Special Fish

finished first cut

SPECIAL FISH [pre-production]

last update: tuesday nov 6th at 10:55pm
type of update: Major
-posted cast photos and location shots
-posted shooting schedule
-posted videos to illustrate the character of K.C.
-posted a heavily revised version of the script (read through it please! i'll get you all printed copies soon)
-posted a rough synopsis (below the videos) to provide the actors and actress with a clearer understanding of the intended message and content behind the story


Cast members:

Louis Giberson [GARY]


Julie Odell [ALISON]


Jordan Epperson [K.C.]


Jordan, think of Tom Cruise's role in Magnolia. I can't think of a better example than this for getting yourself into character to play K C. check it out:


also there's that douche pickup artist named Mystery. here's some vids of him:

then on the flip side of all that bullshit, there's the science of attraction and of why we don't reproduce asexually all from an evolutionary perspective, which is what the characters Alison and Gary stand for in the end.

so these two completely different perspectives of sex and gender are in such contrast to one another that all it takes are these subtle actions and words from Alison or Gary in the script to subvert not just K.C.'s methods but even bigger issues of how society has constructed the perception of male and female over time and how these gender-specific roles are entirely problematic.


below are the hours each cast member has said they have available to be on set:
(please notify me ASAP if any of this is inaccurate)

Julie - Saturday and Sunday

Louis - Friday
Saturday (minus about 3 hours to shoot his movie)
Sunday before 5

Jordan - Friday after 3
Saturday before 1 and after 9
Sunday after 2


Proposed Shooting Schedule:

Scene 1 [all cast members: MCA] - Sunday between about 3 and 6

part of Scene 3 [Jordan and Louis: APARTMENT] - Friday night from dark (6ish?) until midnight or possibly a bit later, depending on how we all feel

Scene 2 and the rest of Scene 3 [all cast: APARTMENT] - Saturday night from 9pm (or sooner if jordan becomes available earlier) until around midnight


the times listed are an estimation. things could move slower or faster. i am doing a lot of planning so hopefully we'll be able to get it done in less time than i am imagining.

Cast and crew members will be treated to food and beverage. AWESOME!


call me any time you have questions. i will try to keep in contact with you all as much as possible before we start shooting. you can also check this blog post for any updated information or check the post below the location shots for any script revisions. i'll make sure everyone gets a printed copy of the most current version very soon.

also, costuming is something that i will need to contact you each individually to discuss


---

Location shots:
SCHOOL


GARY'S APARTMENT (it will be dark outside)

bedding will be different - a solid color instead of patterned. i will also rearrange furniture and change the wall ornamentation. the tv will be bigger too.


clutter will be organized, bright post-its will not be present, and an elvis costello poster will be on the wall above the tv


(none of the lighting in the apartment shots is accurate; the final set will look nice)

special fish [script]

last update: tuesday nov 6th at 11:05pm
type of update: Major
-name change from Lia to Alison
-new lines added
-several lines revised

SPECIAL FISH
[a screenplay by owen franke]


CAST:
[CHARACTER
– played by]
GARY – Louis Giberson
ALISON – Julie O’Dell
K.C. OCAEPA – Jordan Epperson

SCENE 1

[School. Gary is at his locker.
Alison is seen down the hallway coming towards him.]


ALISON:
[enthusiastically] Gary!
GARY:
[suppressed excitement] Hey Alison.
ALISON:

Thanks for letting me use your tripod;
my prints came out really well.
GARY:
Oh that’s great; yeah, no problem.

ALISON:
I’ll bring it by your apartment after
my class tonight.
GARY:
Alright that’s cool; I mean, no hurry.


ALISON:
Okay well, I gotta run. I’ll
see you later. [smile]

GARY:
Oh-ok.. see ya.
[Alison walks away. Camera pans
slightly to the right. K.C. is leaning against the locker next
to Gary’s.]

K.C.:
She’s a good one, eh?

GARY:
[turning around] Huh? Who are you?

K.C.:
I’m K.C. Ocaepa [oh-say-puh], and you.. are losing the battle my friend.


GARY:
What?

K.C.:
She could be yours man, but not with
the kind of game you just pulled.
GARY:
Uh, I’m sorry but I don’t believe
I’ve seen you before. How do you know me?


