INCOMPLETE
Sam Bollen
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EXT. PRAIRIE. EVENING. CLOSE on a sniveling COWBOY, cowering in the dirt. He's scooting away from the camera and we track with him COWBOY No, please! I can change! I'll leave town. You'll never see me again. I know.
COWGIRL (OS)
We get a REVERSE SHOT of a pair of cowboy boots--very small pink cowboy boots. We PAN UP to see a YOUNG COWGIRL standing over us/the cowboy. She raises a REVOLVER and cocks it. We go WIDE and see our heroine and pathetic loser squared up in the center of a field. She stands over him, ready for vengeance. He holds up a hand in defense A CRACK and CLOUD OF SMOKE and the Cowboy crumples. SUDDENLY, a POLICEMAN in modern dress wanders into the shot from offscreen right. At first the actors hold their positions. Then the cowboy stands up, the girl drops her gun hand. The Policeman is WAVING HIS HANDS. POLICEMAN (faintly) Shut it down! JEREMY (O.S.) CUT! Hey buddy, you're in the shot! HOWIE, an imposing GRIP, walks on screen left. HOWIE This is a closed set. You'll have to come back later. POLICEMAN This can't wait. REVERSE: JEREMY BROWNSTEIN, the director, sitting in his director's chair. Uptight, persnickety. And pissed off. JEREMY Officer, this is a closed set. Whatever you need, it can wait. ACTION!
2. POLICEMAN CUT! Shut it down! Jeremy gets up and walks around to the front of the camera. He gets in the cop's face, jabbing his finger into his chest. JEREMY You don't say cut, I say cut! Get the fuck off my set. Howie moves in, ready for action. POLICEMAN (grabbing Jeremy) You're under arrest. For what?
JEREMY
POLICEMAN You never finished film school. (aloud) This man never finished film school! An audible GASP from the CREW. Jeremy is SHOCKED. Then tries to recover some of his poise. JEREMY (somewhat nervous, bluffing) Howie, take care of this guy, wouldja? Howie moves as is to help, then steps back. HOWIE Sorry, boss. Howie!
JEREMY
He runs away. The actors (maybe) turn and speak to each other. The cop drags him off set, ranting and raving. JEREMY (CONT’D) You motherfuckers! I'm the voice of a generation! You can't send me back! You can't make me go back!
3. CUT TO BLACK Various HEADLINES: "FAMED DIRECTOR FOUND FRAUD"; "BERNSTEIN CANNED, KICKED OUT OF CANNES"; "FILMSTER SENT UP THE RIVER"; "BROWNSTEIN SENT TO REMEDIAL FILMSCHOOL" INT. PRISON CLASSROOM. DAY. THE COP drops Jeremy into a prison chair. The classroom is spartan, with nothing but seats and a dry-erase board up front. Three ARCS are drawn on it. In front of the board stands WARDEN JENKINS, a severe, matronly woman dressed somewhere between schoolmarm and prison warden. WARDEN JENSEN I see our celebrity guest has arrived. The illustrious Mr. Bernstein has taken time out of his busy schedule... Jeremy waves sarcastically at the warden and his classmates. (maybe with hands still cuffed) WARDEN JENKINS I am your beloved Warden-slash professor-slash-headmaster. You may call me Warden Jenkins. She waits for an acknowledgement, gets none. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) Today, we are speaking about...the three. Act. Structure. She traces over the original three acts with another Expo marker. JEREMY (under his breath) Jesus Christ. WARDEN JENKINS Aha! Already our resident genius disagrees. She walks up UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE to Jeremy's desk. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) Surely all of this is old hat to you. Mister Bernstein. (MORE)
4. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) Mister never-finished-filmschool, never-been-to-Cannes, never-evenbeen-to-Sundance presumes to quarrel with the three act structure. Mr. Bernstein. Your qualm, query, or dispute. JEREMY Uh, I mean it's not exactly a dispute. It's just a little. Ah. Elementary. WARDEN JENKINS Surely, then, you know the most important act? JEREMY The most important act. WARDEN JENKINS Of the three act structure. Surely you know which act is the most important. JEREMY I uh, would argue they're all important. WARDEN JENKINS And I would argue that that's a copout. JEREMY Well they're all important. But the first tends to be essential. Sets up the rest of the story. WARDEN JENKINS Excellent answer. Also WRONG! Spoken like a man who never went to film school. The second. JEREMY The second. She gets in his face. WARDEN JENKINS The second act. You may have heard of it. This is the crucible in which character is formed, when the protagonist is at his lowest. That is what makes a movie.
