Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Adventure Land Opening

This are the opening pages of a new script I'm putting together.
 
 
 
 
'ADVENTURE LAND'

Alan 'Marcy' Green
EXT. HIGHWAY - LATE AFTERNOON
A car drives. Its long shadow flits over roadside brush.

             
INT. CAR - CONTINUOUS

       
Four passengers. CORY: the pseudo jock, driving and DELILLA:
the pseudo princess, next to him. STUDDLE: the tormented
artist, and CLOSSY: the shy intellectual in the back.

                                   STUDDLE
                         We're in the middle of nowhere.

                                   CORY
                         Brilliant. You figured that out.
               
Delilla changes the radio from country to 80's pop. The
signal is weak. She goes back to polishing her toenails.

                                   CORY
                         You're the one with the map. Where
                         the fuck are we?
            
Studdle looks at a printout of a Google map. There is a
railroad track, a road, and a river, among other features.

                                   STUDDLE
                         We passed it.

                                   CORY
                         No we didn't. We didn't pass a
                         road.
 
They cross a bridge.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Okay this is the river, right?
              
Clossy takes the map.

                                   CLOSSY
                         He's right. Turn around.
          
Cory does his best pissed off look (not convincing) and
wheels the car around, goes back across the bridge.
               
MOMENTS LATER
               
They are stopped on the dirt shoulder. INSERT MAP. 

                                   CLOSSY
                         The bridge is behind us. We're
                         headed south.
                             (points to a train going
                              by in distance)
                         That's right here.
            
She points to railroad tracks on the map. (ON THE MAP) The
road is halfway between the bridge and railroad.

                                   CLOSSY
                         The road should be here.

                                   CORY
                         It ain't here. I don't see a
                         fucking road.

                                   DELILLA
                         I'm hot.

                                   CORY
                             (smarmy)
                         You are hot, baby. So hot! Ooooh
                         baby! Can I touch you? Ouch!

                                   DELILLA
                             (over)
                         Shut up. You're an idiot.
              
Clossy and Studdle exchange a look -- 'Cory's an ass'.

                                   CORY
                         How do you know we're headed south?

                                   CLOSSY
                         I just know. That way is south.
                         We're going that way. Therefore,
                         we're going south.

                                   CORY
                             (turns radio down)
                         Maybe we're pointed north. You're
                         looking at the map wrong. 

                                   CLOSSY
                         If we were going north, the road
                         would be on this side...
                             (points right)
                         Instead of that side.
                             (points left)
           
She and Studdle wait for the obvious to sink in.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Cory, there's no road.

                                   CORY
                         Studdle, I see that.

                                   CLOSSY
                         We're going south, and. There's.
                         No. Road.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Let's go back to that town.

                                   CORY
                         What town? That intersection?
               
Studdle shrugs.

                                   CORY
                         Okay, Clossy. You're the navigator.
                         Do we go back to town or keep
                         looking? 

                                   CLOSSY
                         I'm hungry. It's getting dark.

                                   DELILLA
                         Me too.
               
Cory sees he's outnumbered, sighs, turns around in his seat
and drops it in gear. Delilla turns the radio back up.

                                   STUDDLE
                             (whispers, to Clossy)
                         You're sooo hot!

                                   CLOSSY
                             (bad soap opera acting)
                         So are yooouu!
               
The red Acura MDX speeds off, pushed too hard on the dirt,
the tires squeal as it gains footing on the road.
               
EXT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - DUSK
     
The Acura pulls up in a cloud of dust. They get out.
         
It's standard middle-of-nowhere fare. Doubtful, they go in.
              
INT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - CONTINUOUS
              
They enter. Dark, typical.

                                   CORY
                             (sniffs air)
                         What brand of second-hand hick is
                         that?

               Studdle indicates Cory put a lid on it. 

                                   CORY
                         I'll get a pitcher.

               He heads for the bar, the others find a table.
             
TABLE
               
They sit. Clossy opens a laptop.

                                   DELILLA
                         Forget it.

                                   CLOSSY
                         Dead.
              
INSERT SCREEN: THE FIREFOX BROWSER. Warning: Server Not
Found...cannot connect to Internet...Internet not available.

                                   DELILLA
                         This place smells.

                                   CLOSSY
                         Is that pee or old beer?

                                   STUDDLE
                         You get used to it after a couple
                         decades.
               
Delilla sees someone at the bar.

                                   DELILLA
                         Oh my god! Clossy, look!
              
Clossy and Studdle look. 
              
At the bar is a WOMAN. She is maybe 50, trim, wearing a 
shabby brown dress that advertises her wrinkled breasts proudly.
 Her face is heavily made up. Severely. Her lips are
smeared with lipstick that goes well outside the lines. Her
eyelids are glopped with black liner. Cheeks rouged to the
point of special effect. All on a foundation of white powder.
She is a caricature of a whore.

The kids' jaws drop.

                                   DELILLA
                         That is so sad.

                                   CLOSSY
                         Tragic.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Green Acres gone bad. That's severe
                         collateral damage. 
          
