29 January 2011

Group Maltin Cleanse

Here we go!  Chosen at random from Leonard Maltin’s 2011 Movie Guide
Twelve-year-old boy spending the summer in Maine with his too-busy father and stepmother forms a bond with an odd-seeming older lady who helps him unlock traumatic events in his life, and vice-versa.

This is only a prompt.  There is no wrong way to respond to it.  You may take it literally, or it may spark off some other idea.  The point is to take the first idea and pursue it over a couple of pages.

“First thought, best thought.” – Allen Ginsberg.

Be fearless, unrehearsed, and willing for whatever you write to be bad.  (It won’t be.)

For screenplays, play scripts and short stories, let’s shoot for two to five pages.

If your bag is poetry, songwriting or sermons, do what you do, but don’t feel like you have to start at the beginning or make it to the end.  This is only an exercise!  Stay loose.

Don't forget to post it somewhere and provide link below.

UPDATE:

Here's mine, three pages long! (Alfred becomes Alfie somewhere in the middle.)


EXT. LIBRARY - DAY

               FRED MARKS sits behind the wheel of his pristine BMW, the
               engine idling. Fred is almost as well-detailed as the car,
               in suit and tie. His son, ALFRED, 12 years-old, is opening
               and closing an ash tray.

                                          FRED
                              Please stop that.

                                          ALFRED
                              I want to go swimming.

                                          FRED
                              Alfie, I have to go to court.

                                          ALFRED
                              This is stupid! I should've just
                              stayed with mom. You won't let me
                              do anything.

               Fred impatiently checks his ridiculously expensive watch.

                                          FRED
                              I'm sorry about this, okay? It
                              will only take me a couple of
                              hours, in and out, and I'll be
                              right back here. Do you have your
                              stepmom's number?

                                          ALFRED
                              In my phone.

                                          FRED
                              So call if you have an emergency.
                              Come on, Alfie, we'll go watch a
                              movie tonight.

               Alfie lifts the handle and kicks the door open. Fred winces.

                                          FRED
                              Alfie!

               Alfie turns, staring daggers. Fred swallows his anger.

                                          ALFIE
                              What.

                                          FRED
                              Check out Robert Heinlein. I think
                              you'll like him.

               Alfie turns and walks away. Fred reaches over and closes the
               door, and drives off. Alfie turns back to watch him go.

                                          ALFIE
                              At least you're trying.

               Alfie rolls his eyes and walks into the library.

               INT. LIBRARY - DAY (CONTINUOUS)

               The library is old, high arched ceilings like a temple.
               Alfie looks up at a mural that must date from the Works
               Progress Administration: Epic, depicting boys and girls
               reading books and looking towards a bright, shining future
               full of rocket ships and skyscrapers.

               ELOISE, 60s, approaches as he's distracted.

                                          ELOISE
                              My father painted that.

               Alfie turns, startled.

                                          ALFIE
                              Cool.

                                          ELOISE
                              You're Fred Marks' son.

                                          ALFIE
                              I'm supposed to look for Robert
                              Heinlein. How do you know my dad?

               Sadness nibbles at the edges of Eloise. She sucks it up and
               smiles.

                                          ELOISE
                              Science Fiction. Follow me.

               Alfie follows. There's something not quite right about this
               lady, but she's pleasant enough.

               INT BOOKSTACKS - DAY (CONTINUOUS)

               Eloise is browsing through the bookstacks, looking for
               Heinlein.

                                          ALFIE
                              It's okay if I hang out? I'd
                              rather be swimming. But Dad was
                              called to court.

                                          ELOISE
                              Your father is very good at what
                              he does.

                                          ALFIE
                              I guess. How do you know him?

               Eloise pulls a book.

                                          ELOISE
                              Eureka! "Have Spacesuit, Will
                              Travel."

               She hands it to Alfie.

                                          ALFIE
                                     (incredulous)
                              What?

                                          ELOISE
                              My son's favorite.

                                          ALFIE
                              Dumb title. The picture isn't too
                              much better.

               The cover of the book is classic, pulp sci-fi. A man in a
               gleaming spacesuit is walking across a lunar landscape with
               a lemur-like alien draped over his shoulders.

                                          ELOISE
                              There's a comfy couch on the other
                              side of these bookshelves. You can
                              make yourself at home. My name is
                              Eloise if you need any more help.

               Eloise turns to go.

                                          ALFIE
                              Eloise? I asked you twice how you
                              knew my dad, and you ignored me
                              both times.

               She steels herself.

                                          ELOISE
                              He put my son in prison.

               Maintaining her composure, Eloise leaves. Alfie looks after
               her.

                                          ALFIE
                              I should have stayed with mom.

                                                                  FADE OUT.

                                                                    THE END