistence fishing for survival. The dangers and
beauty of fishing at night are broken up by the stifling
heat of the dull days spent sleeping, talking and
playing cards. Learn the poignant story of these men,
their families, and the sea they call home. Here them
talk about their dreams, hopes and tragedies; watch them
battle the sea for their existence.
CASTRO & SINATRA
(documentary feature - in development)
Unknown to most people Frank Sinatra and Fidel Castro
had a mutual admiration for each other that culminated
with Castro accompanying Sinatra on his late 1962 tour
of Central and South America. Kept top secret at the
time, archival footage and interviews with key witnesses
reveal that Sinatra was under considerable mob pressure
throughout the tour to assassinate his then good
friend. The tour ended in disaster with an attempted
assassination of Castro in Buenos Aires (the famous
poisoned cigar incident) and a compromised Sinatra
narrowly escaping with his life back to Hoboken. Key
players in this drama also raise the issue of whether or
not Sinatra and Castro were clandestine homosexual
lovers during this brief touring period. An intriguing
look into the inside workings of the international
intelligence community, a classic portrait of the
American mob, an intimate portrayal of two giant figures
in history and the "Brokeback Mountain"-like portrait of
two men who's friendship and admiration for each other
pushed the limits of convention sexually, politically,
ethnically and artistically. Contains the famous
footage of Castro joining Sinatra on stage in Caracas
for a duet of "My Way".
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