FREE LIKE JAMES DEAN

50 years ago this September 30th, James Dean died at 24. Raised in the small-town of Fairmount, Indiana, before exploring NYC and Hollywood as an actor, his grave in Fairmount has become a destination for pilgriming fans from all over the world. Every September to commemorate his life/death the followers gather for a weekend and the numbers have grown exponentially over the years. These fans are unlike the cliché Elvis clones/clowns because they were deeply almost spiritually touched by Dean's art. The weekend ends with a walk from the Quaker meeting house to Dean's grave where Amazing Grace is sang- and then the world continues. This is the story of 3 teenagers growing up with the Myth of Escape/Transformation playing in their brain/soul/heart cinema every day and how they want to runaway to their dreams. DJ is a stunning & articulate young woman unwilling to settle for any limitations but caught in a loving/caretaking position with her ailing mother. Jack is a 17 year old All-American jock with poetry on his mind. Buddy, confused by his feelings for both DJ & Jack suffers under the microscope of a small town. They want to escape from the paradise of Fairmount to the thrills&dangers of the hellish world outside. It was never easy being a teenager but these 3 are weighed down with the brilliant example of someone- just like them- who escaped, succeeded and crashed in glory- and continues to live outside his grave where the 3 meet as a holy place. Their further connection to the reality of James Dean is Aunt Honey who at 74 knew him in high school and has her own demons in a bottle. Sara a 20-something actress driving from NY to LA has a car breakdown and becomes entangled in the American dream among the cornfields and teenagers, fans, farmers and our 3 searchers. 1. Midnight Show. The Killers. Hot Fuss. In the cornfields around midnight the locals gather to race their cars- courting danger/death they risk their youth. DJ drives like a wild woman against the boys. FASTER FASTER FASTER! She races Buddy trying to touch fingertips as their cars pass each other going in opposite directions around the grain silo. 2. The Shape of Things To Come. Max Frost & The Troopers. Nuggets From Nuggets. Celebrations of speed, chance, intoxication, revolution: Nothing can change the shape of things to come. Local cop breaks it up. Smalltown violence&threats. When tomorrow is today. 3. This Is Love. PJ Harvey. Stories from the city, stories from the sea. DJ & Buddy fuck in the steamed up car; this is love that I'm feeling! 4. Sister Saviour. The Rapture. Echoes. Jack practices putting his father's gun to his father's sleeping head and then rehearses in the bathroom mirror with the gun to his own head. DJ returns home to her fragile ill mother. Buddy is confronted by his drunken father and in a rage of tears packs a bag and climbs out the window. 5. Pale Blue Eyes. The Velvet Underground. 1969 Live. They meet at James Dean's grave; this is their theme song. Buddy strums his guitar. They linger on. Sadness everywhere but they're huddled together on his grave. 6. I Remember. Damien Rice. O. From across the darkened street Buddy sees Aunt Honey struggling with a bottle as she remembers. She offers Buddy safety from his drunken father. Her house with 6 bedrooms is used by the outcasts in town and rented to fans. 7. I Am Waiting. Lawrence Ferlinghetti. A Coney Island of The Mind. A poet speaks. Waiting for a new re-birth of wonder. 8. Galvanize. Chemical Brothers. Push The Button. Aunt Honey's house with the lost boys at breakfast; Blinky, skinny tiny 15 yr old who rides a banana bike and has a car-head. Blinky has a crush on DJ and is jealous of Buddy, his new roommate. World, the time has come to push the button. My finger is on the button. Don't hold back. 9. Date With The Night. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Fever to Tell. DJ works at the only cafe/diner in town; mostly farmers having coffee. Her mind is elsewhere; she has a date with the night. Jack comes in and her spirits lift. A hot motorcycle guy comes in; she flirts with him but he offers Jack a ride and they ride off as DJ sadly/jealously watches. 10. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. Hank Williams. 40 Greatest Hits. Jack shows Motorcycleman around Fairmount; they stop at a secluded place and Jack confesses his longing to escape while the man seductively listens. 