Written by Joe Janes
9/17/09
242 of 365
CAST:
Bill, 60s
Rachel, 30s
(In the dark we see sirens flashing and hear a siren coming to a stop. Lights up on Bill behind the wheel of a car. He looks exhilarated, much like a Nick Nolte mug shot. Rachel, a highway patrol woman walks up.)
RACHEL
Do you know how fast you were going?
BILL
185! Whoo!
RACHEL
Actually, I clocked you going 85 in a 65-mile per hour zone.
BILL
Better learn to read that radar gun of yours. I was driving like a bat out of hades. I slowed down to 85 to pull over.
RACHEL
Have you been drinking?
BILL
Wrong, again. Give you another guess.
RACHEL
Marijuana?
BILL
Amateur! I’ll give you a hint. (He recites the alphabet as quickly as possible. Rachel looks confused. He does it again. She’s still not getting it. Bill slows down.) A-B-C-O-C-A-I-
RACHEL
That’s not right.
BILL
-N-E.
RACHEL
Cocaine! You’re on cocaine!
BILL
Ding-ding-ding! Coked out of my mind.
RACHEL
I should arrest you!
BILL (getting out of the car)
Now you’re talking.
RACHEL
This will help my monthly quota. (Bill holds him arms out in front of himself. Rachel runs into his arms and hugs him.) Thanks, Dad.
BILL
Anything for my little girl.
(Blackout)
2 comments:
Another strong relationship that made for a great payoff.
How's the process lately? You're putting out good stuff.
Thanks, Garin.
I think I'm at an interesting juncture in the project. It certainly hasn't gotten any easier. I'm very aware of the multitude of scenes I've written about dating, relationships and offices. If I have an idea that fits one of those categories, I try to do something different with it that I haven't done or seen. It has certainly made me take more risks and press into new areas for me as a writer.
And I have good days and slow days. On Monday, I woke up with a blackout idea that I wrote very quickly and afforded me time to work on Tuesday's scene. On Wednesday, I had the day off and thought I could squeeze out two scenes, again, but no. Just the one and it took a long time to get it started.
The thing that is certainly the biggest benefit of the project is that once I start writing a scene, I can move quickly and with some certainty. Once I get to "Lights up on..." I'm usually an hour to an hour and a half away from a rough draft.
And I should hit up Stellas Espresso Company on Devon for some kind of corporate sponsorship. I've written more scenes there than anywhere.
My most common sources to tap for inspiration are: iTunes (for song titles), The Huffington Post, and all the free weeklys out there, like The Reader and The Onion. And no, I'm not stealing ideas from The Onion, but sometimes it gives me ideas for locations or just gets my brain warmed up for spitting out some comedy.
- joe
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