K.C.:
Well I know you’re probably real
familiar with the friend zone; it’s not hard to see that.

GARY:
[sarcastic and ignoring] Friend zone. Riight.

K.C.:

[mocking Gary in a high-pitched
voice] “No, it’s cool,
you can keep my tripod as long as you want to; I don’t ever even use
it.”
GARY:
[agitated] [shuts locker door] Do you want something?
K.C.:
You do.

GARY:
As do most people.

K.C.:
I’ll help you get it.

GARY:
I don’t think you know what I want.


K.C.: Tail!

GARY: Not exactly.

K.C.: Tail’s my middle name,
son.

GARY:
[walking away]
Good for you.
K.C.:
[in background mocking Gary again] “Cause
I’m not in a photo class like you, Alison. Really it was just taking
up space in my room. Hell, you can actually just have it.
It was only 85 dollars…”


SCENE
2
[Gary’s room. Gary is eating.
There is a knock on the door. Gary gets up, looks around for his
tin of Altoids, finds it, eats one, and answers the door. It’s
Alison with the tripod.]
GARY:
Oh hey, thanks.
ALISON:
You’re welcome. [smile]


GARY:
So what’s up?
ALISON:
Nothing what are you doing?

GARY:
I was just eating dinner.


ALISON:
Why does it smell like mint?

GARY:
[awkwardly]
Oh that’s—probably the teaa. Do you wanna
come in? I can make you some.


ALISON:
Um, sure.

[Gary shuts the door behind Alison.
Alison takes a seat on Gary’s bed.]
[Action pauses, literally.]

SCENE 3

[Camera zooms out and we see that
K.C. and Gary are actually watching a video recording of that previous
evening on the TV set in Gary’s room. Gary is near the kitchen.
K.C. is standing in front of the TV with remote control in hand.]


GARY:
I still can’t believe you put hidden
cameras in my house dude.
K.C.:
What happened? You had her on your
bed.
GARY:
You know, that’s not all I think
about. You’re acting as if I’ve.. failed some mission.
We had a nice time just hanging out.

K.C.:
You talked about Bill Nye and parasites
all night! The only thing that amounted from all those hours of bullshit
conversation is a significantly reduced chance that she will ever view
you as pre-selected; you’re running out of time. You have to
get inside her head and take control of her emotions if you want her
to be yours. Quit stalling. She’s the woman;
you are choosing her, not the other way around. If
you allow her to forget that for even one moment, it’s game over.

GARY:

What year is this?

K.C.:
This is basic female psychology; it’s
all very simple. Women are easy to control. Show some
interest, but *keep her feeling insecure at all times.* Interrupt
her when she speaks; insult her occasionally; ignore about every other
phone call or so. Just demonstrate that you are of higher
value than her. Once you’ve bruised her self-esteem a bit,
she’s putty in your hands! Then you can choose to keep her or
just move on to another one. Although, sometimes they aren’t
so quick to move on because of their emotions and stuff, but if you
wait it out they always eventually detach and leave you alone.


GARY:
Cause they figure out your game huh?

K.C.:
Ha, oh.. no. They aren’t
that smart; I mean they can’t go against nature anyway.
It’s funny, we as men don’t know what it’s like to be attracted
to someone bigger and stronger than us. Sure we might feel afraid
sometimes when approaching a girl but only because if we approach the
wrong girl – one who’s already taken – the guy who owns her will
step up and protect his investment.
GARY:

[sarcastically]
You know it’s such a shame that my father never taught me any of this.

K.C.:
That’s what I’m here for – to
pump you full of confidence.
GARY:
Oh thanks, but I have plenty of that
already.
K.C.:

No, what you have plenty of is Nice
Guy Syndrome.

GARY:
[smugly] You’re absolutely right; I think I do have
that – I just can’t stop being nice to people. May I offer you some
tea?

K.C.:
I’m allergic.
GARY:
To green tea?
K.C.:
Deathly.
GARY:

How about some hot apple cider then?

[K.C. is silent; hospitality is
foreign to him – he’s not used to saying things like
‘thank you.’]
I’ll get you some cider.

[Gary pours a cup of green tea and
a cup of cider and sets them both down on a table in the living area, near
K.C.]
K.C.:
You know, this is the kind of behavior
that girls like Alison will use you for. Doing everything for
free won’t grant you an ounce of control over her. She needs
an owner with a firm hand. Keep it up and Alison will reject you.


