Billy and Ava (Screenplay)

Twenty-five years after the damage, a high school bully crisscrosses the country with his developmentally challenged daughter to win back the hearts of his former victims.

STORY ORIGINS

A friend of mine, I’ll call Billy, approached me last year and wondered if I remembered a certain high school classmate named Joe. How could I forget the peculiar, reclusive, and underdeveloped scrawny geek? Billy continued that he had mercilessly beaten him silly almost daily. Here we sat nearly 40 years later and could not believe my ears. Billy emotionally explained how he called Joe to apologize with the exact words, “no one deserves to be treated that way”. Joe, a true gentleman, put the past behind him and accepted his heartfelt apology. However, it was only the beginning for my friend who had a long list of victims. As it turned out, not everyone was as receptive as Joe.

This true incident became the origins for the script “Billy and Ava”. Billy Jordan, a single father, with the encouragement of his daughter Ava, dedicates a summer tracking down a list of former victims that he had wronged. One such victim, Chester Fleming, refuses Billy’s peace offering. When Billy returns to Chester’s town because of an investment opportunity, the wound reopens for the bitter Chester. Chester, a school administrator, compassionately befriends the wise yet developmentally challenged Ava, unaware that Billy is her Dad. When Chester discovers that Billy has become romantically linked to his wife’s sister, he seeks the same revenge that Billy, now slow and awkward, once caused upon him.

Initiated by an obligatory yet relevant thread in Ava, Chester tears down the walls that prevented him from really knowing Billy and surprising himself that such an unlikely pair with two distinct perspectives, chained to their beliefs, jealousy, and hatred could discover a humanness in healing while overcoming mortal emotional deficiencies.

For the past 3 decades, Doug Bailey has been in front of the camera with over 100 national/regional commercials and extensive training films and voice-over credits.

His audio book “Act Smart” An Intelligent Guide to the Business of Acting, has provided a fresh start for those who want to make a career or hobby seeking the business.

His recent screenplay Billy and Ava, based loosely on a true story, is a heartwarming story of redemption in a world of revenge. A story that has been critiqued and applauded by industry experts.

“A compelling family story that entertainingly demonstrates that we can learn from the most unlikely people and that forgiveness must be earned’. Peter vonGal, former COO Hallmark Entertainment.