A story writing blog
Showing posts with label script blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label script blog. Show all posts

Monday, February 3, 2014

Cats or Komodo Dragons - Which Is The Better Housepet


CONT'D...


INT-Kitchen

Andre comes running into the kitchen.

ANDRE
Call the exterminator!

JEREMY
We don't need an exterminator for one mouse; just put some cheese down for it and it'll leave you alone.

ANDRE
What do you mean "leave me alone"?

JEREMY
I'll take care of it. I'll just leave some cheese out tonight.

ANDRE
And?

JEREMY
And he won't bother us. He just wants cheese.

ANDRE
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

GORDON
Jeremy do you think we're worried that we won't be able to like...live harmoniously with the mouse? 

JEREMY
Well we can just give him the cheese, then he gets what he wants and leaves.

GORDON
That's not how a mouse thinks!

JEREMY
He thinks about cheese. He's just trying to get our cheese, if we give him our cheese he'll think "I have all their cheese, now I can leave"

GORDON
No! He thinks "Oh boy! There's a lot of cheese in this house, I'll live here forever and start a family."

JEREMY
Well we'll find out. 

CONRAD
Benjamin confiscate the cheese.

BENJAMIN
I am on it.

Benjamin goes into the fridge and takes out the house's cheese, it's a large block of cheese. Benjamin guards it.

ANDRE
Don't feed rodents Jeremy, otherwise they never leave.

BENJAMIN
This is why I think we should have asked for a cat.

JEREMY
What would a cat do?

BENJAMIN
Uhhh...cats eat mice.

JEREMY
Cats don't care about mice.

BENJAMIN
Cats HATE mice!

JEREMY
I don't think so.

ANDRE
Cat's kill mice Jeremy. Everyone knows that.

CONRAD
You didn't watch cartoons growing up?

JEREMY
There was never any cartoon about mice...and cats.

GORDON
Oh my god!
Tom and Jerry
Itchy and Scratchy
So many others...

 JEREMY
Yeah but you never see them fighting. 

GORDON
THAT'S ALL THEY DO!

ANDRE
CATS ALWAYS GO AFTER MICE!

JEREMY
I don't think so.

GORDON
ARRRRRRRGGG!!!

JEREMY
Why do you care?

GORDON
It's ANNOYING. It's annoying that you don't know this. Babies know this.

ANDRE
Alright. Enough, we're getting a cat.

JEREMY
Why don't we just get a lizard?

GORDON

(loudly)
Because it's a lizard!

JEREMY
 We can get one that bites mice with poison though, cats don't have poison when they bite.

CONRAD
Ok lets vote on it. How many people think we should get a cat?

Everyone except Jeremy raises their hand

CONRAD
How many people think we should unleash a poisonous lizard in this house to run around and bite us with venom when we reach for the remote?

Jeremy raises his hand

CONRAD
and that's how we got a cat.

INT - LIVING ROOM

They have a cat.

-END-

Well that was stupid. 

 

Sunday, January 26, 2014

I Saw A Mouse Run Across My Floor Once. Scared The Crap Out Of Me.



House Arrested: The series of shorts that take place in a house where all the tenants are sociopathic criminals under house arrest being watched over by the stern Officer Karp.
 
GORDON - Annoying, kind of snotty.
ANDRE - Large black guy, sensible. 
CONRAD - Shaved head, tattoos, asshole.
BENJAMIN - Normal, nice, guy next door.
JEREMY - Weird.

EPISODE 3: Mice are scary.

INT - KITCHEN

Conrad is walking in the kitchen with a plate of food when mouse skitters across the room and out the door. That mouse scares the shit out of Conrad, he drops his plate of food and screams. Gordon and Benjamin run in to see what happened.


CONRAD
HOLY SHIT!

BENJAMIN
What? What happened?

CONRAD
I saw a mouse.

GORDON
(Condescendingly)
You're scared of mice.

CONRAD
Have you ever seen a mouse skitter across the floor when you're not expecting it? There's just something about it that makes your skin jump. It's horrifying.

Benjamin sees something and screams.

BENJAMIN
AHHHHHH!!!

GORDON
ARRRHHHHH!!

CONRAD
AAAAAHHH!!

