Rooster
A Badge, Gun and Heartache

 

MILL VALLEY sits nestled in the shadow of the Sleeping Princess Mountain in southern Marin County, and at first glance appears to be a quiet, tranquil little town populated by rock stars, writers, and artists. But a closer look reveals a dark side: corruption has reached the top levels of the police department, and white powder cocaine is the locals’ drug of choice.

Sean Patrick Murphy, nicknamed “The Rooster” by his supervising sergeant, Dante John Castigari, is a burnt-out Irish cop on a rampage on San Francisco’s skid row. He carries a Badge, Gun, and Heartache, but all he ever wanted was to be a country singer. So far, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

The year is 1978. The story begins in Mill Valley, early in 1973:

Sergeant Castigari hates dope dealers and dirty cops. So does Murphy, but his passion to become a country singer soon starts to interfere with his loyalty to protect and serve. When Castigari plunges into the dangerous business of cleaning up the town and eradicating the Colombian Drug Cartel from their stronghold, Rock Star Hell, Murphy will have to decide among his music, his job, and his mentor.

The corruption and greed starts to take a toll on everybody involved, including Murphy’s girlfriend, the sultry singer, Peggy Sue Barnes. Then Murphy is offered immortality with a record contract--but not without a price. Soon Castigari is asking: “Are you pulling pistols or strumming guitars?” It’s down to the wire but Murphy has already made up his mind. Now it’s a waiting game, and both the cops and Colombians await the Rooster’s next move.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR/SCRIPT

 

DC Murphy retired from the SFPD on September 19, 2008, after 36 years in law enforcement. THE ROOSTER is a powerful action packed screenplay blending drama and music. It is character and plot driven. The location is San Francisco and Marin Counties. The budget is medium. The setting is 1973- 1978.

THE ROOSTER is loosely based on a true story and DC Murphy is the Rooster. The script contains elements of "Serpico" mixed with "Walk the Line." It was inspired by Murphy's ten years on the MVPD, and his association with the rock and rollers, and drug dealers of the time. His love for Johnny Cash inspired the score.

JOHNNY CASH as portrayed in the screenplay is a fable creation.

A young country singer/actor would play the ROOSTER, with a strong female co-lead to play the sultry singer, Peggy Sue Barnes. The result would be a major league cop picture.

DC MURPHY has the novel, screenplay, and soundtrack (five original country tunes) already recorded by Rockabilly Hall of Famer Rusty Evans.

 

ORIGINAL SONGS:

"Time to Go" "Badge Gun and Heartache" "Mill Valley" "Diane" and "Cindy Lynn" are the property of D.C. Murphy and Dan Hayes. Copyright 1995 by: Murphy/Hayes.

 

Soundtrack by: Rusty Evans and Danny Uzilevsky.

 

LOGLINE: The Rooster is Sean Patrick Murphy, a cop torn between loyalty and justice, and his passion to become a country singer.

WGA Registered: #1322365. Copyright 2009 by: D.C. Murphy.

 

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Screenplay

 

 


The White Ghost: An Outdoor Adventure Story

Distant Drums, Whistles & Cries Floated on the Clouds

The White Ghost: An Outdoor Adventure Story

 

This is a story about friendship and adventure, hunting in the wilderness, and Indian superstitions. But it’s really about much, much more than that: It’s about one man’s destiny and another man’s promise to a little boy.

***

Alaska in the wintertime can be pure hell. And the unforgiving nature of the land can kill a man outright. But it’s not only the freezing cold, violent storms, and killer bears that a man has to worry about—not at all. Sometimes death can be better than life. Try reaching deeply into your own soul and taking a long hard look at what you are really made of, then take care of business and soar with the mighty birds of prey in America’s last frontier—Alaska.

The Indians of interior Alaska are known as Tinneh. They are a proud people and, for the most part, keep to themselves. They mind their own business. They live in small villages located on major rivers, such as the mighty Yukon. They hunt and fish for survival. But sometimes, they don’t mind their own business, especially when called upon by the gods to take care of important, earthly matters. This story is about one of those times.

The White Ghost is an outdoor adventure. It will rip your heart out and leave you crying like a baby. But don’t worry about it. When the sun comes up in the morning, you just might have a whole new understanding about life, love, and the ways of a mortal man—Lou Vozikes—and the Tinneh Indian gods.

AVAILABLE AT LOCAL BOOK STORES, AMAZON.COM and BARNES AND NOBLE.

 

 


The Elephants Graveyard

"The Elephants Graveyard is like an epitaph without a tombstone."

— Officer Kevin Martin, SFPD


The Elephants GraveyardThe Elephants Graveyard is the city’s skid row—the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. It’s a purgatory for the junkies and shadowy characters that frequent the dark alleys, bars, and fleabag hotels on the dark side of the City by the Bay. But to some, it’s a sacred place to hide out, to fall off the face of God’s green earth—and never be found. And like the old African elephants who journeyed to a secret place to die—Rooster journeyed into the Tenderloin, and his bones will never be found.


***

Sean Patrick Murphy walked into the Mill Valley Police Department for the first time back in 1971. Things were different back then, and had he known what he knows now, he would have turned around and walked right back out the door.
Mill Valley was the best-kept secret in Marin County. White powder cocaine, marijuana, hot-tub orgies, and rock 'n' roll were all part of the scene. It was all fun and games until the Colombians moved in and ruined everything. The Sweetwater Bar took over as the West Coast cocaine connection, and the Medellín cartel started murdering anyone who stood in their way, including police officers.

The twisting tale of corruption and greed took Murphy into the seedy underworld of a life he came to loathe. It was the drugs, extortion, philandering, and a ruined relationship that turned his life into a living hell. But somewhere along the way, Rooster snapped out of the slump he had fallen into. By the late seventies, the Colombians had been driven out of Mill Valley and into hiding. The Sweetwater Bar had been shut down, and top-ranking police officials had become the target of a federal RICO investigation.  A special task force led by Officer Sean Murphy, dubbed “Rooster” by his peers, and the FBI went after the bad guys with a vengeance. And the dirty cops on the MVPD were on the top of list.
By 1980, the United States Attorney had indicted all of the players in the RICO investigation—Colombians and cops. But the Colombians, and the owner of the Sweetwater, Lance Larkin, had fled to Bogotá—and into the arms of the feared drug lord, Pablo Valencia.

Finally, in 1982, extradition warrants were issued, charging Javier Valencia (son of Pablo Valencia) and Lance Larkin with racketeering, drug dealing, and murder. But the Colombians reacted violently, beheading a Supreme Court Justice and vowing to kill everyone connected to the investigation.

It was trouble all right. But when the Colombians crossed the line and kidnapped Rooster’s four-year-old daughter, everything changed. All bets were off. And it didn’t take long for the Colombian’s to become the victims.

The Elephants Graveyard is the sequel to Rooster: A Badge, Gun, and Heartache.

AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM and BARNES AND NOBLE.