A Walk in the Stars

A WALK IN THE STARS

I’ve always loved “It’s a Wonderful Life”—with George Bailey as a man torn between ambition and family; and Clarence as the goofy “would-be” Angel, out to help George realize just what is most important to him.

So, when I was thinking about writing a new script, I thought of creating my own oddball Spirit Guides. The first to appear was a Bill-Murray type: a 1970s surfer dude with tube socks in sandals and ample belly hanging over surf shorts. The other, a Lucille-Ball type as the Dude’s Apprentice—a British girl, with great enthusiasm but little talent for everything she tries—from break dancing to surfing to rodeo riding.

So, then I needed the main character these two goofy Guides were to help or—as the case may be—hinder . . . and I came up with two brothers: Both in their early 40s—polar opposites and badly estranged—yet deeply in need of each other.

Brady is a failed Rock Star, once on top of the world, whose hard partying has left him with a mountain of debt, an ex-groupie girlfriend, and a 5-year-old daughter he adores.

His brother Tony is the CEO of an international corporation that he built from the ground up, with never a false step on his path to fame and fortune.

When the story opens, it would appear that Tony the CEO has everything and Brady the ex-Rocker almost nothing.

But in fact, Brady knows how to love, even if he takes on a variety of dangerous adventures to pay his bills. While Tony’s heart is closed tight, and his self-satisfied arrogance a pain in the butt to anyone who might try to love him.

When Brady’s experimental plane is lost in the Andes . . . and Tony’s fortune is lost to a rogue trader and his heart to his brother’s ex-groupie girl friend . . . the Spirit Guides have their work cut out for them . . .

With the Dude’s Apprentice having a secret agenda . . . all her own . .