Ok, so I guess I'm in one of my creative phases now. I just bought a high-def camcorder and I am having all these visions of filming my own movie.
Let me tell you, though, if I do it, it'll be a heck of a lot better than the "Green Glass Egg" idea of the mid-80's (see the previous post).
Here is a screenplay I just this week wrote.
It's a short film, designed to be shot on a very low-budget featuring only 2 speaking roles, well actually 3 with the voice over (and very little dialog at that), 2 non-speaking extras (brief shot of 2 dead people), and 2 houses used for set locations. Everyday household items for props and just a fair amount of fake blood.
If it was ever shot for true production, probably the most expensive thing would be the airplay rights to the epimonious song.
This Blogger Dashboard doesn't seem to want to keep the script in the correct format. If you've ever seen a screenplay, you know it is printed in a distinctly margined way, and it is on Script Buddy, the online screenplay software I used, but here it's layout is just standard, so, unfortunately it doesn't look quite right. Oh well.
It's a psychological thriller, so hang on...it'll be a short, but hopefully troublesomely chilling ride:
Only The Lonely
by
Michael Chausse
FADE IN:
EXT. OLD HOUSE - NIGHT
The old weathered Victorian house is dark except for light coming from windows on the left side, the kitchen. It is raining and there is intermittent thunder and lightning.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
The tick-tock and then the faint chimes of a grandfather clock is heard in the background. We see ANNIE, a woman in her early 60's, dressed in pajamas and a housecoat, scrubbing her hands out of view under the running faucet in the kitchen sink.
After a minute or so, she turns off the tap and wipes her hands on a dry dishcloth. She puts the dishcloth by the sink and moves towards the living room, smiling happily. She turns off the over-the-range microwave oven which is popping a bag of microwave popcorn and also turns off the tea kettle on the stove which has just started to whistle.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER KITCHEN - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
In a quick, dreamlike, slightly sepia-toned sequence, we see that ANNIE as a little girl of around 12 years old is taught a lesson of not touching things on the stove the hard way. A man in his early 40's, dressed in workpants and t-shirt,is seen roughly grasping ANNIE - CHILD's hand and pulling her towards the open flame of the gas burner on the stove. The camera focuses breifly on a tea kettle and spilled water lying on the kitchen linoleum near the stove. During this flashback, Roy Orbison can faintly be heard singing "Only The Lonely" on a radio.
ANNIE'S FATHER (shouting) This is what happens when dirty little girls play near the stove!
ANNIE - CHILD (crying) No Daddy! Please don't! Your're hurting me!!
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BACK IN THE PRESENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT
ANNIE cries after experiencing the vision but quickly composes herself and pours herself a glass of wine. As she takes the wine towards the living room, she passes a radio. She turns the radio on and stops the dial on a station inthe middle of playing "Only The Lonely".
Cut to exterior shot of the house...
EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE, THE WEATHER WORSENS - NIGHT
Wind, thunder and lightning.
Cut to the living room...
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The ticking of the grandfather clock can be heard more clearly now as it is in this room. ANNIE sits in an arm chair and places her wine glass on the side table. She looks out the window at the rain and frowns. The radio in the kitchen is still playing "Only The Lonely", but before the song ends, an announcer breaks in.
RADIO ANNOUNCER (vo) We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news. The police department has informed us that a psychopathic killer instutionalized for life at Cherrybrook Hospital for the Criminally Insane has escaped and is on the loose. Police are recommending that residents of the Cherrybrook area of the city stay indoors and...(CLICK)
KITCHEN
ANNIE moves from the living room to the kitchen and turns off the radio. ANNIE looks out the window with a worried look on her face. She checks to make sure the window is locked.
LIVING ROOM
ANNIE moves back to the chair and picks up the handset of the telephone. She quickly dials a number. We don't hear touch tones. She places the handset to her ear.
ANNIE (into phone) Hello Ronnie? Oh Ronnie, I wish you were here. This storm is terrible and I feel so alone. And I just heard on the radio that there's a killer loose in the neighborhood. Oh Ronnie, my nerves! I'm so frightened. When do you think you might be home?
A bright flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder makes ANNIE jump in her seat and this causes the glass of wine to fall off the side table and smash on the hardwood floor. As the camera focuses on the broken glass, there is another flash of lightning, clap of thunder, and the lights in the house flicker briefly, then go out.
