A Night To Remember Remake Screenplay NEED HELP

[J.P. Wachtel]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum but I have been a Titanic fan ever since I was 6. I have recently come up with an idea of writing a screenplay for a remake of A Night to Remember (1958), the film was interesting to watch but had many historical innacuraccies, like christening the Titanic hehe. I tend to write about the titanic and I have a huge knowledge on the deckplans and passengers, first class to be honest, I know a little about basic 2nd class passenger (father byles, lawrence beesley, etc.), but I have a very very primitive knowledge of 3rd class passengers, i know how life in Titanic steerage was and where everything was located, but i know almost no 3rd class passengers.

Im reading Walter Lord's ANTR for the 6th time now and I discovered his amazing book last year on my school library, its incredibly accurate and reliable, and i recomend it to anyone who hasnt read it, but on to my screenplay proposals,

I would write various scenes along the film that drift along many passengers (I want the whole thing to be accurate and with very little factual errors, not like James Camerons Titanic *ahem fictional Jack and Rose* or 1958's ANTR) The events would start with all the lifeboats on the open water at pre-dawn, there will be many close ups into the lifeboats which we will reconize some (collapsible B capaized, boats 4,12, 14 and D tied up, etc, then there will be a sort of POV on lifeboat No. 2 as they see a little light in the horizon and they spot the Carpathia while they light up Officer Boxhalls flares, the image woukd fade out into the titanic steaming at about sunset of april 14, some 10 hours ago, the events of "the night" will then start to unroll from that point.

I have proposed the passengers to be shown on then script and I am still inndoubt of some (note not all passengers will be shown in all scenes, some will only be shown in a little amount of time almost as of being extras:

1st Class:

Cosmo Duff-Gordon, Lucile Duff-Gordon, and Laura Francatelli

Dodge Family (3)

Thomas Andrews (duh lol)

Elisabeth Robert, Elizabeth Allen, Georgette Madill, and Emilie Kreuchen (maid)

Margaret "Molly" Brown 

Ida and Jean Hippach

Major Archibald Butt

Thomas Cardeza, Charlotte Cardeza and Anna Ward

Bruce Ismay

Ryerson family + servants (6)

Countess of Rothes, Cherry Gladys, and Roberta Maioni

Benjamin Guggenheim, Victor Giglio, and Madame Leontine Aubart

Carter family (4)

Allison family + Alice Cleaver

Lucian & Mary Smith

Lilly Potter, Olive Potter, and Margaret Hays

Colonel Arcibald Gracie IV

Ida & Isidor Straus

John Jacob & Madeleine Astor

Thayer family (3)

Malvina Cornell, Charlotte Appleton, Caroline Brown, and Edith Evans

Major Arthur Peuchen

Karl Behr, Helen Newsom, Richard Beckwith, and Sallie Beckwith

Milton Long

Daniel & Mary Marvin

Henry & Myna Harper +
Dragoman Hassah

Dorothy Gibson

William Hoyt

Hugh Woolner and Mauritz Sttefansson

Second Class:

Lawrence Beesley
Navratil family (3)
Becker family (4)
Father Thomas Byles
Masabumi Hosono
Hart family (3)

Third Class

Anna Sofia Turja
Olaus Abelseth
Rosa Abbot

(I really need help with 3rd class passengers with interesting stories and events they experienced aboard the Titanic

These are the passengers i am in doubt of using in the screenplay (all are first class):

Frölicher family (3)

Dickinson and Helenn Bishop

Quigg Baxter, Helene Baxter, Mary Baxter and Bertha deVilleirs (Bertha Mayné)

Fortune family (6)

Marie Young

Ann Isham

Widener family (3)

Bertha & Norman Chambers

Spedden family (3)


As to the crew, I have an idea of including  most of the deck dept., some of the engeneering dept. (Chief Engineer Bell, Fireman Hendrickson, etc.) and other few of the victulling dept. (Steward Etches, Violet Jessup, Baker Joughin, etc.)

Ofcourse the screenplay will be only for fun and i dohbt it woudl ever become a real hollywood movie hehe ^_^ but i would be happy to post it here in ET for all the titanic hardcore fans and the ANTR fans

Thanks for the help!

