A Stray BulletTitle: A Stray Bullet [107 pages / minutes present run time]
Genre: Biography, Romance, Tragedy, Drama, Martial Arts Action
Logline:
Abandoned as a small child, a young man grows up in an orphanage and later struggles to survive prison and overcome impossible odds to find God, redemption and forgiveness for a tragic mistake.
Synopsis:
Noah, at the age of eight, is living with his mother in the housing projects in East Tampa when his absentee father comes for a visit after being gone for two years. After an argument and a slap in the face by his mother, he leaves her to go to Swainsboro, Georgia with his father and, after about five months, his father abandons him on the side of the road. He is picked up on the deserted rural road by a random greyhound bus driver who attempts to get Noah back to his mother’s home in East Tampa but she rejects Noah by slamming the door in his face and, not knowing what else to do he wanders for hours, ending up in Ybor City.
For six months Noah lives on the rugged streets of this Cuban neighborhood of East Tampa and sleeps in a garbage dumpster, eats out of garbage cans behind restaurants and begs for money from strangers. One day, a social worker finds him and offers him a home in an orphanage where Noah spends the next nine years of his life until he graduates high school and goes off to college. While in college he goes through a painful break up with his high school sweetheart and seeks help from an elderly retired psychiatrist who only gives him mind-altering drugs.
He contemplates suicide but instead, accidentally shoots and almost kills his high school girlfriend and her father. Sentenced to fifteen years in prison, he is recruited to be a dog boy on the prison’s canine squad to hunt down escaped prisoners risking his life by gun-fire. After a couple of years tracking and capturing escapees, he is paroled back to finish college where he continues his education and graduates. He then earns a masters and doctoral degree in psychology to help others find God for many years in his own private practice eventually being granted a full pardon from the Governor (Lawton Chiles) of Florida in 1993.
Screenplay Writer: Howard Henderson
Director: TBD
Cast: TBD
Executive Producer: TBD
Producers: TBD
“A gun changes everything… a bullet is forever.” – Bob Lee Swagger
In these times of gun violence and mental illness, this film is needed now more than ever.
You haven’t solicited my materials but, I’m only sharing my “amazing, compelling and, engaging” story that could win someone associated with it an Oscar nomination if it’s well cast, and marketed correctly. So, I know you’ll want more… everyone asks for more of this story.
‘A Stray Bullet’ is an “amazing, poignant and, compelling” story of faith and hope, as well as a tragic story of redemption and forgiveness… (according to my critics)
We believe everyone will want to see this film…
Here are similar films:
Cider House Rules (1999) meets Shawshank Redemption (1994) meets Good Will Hunting (1997). Much like Nights In Rodanthe (2008) except, Howard Henderson is no Nicholas Sparks so, no one dies and, it has a triumphant, happy ending, much more like Rudy (1993) given his triumphant, happy ending.
AN INCREDIBLE STORY OF FAITH, COURAGE, HOPE, REDEMPTION AND FORGIVENESS
“Otherwise Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”
I’m a retired psychologist living on Merritt Island off the East Coast of Florida.
(Read what critics and two [2] Hollywood producers have said below about my life story)
Here’s the Indianapolis news paper article:
“Noah Rode Out Storm To Thrive”
by Tim Swarens
Courtesy of The Indianapolis Star (Friday, November 27, 1998)
Noah was eight when his father left him alongside a Georgia highway. The child waited alone for a Greyhound bus driver to discover him. It takes him back to Florida, to home and his mother. But Noah’s mother was living with a new boyfriend. Little boys were no longer welcome. Noah was left to survive on the streets of Tampa. Eventually picked up and sent to an orphanage, he never saw his mother or father again. An abandoned boy might be expected to grow into a bitter man. But Noah often exceeded expectations. At a time of year when we give thanks for the good in life, Noah also is thankful for the bad. “God has been looking over me, protecting me and providing me with opportunities that I never would have had if I had stayed with my parents,” Noah says.
