Here, for your reading pleasure, is a screenplay I wrote for my English class. Well, a section of a screenplay. The assignment was to make a film interpretation of a King Arthur legend. I chose the origin of Sir Galahad. This whole thing won't be nearly as interesting (if it's even interesting at all) if you don't already know a bit about the story, so if you don't, I suggest reading this first. Of course, this is just a friendly suggestion; you don't have to read anything here at all. But if you do, I do bid thee a good reading!
Oh, and before anybody complains; I know that it's a little too cliched, but it's due tomorrow and I just finished writing it (started a few hours ago), so I wasn't too worried about content.
Scene 1
Establishing shot of the exterior of a lower class, rural, run-down house.
Dolly quickly towards door to extreme close-up of a man’s squinted eyes as door swings violently open.
Perry
Who have you brought in now?
Close up of Lenny’s face. Lenny looks slightly panicky.
Reaction shot of Perry’s shock.
Perry
Come on in.
Zoom out again to full view of building as Gil and Lenny walk in.
Wide shot angle of the inside of the small home; knickknacks covering everything. Pan over, starting at the door, following the three and stop as they sit down at a large, round family dinner table in the dining room at the far end of the house from the door.
Gil
Where is your bathroom?
Reaction shot of Lenny staring off into space.
Perry (stepping in to answer for Lenny)
Down the hall and to the left.
Medium shot of the Lenny and Perry sitting at the table.
Perry
So what all is going on here?
Lenny
Well, you remember about 17 years ago, when me and Gwen had just started our thing?
Perry
Yeah. The days of hope, eh.
Lenny
Yeah. Well, she had always told me that she would leave Arty, but she never did. I got fed up. I told her I was leaving, that I wouldn’t put up with her crap anymore. She said that things would change; she was just waiting for the right time. I left that night.
Lenny (narrating)
I walked out that door, planning to never come back.
Medium shot of door opening, a younger Lenny walking through, and door closing.
I headed back to my house, which was just a little ways down the street.
Favoring angle of younger Lenny in a crowd of people, from street looking at building facades, walking down the street. Camera pans and follows him all the way down the road until he enters the door of his house.
When I got there, Ellie was sitting on the couch. She was there waiting for my roommate, who had given her a key a while ago after they started getting serious. They had been having problems recently, and she had been sitting there on the couch for an hour waiting for him already; and not the first time either.
Over the shoulder of Lenny at the door, still open. A young girl sits on the couch, slumped over and melancholy.
I sat down and we started talking, and as the conversation went on, we just kept getting closer and closer. I’m pretty sure you know what’s coming, so I’ll spare you the details.
Low angle from a corner of the coffee table in front of the couch, viewing the two talking and enjoying themselves.
Medium shot of Lenny and Perry sitting at the dining room table
Lenny (narration ended)
I left in the morning, full of regret. I shouldn’t have slept with her, I know that now, but at the time I just wanted to forget, you know?
Perry (nodding)
So, where is Elaine now?
Lenny
Hell if I know. I got a call from his great aunt, saying that she couldn’t take care of the boy anymore. She’s just getting too old, you know? Anyways, apparently she’s had him since he was pretty young. I was the only person that she could think of that might take him, but honestly I don’t know what I’m going to do; I can’t handle a kid.
Perry
He’s not really a kid anymore Lenny, he’s 17.
Lenny (growing angrier)
Then what the hell am I supposed to do with him? I didn’t want anything to do with this to begin with, and Ellie didn’t want me to be involved either.
Perry (snapping back)
Well, you’ve got to take him now! What are you going to do, just leave him on the street? Just make sure he’s got a place to stay for god’s sake, I think you can handle that. Maybe take him to the shop on Monday and give him a job.
Lenny
And what the hell do you expect him to do? He hasn’t finished high school, he hasn’t worked a day in his life; he’s basically worthless.
Perry
He can push a god-damned broom. Give the boy a chance.
Favoring shot of Gil standing off to the side, behind the table where Perry and Lenny are sitting.
Lenny
I’m so sorry Gi-
Gil (cutting Lenny off and looking slightly hurt)
No, it’s fine. It’s true anyways.
Gil walks angrily off screen; door slams.
Lenny
How am I supposed to deal
Perry (cutting off Lenny, very assertively)
Just take him to the shop tomorrow!
Perry walks off screen, door slam is heard again. Perry’s voice is heard, muffled. Gil’s voice is heard, and then Perry’s response slightly louder. Gil walks back onscreen.
Lenny
I’m sorry.
Gil
I know.
