Terror in Ypsilanti Film Prospect

Since the publication of Terror In Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked in August 2016, my book has been well-received by readers. Most of my original goals for writing it have been met. But there is one prospect I want to pursue--bringing the book to the screen.

Recently, I contracted with Voyage Media--a Los Angeles-based film development company specializing in turning indie books into screen projects. Their team created a Producer's Action Plan for Terror In Ypsilanti which includes an accurate abstract of the book, a demographic assessment, a market analysis, and a producer's recommendations for adaptation.

The next step is developing a screenplay. On the strength of Voyage Media's study, they presented me with two options--a two-hour stand-alone movie or a limited cable series. The movie option is viable, but due to the length and breadth of the source material, only a portion of the story could be told to create a "who-dunnit" mystery movie.

Tap on link at end of this post.

In 2013, the Investigation Discovery channel did a scripted docu-drama about John Norman Collins on their Crimes to Remember program entitled "A New Kind of Monster." By focusing only on one of the seven murders, the bulk of the story was never developed. As producer Rebecca Morton told me, there is only so much story that can be told in a forty-three minute episode. As amazing as it would be to see Terror in Ypsilanti on the big screen in a two-hour movie, telling only a slice of the story does not appeal to me. That has already been done.

Option two was preparing a pilot script for a limited cable series like Netflix's "Making a Murder" or HBO's "The Jinx: The Life and Death of Robert Durst." A six episode mini-series (one season) would allow a more complex look into the crimes of John Norman Collins and give a deeper sense of time and place to properly ground the story.

This option makes more sense from the promotional aspect too. Cable television consumes large quantities of material and provides many outlets for true crime material. The prospects for success are greatly increased. Target networks would include Investigation Discovery, Oxygen, HBO, Showtime, BBC, CNN, Netflix, and Amazon.

Because John Norman Collins is not a nationally known serial killer, a one-and-done movie does not provide time to grow an audience the way series television can. It seems clear to me that the small screen option is a better fit for Terror in Ypsilanti.

Voyage Media's development team noted that most true crime writers are not from the areas they write about. They feel I am uniquely qualified to tell this story. As a member of the Ypsilanti community at the time of these crimes, I personally know many of the first-hand participants depicted in my book. This fresh storytelling perspective may attract the attention of producers.

While a screenplay for a limited series pilot is being written, my Producer's Action Plan is currently entered in Voyage Media's database where production companies search for new material. Should a producer or acquisitions editor show an interest, I will be contacted directly. The process is fraught with failure at every turn, but at the very least, I will have a screenplay to use as a promotional tool rather than a vague idea to attract interest in the project. Even without a screenplay treatment, one media company is showing an interest.

http://fornology.blogspot.com/2015/10/a-crime-to-remember-john-norman-collins.html 

 

Terror in Ypsilanti Great Expectations

Wheatmark Publishing booth--Tucson Festival of Books March 2017

Since its release last August, Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked has done well. My publisher Sam Henrie at Wheatmark, Inc. recently told me most self-published books sell fewer than 50 copies. Selling 200 copies is considered a success. In eight months, TERROR has sold over 2,000 copies becoming Wheatmark's current top seller.

That distinction entitles me to membership in Wheatmark's Great Expectations Program. In addition to recognition in their publishing newsletter, I was awarded $2,000 in goods and/or services. This was totally unexpected and most appreciated. I look forward to working with Wheatmark on future projects.

To celebrate this personal milestone, I have reduced the price of my ebooks from $9.95 to a more competitive $6.95. Both Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked and Zug Island: A Detroit Riot Novel are available on Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and Apple i-book digital editions.

Either book makes a good vacation or airplane read. I would like to encourage my American and International Fornology readers to order my titles postage-free using the convenient ebook option. No physical book to wait for in the mail. Tap the book image in the right sidebar for the Amazon/Kindle site.

Soon, there will be a digital option for book listeners. In June 2017, Tantor Media will release an audiobook of Terror in Ypsilanti. They chose professional reader Chris Ciulla (www.chrisciulla.com) to narrate the book. I've listened to some of his previous work, and I'm confident he will do a fine job.

Tantor Media is an Australian company that produces, promotes, and distributes digital audiobooks to English-speaking countries worldwide. In addition to the consumer market, Tantor specializes in libraries and audiobooks for the blind. I look forward to doing business with them.

Bouyed by Terror in Ypsilanti's success, I am looking ahead to a new challenge--bringing the book to the screen. More on that in my next post.

Rosie the Riveter - Happy Women's History Month, Ladies

In honor of all the Rosies who stepped up to fill the work shoes of the men in uniform. America would never be the same nor would these women.


I love this link. I hope you do also: 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GarCzR_6Ng&feature=em-share_video_user

Yellow Journalism, Truth Decay, and the Cult of Ignorance

Joseph Pulitzer II

Yellow journalism was a term coined during the newspaper circulation wars of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer II at the end of the nineteenth century. Rather than relying on mere facts, their newspaper articles featured sensationalism, crude exaggeration, scandal-mongering, and mud-slinging.