11. The Golden Age. Beck. Sea Change. Jack left on his wet knees as the motorcycleman prepares to leave. Jack wanders out to the nearest road; when will the golden age begin? 12. Toto Dies. Nellie Mckay. Get Away From Me. DJ, Buddy & Jack talk about their future; Where to go? 13. New York. Richard Ashcroft. Alone With Everybody. New York or California? 14. Piss Factory. Patti Smith. Just Say Yesterday. What happens when you're in a room with your 2 best friends in this sad lonely world and you hear the call of the Future and YOUR NAME is written on it? "I will get out of here!" "Watch me now!" 15. Hahahighbabe. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Take Them On. Oh escape into the heights. Sara arrives to befriend them and stay at Aunt Honey's house. 16. Heart And Soul. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Take Them On. The fans are arriving and the party is starting. Everyone should be happy. Save me. Aunt Honey is selling James Dean masks at a booth. 17.The Ledge. The Replacements. Pleased to Meet Me. But it hurts to be alive and Jack wants out. He struggles with Buddy; They fight on the train tracks as the night train approaches. "If you were really my brother, you wouldn't let me suffer like this. You'd help me get free.." 18. California Waiting. Kings of Leon. Youth and Young Manhood. Sara offers to drive them to California; Could it be that easy? 19. Cosmic Dancer. Morrissey. My Early Burglary Years. The crowds on Main Street. The exiles in the alley. Buddy trying to hide from his Father; Aunt Honey covering for him. A band is playing. The James Dean lookalike contest. East of Eden projected on the side of a barn. DJ wandering. Jack feeling crazy and lost and drunk. 20. The Ha Ha Wall. The Libertines. Buddy dons a Dean mask to avoid his father, Jack puts one on to escape himself. DJ realizes she cant leave her mother. Tired of hanging around, Jack steals a car and challenges Buddy to a "Chickie " race. 21. I Think I Smell A Rat. The White Stripes. White Blood Cells. The cars recklessly speed. Police pursue. Fans in masks follow in pickups. Excitement/Danger/Violence. Jack has a gun to his head while speeding. DJ & Buddy try to stop him. The cars crash. 22. Old Soul Song (For the New World Order). Bright Eyes. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning. DJ opens her eyes: both Jack & Buddy with James Dean masks in place lie unconscious near the wrecks. Fans stand around. Police check on J & B. Sara helps DJ. "This one's dead," the cop says beside J & B. DJ spins towards the bodies. 23. Sometimes, I Feel Like A Motherless Child. Little Jimmy Scott. The Savoy Years. 24. When Jesus Left Birmingham. John Mellancamp. Human Wheels. The masks are pulled off Jack & Buddy. DJ approaches; who is alive? She touches both of their faces. Neither move. She leans over to kiss- Who? Buddy opens his eyes and meets her kiss. They look at Jack. They kiss him as his eyes flutter open. 25. I'm Free. The Rolling Stones. Single Collection. Bandaged Jack, bruised Buddy, DJ kissing her mother goodbye- they are putting their bags in Sara's car while the fans walk from the church to James Dean's grave. They're free. 26. Pale Blue Eyes. Patti Smith. I Never Talked to Bob Dylan. Their theme song plays as they get in the car; how did it get so hard to leave? Pale blue eyes turns into Louie Louie and it's all waiting for them. 27. Joy of Man's Desiring. Bach. Bach Favorites-Ormandy. When they turn to look back, past the cornfields being plowed under, past the fans some crying, some in bliss, past the cemetery entrance, past James Dean's grave, they see Aunt Honey and her lips fill their vision as though her mouth was to their ears whispering in a victorious and loving whisper, "Go." THE END © 1990 - 2005 by Richard Sassin	Download FREE LIKE JAMES DEAN.MP3
	The Songs Midnight Show The Shape of Things To Come This Is Love Sister Saviour Pale Blue Eyes I Remember I Am Waiting Galvanize Date With The Night I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry The Golden Age Toto Dies New York Piss Factory Ha Ha High Babe Heart + Soul The Ledge California Waiting Cosmic Dancer The Ha Ha Wall I Think I Smell A Rat Old Soul Song(For the New World Order) Sometimes, I Feel Like A Motherless Child When Jesus Left Birmingham I'm Free Pale Blue Eyes Joy of Man's Desiring
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