[Not paying attention to which drink
is his, K.C. reaches down and grabs the cup of tea instead of cider. He takes
a sip.]
GARY:
You’re a stalker and a psychic?

K.C.:
All your favors will be forgotten!
Women are hardwired to--

[K.C. makes a short, eerie gasp
and drops to the floor. He is dead.]
GARY: [stares for a moment at K.C.’s body with an expression of indifference. He
kneels down, glances back at the glass of cider still sitting on the
table and then rises.] That
was my cup.
[There is a knock on the door.]

Come in.

[Alison enters.]

ALISON:
[sees the body]
What’s a matter with him?
GARY:
He’s dead.. so I guess nothing now.
He had an immune system malfunction.
ALISON:

Oh, [grin] those tricky parasites.

GARY: Here, I made you some
apple cider.
ALISON:
[excited inhale] I love cider!

[mutual smiles]

[sipping on some cider]

ALISON:
[sweetly and curious]
So Gary, what’s your middle name?


[roll credits]

midterm edit

watch movie

i wish we had had time to shoot the crosswalk scene, but aside from the abandoned elements due to time constraints i am happy with how the project turned out. this was probably the hardest edit i've ever done.
because we recorded an additional audio track separately, which had a different presence than the one attached to the video, it was quite a puzzle trying to fit those audio takes with the video and vice versa.
i hear this is how they normally do things in hollywood. it think it is a huge pain in the ass.

midterm assignment [screenplay]

a group project:
A character is tying to get from one place to another and “falls” along the way.
Constraints : 10 shots minimum, 15 shots maximum
Must be shot during class time on 10/16/07

group members:
owen franke
zach waters
tiffani waire
jonathan postal


CAST:
Spencer Somni - Cody Barnhill
Angel - Emiliya Tsankova
Professor - Henry McDaniel
Classmates - Pierre Thronton, Billy Welch
Man in Suit - Jonathan Postal

Our movie opens in an academic classroom setting.

There is a professor whose voice is heard off-camera but we never see him.

PROF: As Freud said, sometimes a cigar is indeed only a cigar..

{Spencer Somni, a student, staggers into class late. He has not slept more than 3 hours in the last several days. He is wearing an ill fitting over coat and shades. He takes a seat between his friend—a large guy with a thin beard almost reaching his chest and a Beatles T shirt on—and a beautiful girl named Angel, whom he is on the verge of falling in love with.}

She has a dark bob and is wearing a plaid skirt, a tight white shirt over a black bra and black boots (like Doc Martins).

PROF: Ah, Mr. Somni, you've decided to share some of your valuable time with us.

SOMNI: Sorry, I’ve had no time to sleep.

PROF: Not my problem. Please just settle down; I think you've disrupted this class quite enough for today. Now on to Doctor Freud's views on romantic love - or more to point.. the act, so to speak, of falling in love.

{While the professor is speaking, Angel writes a brief note and leans over toward Somni}

ANGEL: [quietly] If you need a bed after class this is my address, though I can't promise sleep.

{Spencer looks at her with adoration - he is clearly falling in love}

PROF: Mr. Somni, you are not the only student in this class; this is my last warning. If you don’t like the way this class is operated, I assume you know where the door is since you managed to stumble in here.

SOMNI: No, Sorry I…

PROF: And for God's sake take off those sunglasses. This is a University not a beach.

SOMNI: [removing the glasses] Sorry.

{Somni glances at Angel, who lovingly smiles at him}

{As the Professor talks, Somni’s head drops to his arms and he falls asleep}

The camera dollies to a close up; this has all been one shot (or no more than two or three..)

PROF: It is noted that Freud once said to his podiatrist on the topic of romantic love “how can one walk with the angels when a man’s feet are otherwise occupied parading about some woman?” The podiatrist who had already been married four times and was conducting an affair with the woman who pushed the tea trolley about said…

{Somni awakens in a black and white world. The classroom is empty and he hears a sweetly accented voice}

ANGEL: I'll be waiting Mister.