ANNIE (into phone) Ronnie! Ronnie! Are you still there! Oh Ronnie, the lights just went out! What? Yes, yes, of course I know where the emergency candles are. Okay. Oh Ronnie, please hurry home, will you? Okay. Yes. I love you too. I'll see you soon.
The room is dark, but is illuminated by the light shining infrom the window. ANNIE gets up and feels her way towards the kitchen. She walks into the coffee table, banging her shin.
ANNIE (grimacing) Ow!
She backs away from the coffee table and now her bare right foot steps onto a jagged piece of the broken wine glass.
ANNIE (grimacing more) Shit! Ahh!!
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER LIVING ROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
Again the scene is slightly sepia-toned. ANNIE - CHILD is sitting on the warn carpeting, crying loudly, holding her bare foot. The base of her foot is bleeding. Around her are dirty dishes, and grimy drinking glasses. One is broken, shards of glass strewn about. The nearby coffee table is littered with more dishes, ashtrays full of cigarette butts and empty bottles of liquor. ANNIE'S FATHER is lying nearby on the sofa, face down. He looks disheveled and unshaven. He rustles from his snoring sleep and lifts his head, opening one eye.
ANNIE'S FATHER (slurring) Shut up! God Dammit!
ANNIE - CHILD continues bawling as her father lays his head back down and covers his head with a throw pillow. Behind the sofa is an open window, letting in a gentle evening breeze which makes the thin chiffon curtains flutter softly. Outside the window, we see a 50's convertible drive past the house. We hear that the car radio is playing "Only The Lonely".
BRIGHT FLASH
BACK IN THE PRESENT - LIVING ROOM
ANNIE plops back into the chair and pulls up her foot to examine it as best she can in the dark. Squinting, she finds the piece of glass stuck in her foot and pulls it out. She grimaces in pain and disgust. The wound is not very deep but it is bleeding. She places the bloody glass shard on the side table. ANNIE gets up and walks towards the hall leading to the bathroom, hobbling, favoring her good foot. Her eyes have become better adjusted to the dark and she can make her way now without feeling around. She leaves bloody footprints on the hardwood floor as she goes, and the camera focuses in on one of these as again lightning flashes and thunder booms.
BATHROOM
ANNIE opens the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet and finds antiseptic, a roll of bandages and surgical tape. She brings her injured foot up to the sink, opens a tap and washes the wound. She applies antiseptic and winces as it stings. She wraps bandage around the foot and tapes it up. As ANNIE closes the door to the medicine cabinet, she looks blankly at her reflection.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER BATHROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
Slightly sepia-toned...ANNIE - CHILD is hiding crouched inside a small linen closet in the corner of a small bathroom. She is shaking and we can only see her staring eyes through the open slats of the closet door. The camera perspective changes so that we are now taking the POV of ANNIE - CHILD, looking out into the bathroom throughthe door slats.
ANNIE'S FATHER (vo) (from elsewhere in the house; shouting) Annie! Annie! C'mon girl! Where are you, Sweetie? Daddy's sorry! Annie! I didn't mean to hurt you, Baby! It's just....well, it's just Daddy gets lonely sometimes...
Aside from the voice of ANNIE'S FATHER, we also hear, off in the distance, coming from a record player in another room, a record playing, but it is skipping and plays the same lyric over and over..."...Only The Lonely..."
BRIGHT FLASH
BACK IN THE PRESENT - BATHROOM
ANNIE is still staring blankly into the mirror, but after a couple of seconds, breaks her stare, shakes her head as if to clear her mind. She takes her foot out of the sink, turns on the cold water tap, fills her cupped hands with some water and bends over to wash her face. ANNIE grabs a nearby hand towel and wipes her face. She looks again in the mirror and sighs. Just then, the lights flicker and come back on. The bright lights above the medicine cabinet make ANNIE squint. With the lights on now, she can see more clearly and she looks closer into the mirror. Behind her, reflected in the mirror she can see the tub and a closed shower curtain. And poking out from the side of the shower curtain is a hand. Looking puzzled but not frightened, ANNIE squints into the mirror to focus on the hand. She turns around, walks to the shower curtain and pulls it back to reveal the bodies of a man and a woman, lying limply on top of one another, covered in blood. ANNIE calmly tucks the hand that was poking out of the tub back in and closes the shower curtain. She turns to face the camera and the camera focuses in on her crazed stare.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER BATHROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
We are back in the bathroom from the previous flashback. Still slightly sepia-toned but now with frenzied pacing, chiroscuro lighting and odd camera angles we see a succession of images...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in on the open slated door of the linen closet where ANNIE - CHILD was hiding...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in on the open door to a medicine cabinet...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in to an empty space on a shelf in the medicine cabinet. On the side of the empty space we see an old-fashioned mug and brush used to mix shaving lather...