GORDON
What are you screaming at?

BENJAMIN
That.
(pointing to something off camera)

GORDON
That shoe?

BENJAMIN
Sorry.

CONRAD
Don't do that again!


Beat 

The mouse skitters across the doorway. All three men scream.

BENJAMIN
ARRRGG!!!

GORDON
ARRRGGG!!!

CONRAD
ARRRGGG!!!!


The three catch their breath and lock their eyes, they know they have a serious problem.

Suddenly Jeremy jumps into the doorway from the hall.

JEREMY
BOO!

No one reacts, they all just look at him. Jeremy's smile deflates.

ANDRE
(voice from off camera)
ARRRRRGGGG!!!
WHAT WAS THAT?
WHAT WAS THAT?

He saw the mouse.

CONT'D...


Sunday, January 19, 2014

UTURN - I Rewrote 'House Arrested: The Dick Pic' - This Post My Offend


I rewrote this Dick Pic comedy script almost completely. You can scroll down to past entries to see where it started from and compare it to this version, it'll give you an idea of how drastically different early drafts of scripts are from final drafts.

The best part about being finished this is that I don't have to write the term "dick pic" anymore, the worst part is that I'll probably see a drop in views now that I am not saying the term "dick pic" anymore. Look over to the right of this column to see the most popular posts I've put up...do you see how high that other "dick pic" post is on that list? I'd say 90% of the people who found that post using a search engine did NOT find what they were looking for.

Here's my final script. 

House Arrested: The show that takes place in a house where all the tenants are sociopathic criminals under house arrest being watched over by the stern Officer Karp.

 
SCENE 1 - INT - KITCHEN TABLE

An officer is sitting at a kitchen table with 5 men, all of them have on blinking ankle monitors. Andre (a large black man), Conrad (Caucasian tall, tattooed), Gordon (Caucasian, glasses), Benjamin (Caucasian, typical nice guy next door look) and Jeremy (creepy, weird).

OFFICER KARP
Which one of you perverts posted a picture of your dick in an adult chatroom yesterday?

No one speaks up.

OFFICER KARP
It's a violation of your parole, I am within my authority to have that person removed from this house and placed back into the provincial prison system. Somebody better step forward and save me an investigation. Benjamin?

BENJAMIN
(genuinely shocked)
What, I am your first suspect in a dick pic scandal?

OFFICER KARP
Your account is the only one I saw logged onto the house computer last night.

BENJAMIN
I barely even used the computer, everyone kept stealing it. Conrad and Gordon stole it every time I went to the washroom and when I went to make myself a sandwich Andre sat down and started watching a movie on it.

ANDRE
Don't snitch.

BENJAMIN
You watched Braveheart Andre, it was 3 hours long. I was talking to my family.

OFFICER KARP

Where was Jeremy while all this was going on?

BENJAMIN

I don't know. He was skulking around sort of. In the background. I really try to keep as far from him as I can.
Jeremy doesn't react much, something is off in the way he stares at Benjamin. He doesn't say anything.

OFFICER KARP
Conrad, do you have any idea where this picture might have come from?

Conrad is seated to the left of the frame, Andre is seated to the right of him followed by Benjamin and Jeremy. Andre is large in the frame, there's something off about Jeremy; there always is.

CONRAD
No but if the dick's black I can probably guess who's it is.

ANDRE
I know; right? It's not me, if it was me he'd know it was me and we wouldn't be having this meeting.

OFFICER KARP
Andre you can be excused from this meeting.

ANDRE
No I want to find out who did it.

GORDON
Why don't you let me see the picture and I'll tell you who's it is?

CONRAD
What the fuck Gordon?

ANDRE
How do you know what our dicks look like?

GORDON
It can't be that hard to tell our dicks apart. I feel like if I had to I could match a dick to it's face.

BENJAMIN
This conversation's getting a bit weird fellas.

OFFICER KARP
For the sake of the individual's privacy I won't be showing any of you the picture in question. Jeremy you're being awfully quiet.

CONRAD
Don't ruin that.

ANDRE
Don't get Jeremy talking, we don't need him for this.

OFFICER KARP
Jeremy?
Jeremy stands up and pulls his pants down, exposing himself. 
OFFICER KARP
Jesus Jeremy, pull your pants up.