Helping Patients
Today, he is a psychologist in Carmel, helping patients overcome their own disappointments. He’s also a husband and father, providing for his three children with the stability he never knew. For nine years, Noah lived in the orphanage. He learned to drive a car and to play a trumpet there. It was, he says, the first place he ever felt secure. By their late teens, boys at the orphanage were expected to leave. Most joined the military. Noah wanted to go to college. The parents of two friends opened their homes to him, providing the opportunity to finish high school. It was while living with one of his new families that he met the man who would become his mentor. Sherwin Broersma, pastor of a Dutch Reform church in Tampa, took an interest in an orphan kid who needed a father figure. “He became a very strong model, a guiding force in my life,” Noah says. “I still use a lot of the advice he’s given me over the years in therapy with my patients.” After high school, Noah made his way to Florida State University, changing majors four times before settling on psychology. He found he enjoyed helping others work on their problems. He also was working on himself. “I washed pots and pans at a Red Lobster during summer break. I’d stand in the back, scrubbing and telling myself, ‘I’m a good person and God loves me.'”
Transcending Adversity
Noah was a transcender, the rare child who can be hit with life’s worst and still thrive. We don’t fully understand why one child when faced with abuse and neglect soars while most around him sink. But Noah was blessed by three positives in an otherwise negative childhood. He lived in a well-run institution, where staff members took an interest in him. He found a mentor. And, he developed a strong personal faith that gave him hope. “A milestone for me was the ability to forgive my parents for doing the best they knew how,” he says. In his Carmel practice, Dr. Kersey teaches principles that are common to people who overcome adversity. One is to be committed to change. Another is to have faith in the process, to wait patiently while transformation takes place. He also stresses that anger and fear can be used as motivators for success. Yet success has not erased Noah’s memories of a painful childhood. His biggest struggle, he says, is to give his children the freedom to fail, to not become overly protective because of his own experiences. One of those painful experiences motivated Dr. Kersey to complete his education. As a young man, he visited a woman he knew to ask for help in securing a job. The woman, who a few years earlier had nearly adopted Noah, coldly rebuffed him. “I left her house, stood in the driveway and said, ‘I’ll show her,'” he says. Years later, after completing his doctorate, he sent the woman a message of thanks. “The best revenge is to be successful despite the people who let you down,” he says.
Swarens is a Star editorial writer. Copyright (c) 2002 The Indianapolis Star – Reprinted by permission of Tim Swarens
If you like, I can send you the [107 page] script written by “Howard Henderson” aka me!
This is what critics and producers have said about my life story:
“Noah truly has an amazing story and has overcome incredible odds.” – Jessica Ruskin, Education Director, Charles M. Schulz Museum.
“I’m very interested in Noah’s amazing life story.” – Gary Puckett, Musician and lead singer in the Union Gap.
“Noah was a rare child who could be hit with life’s worse and still thrive” -Tim Swarens, “Noah Rode Out Storm To Thrive.” Indianapolis Star News.
“Anyone can make tragic mistakes when blessed with good opportunities and support systems and families. Noah had little to none of those advantages. And then he turned it all around. He not only has my acceptance, he has my admiration..” Roger Guffey
“I am so amazed at Noah’s story of faith in God and perseverance.”. Carey Odum
“Noah’s life story will make you cry, because a child being thrown into the world to take care of himself is a tragedy.” Ron Barnes, CMA member.
“If you’ve ever adopted a child, you will want to watch this movie.” Gerard Venemen, former CEO. The Children’s Home.
“An engaging story with many heartbreaking moments.” – Susan Sheridan
“A triumphant… gripping story.” – Diane Bell, The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Noah’s story is very compelling… with a great, happy ending. What’s unfair is that he didn’t get to choose his parents.” – Omar Alvarez. The United States Post Office
“Noah is an amazing man.” – Dr. Jonnie Gonso Ph.D. Retired Licensed Psychologist, Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Never give up” – Mark Castaldo, Destiny Pictures
“Don’t ever give up.” – Marty Katz, Marty Katz Productions
Thank you again for taking the time from your incredibly busy schedule to read this. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. It will help millions of young men to avoid the same tragic mistake I made.
Mark and Marty both said they loved my story but, Marty says he wants to wait and see the re-write and his wife, Campbell, is ill so, he’s her primary care provider. Mark Castaldo said he doesn’t produce this genre of film.
Thank you for reading this far!
Peace,
Noah
My novel is titled Intent To Kill.
WGAW Registration Number:2100935
U. S. Copyright Registration Number Pau-4-079-871
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