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) SEMI-FINALIST Fade In Awards - True Story/Bio Competition
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
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A Baton Rouge teen, haunted by a family tragedy, battles a malevolent Creolo Myth to save his brother and amend past mistakes.
The Sword's Awakening
When King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur is stolen from a museum, it awakens a dragon and the descendent of a legendary knight who must join forces to find the powerful relic before its dark magic falls into the wrong hands.
FAUSTIAN
After a string of suspicious celebrity deaths, an obsessed detective must protect a fragile pop starlet and other notable targets of an eccentric stalker who claims to be able to cancel deals with the devil they've unknowingly made.
THE FAT LADY SINGS
When a small time private investigator gets a chance at the big time taking on a prominent politician’s wife’s case; neither realizes they are in way over their heads, the political party has been shadowing her, and will do anything to protect her husband, a presumed future presidential candidate.
Fingertips
A Psychological Horror With a twist of a psychotic individual suffering from psychosocial issues has an imaginary friend that’s part of his hallucinations his Imaginary friend is his British father a young proud to be American, forgets his medication after collecting it from a Pharmacy he causes a lot of mayhem around his area he thinks the worlds in his fingertips he chases down social media Influencers and artists by hacking and tracking their location constantly talking to himself as he hallucinates thinking He can see his British Father is around him, Kevin ends up with a chainsaw and gets a few round kills with his Chainsaw he stole from an old granny.
A Cracker in East Harlem
JIMMY J is 50 and has lived in the same East Harlem building for more than half of his life.
Free Sports Radio
Two Filipino-American brothers purchase a radio station in a small city, dreaming of commercial free sports talk, but their ambitious, younger sister has bigger plans for herself and the station.
Desert Quarry
Two mercenaries rob a former colleague's New York jewelry shop to even a score, but after the shop’s employees are found murdered, a deadly bank heist in Iraq begins to haunt them.
Perfect Contrition
A traumatized priest haunted by visions of his violent past obligingly serves a rural parish while indulging in a long distance affair, but his vindictive compulsion is sparked when he’s wrongly blamed for the deaths of two troubled altar boys.
LA Nights
It is 1973, and Quick operates an upscale after-hours establishment in West Los Angeles alongside his socialite son, Dizzy.