By TJ Lynch (Screenwriter of A Plumm Summer) (October 2007) CAST: William Baldwin, Henry Winkler, Lisa Guerrero, Brenda Strong, Owen Pearce, Morgan Flynn, Peter Scolari, Rick Overton, Clint Howard, Richard Riehle, introducing Chris J. Kelly, with narration by Jeff Daniels
WRITTEN BY: TJ Lynch and Frank Antonelli & Caroline Zelder
DIRECTED BY: Caroline Zelder They say, "Write what you know." As a product of the flyover zone, I believe I have a perspective that the majority of screenwriters don't, so I decided to take that sage advice. The result was a script called The Beginning of Wisdom, for which I was awarded a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Perhaps they're right. I was casting about for my next idea when my mother uttered the words that would make the decision for me. She asked, "Do you remember the time when Froggy Doo got kidnapped and held for ransom?" Perhaps a little explanation is in order. When I was a young child in Montana, we had a locally produced kiddies show called "Happy Herb & Froggy Doo." Happy Herb was a magician and Froggy Doo was his wisecracking, string-puppet mascot. And we loved him! Every day, the streets emptied at 3 p.m. when Froggy Doo went on the air. Then came the infamous day when the bucolic innocence of our town was torn asunder: the day Froggy Doo was kidnapped and held for ransom. I kid you not. The children were devastated, Happy Herb went into seclusion, and the town went into mourning. The FBI was even called in to try to crack the case. It wasn't kidnapping, of course, but rather extortion, because the perpetrators sent a ransom note. In fact, I didn't remember the "frognapping." Perhaps I'd repressed the trauma. But I knew it would make a great backdrop for a movie. And it was a world I knew as well as my own because it was my own. So I made it my goal to search out Happy Herb, wherever he was in the world, and secure rights to his story. Which I did. This was the script I wrote to fulfill my Nicholl Fellowship obligation, which would eventually become the movie A Plumm Summer. In the meantime, The Beginning of Wisdom had made the rounds based on the notoriety of my Nicholl win, but there were no takers. One A-list producer said, "I love your script! I really love it! I don't know what to do with it, but I love it." Which is producer-speak for, "You've written a wonderful movie that no one wants to see." Eventually, I optioned it to the father of a TV star who was finishing his run on one of the most successful shows in history - they'd been looking for a movie to play father-and-son roles in. After many years, four name directors and three production companies, it remains unproduced. In the meantime, A Plumm Summer had made the rounds as well, with similar results. In the end, I optioned it to some friends of mine, Frank Antonelli and Caroline Zelder. Like me, they'd been knocking around Hollywood for a while and had had a few heartbreakingly close brushes with success. They decided A Plumm Summer would be their vehicle to break out of the pack - they'd produce it together and she'd direct. I didn't hold out much hope. After all, if The Beginning of Wisdom couldn't get made with all that star power behind it, how were these poor, naïve kids gonna pull it off? But they did. As I was preoccupied with getting The Beginning of Wisdom made, they were taking meetings relentlessly until they hooked up with backers who believed in the project as much as they did. Then they attracted a great cast and top-notch crew, all of whom worked for far below their normal rates because they loved the script and believed in the filmmakers. Most importantly, they made a great film that appeals equally to both children and adults. At least that's our opinion. And now, as A Plumm Summer begins making the film festival rounds, we'll find out soon if the general public agrees. A Plumm Summer will screen at the following film festivals:
• Heartland Film Festival, Sunday Oct. 21 at 2:00 PM.
• Chicago International Children's Film Festival, Saturday Oct. 27 at 11:30 AM.
• Cinemagic International Film Festival for Young People, Saturday Nov. 17 at 7:00 PM.
For a preview, log onto aplummsummer.com
Screenwriter TJ Lynch is a recipient of a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting, awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for his screenplay The Beginning of Wisdom. He plans to direct the film himself in summer 2008. His home state of Montana has proven to be a wellspring of material for Lynch's writing. Its landscapes, its people and their stories have been the inspiration for many of his screenplays. Lynch is a citizen of both the United States and Canada. At the moment, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Maggie, and their dog, Copper. But Montana will always be home. | 
