I want to share an unexpected experience I had this morning while working on the Cory Story script. It’s becoming clearer all the time that this project has a life of its own and we are merely players, and that Cory himself is involved.
I wrote a scene outline a couple of months ago and have been gathering information since then to put some “meat on the bones.”
I'm using a scriptwriting software package that organizes the synopses, directions, scene descriptions, dialogue and camera movements into the proper format.
This morning I was entering scenes and making sure they flowed well. In order to make the transition from page to screen, you have to work backwards, visualizing everything that will happen on the screen and translate that into clear, concise, very descriptive written terms.
It was fun visualizing a dinner at the Bill Hanks home of 1903. I chuckled at the jokes that went around and the teasing everybody gave Jay and the concern Bill and Lou had for how Cory was going to stay in the University of Utah. I sat beside him as he told his parents he had found a job in a mine in Park City because several men had just been killed. (That didn’t set well with his parents or Ellie, his girlfriend, by the way!) They all wondered aloud if this was such a good idea.
I sat on the ground beside Cory and Ellie as they picnicked in the park and discussed their future. Cory knew he wanted a college education in order to give Ellie and their family a good life. And he knew this mining job was the way to get it. And in typical Hanks fashion, no amount of “possible” danger was going to deter him. “It’ll be fine. Relax!” Sound familiar?
I felt Ellie's fear as she reluctantly agreed. I also felt the excitement in Cory’s heart as he embarked on an adventure that would secure a bright future with his lovely Ellie.
Then I roamed the streets and stores with Cory as he prepared for his first job. I wandered the mine with him in Park City as he learned to become a miner. I stood in horror as a man was crushed to death in the cage while we could do nothing.
Then I watched as Cory slipped on the ladder and fell 20 feet into a hole. Then, in another mine, the blast went off prematurely and left him with a broken finger and an ugly hole in his back. It’s an awful and wonderful business, mining.
Then, I couldn’t help but be excited as the Boss, his assistant, Cory and his Partner pored over the lease they were about to sign on a new, rich mine called Little Eva on beautiful Mt. Nebo near Nephi. How animated he was when he told Ellie and his family of this new opportunity to “make a raise.”
Then I helped them gather their supplies and load the burros for the trip up the canyon to the Mountain (I’ve actually stood on that gathering place and am going back in June!).
What a heady time it was as this virgin mine was bored and blasted and the ore loaded on the burros and sent back down the mountain. The boys were diligent in their work and rowdy and loud in their celebration of success.
When they finally had enough to take to town to sell, I stayed back with Cory and Partner as the Boss and Assistant headed down to “pocket the cash.”
For two days I watched them drill and blast some more so they could repeat the cycle and pocket more cash.
That third morning, I was with Cory when he woke up early and gazed at the wonder of God’s Creation…and when “soul was lost in the silent ecstasy,” mine was, too. My throat swelled and my eyes watered as I wrote the words he uttered, “The Almighty tried himself when he made such mornings as that.”
Then I actually gasped as he told his Partner that he would take care of those caps and fuses that had become moistened in the melting frost. I wanted desperately to tell him not to do it. But you know those Hanks boys…
All morning, while Cory drilled holes for the dynamite, I tried to think of a way to stop what was about to happen. I watched his partner go off to fix dinner while Cory headed for the “mischief that waited.” Even as I write this, I fill with foreboding, knowing what is coming.
From my script: “As he approaches the box, Cory looks up at the beautiful mountains that surround him and smiles gently to himself and looks briefly up to God, seeming to thank him for the wonders of this mountainous world.”
This is where the unexpected occurred. Actually seeing through Cory’s eyes as he approached the caps, my breathing picked up to a series of gasps, my eyes teared, my lip did what it does at times like those and I COULD NOT write the words “he picked up the box” I sat at my keyboard sobbing for several minutes before I could write anything. It was like if I didn’t write it, it wouldn’t happen, and I so much wanted to save him from his tragedy.
Finally, I continued. I wrote what I saw: “Cory reaches down with both hands, and scoops up the box of stewing caps and fuses. They immediately explode in his hands. His world goes dark and silent. There is no sound but the wind and no light at all. There is little pain. Just confusion.”
From then on, I just wrote what I saw:
“Partner runs over to see Cory sprawled on the ground on his back. Partner is crying and beating his head. Cory rolls over and stands up. The scene alternates POV's (Point Of View) between Cory's total darkness and Partner's POV. Partner watches Cory lift his mangled hands to his face and touch his cheek with a protruding bone. Cory is covered with blood and his arms are bleeding profusely. Partner helps Cory make his way to the Cabin.”
I finished the generic description of the night and next morning and had to take a break. I was emotionally drained, as if I had actually been an eye witness to this awful event. I know now that I was touched bv an angel as I was writing that scene. And this is just the description. The dialogue, movements, expressions…all those are yet to be added.
I have no doubt that this story will change people’s lives. It’s already changing mine on a daily basis. As I get closer and closer to Cory’s thoughts and feelings, I really feel like he knows this is happening and is helping us along.
Thank you, Cory. We’ll be true.
John
702-898-2204
