“The Red Badge of Courage” Project Discussion with Screenwriter Justin Dombrowski

Screenwriter Justin Dombrowski on the set of “American Museum”, a TV show currently having its pilot episode worked on.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is one of those timeless classics that most people were forced to read in school when they were children. Hopefully, they had a pleasurable experience with the book like I had, when I read it when I was younger. It is also a book that given its high status amongst literature, that a well-known film adaptation would have been made of it by now. Unfortunately, only two have been made and both were anything but memorable. The first, back in 1951 directed by John Huston and starring Audie Murphy, showed all the promise of an epic, but due to heavy disagreements between the director and the studio (prompting film historians to actually refer to it as a “war”), saw his two-hour version hacked down in the editing room to a mere 69 minutes. According to reports, test screenings were a disaster and it then underwent more edits, including adding narration, which the subject of this interview below indicates was a big mistake, before it found itself becoming just another mediocre movie. The complete tale was not told, and audiences expressed their disapproval of the fragmented storyline.

Announcement: Remake of “The Red Badge of Courage” in the Works

After months of waiting with excitement over a little secret I was not allowed to divulge, I am now able to break the news to everyone and tell you that a film project blogged about last year titled 1863 is actually a remake of Stephen Crane’s classic and timeless Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage. This is a story that was put to celluloid in 1951 with legendary director John Huston at the helm, but as one war was being filmed for the movie, another was being fought in the studio, and Huston was forced to severely cut his final vision, the footage of which has never been found. This new version will be a more faithful and complete telling. The screenplay, which I had the pleasure of reading, was written by Justin Dombrowski of Erie, Pennsylvania. Investors are currently being sought, and as soon as that is all settled, casting and production will begin. That is all for now—I will be following up this announcement with an interview with Justin a few days from now, where he will elaborate on where this currently sits and what we can expect.

Interview with Prospective Filmmaker Justin Dombrowski

Lincoln, To Appomattox, and Copperhead are just a few names of Civil War film or television projects being thrown around this winter, with filming either scheduled to begin or end somewhere around this coming spring and summer. However, there is another one that is flying under the radar, titled, 1863, which is something that we will be following very closely on this blog, along with Ron Maxwell’s Copperhead. Because the only information of this new project has come from this blog, I thought it would be best to actually conduct an interview with the screenwriter and producer, Justin Dombrowski, an enthusiastic and energetic Civil War buff who has been so busy lately that the “clutches of hell” would not allow for this interview to have taken place any sooner.

There may be people wondering why they should get excited about this venture, because there are no major names surrounding it as of yet, and they might not have heard of the writer. All I can say is, have faith. This project has legs and will be hitting pre-production before you know it. The very experienced actor and historian, Ed Mantell, who helped me to identify several World War II uniforms a few weeks ago, is also on hand as a co-producer. I have read the powerful script, and I will speak for most when I say it is going to come as a pleasant surprise when all is said and done. I speak to Justin on an almost daily basis, as he has filled me in on the goings-on behind trying to get a film off the ground. This has been very enlightening for me personally, because I have seen the tremendous amount of work that goes into making even a lower budget, independent film, much less a $50-million Hollywood epic. For this interview, I had the pleasure of asking Justin a multitude of questions concerning what goes into writing a screenplay, what his inspiration is, and much more in our conversation below:

FNYTSF: My First Taste of Teaching; and Finding Time to Write on this Blog

This past week, I spent every day substitute teaching at the school where I taught the Civil War class, and coach hockey at (the next league starts in a little more than a month, which guarantees more funny stories being posted here). My first day ever at this new job actually occurred in the week prior, when I was called in on a Wednesday morning. Because of this, I have not really had much time to write here on my blog, because of the change in my schedule that leaves me drained of energy when I get home, until my body can completely adjust to the new routine. Substituting did have its positives, though, as I now got my first taste of what being a full-time teacher is really like. Before this, all I had done was teach one class here and there, or, when I went into the local high school to do some field work for college, it was mainly just sitting and observing, save for the occasional lesson I was allowed to teach. But here it was, five days of classes and dealing with many different students (most of which I had coached already), and I must say, it did get better as the days went along, though there were a few bumps in the road, as every substitute must face.

Previewing “1863″ Part I: An Upcoming Film about the Civil War

An unofficial film poster, designed by Greg Caggiano.

When one thinks of their favorite films about Vietnam, what aspect normally comes to mind? For most, the answer will probably be the psychological effects that war has on a human being, as they go through training and fight their way through battles, seeing friends and comrades dropping by the thousand beside them. While it has become tradition to form films about Vietnam and even World War II in that manner, films made about the American Civil War tend to be more broad. Unfortunately, the number of them produced in the past has not allowed for such specificity, but that all will be coming to a change in 2013, as an upcoming film set during the 150th anniversary of one of the War’s most pivotal years promises to strike audiences with a vivid and accurate depiction for what war really is—as General William Tecumseh Sherman best described: “hell”.