CONRAD
Stop involving him in things.

GORDON
His looked EXACTLY how I thought it would.

OFFICER KARP
Well like it or not unless someone steps forward you're all going to have to drop your pants. Except for Andre and Jeremy.

BENJAMIN

So what; now Jeremy's out too?

OFFICER KARP

Jeremy's penis didn't match the one in the photograph. The picture has to belong to one of you three.
Andre laughs, he's enjoying this.

BENJAMIN
This is a witch hunt!

GORDON
What if I just tell you what my penis looks like, will that help clear my name?
I am about 7 inches long...

CONRAD

Bullshit!

ANDRE

There's no way you're walking around with anything over 6 inches.

GORDON

Why; because I am white?

ANDRE
YES!

BENJAMIN
Well I am about seven inches.

CONRAD
No you're not. Every guy says he's 7 inches if you ask him but do you know how many guys actually are?
Only like a third of all guys.
BENJAMIN
And what are you?

CONRAD
7 inches. That's how I know you two are lying.

ANDRE
(laughing)
All of you are lying.


OFFICER KARP
Andre I don't know why you're laughing like this doesn't effect you. Because of one of these three idiots this house is about to lose online access.

The group is stunned to silence.

GORDON
(in his best Martin Lawrence voice)
Shit just got real.

ANDRE
What was that?

GORDON
No one gets that reference?
Wide shot of everyone. No one gets that reference, Gordon looks crushed.

CONRAD
This is bullshit!

OFFICER KARP
That's what happens when you go showing off your dick on the web Conrad.

CONRAD
I've never shown my dick on the web.

Officer Karp shoots him a look of pure skepticism.

CONRAD
I've never shown my dick on the web using THAT computer.

ANDRE
Why are my rights being taken away because one of those three can't keep his pants on?

OFFICER KARP
Because no one gives a crap about your rights, you're a degenerate in a house full of degenerates. We're not going to trust online access to a house full of perverts.

GORDON
We're perverts? You're trying to get us to pull down our pants!

CONRAD
Yeah; what are you saying here exactly? We all have to pull down our pants and let you leer at us or you'll take away our internet?

OFFICER KARP
LEER AT YOU? I'll be taking a simple photograph of each of you...

GORDON
So you can touch yourself to them later.

OFFICE KARP
SO I can COMPARE those pictures to the one posted illegally on the adult chat room last night.

GORDON
Uh-huh, and you'll be doing this in the shower?

OFFICER KARP
I don't think I like what you're accusing me of Gordon.

GORDON
What I am accusing YOU of? You're accusing me of showing off my dick and then to prove that I didn't do it you're telling me I have to show YOU my dick.

JEREMY
I showed you my dick.

BENJAMIN
Shut up about that. I can't get that image out of my head. 

CONRAD
Stupid sexy Flanders?

ANDRE and BENJAMIN laugh.

BENJAMIN
Yeah.

GORDON
(bitterly)
what, his references you get?

 OFFICER KARP
You're not going to make this easy are you?


BENJAMIN
No.


OFFICER KARP
Fine. If the person who put pictures of his dick on the internet doesn't come clean right now then I am walking out that door and this case is over. I am telling them to take away your internet for good.
1...
2...
3...

ANDRE
Conrad stop being a dick! Just admit you did it.

CONRAD
I didn't!

OFFICER KARP
4...

GORDON
Everyone knows it was you. Stop being so selfish.

CONRAD
F**k you!

OFFICER KARP
5...

BENJAMIN
Look, I'll let you use my computer time if you just admit you did it.

OFFICER KARP
6...

CONRAD
It wasn't me. I wouldn't go showing off on the internet.

OFFICER KARP
7...

Everyone looks very skeptical of that claim.



OFFICER KARP
8...

GORDON
You have shirtless pictures on your facebook.

OFFICER KARP
9...

CONRAD
I don't have dick pictures on my facebook.

 OFFICER KARP
(frustrated)
THAT'S IT!! Either someone admit to it RIGHT NOW, or pull their pants down RIGHT NOW or none of you will ever go online again. I am seriou...oh god!