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BEDROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
The scene is no longer sepia-toned. It's in true color. We see ANNIE - CHILD almost silouetted in the low-lit room. She is standing in front of a 1950's style mirrored dresser with a boudoir lamp on it. Our angle is directly behind her as such that we cannot see her face. Our view is from the back as the camera slowly zooms in to see that she is touching something in front of her on the dresser, not in our view. We see she is wearing a cotton nightgown with satin shoulder straps. One of the straps lay dangling as if ripped. We soon hear a scratchy record begin to play, and we understand that ANNIE - CHILD has placed the needle on the record. The song is "Only The Lonely". As it plays, the camera zooms out and a bit to the right so that we now can see ANNIE - CHILD's face and front reflected in the mirror, lit brightly by the light from the boudoir lamp.
She is staring blankly into the mirror, her face, neck and the front of her nightgown are covered in spattered blood. As the camera slowly zooms out further and further, the bed rolls into view in the foreground. We see, illuminated by the light from the bedroom doorway to the hall, ANNIE'S FATHER, lying face up, in his night clothes, with blankets up to his chest. His throat has been slit. There is blood everywhere.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BACK IN THE PRESENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
ANNIE is sitting Indian-style in the same chair she was in earlier. It appears the broken wine glass has been cleaned up. The camera is slowly revolving around ANNIE. ANNIE still has the insane blank stare on her face. She is rocking back and forth ever so slightly. She is holding the handset of the phone to her ear.
ANNIE (into phone) Oh Ronnie, when are you coming home, dear? I wish you were here.
As the camera revolves around ANNIE we see a family portrait hanging on a wall which was not in our view earlier. In the portrait are the man and woman who are now dead in the bathtub. Now as the camera rotates some more, we are behind ANNIE and can see the reverse side of the phone sitting on the side table. We see that the cord to the phone has been cut. The camera comes around now full circle and we are looking at ANNIE straight on again.
ANNIE (into phone) I'm feeling so lonely...
FADE OUT.
Let me tell you, though, if I do it, it'll be a heck of a lot better than the "Green Glass Egg" idea of the mid-80's (see the previous post).
Here is a screenplay I just this week wrote.
It's a short film, designed to be shot on a very low-budget featuring only 2 speaking roles, well actually 3 with the voice over (and very little dialog at that), 2 non-speaking extras (brief shot of 2 dead people), and 2 houses used for set locations. Everyday household items for props and just a fair amount of fake blood.
If it was ever shot for true production, probably the most expensive thing would be the airplay rights to the epimonious song.
This Blogger Dashboard doesn't seem to want to keep the script in the correct format. If you've ever seen a screenplay, you know it is printed in a distinctly margined way, and it is on Script Buddy, the online screenplay software I used, but here it's layout is just standard, so, unfortunately it doesn't look quite right. Oh well.
It's a psychological thriller, so hang on...it'll be a short, but hopefully troublesomely chilling ride:
Only The Lonely
by
Michael Chausse
FADE IN:
EXT. OLD HOUSE - NIGHT
The old weathered Victorian house is dark except for light coming from windows on the left side, the kitchen. It is raining and there is intermittent thunder and lightning.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
The tick-tock and then the faint chimes of a grandfather clock is heard in the background. We see ANNIE, a woman in her early 60's, dressed in pajamas and a housecoat, scrubbing her hands out of view under the running faucet in the kitchen sink.
After a minute or so, she turns off the tap and wipes her hands on a dry dishcloth. She puts the dishcloth by the sink and moves towards the living room, smiling happily. She turns off the over-the-range microwave oven which is popping a bag of microwave popcorn and also turns off the tea kettle on the stove which has just started to whistle.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER KITCHEN - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
In a quick, dreamlike, slightly sepia-toned sequence, we see that ANNIE as a little girl of around 12 years old is taught a lesson of not touching things on the stove the hard way. A man in his early 40's, dressed in workpants and t-shirt,is seen roughly grasping ANNIE - CHILD's hand and pulling her towards the open flame of the gas burner on the stove. The camera focuses breifly on a tea kettle and spilled water lying on the kitchen linoleum near the stove. During this flashback, Roy Orbison can faintly be heard singing "Only The Lonely" on a radio.
