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John Again
Script Length:
The Script in One Sentence:
Synopsis: Marie Walsh is a 40-year-old widow and mother in Maine who mourns her husband John’s sudden death and fantasizes vividly about being loved by him again. Catching up on mail, she finds plane and hotel reservations arranged by John for a Florida vacation. Marie flies south seeking therapeutic escape from winter and grief. She is shocked by an encounter with Jean Audette, a younger look-alike of her husband. Jean is the manager of his Maine family’s Florida resort. Acknowledging the granting of prayers, Marie agrees to meet Jean for lunch. They click and Marie makes a life-changing decision. With a bottle of his favorite wine in hand, Marie raps on Jean’s apartment door. Another prayer answered but, in the morning, Marie regrets the seduction. She flies home.
Meeting with her lawyer, Marie learns of a file containing reports from an investigator engaged at John’s request to find his son, the product of a passionate mistake by two teenagers. The son is Jean. The detective also found Jeannette Mackenzie, now an artist and studio owner in Camden, Maine, who gave up the baby for adoption. Marie is stunned but finds no solace in wine. Nausea overcomes her. A home-test kit confirms her suspicion: She is pregnant.
Marie initiates a meeting with Jeannette, attractive and unmarried, who admits to having lived for years near the Audettes Maine resort, just to be near Jean. But she explodes in angry recrimination when she learns that John’s widow has been impregnated in Florida. Jean attempts contact with Marie, but she ignores him until he stops by on his way to visit an ailing mother. Jean sees a portrait of John and their similarity stuns him. That evening, his father Jacque informs Jean about the adoption 32 years prior. Jean ends his relationship with Marie.
At a wake for Jean’s mother, Jean and Jacque are introduced to Jeannette. Conversation about her paintings prompts a query of interest – by Jacque. A few months later, Jacque sails his yacht to Camden. A romance begins.
Later in the summer, Jean spots Marie wearing maternity clothing. He is visibly disturbed and Jeannette begins to realize that her knowledge of Marie’s secret could endanger her relationship with Jacque.
Marie bears a girl in September – a little late for being John’s, a little early for being Jean’s – and the birth is noticed by Jean, who is regularly checking the hospital’s announcements and finds Jennifer Audrey Walsh. Seeing a clue in the name, he sends Jennifer birthday and Christmas presents and weekly bouquets of roses to her mother. Marie loves Jean but refuses to contact him.
In May, Jacque asks Jeannette to become his wife. She professes her love but … there is a ‘but.’ Jeannette takes the first of several risks and reveals that she is Jean’s biological mother. She realizes it is time for more revelation and arranges a surprise meeting for the Audettes, Marie and Jenny.
In an emotional Mothers Day climax on the deck of Jeannette’s house, Jenny meets her grandmother and her father. Jean meets his mother and his daughter and acknowledges his love for Marie, who hands him his daughter and her heart. And Jacque is surprised to learn that Marie’s husband was Jean’s father. The five people on the deck are suddenly connected by the past, by touch, and by their new commitments in a scene conveying hope for each.
Complete Script:
After being mentored in the 1980s by a professional, whose credits included scripts for a prime-time television show, Warner enjoyed some attention from two agents and a Broadway producer. An award-winning screenplay was pitched to the major TV networks, but his big breakthrough was elusive and he accepted two more journalism gigs before deciding that a full-time effort was needed to write and to market his work. Since giving away all his neckties and unstrapping his wristwatch in August 2001, Warner has completed a novel (Circle of Wholes) and a feature-length screenplay (John Again). He has also updated and revised an earlier novel (Yours, Forever), and he is more than halfway finished with a new novel.
Earlier manuscripts scheduled to be dusted off, reviewed, and revised include four screenplays (Dove Creek, Yours, Forever, Fourth Quarter, and True Soldier) and two novels (Hotel Texas and Fort Mackenzie).
Warner’s metamorphosis from suits to shorts included some major down-sizing – from a three-bedroom house to a 33-foot RV motor home, from two closets to 15 hangers, from shoe tree to two pairs of Minnetonka loafers, from three walls of books to one cupboard shelf, and from an over-crowded computer desk to carry-along laptop. The RV’s navigator has been married to Warner for 39 years and continues to provide him inspiration for adaptability, perseverance, and love scenes.
Over cocktail chatter, Warner might be goaded into admitting his fondness for a few of life's necessities. Football. Beachcombing. Fiction writing. Grilled salmon filets. Sunsets at Cape May Point. Tanqueray and tonics on the rocks, stirred. Hammocks. Newspapers with two crossword puzzles. Jeopardy. Actresses named Hepburn. Celine Dion or Shania Twain. Mark Twain or Elmer Kelton. New-age gurus Dyer, Chopra and Wilde.
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NOTE: All material is copyright protected. No portion of this material may be copied or reproduced, either electronically, mechanically, or by any other means, for resale or distribution without the written consent of the author. All copy has been dated and registered with the American Society of Authors and Writers. Copyright 2006 by The Swetky Agency |
