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Ted Kennedy and the Firestarters

posted June 17, 2007, 1:52 am | Log In To Post Comments | view comments (3)
Tags: the clash, screenplay, script, movie

A few months ago, I tried to write a full-length screenplay for a rock and roll movie of sorts. In eighth grade, I did this funny lil' thing where I'd just write out the song names of albums and they were incredibly hilarious (even though right now you probably think I'm out of my mind). Then in computer class in ninth grade, I felt saucy and started doing it again. My friend looked at the songs and one of them caught his interest, "Ted Kennedy and the Firestarters". Somehow, this name is awesome. When I started my band, one of the possible names was "Ted Kennedy and the Firestarters" (along with "The Picnic Tables" and my personal favorite, "Rectum") but since it was political, pretty stupid, and much to similar to "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists", we didn't choose it. But I've always wanted to do something with that name, because it's so catchy. I tried writing songs, but that wasn't happening. I tried using the name as an indirect reference to The Clash in a song, but still nothing.

Well anyway, I decided to write a story about a band known as Ted Kenendy and the Firestartesr. I only got up to writing a short outline and a list of characters. I was actually semi-impressed at what I had. But I could see why I didn't keep writing. I have two stories and I'm pretty sure I couldn't combined them into one idea. The first story takes a stab at the music industry while the other has more to do with the government and how powerful free speech is. Both would involve normal band problems but the first would be more of that and it would all end in self-destruction while the other would end at the hands of the government. I'm just gonna type out what I had written out for the outline. 

A small town kid grows up with The Clash and TV and when he's older, starts a small pub band. The band is political and are named Ted Kennedy and the Firestarters. After scoring a big gig, they get signed to a major record label. They release their first single [which was their only non-political song]. They become a huge hit but are only known for their one song. The bandmate's lives fall apart and their dreams are destroyed.ALTERNATIVE: The band moves millions with their political fire and the government becomes worried. After one too many protests, Ted Kennedy, [the band leader], is assasinated by someone. We don't find out who.

The list of characters are all named after famous presidents and were all tenative. I was unsure if it would be good idea to use the presidents names, but it's so cool. I also put how much they indulge in the substances brought up by the generic rock and roll life style.

Characters: Tenative Descriptions-Ted Kennedy (Jack): Young lover of rock and coke (I'm sure I meant the Cola). The guitarist/singer/songwriter of the band.-Wiliam Henry Harrison (Rob): Bassist. Bullied and indulges too much.-James Buchanon (Dave) Drummer. Indulges the most and is an anarchist.-Nixon (Ben): Guitarist. Indulges the least.

So basically, the point of all this is to figure out which story line to go with. I'm leaning towards the latter, though I have to be sure not to sound pretentious while writing it. I think the first ones good, but it doesn't offer much and is the more generic one. Oh, and you know in The Wall by Pink Floyd where the main character becomes like a dictator on stage with "Waiting For the Worms" (that's the song name, right?)? I want that in the second one, that'd be amazing.

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