ANNIE'S FATHER (shouting) This is what happens when dirty little girls play near the stove!
ANNIE - CHILD (crying) No Daddy! Please don't! Your're hurting me!!
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BACK IN THE PRESENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT
ANNIE cries after experiencing the vision but quickly composes herself and pours herself a glass of wine. As she takes the wine towards the living room, she passes a radio. She turns the radio on and stops the dial on a station inthe middle of playing "Only The Lonely".
Cut to exterior shot of the house...
EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE, THE WEATHER WORSENS - NIGHT
Wind, thunder and lightning.
Cut to the living room...
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The ticking of the grandfather clock can be heard more clearly now as it is in this room. ANNIE sits in an arm chair and places her wine glass on the side table. She looks out the window at the rain and frowns. The radio in the kitchen is still playing "Only The Lonely", but before the song ends, an announcer breaks in.
RADIO ANNOUNCER (vo) We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news. The police department has informed us that a psychopathic killer instutionalized for life at Cherrybrook Hospital for the Criminally Insane has escaped and is on the loose. Police are recommending that residents of the Cherrybrook area of the city stay indoors and...(CLICK)
KITCHEN
ANNIE moves from the living room to the kitchen and turns off the radio. ANNIE looks out the window with a worried look on her face. She checks to make sure the window is locked.
LIVING ROOM
ANNIE moves back to the chair and picks up the handset of the telephone. She quickly dials a number. We don't hear touch tones. She places the handset to her ear.
ANNIE (into phone) Hello Ronnie? Oh Ronnie, I wish you were here. This storm is terrible and I feel so alone. And I just heard on the radio that there's a killer loose in the neighborhood. Oh Ronnie, my nerves! I'm so frightened. When do you think you might be home?
A bright flash of lightning and loud clap of thunder makes ANNIE jump in her seat and this causes the glass of wine to fall off the side table and smash on the hardwood floor. As the camera focuses on the broken glass, there is another flash of lightning, clap of thunder, and the lights in the house flicker briefly, then go out.
ANNIE (into phone) Ronnie! Ronnie! Are you still there! Oh Ronnie, the lights just went out! What? Yes, yes, of course I know where the emergency candles are. Okay. Oh Ronnie, please hurry home, will you? Okay. Yes. I love you too. I'll see you soon.
The room is dark, but is illuminated by the light shining infrom the window. ANNIE gets up and feels her way towards the kitchen. She walks into the coffee table, banging her shin.
ANNIE (grimacing) Ow!
She backs away from the coffee table and now her bare right foot steps onto a jagged piece of the broken wine glass.
ANNIE (grimacing more) Shit! Ahh!!
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER LIVING ROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
Again the scene is slightly sepia-toned. ANNIE - CHILD is sitting on the warn carpeting, crying loudly, holding her bare foot. The base of her foot is bleeding. Around her are dirty dishes, and grimy drinking glasses. One is broken, shards of glass strewn about. The nearby coffee table is littered with more dishes, ashtrays full of cigarette butts and empty bottles of liquor. ANNIE'S FATHER is lying nearby on the sofa, face down. He looks disheveled and unshaven. He rustles from his snoring sleep and lifts his head, opening one eye.
ANNIE'S FATHER (slurring) Shut up! God Dammit!
ANNIE - CHILD continues bawling as her father lays his head back down and covers his head with a throw pillow. Behind the sofa is an open window, letting in a gentle evening breeze which makes the thin chiffon curtains flutter softly. Outside the window, we see a 50's convertible drive past the house. We hear that the car radio is playing "Only The Lonely".
BRIGHT FLASH
BACK IN THE PRESENT - LIVING ROOM
ANNIE plops back into the chair and pulls up her foot to examine it as best she can in the dark. Squinting, she finds the piece of glass stuck in her foot and pulls it out. She grimaces in pain and disgust. The wound is not very deep but it is bleeding. She places the bloody glass shard on the side table. ANNIE gets up and walks towards the hall leading to the bathroom, hobbling, favoring her good foot. Her eyes have become better adjusted to the dark and she can make her way now without feeling around. She leaves bloody footprints on the hardwood floor as she goes, and the camera focuses in on one of these as again lightning flashes and thunder booms.
