New Idea #16 for Dave. Possible teen series. Like a hard hitting OC? - topical + branding opportunities. Lindsay Lohan?
(Note to self **** REMEMBER DELETE NOTES BEFORE SUBMISSION *****)
EXT. Scene opens with a long shot of a timber frame house, (picture a classic American Mid-West suburban home with large lawn). Music plays,"FFUNNY FFRENDS” by “UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA” - the song starts all with psyched up chimes of guitar, loose, loopy drums, poetic and jaunty. Into the scene and the camera slowly zooms in and up a long lawn past a water sprinkler and two young children playing in the streams of water with a small scruffy dog (re: Health and safety – remember Ben said he had a potential lawsuit after that Clown with the meat wig riding a Doberman didn’t work out?).
We are carried up past the branches of a Maple tree and shot stops, framing the first floor bedroom window where we freeze on the window and billowing curtains – the cedar sash window half open. A natural frame. A slight pause in shot as the music gains momentum, the guitars reminiscent of early Modest Mouse riffs, but looser, jazzier, stacking up, the vocals like a drunk man wandering home. (Remember to get Dave in on this – can we get rights? These guys are fairly new and debut LP is just out - think they could be massive!!! - Tim in Despatch saw them at some spanish festival - said they were great)
INT. Jump cut to room from rear wall, looking toward the window and the street. A single bed, unmade and scattered with the ephemera of late teenage-life’s loyalties and idiosyncrasies is positioned against the window at centre background of scene. Patchwork quilt of detritus and paraphernalia. Lighting is natural, and sunbeams from the window passing through the tree branches illuminate motes of dust and cast spotlights on a worn rug in the centre of the room, central in the scene. (Can we do dust motes digitally? – might be easier, and would be way cool) Scattered record covers and books with broken spines litter the room and a black cat lies sleeping on the armchair in the corner. Posters show that whoever inhabits this room is clearly a fan of inventive guitar music / psychedelic 60s stuff and Jeff Beck. Kneeling on the rug in the centre of the shot is MARTINE, back angled slightly to the camera, long tousled hair.
She holds a battered record cover of “Unknown Mortal Orchestra” by “UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA” (Can we get the band/label to agree to change the art for this shot? Give them money?) and seems lost in contemplation of it. In the doorway to the right of the shot stands STEVEN, middle-aged and bespectacled, looking with a careworn expression at MARTINE, his arms folded defensively. We come to their conversation perhaps halfway through, aware that we have entered the scene during a natural lull in a long day’s discussion.
"UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA" continues to play throughout the scene, but fades to the level of background music now, evidently the record playing on the record player in the room. It inhabits the silence between MARTINE and STEVEN’s conversation.
MARTINE: This... this is.. well.. umm...
STEVEN: Sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before... do kids really listen to this? What's this guy singing? Hmmm... is he foreign [fumbling, hesitant, aware of the danger of vocalising the question] I mean... is this what Scott was listening to, you know.... before.. um? [long pause, the question hangs in the air – an elephant in the room]
MARTINE:[Weary, almost absent-mindedly, clearly tired of asking herself the same question] It was on the player... I like it. It sounds like Scotty. I can feel the buzz he gets...[self-correcting] I mean.. got.. from this music... it sings to me. The drums... oh, god... they just get you [jabs a finger at her temple].. here... you know. [Stifles a sigh]
STEVEN: You’re tired. Marty you should get some rest. You’ve been up for how many days?
MARTINE:[interrupting his question, suddenly agitated] I don’t NEED anything Steven, [now contrite, more softly] I just want to listen to this and for you to leave me alone with what I’ve found... I just want to spend a little time listening to this record. [barely whispering] I think it’s beautiful.
STEVEN: I don’t understand it. It sounds a lot like some sixties thing, just louder, less coherent.
MARTINE: Well, YOU don’t need to understand it Steven! It doesn’t NEED you to understand it. You never get anything from new things anyway. It’s not derivative. It wears a heart...
[Cut to CU,
MARTINE's POV of the record cover, framed by Martine’s hands on each side, caught in a shaft of sunlight
(more digi dust motes?), it is an image of the band
UNKOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, 3 arty looking young men, hippy 'New-Zealandy'-chic, pictured in what is evidently their home town Portland. The shot lasts long enough for us to take this detail in and to register the three or four teardrops that drop from Martine’s unseen head and impact onto the cover. The vocal line of the song is fragmenting, coming apart beautifully as the teardrops hit the record].
STEVEN: [unfolds his arms and moves to a crouching position next to Martine, she is sobbing now and her mascara has run, her tears dripping onto the record cover, Steven puts one hand awkwardly on Martine’s shoulder, and kisses the top of her head. He speaks softly, wisely as he looks out the window beyond the street] C’mon M. Don’t do this to yourself. He’ll come back. It’s not like its the first time.
[SCUFFLING, FLAPPING, ANIMAL SHRIEKS from something out of shot. Camera cuts to shot of STEVEN and MARTINE’s face medium close, both staring shocked at the window behind the camera. Camera cuts to Close up of black cat, now sitting upright at the foot of the bed. It has a flapping squawking behemoth of a black crow in its maw (Real crow? – doubt that’s feasible – issues with the animal rights lot - Animatronics? Probably look shitty - Can we do this with Spielberg's guy? – remember ask Suki/ Dave). Feathers float down through the dust mote, sunshine lit air of the bedroom surrounding the cat. Close up of cats eyes as they close. The music fades in time with shot Fade to Black]
END
Mikey, thanks for this... I do appreciate the effort you go to in coming up with this stuff especially as I know how precious your lunch breaks are down in the mail-room now you have all the mail to open and the semi-janitorial role they’ve assigned you. Erm, the thing is, we have sort of moved on from the whole commissioning of new dramas/teleplays for now, er... so... and we do have a team of fully paid screenwriters up on the 4th so... you know, don’t kill yourself doing these. Also, I'm not sure how to say this, but er... this is really wordy... I mean, don't get me wrong, I can REALLY visualise it - but have you ever actually read a screenplay that had lines like " quilt of detritus and paraphernalia"????. I know Suki thought it showed potential for some sort of music video, but, well, you know, she's kinda f*cked up at the moment, so please don't send any more to her.... I like what you did with the Cat at the end of this scene.. that was the end wasn’t it?... the script I have just sort of ended at about the 20 second mark... anyway.. thanks.
PPS. I absolutely love the band though... seriously... great find.
PPPS. For reference Digital dust motes are not easier to do than dust motes. I think they just use regular dust.