The woman turns and looks at them. Delilla chokes back
laughter and looks away. Studdle covers his face, Clossy
covers her mouth and snickers. They all study the surface of
the table.

                                   STUDDLE
                         No!

                                   CLOSSY
                         Oh, that is embarrassing!
               
The woman's eyes are filled with pain -- old, worn down, but
deep. She stares squarely at the kids as if sizing them up.
She doesn't seem crazy or unaware of how she looks, and she
clings to a thread of dignity.
     
Cory arrives with a pitcher of beer, everyone grabs a glass.

                                   CORY
                         You get online?
  
Delilla grabs Cory's hand.

                                   DELILLA
                         Cory. Look!
            
Cory sits.

                                   CORY
                         What?
               
They point toward the bar. Cory looks.

                                   CORY
                         What?!
               
They look. The woman is gone.

                                   DELILLA
                         There was this freaky woman.

                                   STUDDLE
                         You missed it, dude.

                                   DELILLA
                         Yeah, she had all this makeup, and
                         was...so...

                                   CORY
                             (over)
                         Okay, okay! Whatever.
                             (Clossy)
                         You get online?

                                   CLOSSY
                         No wi-fi. But...
                             (tada!)
                         I copied the page for 'offline use'
                         before we left civilization.
              
Impressed, Cory looks at Studdle.

                                   STUDDLE
                         She's like that.
              
INSERT LAPTOP SCREEN: website for 'Adventure Land', a ranch
that hosts fishing and hunting trips. Also featured is
horseback riding, tennis, hiking, and camping. 

The site's design is rough -- fonts don't match, pictures are
missing, it's plain. There is a Google map on the website.

                                   STUDDLE
                         'Adventure Land'. There's a dumb
                         name.

                                   DELILLA
                         I like it. 'Adventure'. Who doesn't
                         want an adventure.

                                   CLOSSY
                         It is pretty dumb.

                                   CORY
                         It's the best we could afford. 
             
Clossy compares it to the printed map. 

                                   CLOSSY
                         The map's right. There's supposed
                         to be a road between the bridge and
                         the railroad tracks.
                             (turns it to Studdle)
                         See?
            
INSERT WEBSITE MAP: road between the bridge and railroad
tracks. Graphics for the road look a bit rough, like it might
have been drawn by hand.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Should be. But, it's not.

                                   CORY
                         What's the number?
             
Clossy turns the laptop so Cory can see the screen.
              
THE SCREEN: a phone number -- it's not toll-free.

                                   CORY
                             (with a flourish)
                         I'll take care of everything.
              
Everyone scoffs. Cory lifts the cell phone to his ear.

                                   CORY
                         Shit.

                                   DELILLA
                         No wi-fi, no cell. 

                                   STUDDLE
                         Welcome to the eighties.

                                   CLOSSY
                         They had cell phones in the
                         eighties.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Yeah. But were they like a foot
                         long with those antennas...

                                   DELILLA
                         Yeah, they weighed like, ten
                         pounds.
              
Cory presses a couple buttons, shakes the phone, no dice.
              
They see a pay phone.

                                   CORY
                         Anybody know how to use one of
                         those?
               
Clossy writes the number on a napkin and slides it to Cory.

                                   STUDDLE
                         They're voice activated. You yell
                         the number and it dials
                         automatically--

                                   CORY
                             (over)
                         --Yeah, yeah. Fuck you.

                                   DELILLA
                         There's a juke box.
              
Everyone digs into their pockets. CHANGE IS DUMPED ONTO THE
SCARRED WOOD TABLE.
             
MOMENTS LATER
 
Delilla feeds quarters into the jukebox then makes a
selection. Studdle jams quarters in the pool table. Cory
pumps a quarter in the phone and dials. 

Rock music starts.

Clossy racks the pool balls. Studdle breaks -- very poorly. 
          
MOMENTS LATER
             
Clossy and Studdle haven't sunk any balls. Delilla approaches
swaying to the music. She's sexy and graceful - a real prize.

In b.g. Cory talks on the pay phone.

                                   DELILLA
                             (takes cue from Clossy)
                         Give me that. I'll show you how
                         it's done.

                                   CLOSSY
                             (friendly)
                         Bitch.
            
PHONE

                                   CORY
                         Yeah, we're at this tavern. It's --

                                   VOICE ON PHONE
                             (over)
                         Sure. Sure. I know where that's at.

                                   CORY
                         Oh, yeah?! Great!
              
POOL TABLE
 
Delilla lines up a shot. 

                                   DELILLA
                         Six in the corner.
              
She shoots, the six ball goes in the corner. She gloats.
               
Clossy shoots a mean grin. Studdle loves it. Cory arrives.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Well?

                                   CORY
                             (grabbing a cue)
                         Someone's coming to get us.
                             (relief all around)
                         This happens a lot. Even the locals
                         can't find this place...'Adventure
                         Land'...it's too far out.

                                   DELILLA
                         Great!

                                   CLOSSY
                         So, it's adventure time.

                                   CORY
                         Don't resorts usually have a 1-800
                         number?