The camera pans back around to Jeremy standing again with his penis exposed. Everyone groans and covers their eyes. 

BENJAMIN
(hiding his eyes)
Why can't we just say it was Jeremy? I really don't think he'd care.

ANDRE
Jeremy's already crazy, he won't even get in trouble. Besides if anyone should serve additional time it's him. We need to keep him off the streets. 

 GORDON
Yeah, and if you don't want to go along with this I could always just tell your boss that you tried to trick us into taking our clothes off...like we're Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies.
 ...with Arnold Schwarzenegger?
...He tricks her into stripping for him?
...It was a huge blockbuster!

BENJAMIN
I've never heard of it.

GORDON
FUCK you Benjamin!

Jeremy's bare ass is in the foreground, in the background Officer Karp is mulling it over. 

OFFICER KARP
 and you'd be willing to do this Jeremy?

JEREMY
I'd want something in return.

There's a look of concern on Officer Karp's face. 

INT - KITCHEN TABLE/HALLWAY

Something is going on in the hallway, Andre, Gordon, Conrad and Benjamin can't believe what their seeing. They can't believe he's doing it. 

In the hallway Officer Karp has pulled down his pants, Jeremy is about 5 feet away. His face twist in disapproval to what he's seeing.


JEREMY
That's gross.

OFFICER KARP
Then why did you ask me to do it?

JEREMY
So we'd be even.

A flash goes off, Karp doesn't notice.

OFFICER KARP
(pulling up his pants)
Well we're even! Is everyone happy? 

CONRAD
Not really, no.

Gordon is holding his phone, he has a twisted smile as he's looking at it. He's clearly the one who took the picture of Karp just now.

Officer Karp is completely defeated, he gets Jeremy to sign some papers and leaves. The group is left sitting there, jaws agape, in disbelief of how this all played out.

CONRAD
I dodged a BULLET on this one.

Everyone reacts.

EVERYONE
I knew it! You asshole! You're such a dick! F**k you Conrad!


-END-

I am going to continue writing a few more of these House Arrested scripts in the hope of actually getting them filmed. Kind of a long term project.

Next time: A gang of sociopaths and criminals have to catch a tiny mouse.




Sunday, December 15, 2013

This Post May Offend - House Arrested: The Dick Pic - Cont'd



I am writing a script for a series about a bunch of guys under house arrest and their parole officer. This episode is about the parole officer intercepting a sexy email that contained a picture of one of the men's penis's and the investigation to find out who's it is.

The story so far. 

Cont'd...

Officer Karp enters the room from the outside, flinging away his cigarette. He sighs.

OFFICER KARP
When I took this job I thought I scored the sweetest gig in the department. I can be a probationary officer where all my responsibilities fall under one roof, no more driving all over the city to check in with you people. I thought I had it pretty good. But now here I am, about to give three grown men a penis inspection and I am left feeling pretty awful about myself and the decisions that led me here. Who wants to go first?

GORDON
Umm nobody.

OFFICER KARP
Gordon, thanks for volunteering. Benjamin you're next, then Conrad. We'll go into the other room, just let me print out a picture of the penis in question for comparison.

BENJAMIN
This is SICK!

OFFICER KARP
Do you think I WANT to do this? Do you think anyone want's to see YOUR penis?

BENJAMIN
Why'd you say it like that? Mine's NORMAL! Don't listen to Gordon.

GORDON
 Everybody thinks your dick is weird. 
Andre do you think his dick is weird?

ANDRE

Yeah probably. 
 
OFFICER KARP
I am tired of hearing the word dick. Gordon let's get this over with.

GORDON
 What? You want me to just go in there and flash you?

OFFICER KARP
Just like a doctor's physical Gordon, there's nothing sexual about this.

GORDON
Yet this still feels like I am a call girl who has to show herself to some weird businessman. I am not touching myself.

OFFICER KARP
I DON'T WANT YOU TO!

Gordon reluctantly leaves into the other room with Officer Karp, Benjamin knows he's next and he's very stressed out at the idea. Conrad turns to Andre.

CONRAD
This is my chance. Keep Jeremy busy, I am going to go search his room.


Cont'd...

