A Friend of the Family TV movie

I wrote this on my www.badcb.blogspot.com. It's about a TV movie I saw called A Friend of the Family. It's kind of related to The Vertex Fighter. A Friend of the Family stars Edmonton actor Eric Johnson who I want him to be in my TV movie The Vertex Fighter.

A Friend of the Family also has a blog on Blogger like I do. Here's the post:

A Friend of the Family: I was channel surfing and saw that the TV movie A Friend of the Family was on. It stars my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson. I saw this back in 2006. On imdb.com, it said it came out in 2007, but I remember it was in the summer before I started my first year in Professional Writing.

So anyway, I do remember it was a good TV movie. It's based on a true story about a woman who suspects this man is a serial killer in this small town, but she is finding it hard to prove it.

It's about a woman named Alison Shaw (played by Laura Harris) who escapes being raped by attackers in Toronto. She runs into a man Darris Shaw (played by Eric Johnson) who saves her. They then move to a small town and got married and had a baby.

Their neighbor and upstanding citizen David Snow (played by Kim Coates) is the suspected serial killer. I remember there was a missing poster of a blond woman. Alison looks like her, so she cuts off her hair which is actually a smart move. The entire time I was watching it, I felt tense and lots of suspense.

Alison was able to catch him. There was so much suspense at the end. Check out more info here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439578/

I also found that this TV movie has a blog on Blogger like I do with my The Vertex Fighter script. I thought that was cool. There's more info on the real case here. Check out A Friend of the Family blog here:

http://afriendofthefamilymovie.blogspot.com/

Marriage: Then I thought: "I saw this TV movie about 5 yrs ago, but I'm pretty sure, if I remember correctly, Alison's marriage to her husband ended after that ordeal." I then went and found Amazon.ca and found review of her book. It did said yes, the marriage ended.

http://www.amazon.ca/Friend-Family-True-Story-David/dp/1551990245

I had a flashback because in 2006, after I saw the TV movie, I wrote about it in my weekly email. I said something like: "Maybe it's because I've watched too much Dr. Phil, and have stopped, he still has an effect on me. If Alison and Darris didn't live next door to a serial killer, would they still have stayed married? The killer David Snow has seriously put a wedge between them and gotten between them because Darris (and everybody else) didn't believe in Alison. They didn't believe that David Snow was a killer."

What if Alison and her husband moved somewhere else and never met David Snow? Would they still be together? Look, the point is, is that Alison managed to stop a serial killer. If it meant losing her marriage along the way, she managed to save lives.

Joe Thornton/ The Vertex Fighter actors/ script pitch

This is from my blog www.badcb.blogspot.com.

Jan. 17 The Vertex Fighter:

Joe Thornton: He's a producer. I emailed him on LinkedIn, but he didn't get back to me. I just posted a comment on his blog to get him to contact me. Here's his blog:

http://www.joethornton.net/

Actors: Here are some more actors I can see in The Vertex Fighter.

Niall Matter is from Edmonton. You may have seen him on the show The Best Years. I've seen him on Fear, Itself, Warehouse 13, and Melrose Place. I just checked him on imdb.com and he's now on 90210. Good for him. I can see him as a fighter.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2473076/

Allan Hawco is the star on the TV show Republic of Doyle. It's on CBC and they're in their 3rd season. It's a good show. I'm Facebook friends with him. lol. I can see him as fighter.

Script pitch: Today I emailed the new Writer in Residence at the public library, if she wants to read my Rain script and give me feedback.

I emailed another producer again about my Rain script.

Blake McGrath

These are all the posts I wrote about Blake McGrath on my www.badcb.blogspot.com. I have mentioned that he should play a fighter in The Vertex Fighter.

July 6, 2009:

Blake McGrath: The other day I was thinking that he should be in my movie. However, I don't know what role he would play. If he can learn how to dance, I'm sure he can learn how to fight. Jennifer Garner was on the TV show Alias and she learned how to fight. Prior to that, she never had any experience. She took a lot of dance lessons so she was able to pick up fighting. They are both about learning movement.

Oct. 30, 2009:

Blake McGrath: You know Blake McGrath? The guy who rejected me when I auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Canada? lol. Okay, well anyway, his first new single "The Night" off his debut album is on his myspace page: www.myspace.com/blakemcgrathmusic

It's dance/ R&B. That's great. He has songs like "Runway" up too. I've known he's been working on an album since 2006. I have been to his page and he had songs like "The One" and "Dance with Me." It's good that after a few years of working on music, his album will be released by the end of the year. His video is to debut on Muchmusic on Oct. 30.

You can't say that he's lazy. You're like: "He's been doing this album for 3 years?" Well he was judging, and choreographing for SYTYCDC and teaching dance. It's good to know that some people who are really talented, it still takes time for them to become a success.

May 3, 2010:

Blake McGrath: I was watching TV, and I saw some of his debut video "The Night." He's got some So You Think You Can Dance Canada dancers in his video and his sister. I only saw the vid once and I was only looking at BM and his dancing. I had to read the comments to know the above info.