BATHROOM
ANNIE opens the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet and finds antiseptic, a roll of bandages and surgical tape. She brings her injured foot up to the sink, opens a tap and washes the wound. She applies antiseptic and winces as it stings. She wraps bandage around the foot and tapes it up. As ANNIE closes the door to the medicine cabinet, she looks blankly at her reflection.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER BATHROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
Slightly sepia-toned...ANNIE - CHILD is hiding crouched inside a small linen closet in the corner of a small bathroom. She is shaking and we can only see her staring eyes through the open slats of the closet door. The camera perspective changes so that we are now taking the POV of ANNIE - CHILD, looking out into the bathroom throughthe door slats.
ANNIE'S FATHER (vo) (from elsewhere in the house; shouting) Annie! Annie! C'mon girl! Where are you, Sweetie? Daddy's sorry! Annie! I didn't mean to hurt you, Baby! It's just....well, it's just Daddy gets lonely sometimes...
Aside from the voice of ANNIE'S FATHER, we also hear, off in the distance, coming from a record player in another room, a record playing, but it is skipping and plays the same lyric over and over..."...Only The Lonely..."
BRIGHT FLASH
BACK IN THE PRESENT - BATHROOM
ANNIE is still staring blankly into the mirror, but after a couple of seconds, breaks her stare, shakes her head as if to clear her mind. She takes her foot out of the sink, turns on the cold water tap, fills her cupped hands with some water and bends over to wash her face. ANNIE grabs a nearby hand towel and wipes her face. She looks again in the mirror and sighs. Just then, the lights flicker and come back on. The bright lights above the medicine cabinet make ANNIE squint. With the lights on now, she can see more clearly and she looks closer into the mirror. Behind her, reflected in the mirror she can see the tub and a closed shower curtain. And poking out from the side of the shower curtain is a hand. Looking puzzled but not frightened, ANNIE squints into the mirror to focus on the hand. She turns around, walks to the shower curtain and pulls it back to reveal the bodies of a man and a woman, lying limply on top of one another, covered in blood. ANNIE calmly tucks the hand that was poking out of the tub back in and closes the shower curtain. She turns to face the camera and the camera focuses in on her crazed stare.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. ANOTHER BATHROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
We are back in the bathroom from the previous flashback. Still slightly sepia-toned but now with frenzied pacing, chiroscuro lighting and odd camera angles we see a succession of images...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in on the open slated door of the linen closet where ANNIE - CHILD was hiding...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in on the open door to a medicine cabinet...
BRIGHT FLASH
The camera zooms in to an empty space on a shelf in the medicine cabinet. On the side of the empty space we see an old-fashioned mug and brush used to mix shaving lather...
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BEDROOM - IN THE EARLY 1960'S - NIGHT
The scene is no longer sepia-toned. It's in true color. We see ANNIE - CHILD almost silouetted in the low-lit room. She is standing in front of a 1950's style mirrored dresser with a boudoir lamp on it. Our angle is directly behind her as such that we cannot see her face. Our view is from the back as the camera slowly zooms in to see that she is touching something in front of her on the dresser, not in our view. We see she is wearing a cotton nightgown with satin shoulder straps. One of the straps lay dangling as if ripped. We soon hear a scratchy record begin to play, and we understand that ANNIE - CHILD has placed the needle on the record. The song is "Only The Lonely". As it plays, the camera zooms out and a bit to the right so that we now can see ANNIE - CHILD's face and front reflected in the mirror, lit brightly by the light from the boudoir lamp.
She is staring blankly into the mirror, her face, neck and the front of her nightgown are covered in spattered blood. As the camera slowly zooms out further and further, the bed rolls into view in the foreground. We see, illuminated by the light from the bedroom doorway to the hall, ANNIE'S FATHER, lying face up, in his night clothes, with blankets up to his chest. His throat has been slit. There is blood everywhere.
BRIGHT FLASH
INT. BACK IN THE PRESENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
ANNIE is sitting Indian-style in the same chair she was in earlier. It appears the broken wine glass has been cleaned up. The camera is slowly revolving around ANNIE. ANNIE still has the insane blank stare on her face. She is rocking back and forth ever so slightly. She is holding the handset of the phone to her ear.
ANNIE (into phone) Oh Ronnie, when are you coming home, dear? I wish you were here.
As the camera revolves around ANNIE we see a family portrait hanging on a wall which was not in our view earlier. In the portrait are the man and woman who are now dead in the bathtub. Now as the camera rotates some more, we are behind ANNIE and can see the reverse side of the phone sitting on the side table. We see that the cord to the phone has been cut. The camera comes around now full circle and we are looking at ANNIE straight on again.
ANNIE (into phone) I'm feeling so lonely...
FADE OUT.