J.P. Wachtel (Harry_Lowe775)

 

[Stanley C Jenkins]

What about Amy Stanley as an additional Third Class passenger. She was on interest in that, although travelling Third Class, she was a member of what might be called "the rural lower middle class" (her family were shop keepers). She was travelling to the USA to take up a new job as a nurse maid. In other words shed was by no means a dirt-poor peasant, and having received a fairly good education she was able to record her experiences on the night of the sinking in an informative letter - see her notes on this site. She was also credited with saving the life of a baby.

 

[J.P. Wachtel]

Thanks stanley! I'll look for her in the passenger list, I have also forgotten about Daniel Buckley and the Dean family

Another thing, from my first and second class passenger lists do you think there is anyone i should not use? Or someone to add? And from my in doubt list (all first class) who should i not use?

Many thanks!

J.P. Wachtel (Harry_Lowe775)

PS: Margaret Hays (Travelling with Lily Potter and her daughter in 1st class) also volunteered to take care of babies, specifically the Navratil brothers, i think this would have been interesting in the story so that is the only reason i inted to use the Potter party (C-51-54)

 

[Stanley C Jenkins]

Hello J.P. I don't pretend to be an expert, so I cannot really say if anyone should not be featured; you will presumably concentrate on those with the most interesting stories?

I know a bit about people from the Oxford area, such as Miss Stanley, which reminds me that you might want to consider John Wesley Woodward, the ship's cellist - he also has a good story.

 

[J.P. Wachtel]

Yes well it will go much as walter lords book (not the exact events) but for instance, on of the scenes i already planned in my head was the lowering of collapsible D that would go something like:

Caroline Brown along with Edith Evans are accompained by Gracue to lifeboat D and when its full and the officers say theres only space for one of the ladies edith would say her
famous lines "you go, you have hildren waiting at home" then she woudl stand back as the lifeboat is being lowered, than it would transition to A-Deck, where the door that leads to the first class rooms would slam open as Hugh Woolner and Steffanson look scrambling on the red lit forward en enclosed promenade, then they would see boat D and there will be something like "should we make a trie for it eh mate?" and they would jump, which would show the audidence the irony that edith evans could infact be on the boat, then it would transition to perhapsthe third class grouo emerging from the grand staircase into the boat deck with rosa aboot and olaus abelshleth.... And it would go on like that, with short scenes and transitions between different passengers and crew, not like James Camerons titanic that had the main characters but barely qny subplots, my script will consist of many minor characters with stories that are connected evolving around them


I have already done a 2nd draft offthe beggining sequence, i will post it here when i get to my laptop

Many thanks

J.P. Wachtel

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Yes well it will go much as walter lords book (not the exact events) but for instance, on of the scenes i already planned in my head was the lowering of collapsible D that would go something like:<<

Uhhhh...that's nice, but did it happen that way in reality and if this isn't known, is it what was claimed in the book itself?

The reason I ask is if you wish to remake ANTR, I think it would be wise to remain faithful to integrity of the book itself. The exception would be to make revisions which are consistant with more recently discovered facts. That way, you can keep to the spirit of the book without sacrificing historical reality.

Just a thought.

 

[J.P. Wachtel]

Hi michael, well, i have put lots of effort in researchig for the screenplay in the internet and books (which btw i completely recomend "Titanic, Women and Children First",
1997, for anyone whonwants to know Abou what survivors from allclasses did during and after the sinking.) For everything i cant find info about (such as the Widener's party in the A La Carte Restaurant for captain smith), and for the things that have not accounts, or that people have debating opinions, ill have to analize which one makes more sense, and for the sake of movies, even which one looks more dramatic, but dont worry, i wont sink the ship intact hahaha


Regards,

J.P. Wachtel

 

[Matthew Bowyer Fan]

Add Berk Pickard. He was third class passenger and get without any problems through opened doors leading to the second class. Here is his testimony:TIP | United States Senate Inquiry | Day 14 | Testimony of Berk Pickard (Third Class Passenger, SS Titanic)