GENERAL GRANT IS DOOMED!
“NEVER RETREAT, NEVER SURRENDER!” Ex-President Ulysses S. Grant struggles to complete his “Personal Memoirs” while combatting terminal cancer. He produces a masterpiece. The true story. Can be expanded to TV miniseries. Professional Coverage: “Recommend” - Dave Trottier (Author, The Screenwriter’s Bible) Multiple contest wins and placements
Undaunted, Grant proceeds with the formidable writing project in spite of violent coughing fits and a deteriorating physical condition.
Grant’s memories are depicted in the film as he writes the “Memoirs”. He recounts…
• The early days at West Point, his outstanding horsemanship, mathematical ability, and artistic talents, • His physical strength and heroic performance in the Mexican War, including encounters with Robert E. Lee, • His determination in leading his regiment to a California outpost via Isthmus of Panama during a cholera epidemic, • His resignation from the Army, drinking accusations, and subsequent failure in business, • His recall to active duty in the Civil War, and meteoric rise to Brigadier General, • His unique ability to concentrate and evaluate a situation – military or otherwise – and develop a clear, practical solution that works, • The Battle of Fort Donelson -- where he becomes “Unconditional Surrender” Grant, • His inner turmoil over Civil War casualties, • The surrender of General Lee at Appomattox.
Grant suffers greatly during this writing ordeal. He is unable to swallow without intense pain, and eventually loses his ability to speak.
His wife Julia, and children Nellie and Fred Grant stand by him – and also suffer -- throughout this ordeal.
Grant’s illness sparks a nation-wide death watch. Reporters camp out by his home and even try to dupe his doctors and the housemaid to get further information.
Then Grant has a severe choking experience which nearly kills him. Saved by his doctors – who use a unique medical procedure -- the Ol’ Warrior rallies and vows to finish his manuscript.
In June, 1885 Grant is moved to the Mt. McGregor Cottage in upstate New York to avoid the blistering heat of New York City.
There he complete his manuscript and dies on July 23, 1885.
The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant were published shortly after his death. Mark Twain's company printed 350,000 sets -- 700,000 volumes -- a record number of books for that time.
Grant’s “Personal Memoirs” were a great success -- praised by the public, historians and literary critics. They have been acclaimed as the foremost military memoir in the English Language.
They have never gone out of print.
Screenplays
Jim specializes in screenplays based on historical true events (including musicals), bio/pics and/or disasters. In alphabetical order:
“BOJANGLES, EUBIE AND BERT!” Three Black musical legends of the past – Bert Williams, Eubie Blake and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson – relive their show business success in spite of racism and theatrical bigotry.
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!The Cajun
When a notorious pirate, made immortal by the curse of a Voodoo Queen, is invited to a mysterious poker game in modern day New Orleans, he discovers a clue to find the treasure that can set him free.
Less Traveled
When a beloved celebrity unknowingly falls for a grounded woman outside his world of fame, he's forced to choose between the weight of legacy and the pull of true love-risking scandal, status, and everything he thought he wanted.
AT THE MERCY OF FAITH
A former preacher, haunted by the tragic rape/murder of his twin sister, spirals into darkness as supernatural forces, both angelic and demonic, wage war for his soul.
New Jack Hustlers
Two seasoned D.E.A. agents go undercover with a rookie female officer to infiltrate a ruthless gang of New Jack Hustlers, moving large quantities of a potent new narcotic.
Medicaria
A barren paramedic, desperate to be a mother, turns from healer to killer to protect a homeless boy she adopts, only to uncover his ties to a cartel — and they want him back.
The Andrew Jackson Defense
A reformed prisoner with a violent past frames his clemency petition using the biography of Andrew Jackson, arguing that like the seventh president, a man forged by violence can still become a force for good.
Heat of the Moment
A former comedian and out-of-work chef gets invited to cook for some old friends, and he soon realizes you can't stop the heart's utmost desire in a weekend filled with love, drama, and betrayal.
Fidelity Clause 2 (the Passion of Revenge)
The toxic love triangle has shattered; the slinging shards don't discriminate who they slice! A tormented wife survived relentless, mind-adultering assaults and the vicious attack of an intrusive lost soul, all at the hands of her own psychiatrist husband.
Fidelity Clause (the Passion of Regret)
A former model-turned-entrepreneur once had the world at her fingertips, but as her cheating husband blurs the line between psychiatrist and psycho, he turns her world inside-out.
Palo Alto Bang & Burn
Trapped under siege in a secret government outpost, a young professor leads his team against terrorists, traitors, and the terrifying suspicion that non-human intelligence already controls the planet.
