A story writing blog

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...


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Which one of us do you think would taste the best if we ate them?


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.

GORDON - Annoying, kind of snotty.
ANDRE - Large black guy, sensible. 
CONRAD - Shaved head, tattoos, asshole.
BENJAMIN - Normal, nice, guy next door.
JEREMY - Weird.


  
INT - LIVING ROOM

Five guys are scattered throughout the living room, the TV is on in the background.

GORDON
Let me ask you guys a question, and I am being totally hypothetical here.

ANDRE
Ok.

GORDON
Which one of us do you think would taste the best if we ate them?

ANDRE and CONRAD
Benjamin.

BENJAMIN
What?

TITLE: House Arrested - Episode 2 (Only not that. Something else because I hate that title).

CONRAD
Here's the thing. I would be gamey because I have too much muscle.

ANDRE
I'd be really gamey. We don't eat lions.

CONRAD
We don't eat lions.

GORDON
I'd be gamey.

CONRAD
You'd be the farthest thing from gamey, you'd be like veal. Lucky for you I am not crazy about veal. I'd rather eat Benjamin.

BENJAMIN
I want to know. What makes me so delicious?

GORDON
You just look like you'd cook up nice. You have just the right amount of fat, not too much but enough to give the meat that nice chew; y'know?

ANDRE
A little bit of gristle.

GORDON
Yeah.

JEREMY
I am getting kinda hungry.

CONRAD
I feel like with me...
(Conrad starts to squeeze and size up various parts of his body, his arms, legs and chest)
I don't really know where that really good meat would be but with you you'd just cut up so nice because I can see so many places that I could get a good hunk of meat from.

GORDON
I've always thought you'd be perfect for a stew.

ANDRE
Yeah, a lot of that breast meat I can't eat because it looks too fatty but that would be good in a stew.

JEREMY
I am going to go start peeling potatoes. 

Jeremy leaves. After he does we can hear him banging around in the kitchen, pulling out pots, chopping vegetables and running water.

BENJAMIN
So I am just one big delicious pig to you guys then?

CONRAD
Yes.

BENJAMIN
Am I in danger?

 GORDON
Real quick...If we did cook up Benjamin which part would you want to eat the most?

CONRAD
It's tough to say. I don't really know where Benjamin has his steak meat. 

ANDRE
That back fat around his waist, that's his sirloin. I'd have that.

CONRAD
Where does brisket come from?

ANDRE
His chest area.

CONRAD
I'd have that.

GORDON
No, you can't I am using that for my stew. 

CONRAD
Shit. Ribs then, I'd barbeque them up.

BENJAMIN
You know what's weird? This is making me hungry.

GORDON
Yeah what's Jeremy making in there? It smells good. 

INT-KITCHEN

The guys go to the kitchen to see Jeremy feverishly working away, chopping veggies and throwing them into a couple of large boiling pots.

GORDON
Oh wow, you really went to work; huh?

JEREMY
I am really busy, I am trying to get everything prepared so we can eat.

ANDRE
That smells good. Do you want help?

JEREMY
Yeah, that'd be great.

ANDRE
Alright what do you want me to do?

JEREMY
I am going to get these potatoes ready to go in the pot but I need someone to help me chop these onions, I want to make a marinade sauce. I need someone to shred garlic, Conrad that's you. I think we have fresh cloves in the back. Andre don't use that knife on those onions, use the duller knife. Gordon's going to need the good knife for Benjamin. Gordon take Benjamin up to the bathroom and into the tub before you slit his throat. The blood's going to need to drain for an hour or so which gives us just enough time to get this marinade ready, Conrad I need you to add salt and vinegar to that and actually...I think I have a wine sauce upstairs that would be perfect for this. Conrad hold off on that vinegar, Gordan after you kill Benjamin on your way back go into my room and find my cooking wine, look behind my dolls. Andre I also need you to make room in the fridge, I am going to be using the stomach meat and some of the chest but Benjamin's too big to eat today and we're going to want him to keep. There are some Popsicles in the freezer that can be thrown out to make room.

At some point during this rant everyone has stopped working and are all just staring at Jeremy.

CONRAD
Those are my Popsicles and no you can't throw them out.

ANDRE
And we're not eating Benjamin. Are you serious?
 
JEREMY
What?

GORDON
We not actually eating Benjamin.

JEREMY
Why?

BENJAMIN
BECAUSE YOU DON'T EAT PEOPLE!

JEREMY
Arrrggg...you guys were the one's talking about it.

GORDON
Yeah, talking about it. Not actually doing it.

JEREMY
I already made all this food though.

CONRAD
Well we have steak in the fridge, we can still make a nice stew.

JEREMY
(dejected) 
You guys made him sound so good.

BENJAMIN
Well...sorry?

JEREMY
Yeah.

Andre and Conrad go back to chopping the vegetables, Andre takes the steaks out of the fridge.

JEREMY
Conrad pass me that knife so I can de-bone this steak.

Conrad passes Jeremy the knife. 

JEREMY
Steak is probably just as good. Benjamin probably wouldn't have even been that...DELICIOUS!

Jeremy springs forward towards Benjamin, knife held overhead. The final shot is a jarring, loud cut of Jeremy trying desperately to eat Benjamin while the group scrambles to hold him back, screaming for him not to eat Benjamin. Cut to black.

-END-

 

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.




Wednesday, January 1, 2014

My Favorite Super Villain Speech

Hey,

I am rewriting this 'Dic Pics' script I've been toying with and I'll have a new version posted tomorrow. I've pretty much lost everything after the opening scene, I found I was writing myself into a corner. I was trying to squeeze too much into what was supposed to be a short script and it wasn't working so I finally decided to scrap half of what I wrote. I've also started on a second script involving those same characters, hopefully I can finish up both soon.

In the meantime I am going to post this page, its my all time favorite comic book villain speech. Its so bad ass. This one comes from the series 'Final Crisis' and is written by Grant Morrison. Enjoy.