Historical Script

When looking for an idea this one seemed pertinent and interesting to the both of us. The genesis of the idea came from a story about Megan’s father who attended the opening day of Star Wars, May 25, 1977. We decided instead of making the protagonists 8 and 9 years old, as Megan’s dad was, to make them 21 thus more relevant to us. It also happens to be a  crucial age for decisions on what to do with ones future. Much more so than childhood. This required us to do some research on the year 1977. We first learned about the humongous crowds that flocked the Mann’s Theater in Hollywood California. The incredible amount of youth were also joined by many young twenty somethings who were intrigued with the premise of this new movie. Star Wars ended up one of the biggest cinematic sensations to sweep America leaving many viewers with their mouths wide open in the aftermath.  Through many images found in our research, we saw a sense of enthusiasm and fanaticism in the faces of those people waiting in line.  We decided that our characters would take part in these crowds and the general mayhem that came with it.  Then, once apart from the frenzy, they had time to think and ponder the narrative experience they just had.

After further research on the year 1977, we were particularly interested in the world of social cuisine that existed in the era.  These two boys needed a social setting in which to discuss their thoughts and feelings.  We felt that a diner setting could be used as both the catalyst for their discussion as well as a metaphor of the feelings and reasoning taking place in the adolescent’s minds.  We wanted to show some process that had to do with trying something new and experimental. In 1977 Denny’s introduced the iconic “GrandSlam” and thus we thought it fit perfectly.

We wanted to tell a “discovery” sort of story, one in which they take some time to really think about what their future holds in store. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and think that we’re destined to remain doing something we don’t want to do for the rest of our life. Star Wars showed the possibilities of the world to so many young people, including Megan’s father. Just as in Torill Cove’s story of her grandmother, we took certain liberties with the aspects of the story. However, we felt it didn’t detract at all from the dialogue that was opened up between the two boys, and we even thought it helped to set the plot better. We decided against the fantastical route, as Satrapi took with Persepolis, because we wanted it to be very basic and focus simply on the two characters’ interactions. We wanted something real, something that could have really happened, something that no one would question.

The past can be our greatest inspiration. History is cyclical, so stories quickly come in and out of relevancy. All it takes is finding the right perspective for the right time.