Lenny
It’s just that I haven’t seen your mother in years, and this is just a lot to take in all at once.
Gil
Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself; I just need a place to stay.
Lenny
Well, if you’re staying here, then you’re going to come work for me on Monday.
Gil (with more than just a little bit of resignation in his voice)
Fine.
Scene 2
Establishing shot of the outside of a small hardware store with “A&L Hardware” written on a large sign sitting on the roof.
Wide shot of the inside of the hardware store. Pan around a bit. It is rather small and dingy; a few shelves are slanting a bit, the paint is peeling in spots, but overall it’s a respectable looking place. Lenny and Perry are standing at a counter.
Full shot of Lenny and Gil standing behind the counter.
Lenny
So here it is.
Gil
It’s kind of crappy looking.
Lenny
Hey! You wouldn’t say that if you had to pay for it out of your own pocket. It took me 6 years to scrape up enough cash to restore this place. Me and my buddies used to work here when we were teenagers, and it was a heartbreaker the day that they closed down. Me and Arty finally saved up enough money to buy it though, and we restored it to what you see today. Sure, it needs a little more work, but it works just fine how it is now. We all work here now. We like think us all being on the same level here, since we’ve all been working here for about the same amount of time. Nobody’s manager, or owner; we’re all just employees.
Gil
I guess it doesn’t sound too bad.
Lenny
You’re welcome to work here for as long as you want to; until you find someplace better or until we all grow too old to carry a screw anymore. Either way is fine with me.
Full shot of Arty walking in the front door.
Full shot of Lenny and Gil behind the counter.
Lenny
You’re late today Arty, what’s up?
Medium shot of Arty walking past aisles, camera panning beside him.
Arty
Ah, just off “adventuring” friendly, hearty chuckle. I had to go visit a supplier today about that broken cash register. They didn’t know anything about that model either.
Full shot of counter; Lenny and Gil standing behind, arty leaning against the front.
Lenny
What is that? The third supplier that didn’t have that damned part? It just doesn’t make sense to make a cash register that you can’t buy replacement parts for.
Arty
Well, it doesn’t help either that the cash register was installed here the year the store was built; and god knows how long ago that was.
Gil (walking towards a cash register that has an “out of order” sign on it)
Is it this one?
Lenny
Yeah, just be sure not to-
Medium shot of Gil standing behind the counter near the cash register. Gil reaches for the cash register drawer.
Reaction shot of Lenny and Arty urgently yelling at Gil to stop.
Medium shot of Gil as the drawer slides open easily.
Lenny and Arty walk over, amazed.
Gil
What?
Arty
Anytime one of us opens that register, the drawer pops open violent, knocking the register backwards and off the counter. That’s how it got broke in the first place.
Gil
You just have to press this button over here; it’s a manual release for the drawer, so that the spring doesn’t take over. I figured that’s what was broken on it.
Arty
How do you know so much about that?
Gil (looking lost in thought in his memory, almost as if having a vision)
My great aunt worked at a little grocery store. They had two old machines just like this one; both of their drawer springs were broken, so I figured this one’s was as well.
Lenny (motioning for Gil to follow him)
Come with me.
The three walk off screen together.
Full shot of the three standing in a break room in front of a water cooler.
Arty (picking up on what Lenny is doing)
We bought this water cooler a couple weeks ago, and it worked out fine; until the water ran out that is.
Lenny
As soon as it came time to replace it with another water jug, we realized that we hadn’t a single clue how to remove this one.
Arty
All of us tried to remove it, but we just couldn’t get it. We lost the user manual, and the water supplier couldn’t figure it out either.
Lenny
You want to take a stab at it?
Gil (looking slightly amused)
Sure
Medium shot of Gil contemplating the water cool. He looks all around it, and inspects the connection closely. He then grabs hold of the jug, and with a complex set of twisting and pulling, slides it clean off the cooler.
Full shot of the three standing beside the cooler, Gil with jug in hand.
Arty
Oh my sweet heavenly Jesus! This boy is a mechanical genius!
Gil (blushing)
It really wasn’t that hard.
Lenny
Well then, do you think you can figure out what’s wrong with that cash register?
Gil
Yeah, probably.
Arty
When you figure that out, do you want to go to one of our suppliers to ask for the part, too?
Gil
Yeah, I can manage that.
Arty
Oh thank god; that would be a lifesaver.
Lenny
And hey, now we can have fresh water again!
Full shot of the three celebrating, zoom out through the walls and pause on a full shot of the hardware store.
Random narrator voice
And thus began the quest of Gil for the missing cash register part.
Posts