 I'd like to think I can wrap this up in only a few more scenes but by my count I have about 5 more scenes left. The next one is the hardest, I am supposed to make a scene where Conrad digs through Jeremy's creepy room to find his bug box and I have no idea how I am going to put that together.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Tom's Writing A Horror, Action, Workplace Comedy Show


Here's what I've been working on recently. I have a show I wrote called DOPE that's a cross between Ghostbusters and the X-Files, I already wrote up a full pitch package along with a pilot episode and now I just spent some time re-writing and finishing the second episode for the series. 

DOPE – The Department of Paranormal Events is the low level branch of the provincial government where Investigations and Removals specialists Rooney, Ervin and Randal are pitted up against ghosts, goblins, demons, vampires, zombies and more ghosts all for less pay than the city gives to their average parking enforcement officer. 

DOPE is a story about a lower level branch of the provincial government dedicated to protecting the public against paranormal pests. It’s about a group of ghost exterminators trained in haunting investigations, possessions, vampirification and zombification cases, hobgoblin removal and anything else their miserable supervisor Mr. Dickmeyer demands of them. Rooney, Ervin and Randal find themselves in life threatening situations almost every day, facing off against creatures thousands of times more dangerous than anything your typical exterminator can imagine. Because the debate about the existence of the paranormal will always be ongoing with many people still unconvinced skeptics; the Department of Paranormal Events is the least funded branch of the government; meaning our guys are risking their lives for a little under $25,000 a year. 

DOPE Episode 2: Vampires - Rooney, Ervin and Randall are chased into a small cabin by a pack of vampires and Randall has been bitten. They can hold up until sunset when the vampires would retreat but if they wait that long then Randall will die and become one of them. He needs the vampire virus cure which is in the standard DOPE medical kit in their car and he needs it ASAP.

Rooney and Randall risk certain death at the hands of a ravenous pack of wild vampires. Electing to save Randal; Ervin constructs a plan to draw the attention of the vampires from within the cabin allowing Rooney to escape out back. Rooney has to race through a kilometer of vampire territory at night to find their car and get it back to Ervin who was left to fortify and protect the cabin from a pack of strong and frenzied vampires who are determined to tear their way inside where Randall lays helpless and dying on the floor; bound to turn into a deadly vampire himself at any minute.




EXT – Forest/Night

Rooney, Ervin and Randal are running through a forest towards a lonely, secluded little cabin. It's in a dilapidated condition, all three men are panicked and show signs of a struggle. Randall is wearing a blood soaked rag around his arm.

Rooney runs right up to the house and slams himself hard against the door, bouncing off and hurting himself, a beat later Ervin smashes through the front door. Rooney runs inside. Randall stumbles up to the door and almost passes out right at the doorway, Ervin catches him and pulls him in, Rooney slams the door and presses his body up against it.

Rooney
WHY DID YOU BRING RANDAL?

Ervin
I didn't know there would be that many!

Randall
Dammit Rooney I can take care of myself.

Rooney
You got BIT Randal


Randal's arm has been bitten, it's gruesome.

The inhuman sound of shrieking can be heard getting louder and louder, closer and closer. Ervin inspects Randall's bite.


Ervin
We have to get this treated immediately, the infection has already started.

Randall
Can we cure me before I turn into one of them?

Ervin takes a small plastic package out of his pocket and tears it open. It’s a syringe. He gives Randal a shot.

Ervin
I am going to give you a shot of anti-venom, it’ll help slow the spread of the virus but it’s not a cure. We need to get him to a hospital asap or he’ll turn.


Rooney
If we go outside, we DIE!


Ervin
If we stay here HE dies.

Rooney presses a button on his shoulder mounted radio.

Rooney
DOPE this is Rooney, I need assistance. My team and I were assigned to a vampire removal but there were WAY more than you said there’d be. Randal got bit! We need -

A voice comes over the radio, it's automated.

Voice on the radio
'Due to a high number of calls your request has been put in priority sequence, please wait for the next available operator.'


The three men share a look.


Ervin
How many are there?

Rooney looks out the window of the small cabin, as far as he can see there are zombie-like vampires pouring out of the woods towards the cabin. The sheer number of the vampire force makes Rooney's face go white.
Rooney
Lots.

Fadeout. Title.