5. She's nearly spitting in his face now, then stands up. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) I'm afraid it make take you some time to graduate, Mr. Bernstein. INT. CAFETERIA. LUNCH. Jeremy sits alone in a drab prison/film school cafeteria. He is chained to his designer hair, and spoons green mush out of a bowl with his free hand. He looks furious. SUDDENLY--a scraping sound, nearly as bad as nails on chalkboard. JAN, a punk chick with an eyepatch, in a similar chair-chain-avocado apparatus as Jeremy, scoots on screen left. [this should have the feeling of a Wes Anderson medium shot--almost painterly or stage like. One shot. JAN How's your avocado bowl? JEREMY (deadpan) I uh...It's a bowl, with avocadosin it. What's not to like. JAN Good, good. I'm Jan, by the way. Jeremy nods vaguely. More chewing, spooning of avocado mush. She leans over. JAN (CONT’D) I know who you are. JEREMY Congratulations. JAN Fine, be that way. She starts scooting away. SCRAPE. JEREMY (still deadpan) No, wait. I’m sorry. Come back. Really. She stops scooting.
6. JEREMY (CONT’D) I’m just trying to do my time and get out, you know? JAN It doesn’t have to be that bad. You stick around you might even learn something. Gross.
JEREMY
JAN (beat) Me, I’m never getting out. JEREMY That’s the spirit. JAN This eye patch—it ain’t just for decoration. I got one eye. and no depth perception. JEREMY Well what’s wrong with that. You can still see a screen, can’t you. Or why not write. JAN Not according to the Warden. “Film is a visual medium” and all that. (pause) You think this spoon could put my other eye out? JEREMY It's worth a shot. She gives him double finger-guns. My guy.
JAN
She starts scooting away again. When she’s nearly out-offrame in our medium shot she turns back. JAN (CONT’D) Nice outburst in there. I think you almost had her. She scoots off frame.
7. INT. PRISON CELL. NIGHT. Jeremy is shoved into a drab prison cell. COP (OS) Nighty night, sweet cheeks. Jeremy looks around, as if impressed. JEREMY Who’s your decorator? An industrial CHUNK as the lights go out. INT. CLASSROOM. DAY. A copy of the shot of Jeremy getting shoved into the chair/desk. JENKINS is up front again. Today she only draws ONE ARC. JENKINS Today we’ll talk about character ARC. The change your character makes over the course of the story. Jeremy clearly restraining himself. He’s about to say something, then just blows out his cheeks. The warden notices anyway. JENKINS (CONT’D) Again our celebrity guest disagrees! JEREMY No, me? Not at all. She walks up to his desk. JENKINS The character arc. The most essential of all storytelling devices. JEREMY What about the second act? JENKINS The character arc is contained within the three-act structure. JEREMY Right.(coughs) It’s just, y’know. Some people don’t change. Can’t change.
8. JENKINS Please, continue. JEREMY Well, I just feel like you can’t have every character change for the better. I feel like it’s not realistic. JENKINS You feel. Well, that’s good. Jenkins relaxes. Jeremy sits back. Then she SLAMS on his desk. JENKINS (CONT’D) Film is not about FEEL, you shit! It is an exact science. Three. Act. Structure. Character Arc. Visual Medium. JEREMY (suddenly energized) Push in. Rack focus. This is your big moment, Jenkins! I have to BUY it. JENKINS What are you doing? JEREMY Come on, I didn’t say cut! JENKINS You don’t direct. I direct. JEREMY A LITTLE more energy please. She SMACKS Jeremy across the face, then regains her composure. Guard!
JENKINS
The COP manhandles Jeremy out of his seat. JEREMY That’s good. Cut! Cut! The cop isn’t listening. But the REST OF THE CLASS goes nuts.
