Second City Teachers features book reviews of Chicago Public School teachers who have written books, plays, poems, etc. Some have been published or are still looking for a publisher. This week we feature Eric Pratt, a former Saucedo Middle School literature and computer teacher who is now substitute teaching. He has written a fascinating screenplay called THE O'HARES about the Al Capone days and the true gangster history of the man who O'Hare Airport was named after. He is looking to get his screenplay produced as a movie.
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| CPS teacher & author Eric Pratt next to the plane Butch O'Hare flew in at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. |
Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you get involved in writing?
I started writing short stories in middle school. Columbia College has a really strong Fiction Writing program. Many of their instructors are also published authors. Writing prose and teaching writing at the college level seemed like it'd be a fun career path. Columbia College offers a Semester in LA to several of its departments. The one for Fiction Writing majors involves Adaptations, in which you learn how to get the rights to IP. (intellectual properties) I'd seen a really funny play called Dick Danger: DJ Crime Solver a few months prior and was able to option the rights to that and tried to develop that. Tnen I worked for the producers who produced the movies The Fugitive and Seven. I returned to Chicago to get my Masters in teaching.
How did you get involved in mafia books? What kind of research have you done?
I'm a big fan of the gangster genre. Growing up, one of my favorite movies was The Untouchables. I remember loving an episode of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles which as Eliot Ness as Indy's roommate at the University of Chicago and Capone also played a key role. I read the graphic novel of Road to Perdition before seeing the film. I always loved the period and that these films were shot in Chicago. I used to live in the apartment building where Bugs Moran lived. It was a hotel back then and he lived in the penthouse. It's also a couple blocks from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which he was late for because he stopped to get a haircut. Anyway, all these Chicago crime/gangsters tour busses drive by.
How did you come across the Eddie O'Hare story? What do you think about it?
I missed a plane once at the O'Hare Airport and had a lot of time to kill before the next departure. I stumbled across the Butch O'Hare memorial in Terminal 2 and wondered why there had never been a movie about him. My dad's a pilot and I always loved aviation oriented movies like Top Gun. The final act of Star Wars is basically a World War II dog fight movie. As someone who's struggled with my weight as a kid, I identified with Butch a lot. Butch also grew up in St Louis.
The memorial contains no mention of his dad. In starting to research the story, I learned of the role that his dad played in bringing down Capone. His father seemed like a much more dynamic character than Butch, who was extremely modest and quiet. Eddie was a lawyer but served in prison. He swindles his way to own the patent for mechanical rabbits used at dog tracks and owned the Chicago Cardinals football team. He had all these nicknames: Fast Eddie, Easy Eddie, Artful Eddie. He was also strict with Butch and was afraid he never amount to anything. It's tragic that he didn't get to see his son become one the best fighter pilots of World War II and was killed four years later.
I was also surprised to learn that Eliot Ness had nothing to do with Capone being convicted of tax evasion. Ness desperately needed money and wrote a book in which he claimed credit. Thus, the TV show and the movie The Untouchables presented Ness as the hero. The real hero was an IRS agent named Frank Wilson. In Wilson's book, he said that Eddie O'Hare was the most undercover man he ever met and was the single most important factor in the conviction of Capone. He also wrote that Eddie would play help Wilson if he could ensure Butch got accepted into the Naval Academy. Now, I obviously love The Untouchables, but it's not how the story went down.
I just think this is a fantastic story. I don't have to make a lot of it up. So many people have been to O'Hare Airport but don't know the name. I'll constantly ask people. And most don't know the name Butch O'Hare. They certainly don't know there's a connection to Capone.
What is important when you write a screenplay?
The most important thing is to make it a fun, enjoyable read for whoever is reading it: assistants, directors, agents, managers. They don't want amazing, Dicksonian prose. They want lots of white space and a reason to keep reading. There are thousands and thousands of other scripts out there. And you have to make yours better than everyone else. Characters should be well-developed and be in constant jeopardy.
Can you tell us about the process to get your screenplay produced? Is it tough?
It's incredibly tough. You need someone to be a champion of the material. Someone who "gets" your story. Unfortunately, and with the Tom Hardy/Capone movie from a couple of months ago, it's even tougher. Paramount passed because of it. Capone is perceived as "tired" material. You have to agent/manager or no one will give you the time of day. And agents' plates are already full.
What is Hollywood like?
Hollywood is extremely competitive. Again, it's tough. No one owes you anything. You have to sell yourself and have a very thick skin.
What else can you say about Capone and O'Hare and others?
I think what ultimately drew me to the story is that it is about a father who loves his son. And will do whatever it takes to see his son's dream realized.
Capone was a lot younger than most people think. He became the most notorious figure in organized crime in his 20's. I always feel he is portrayed a lot older.
What do you plan to write next?
I'm working on a script about when Bugsy Siegel tried to kill Hermann Goering. It's another combination of the gangster genre and World War II.
Please add anything you feel is important to tell our readers. Thanks!
This is a story about legacy, sacrifice, and redemption. All real themes in movies.
*The name of the script is THE O'HARES. I actually have two scripts now: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Volume 1 focuses on EJ and Capone. Volume 2 is Butch's World War II story.
**People can reach me on Twitter @empratt2 or email me at ericthewriter@gmail.com They can DM me and I can email it to them.
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