William Randolph Hearst

Competition between Hurst's New York Journal and Pulitzer's New York World to sell newspapers lead to the saber-rattling which helped ignite the Spanish-American War and guide Theodore Roosevelt into the White House on a "bully pulpit."

In today's Internet world, yellow journalism is served up as click-bait--otherwise known as the quest for eyeballs and dollars. The politics of division play out daily on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Headlines of these political posts are written for their shock value with reactionary wording and a sense of urgency to attract and hold their target audience.

Sensationalism, scandal-mongering, innuendo, biased opinions, malicious rumors, and misinformation masquerading as truth are the tools of the yellow journalist's trade. Once their tightly controlled alternative facts become dogma, their followers adopt these beliefs as elemental certitudes immune to facts. 

Manufactured news stories by hyper-partisan propaganda machines systematically cater to powerful political and social movements. These stories display a strong ideological and journalistic bias to suppress or distort the news with a reckless disregard for the facts. Fake news on both sides of the political spectrum tries to manipulate public opinion. Truth is the first casualty, then goes the public's faith in its free press and media outlets. Distrust of factual news results in truth decay.

"Don't confuse me with the facts" has become an anthem for too many people in America. When journalistic ethics and professionalism are cast aside, the public is the ultimate loser. The average person does not know who or what to believe any longer and cynicism sets in.

I came across a Psychology Today article that is a snapshot of America from our recent past. "The Cult of Ignorance... Anti-Intellectualism and the Dumbing Down of America" https://sott.net/en313177

Tucson Festival of Books - March 11th and 12th

Join me and other Wheatmark Publishing authors on the University of Arizona mall March 11th and 12th in booth 137. I will be featured from 2:30 until 3:30 PM on Saturday, but my books will be available all weekend. This is the third largest book festival in the nation. Only one week away.

Alex Karras and Dick the Bruiser's Detroit Bar Brawl

One of the most infamous chapters in Detroit sports history involved Alex Karras--defensive lineman for the Detroit Lions--and William Franklin Afflis--AKA wrestler Dick the Bruiser. What started out as a publicity stunt to promote a professional wrestling match between Karras and the Bruiser became a full-blown brawl at the original Lindell Bar on Cass and Bagley Avenues. 

Before signing with the Detroit Lions, Karras was a rookie professional wrestler and learned the skills and secrets of the squared circle. For awhile he wrestled as part of a tag team. After the Lions picked him up, he gladly quit the wrestling game because he didn't like daily life on the road.

Alex Karras played football for twelve seasons with the Detroit Lions from 1958 through 1962 and again from 1964 through 1970. One week before the bar brawl in 1963, the NFL gave Karras a one-year suspension for gambling on professional football games. NFL officials urged Karras to disassociate himself from the Lindell Bar because of alledged organized crime influence.

Mel Butsicaris explained to me that Alex Karras bought into the Lindell with brothers Jimmy and Johnny Butiscaris. Johnny was Mel's father and Jimmy was his uncle.The bar business was on the bottom floor of the old Lindell Hotel, a rundown flopshouse soon to be demolished. The bar was less than a block away from the Leland Hotel where visiting sports teams stayed.

 

The bar became a gathering place for Detroit and out-of-town sports teams. With Karras's recent NFL suspension, the Lindell was his only source of income, now that he was no longer drawing his football salary. Karras refused to sell his interest in the bar until his suspension was lifted. He had a young family to support.

William Afflis was an offensive left tackle for the Green Bay Packers from 1950 until 1954 before becoming a professional wrestler and changing his name to Dick the Bruiser. There was much more money to be made wrestling, so he quit the Packers. The Bruiser was five feet, eleven inches tall, built like a fire plug and just as tough. He wore a crew cut and had a gravelly voice that struck fear into his opponents. His finishing moves were the Atomic Drop and the Diving Knee Drop. After thirty-two years in the wrestling game, the Bruiser retired in 1986.

According to Mel Butiscaris, the Bruiser walked into the Lindell Bar on cue at 1:25 am on Tuesday, April 23, 1963.  The Bruiser pointed at Karras and bellowed in his gravelly voice, "I want that fat, (expletive deleted), four-eyed bartender to serve me." He was belligerant and continued verbally abusing Karras as the staged confrontation was scripted.

Tavern co-owner Jimmy Butsicaris refused to serve the Bruiser, and the wrestler grabbed Butsicaris's shirt and threw a short punch at him, tearing Jimmy's shirt as planned. Mel tells me that his uncle wore one of his old shirts for the occasion. That was part of the publicity stunt. Everybody in the bar knew the scene was staged. Everyone but Jimmy's visiting out-of-town uncle. He had just walked in the bar when he witnessed the mayhem.

Uncle Charley took a pool cue and came to his nephew's defense. He pasted the Bruiser in the face leaving a cut beneath the wrestler's left eye that needed five stitches to close. Dick the Bruiser on a good day had an impulse control problem. Bleeding profusely, the Bruiser gave free range to his rage and virtually tore the bar apart. The Bruiser tore a peanut vending machine off the wall and threw it through the television screen. Some of the bar patrons tried to subdue the Bruiser. Big mistake!