9. INT. PRISON CELL. NIGHT. Jeremy shoved again, unceremoniously, into the prison cell. COP (OS) Take a couple weeks in solitary, Hollywood. Maybe that’ll cool ya off. Jeremy laughs as the lights shut off. INT. PRISON CELL. THE NEXT MORNING. The light comes back on. Maybe a plate of avocado mush slid under the door. Jeremy already standing, determined. A MONTAGE of Jeremy with an Expo Marker (which he slides out of his prison jumpsuit) drawing on the walls of his cell. Obsessive scribblings. Re-iterations of the essentials of storytelling. The three-act diagram. 2ND ACT repeated many times. It starts to make sense--as some outline of a future movie. In the center of it all, a cramped manifesto topped with the phrase “MY SECOND ACT.” He stands back, satisfied. INT SAME. LATER. Time’s up.
COP (OS) (CONT’D)
Jeremy is yanked out of the cell. He still has a smug expression on his face. SUDDENLY, a cop (maybe can be the same as former, maybe Jenkins) comes forward with a FIRE HOSE and begins blasting Jeremy’s notes off the wall, erasing his progress. No!
JEREMY
He struggles, etc. Or we cut on his work getting erased. CUT to Jeremy sitting in class, dejected. Warden Jenkins lectures smugly—but all we hear is a vague buzzing. Jan looks over, concerned.
10. INT. CAFETERIA. DAY. Jeremy staring into his avocado mush, dejected. Jan scoots in-frame. JAN Welcome back. He doesn’t say anything. JAN (CONT’D) What’s wrong? Thought you’d be psyched to get out of the tank. JEREMY They took it. I was working on my next thing and they—they took it. JAN So you’re throwing in the towel. That makes sense. Yeah, I mean you only have so much in you. So much?
JEREMY
JAN Anyone does. I mean it’d be natural. You’re right. People can’t change. After a certain point. And you’re there, so. There you go. Jeremy opens his mouth, as if with a witty retort. Then bites it back. A decision, internal. Determination. Alright.
JEREMY
INT. CLASSROOM. DAY. Warden Jenkins enters. WARDEN JENKINS Dearest class. Today we will be watching the one essential film. In all of Hollywood cinema. She waits, as if to build anticipation. There is none. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) Casablanca. Jeremy COUGHS, loud.
11. WARDEN JENKINS (CONT’D) Something to add, Mister Bernstein? JEREMY Not at all. Can’t wait. WARDEN JENKINS Good. Clearly solitary confinement isn’t entirely useless. The lights go down. Maybe a projector is rolled in. Jeremy and Jan exchange glances before the movie starts. CUT to “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.” Now!
JEREMY
Jan slips a sharpened SPOON out of her jumpsuit/shirt. WARDEN JENKINS (seeing the shiv) Guard! Jan SLAMS her head down into the spoon, lodging it deep in her eye. Blood spurts, etc. The COP gets in to try and disarm her, when Jeremy grabs him from BEHIND, strangling him with his shackles and taking his KEYS. He undoes his and then Jan's. Jenkins runs for it. He’s fiddling with her chains but there’s too much blood. JAN There’s no time. You go ahead. Fuck that.
JEREMY
He gets her chains undone, then RE-HANDCUFFS their wrists together. Let’s go.
JEREMY (CONT’D)
He takes a PISTOL from the Cop’s belt and the two of them dash out the classroom door. A fork in the hallway. On one side, Jenkins running for it. On the other, the exit. He hesitates, then chooses escape. Not vengeance.
12. EXT. BACK ALLEY. DAY. The two of them escape, running from the camera. EXT. PRAIRIE. DAY. A very familiar prairie. Maybe QUICK CUTS of the cowering Cowboy and the Girl standing over him. Back to the wide shot of her standing over him. Her holding the gun. A break. UNEXPECTEDLY, we go back to the LOW SHOT of the cowgirl. She holds the gun out, then decocks and holsters it. COWGIRL You ain’t worth the lead. (beat) Find your own way home. Back to our WIDE shot as she walks off screen left. A WESTERN LICK (and maybe a freeze frame). Cut!
JEREMY (OS)
Jeremy standing with his crew, smiling. Scattered claps for the finish. Significantly, Jan is noticeable in the background. She’s got on dark sunglasses, and sits at a typewriter. He looks back at her. She gives a thumbs-up, facing the wrong direction. EXT. INTERVIEW. LATER. Jeremy is being interviewed on-set. It’s a close shot of his face. INTERVIEWER (OS) Mr. Bernstein, I’m told you recently returned to film school. What did you learn there? He grins, then opens his mouth to speak— BLACKOUT. TITLE: INCOMPLETE.