Hello All - Roughly 20 years ago while I was at the gym getting ready to hit the treadmill I was looking for something to read as I walked along. I found a discarded Penny Saver that had an article regarding a 1957 murder. A boy about 6 years old, who had been wrapped in a plaid blanket and left in a JC Penny Box, was found in the woods off Susquehanna Road in Fox Chase, Philadelphia. The case came to be known as The Boy in the Box. Also America's Unknown Child.
The police in what seems a macabre idea took photos of the lifeless body looking as if he were still alive. No one came forward. No one claimed the body. Nothing. The case went cold. I was so sad and disheartened. I couldn't believe it. How does such a thing happen? Why would anyone do this to a poor defenseless kid? A few days later as I sat eating in a Baja Fresh, pictures started flashing across the front of my brain. All these pictures were so clear and vivid to me the next day I sat down and wrote the first twelve pages of what would become my first screenplay. Working backward I devised a story about a present day detective whose son died of heart disease and how he comes to grips with his own loss when he investigates a recently unearthed corpse of a boy buried under a building that's being demolished. I was so focused it took about two weeks to complete. Then the real hard work began. Trying to get someone to read the damn thing. It took another 5 years. Through a series of events actor turned producer Al Corley read it and liked it. After many rewrites and a sudden brain storm I knew I finally had something. While driving up La Cienega passing Wilshire I realized what the major element missing from the script was. The detective's son didn't die from heart disease, he was taken at a carnival and never seen again. Now the discovery of the dead boy is more visceral. With greater purpose the detective sets out to see if he can still find the killer. Hard to believe my very first script got sold and got made starring a plethora of namey people including Josh Lucas, Jon Hamm and Jessica Chastain. Both of whom were literally on the cusp of stardom. Hamm had just wrapped the first season of Mad Men. The film retitled, STOLEN, unfortunately did poorly. I found solace in the fact that the check cleared, about a hundred or so people got work from it and all the major stars were eager to do the movie upon reading my draft. That was in 2007. Now, as utterly impossible as it may sound, 65 years after that little boy was murdered he finally has a name. It will be revealed this week. Through modern DNA techniques police have figured out who he was and say that criminal charges could still be filed. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I was to learn all of this. Not that my script or the movie had anything to do with it. It's just something I've been carrying around inside for 20 years. I don't believe in the word closure when it comes to such things. I doubt the whole story will be told so many years after the fact. At last that child has a name. And that in and of itself is cause for a moment of reflective peace and everlasting gratitude. You can find the recent article I read here: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/the-boy-in-the-box-americas-unknown-child-philadelphia-police-name/ Thanks for reading - Glenn Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: lists...@listserv.american.edu In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
