In 1998, I began writing a screenplay based on the life on an infamous southern General from Kentucky named John Hunt Morgan. The process of writing this saga fascinated me immensely, since it allowed me to research the subject matter to its deepest degree.
The research led me all throughout the south, and eventually to the only known living relative of Morgan and his wife's only offspring,a daughter by the name of Johnnie. A dear friend and I spent the better part of a mild winter afternoon in the remote hillsides of Nashville getting to know this woman who still retained many of the Ready family's possessions. (Ready was the maiden name of Morgan's wife, a family who lived in Murfreesboro during the mid 1850's.)
The day was one of the most mesmerizing days of my entire life. It was as if history opened its boundless doors, allowing me to peek inside its mysterious chasm.
Still living in Madison, Indiana in the fall of 1998, a dear friend of mine, Shirley Jones, called to tell me she knew of a lady whom was believed to be the only known surviving family member of Mattie Ready. Shirley was as excited as I was to learn of this woman, and we quickly made plans to meet with this lady as soon as possible.
When we arrived, we were greeted in the gracious southern charm I have grown to admire in my 35 years. Her name was Teenie ( forgive me, I can't seem to recall her last name ), and was a lovely woman who walked with the grace and charm of a true southern aristocrat. But it was inside her bejeweled house that my eyes finally saw the family heirlooms and several keepsakes Teenie had kept over the years.
There were several pictures and paintings of Morgan's daughter, Johnnie. An elegant oil painting hung on the wall nearby, as this woman completely mesmerized me. ( It was like the moment Christopher Reeve saw Jane Seymour for the first time in 'Somewhere in Time'.) It was a surreal split second that I would never forget, yet the day just kept getting better and better.
Soon, Teenie showed me a keepsake book written by Johnnie herself (see below photo). A wide collection of newspaper articles and clippings she had made over her life about her father's journies, and how history was remembering him. It was as if the veil of time began to evaporate, and I was instantly connected to Johnnie herself. Now I don't believe in a lot of this hocus pocus garbage of ghosts and all that stuff... but if ever I did FEEL something positive, this was the day. On the first page of this book was her name inscribed in her own handwriting... I traced my fingertip across it, envisioning the day she put the ink to the page. It was eerie, but a positive eerie! :)
All day long, I kept reminding myself over and over of just how wonderful this moment was. Even meeting A-list celebrities in Hollywood just nine months prior to this visit was nothing in comparison with this magical event. I remember telling myself this girl HAD to have a story of her own, outside of her father's shadow. Somewhere, somehow... there was a story here in this woman's house.
Later in the day, Teenie invited Shirley and I to tea with her, served from the Ready family tea set. For what we could tell, this was the same set in which Mattie and Johnnie must have drank from in the 19th century. Their family name was inscribed upon the bottom of the set. It was wonderful... one of the most incredible moments in my life.
So now, we flash forward to 2006, and on the cusp of producing another film. My goal for 2006 was to produce two films since my average turnaround time is 5 years for a film... an eternity unless you're Stanley Kubrick or Terrence Malick. I always felt I had to somehow construct a plausible story in some believable manner... I HAD to!! But how could I do it, and make it in an affordable, contemporary setting?
Enter the realm of time travel. A commonly misused story device that typical doesn't examine the emotional aspects to such an extraordinary occurrence. Yet film provides an excellent pathway to explore the unknown... to empower the imagination, and visualize the emotional journey of a woman from the 19th century.
The story finally came to me last fall. Originally, I had scribbled down a story on the back of some scrap paper about a 19th century English woman suddenly appearing in present day Indianapolis. Once the story was written in longhand, it occurred to me that the main female character should BE Johnnie Morgan. With some quick editing, I revised the story and fleshed out just how this woman would arrive and interact with characters in the early part of the 21st century.
Not much is known about Johnnie Morgan, except that she was born in April 1865, and died in 1888 of typhoid fever. My research didn't indicate any personal or behavioral patterns, so I was pretty much left with an open canvas to paint a picture of her... but knowing how dignified and respectable her mother's family was, it is safe to assume that Johnnie was a true southern matron by all definitions.