The Detroit Times reported that Karras hit the Bruiser across the back with a chair, but Mel Butsicaris disputes that account. He says the newspaper story was written before the brawl happened as part of the carefully planned publicity stunt. The real story is that Karras wanted nothing to do with the brawl and ducked out the back door.

Two Detroit cops walking their beat looked in the window and saw the melee. They phoned for some backup. It took eight Detroit policemen to subdue the Bruiser with wrist and ankle manacles before taking him to jail. Two policemen were seriously injured. The Bruiser easily made bail and had to appear in a Detroit courtroom the following Monday morning where he was arraigned on assault and battery charges. 

 

  

Both Karras and the Bruiser told the police the brawl was a publicity stunt to promote their upcoming Saturday wrestling match at Detroit's Olympia arena. Prior to the brawl, Karras had signed on to wrestle the Bruiser because he needed the cash after his NFL suspension. In Karras' brief wrestling career, he and the Bruiser had become friends. After the brawl, the Bruiser told a local sports reporter that he heard Karras said he was a third-rate pro-football player, and he was angry about it.

On April 27, 1963, a mere five days after the brawl, the men were scheduled for a grudge match. A disappointing crowd of only 10,000 showed up for the match which lasted only eleven minutes and twenty-one seconds. The crowd thought the two men were sellouts. Nobody was fooled. The match was a humiliating defeat for the out-matched Karras, who took a beating in the ring for a $5,000 pay out. What the Bruiser made that night is not known. Whatever the amount, the two injured policemen sued William Afflis, AKA Dick the Bruiser, for a total of $50,000.

After his career with the Detroit Lions, Alex Karras became a television and movie actor, and co-host of ABC's popular Monday Night Football with Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford, from 1974 until 1976. Suffering from dementia in his final years, Karras died of kidney failure at the age of seventy-seven on October 10, 2012.

After retiring from the ring, the Bruiser bought the National Wrestling Association and became a promoter. Dick the Bruiser died from internal bleeding on November 19, 1991 in Largo, Florida at the age of sixty-two. He was weightlifting with his adopted son when a blood vessel ruptured in his esophagus.  

More tales from the Lindell Bar courtesy of Mel Butsicaris:
http://fornology.blogspot.com/2017/02/detroits-lindell-ac-nations-first_21.html 

The Legend of Nain Rouge--Detroit's Red Dwarf Demon

The yearly Detroit Marche Du Nain Rouge celebrates the liberation of Detroiters from Nain Rouge--the Red Dwarf. Legend has it that in 1701, Detroit's French founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac was telling a fortune teller about a vision he had. Cadillac described a dwarfish creature with blazing red eyes and rotten teeth dressed in fur boots who was haunting his dreams.

The fortune teller interpreted this apparation to be the harbinger of the city's doom and the cause of Detroit's problems. The legend continues that Cadillac was walking one night when he confronted the Nain Rouge and drove him out of town with his cane--the Nain cursing Cadillac and his new city for an eternity.

Of course, there are no public accounts to support the folktale which first appeared in Legends of Le Detroit written in 1883 by Marie Caroline Watson Hamlin. She was a local folklorist who wanted to perserve French heritage in Detroit, where English had become the predominant spoken language. Since the Nain Rouge story, everytime Detroit was in trouble the Nain was spotted more than the Gnome in the Travelocity commercials. If there was a crisis, Blame It On The Nain.

Folklore has it that Nain Rouge reappeared on July 30, 1763 before the Battle of Bloody Run. Fifty-eight British soldiers were killed by Chief Pontiac's tribesmen. A tributary of the Detroit River turned red with blood for days after the battle. The river became known as the Rouge River. It was said the Nain was seen dancing on the banks of the Detroit River celebrating.

Detroit's Masonic Temple

The Detroit Marche Du Nain Rouge was instituted in 2010 by two Wayne State University law students--Francis Grunow and Joe Uhl--but it has grown into a costumed Mardi Gras-like community based event with a parade. The celebration is held on the Sunday after the Vernal Equinox to commemorate Detroit's liberation from Nain Rouge. Detroiters come together to unite against negativity and show support for their city. Revelers are advised to come in costumes to disguise themselves so the Nain can not take revenge.

The parade begins near the campus of Wayne State University, continues down the Cass corridor, and ends at the Masonic Temple where the embodiment of the Nain bashes the city from atop his float. An effigy of Nain is destroyed--banishing the evil spirit from Detroit for another year. The parade and celebration are meant to be light-hearted and fun. It's an opportunity for Detroiters, who anxiously await the rites of spring, to blow off some steam after three months of winter.

For a more detailed account of the devilish Nain Rouge, read this account from the Detroit Metro Times: http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/the-legend-of-the-legend-of-detroits-nain-rouge/Content?oid=2404384