SL man is screenplay contest finalist

Sat, Jan 10, 2009

SPRING LAKE — Local attorney and doctor Elliott Grysen is a driven man, but his passion lies with life stories that speak for themselves.

Click to enlarge
Despite dual doctorate degrees in medicine and law, Grysen spends his spare time writing about real live events depicting real-life people. His recent screenplay was chosen as a finalist for "The Movie Deal" Screenplay Contest based in Hollywood, Calif.

Grysen's creation is one of four finalists in the contest's "historical" category. The grand-prize winner will be announced this spring, which could result in Grysen's script, "Keep My Love Here," being produced as a Hollywood feature film.

His screenplay is an adaptation of the life story of Abe and Lillie Meth, both Hungary natives who experienced World War II together. Their love surrounded them, according to Grysen, although they did not always recognize it.

The love-story script tells not only of the tragedies of the Holocaust, but of the triumph of love — despite their world collapsing around them.

Lillie is now 96 and Abe is 97. They reside in Phoenix, Ariz.

Grysen, who has a home in nearby Scottsdale, said he spent about 20 hours interviewing the couple over the last several years to authenticate and re-create the story for film, although he admits to combining characters for depth.

"This has always been one of my hobbies," Grysen said. "I've written about 10 screenplays and there are about 15 or so major script contests in the country. I was always looking for something like this. I was reading something in the Phoenix newspaper, a Sunday feature called 'Love Is.' It tells the story of individuals, and Abe and Lillie appeared there about three years ago."

Click to enlarge
The Spring Lake native grew interested in their story.

"It was only about 500 words and a picture — but they said they thought if it hadn't been for the Holocaust, they never would have stayed married," said Grysen. "Before the war, there were so many little things about each other that bothered them. I've talked to them about five or six times and I bought the rights to their story. I've been working on it ever since."

As the story goes, Lillie and Abe met and married just prior to World War II. It was not the best of times.

"Throughout the time of the war they were together, then torn apart, got together again, then torn apart because of the war," Grysen said. "They had a son during that time that was taken away from them. It was a time when they forgot about all their little irritations about each other.

"This is not a Holocaust story — it's a love story," he continued. "It's a story focused on human emotion. It just so happens it happened during the Holocaust."

Whenever he had free time, the Spring Lake attorney/doctor said he focused on the screenplay — writing, reading books and watching Holocaust films to learn more about the time period and Abe's concentration camp experience. The script writer said he grew to admire his real-life main characters.

"They're very quiet people and they don't want a lot of attention," Grysen said. "But I can tell you they're still pretty active for their age. They still play instruments and are active in the synagogue, but they don't want a lot of attention."

Grysen said he combined Abe's story with that of Abe's younger brother, who is now deceased.

"As opposed to doing a book, where you're telling the truth, in a film you have the liberty of making an adaptation and combining life stories," Grysen said. "That allows for more depth in the things that were happening. You have a little more leeway in film script.

Grysen said his goal is not winning the contest, but for the main characters to remain solid and true as they approach their more-than-golden years.

"Now that their life is coming to an end, they would like to see their story," Grysen said. "But most film projects take from five to 10 years. I hope they're around to see the finished project. We're hoping a producer will be interested in the next year or two."