That's great that he finally got his video out. I know he's been pursuing a music career since 2006. I found his myspace page back then and he had some songs up like "The One" and "Dance with Me." Good dance songs. He has a ballad "Silently Waiting."

He's been busy with being a judge on the SYTYCDC show. He also danced for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson.

Feb. 6, 2011:

Blake McGrath: He is a So You Think You Can Dance Canada judge who has danced for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson. He was in the Top 20 and placed 6th in So You Think You Can Dance (American version) season 1. He has embarked on a solo music career last year.

I was checking out his music on Youtube and I found this great live performance to his song "Penthouse." He can sing and dance live. I was impressed with the choreography.

Towards the end of it he starts introducing his back up dancers and he said: "My sister Meghan!" I burst out laughing at that because I didn't expect his sister to be a back up dancer. I remember reading somewhere he had a sister and she was in his music video "The Night", but I forgot about it until now. lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSSXE5mBQIQ

Vada studios/ J Mack Slaughter Jr./ Blake McGrath

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.com, but it's about the script.

Jan. 3 The Vertex Fighter actors:

Vada Studios: I found this ad on Vue Weekly. Vada Studios is Vancouver Academy of the Dramatic Arts. I guess I can go there if I'm looking for actors.

J Mack Slaughter Jr.: This has been months ago, but I wrote about him because he was on the old TV sitcom called Like Family. It was on the WB about a single white mom and her teen son (Slaughter) and move in with a black couple, with their teen daughter and kid son, with a grandpa.

I added him on Facebook and he confirmed me as his friend. I wished him a happy birthday on his birthday Dec. 28, and he liked my wall post. lol. He's now in medical school, and not acting. However, I would still like to see him in The Vertex Fighter.

Blake McGrath: I have also written a lot about this dancer/ So You Think You Can Dance Canada judge. I do see him in The Vertex Fighter. I can see him as a fighter because he is athletic.

Jan. 4 Producers: Here's something I haven't done in about a month. I emailed those TV producers back and asked if they read The Vertex Fighter script yet. I was busy with my work and looking for office job, that I haven't been emailing them.

Aaron James Sorenson

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.com. It was posted on Oct. 30,2009. It is related to my The Vertex Fighter script. Here's the blog post:


This was back on Oct. 17 and this guy who I pitched my script to emailed me a email that is very unconventional. A lot of rejections are: "We're busy for the next few years, we're doing 3 projects, and we don't do films anymore, etc."This is what Aaron James Sorenson said:

Tracy Au,
How the heck are you? Kind of you to contact me. I don't think I know you. Or do I? I went to university with a Tracy who's last name had only two letters. But I think they were "Ng". She was very nice. I wonder what happened to her.

I hope you survived the professional writing program at MacEwan College. Bunch of crap, I'm sure. You must forget it all as soon as possible. None of your teachers have ever made a movie or they wouldn't be there. None of the how-to-write-a-screenplay books they made you read were written by people with a real writing credit. Crap. Forget it as soon as you can. Especially try to forget things like "character development", and "exposition", yelch... makes me shudder.

If they made you read McKee you can remember most of that, and if they made you read Goldman you can remember all of that. Chances are you read Ackerman and Blake and Field and the bunch. Poor woman. Congratulations that you made it out.
Forgive me. It's late and I'm in an especially truthful mood.

Now as for me, I hate mixed martial arts. And I can't even say "cage-fighting" out loud. Are people still doing that? Not in my world. I really don't want to read that script. And I don't know anything about making movies for TV really anyway. But what can I say, because I like you Tracy Au. Personally I think you are great.

He choses to fight of course or you don't have a movie. But it can't really be about money, it must be about what the money means to him. No one really whores for money, unless they are a whore - and we don't really care for whores, but we care for people who HAVE to whore - for what it is they need the money for is so important it justifies whoring. Did that bad sentence make sense?

It just dawned on me that you might be a man. No problem. I like you all just the same. Well maybe not quite as much, but nearly as much. Either way.

Alex Donovan is too nice a name for a bad guy. Stiller is badder (sic) than Donovan. Might want to think about that.

There is much interest right now in mixed martial arts, you're right. I have an angry and fearful man on Gattis School Road, trying to get me to join something called Krav Maga or something like that here in Texas. I went to the free orientation. He tells people what a dangerous place the world is and they must immediately learn how to gouge out the eyes of attackers. They are all simply mad Tracy. Simply mad.

Peace Country Films is not really a production company that you could be very serious to work with, but it is kind of you to reach out just the same. We are just finishing my/our second feature film. Like the first it is a touching and charming comedy full of heart and affirmation and love. I wouldn't know what to do with a MMA movie anymore than I would know what to do with a doberman if someone left him on my doorstep.

But it was nice chatting with you. I wish you all the best and if I can help in any small way I'm happy to try. I did like the Wrestler a great deal, but that movie had nothing to do with wrestling. Beautiful movie though, didn't you think?
I must go. Nice to hear from a fellow screenwriter and a fellow Albertan.

Cheers,
ajs