                                   DELILLA
                         Three in the side.

                                   STUDDLE
                         How long will it be?

                                   CORY
                         The guy said a few minutes.
              
'Awesome'. Delilla lines up and strokes the cue ball smartly.
The three ball bounces off a rail and goes into the side
pocket. She dances to the music smiling ear to ear.

The others roll their eyes. 'Lucky'. She plays air guitar.
            
EXT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - DUSK
             
There is a clear sky. On the horizon, backlighting the
mountains, is the last rosy hue of sunset.

EXT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - NIGHT

A pickup truck pulls off the road and parks. A man gets out
of the truck and goes into the tavern.

INT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - NIGHT
               
The gang is back at the table, waiting. 
               
A MAN enters. He is JOHN, in his 50's, in good shape for his
age, deeply tanned, a square-looking guy whose word you would
figure you could take at face value.
               
John spots the kids and his face lights up. He heads toward

the table. The kids see him and stand.

                                   JOHN
                         Hi there. Cory?

                                   CORY
                         That's me.

                                   JOHN
                         Sorry you all got lost. It's easy
                         to do out here.

                                   CORY
                         Yeah.

                                   JOHN
                         Hope you haven't been waiting too
                         long.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Just a few minutes.

                                   DELILLA
                         We played pool.

                                   JOHN
                         That's real good. Real good. My
                         name's John. I'm one of the hunting
                         guides out at Adventure Land. I'll
                         show you all how to get out there.

                                   CLOSSY
                         We think the map might be wrong. We
                         followed it, but...

                                   JOHN
                         Well, that's understandable.
                         There's been some land reclamation
                         around here. Preservationists.
                             (pests, you understand?)
                         Some of the roads have been
                         replanted with trees and they built
                         new roads where they supposedly
                         have less impact on wildlife. Not
                         that I understand any of that, mind
                         you. 
                             (polite smiles, chuckles)
                         Anyway. You all ready to roll?

                                   CORY
                         Yeah! Let's roll!

                                   JOHN
                         We'll get you settled in and good
                         and rested tonight. Get a early
                         start tomorrow. 
                             (everyone nods)
                         My truck's out here. You want to
                         follow me?
              
They leave.
              
EXT. ROADSIDE TAVERN - NIGHT
              
They walk to the cars.

                                   JOHN
                         Let me guess.
                             (points to Acura)
                         That one is yours.

                                   CORY
                         Yeah. How'd you know?

                                   JOHN
                         Folks around here don't drive
                         those.

                                   DELILLA
                         Yeah. Didn't you know that?

                                   STUDDLE
                         Fancy pants city boy.

                                   JOHN
                             (points to pickup)
                         This is mine. I'll pull up to the
                         road and wait for you all.
               
They agree and thank him. John gets in the truck, starts it.
 
The kids get in the Acura.

Cory starts it and wheels around behind John, who is waiting
at the road. John waves out his window, then pulls out. Cory
follows.

                                   DELILLA
                             (cheeky)
                         Well. Isn't this fun!
               
The others follow suit.

                                   CLOSSY, STUDDLE, CORY
                         Oh! Yes! I'm so excited!! I'm all a
                         quiver!
               
EXT. ROAD - NIGHT
The two cars drive. The kids' attitude has dried out.

                                   DELILLA
                         How far is this place?

                                   STUDDLE
                             (Cory)
                         We been following this guy for
                         miles. You said it was a few
                         minutes away. 

                                   CORY
                             (over)
                         I didn't-- I did not say that! I
                         said he said he was a few minutes
                         away. That, he would meet us in a
                         few minutes. I don't know how far
                         this place is.
               
Clossy looks out the window. There isn't a light anywhere.

                                   CLOSSY
                         Adventure Land must be in the
                         middle of nowhere.
              
A chill falls over the others.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Yeah...
               
The truck's turn indicator comes on.

                                   CORY
                         Okay, okay! Here we go. We're here!
                         This is it! Finally...
               
The truck slows and pulls off the road onto a wide trail
that's been used by cars.
              
The Acura stops on the road.

                                   STUDDLE
                         What the fuck.

                                   DELILLA
                         Where's he going?
               
Within a few seconds the truck's tail lights are obscured 
by brush.

                                   CLOSSY
                         That's a road?

                                   CORY
                         He said they were making new ones,
                         or something.

                                   CLOSSY
                         Okay. That's a road under
                         construction?

                                   STUDDLE
                         We're going to lose him, man!

                                   DELILLA
                         I don't like this. It's creepy.

                                   CLOSSY
                         This does qualify as creepy.
                         Definitely.
               
The truck stops, waiting. Its taillights mostly obscured by
brush. The kids are on edge.

                                   CORY
                         Well? You want to turn back.
               
The notion of actually turning back sobers the kids. They
muster a somewhat false courage.

                                   STUDDLE
                         Dude. Go! He's not going to wait
                         forever.

                                   DELILLA
                         Yeah. Go!

                                   CLOSSY
                         Chicken shit!

                                   CORY
                         You guys wanted an adventure.
               
Cory sighs and follows the truck. 








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