{She blows him a kiss and closes the door behind her}

{He runs after her, but when he goes through the door he finds himself in the middle of town. He brings up his hand to scratch is nose and sees the crumpled paper with the address still written on it.}

{After a few steps he finds himself at a crosswalk. The traffic sign changes to DON’T WALK, and he suddenly becomes unable to walk; he struggles - awkwardly lifting one foot at a time. When the sign changes back to walk he is caught off-guard and staggers into the intersection.}

{He looks at the address to get his bearings and starts down the street.
He is directly in the way of a MAN in a suit with a briefcase. They do the familiar little dance that people do when they are trying to get around one another, then the man tosses aside his briefcase with abandon and starts to dance something akin to a foxtrot with Somni.

MAN: You dance divinely.

SOMNI: You too, but I really got to go.

MAN: I do understand.

{The man spins Somni about in an elaborate move and he spins off, landing in front of a house. When he checks the address he finds it is his destination.}

{The door is unlocked and when he opens it he finds himself directly in Angel’s bedroom. She is on the bed an in the same clothes she wore in class.}

SOMNI: I love you.

ANGEL: I love you too.

{Angel vanishes from the bed}




initial storyboard sketches [drawn by jonathan postal]



location shots [by jonathan postal]


[class setting changed to conference room instead of myers]


[in front of Angel's home]


[Angel's bed]

we will also shoot some footage near an intersection by joe's liquor store for the crosswalk and dancing scenes

project 2 ideas

idea 1 - sequel to project 1

my mom finds the script i wrote based on our private conversation and flips out. i tell her that it is only "sketchbook material" and that i don't plan to make it public, which she doesn't buy. in essence this piece would become very reflexive and self-referencing in nature.

idea 2 - i go to the moon (green screen or a model set may be required)

i arrive on the moon with my uncle and two other family members. i have a hard time staying grounded and worry about floating off into space. none of my family members help me stay down. all of the personal belongings i brought with me start falling off the moon because of its rotation. my family doesn't attempt to catch them.
i forget about my things and decide to call some people, because i'm on the moon! i take out my cell phone and try to call my dad and stepmom, but my phone doesn't work because i'm on the moon. my uncle gives me a walkie talkie and says "this will work", and it does. i call my dad and say "guess where i am!"
after a brief conversation with my dad, i decide that i need to take some pictures so that i can show them off when i return to earth. i take out my cell phone and snap a picture of myself with the lunar landscape in the background and then turn 180 degrees and snap another one with the earth in the background.
when i go to review the pictures i just took on my phone, i see that they are two pictures of me at home in my room; in one there is a poster of the moon on the wall behind me and in the other one there is a poster of the earth on the wall behind me. i get angry that my camera is lying and think "great, no one is going to believe me now!" but my uncle will tell them that i was there won't he? (i feel very close to my uncle)

idea 3 - a dialog based narrative.. something funny, clever and subversive..

an instructional video on "how to attract girls", which on the surface would really function primarily to poke fun at the methods of such characters as 'Mystery' from Mtv's the pick up artist. one actor, portraying this persona, would consistently intrude upon the life of another actor (a quirky, yet well-mannered and intelligent young adult who relies on his natural personality to keep his relationships with women interesting) and suggest that he follow ridiculous bits of advice on attracting women.

i'd like to push the piece far enough so that it begins to unpack some of the problems with how society has imposed gender specific roles on each of us and how exactly these aspects of gender perception become problematic - the idea here being to discredit alpha male pretension and notions of presupposed female submissiveness and commend free thinking individuals.

response to feedback

currently i have over 600 subscribers to my channel on youtube, so i uploaded my video there to get feedback (listed below). i found the responses were generally positive and hilarious.

my friend mark also gave me feedback, which i found to be much more useful than the youtube comments.

in my next video i will make sure to focus more when setting up the sound equipment so that i don't make any more careless mistakes like forgetting to turn the mic on.

project 1 feedback

nonbeliver said:
hahaha GREAT! first comment ftw...

musicgreaterthanlife said:
I enjoyed it. I guess mostly because I agreed with what you were saying and disagreed with your mother, but I liked the split screen and how it was set up. I'm no expert on this sort of thing, but I thought it was well done.

Badewell said:
Wow, this really moved me. You did a great job with the mother, almost anyone would be appalled by what she was saying, religious or not. It's easy to see why you feel so indifferent when you have things like that coming your way.

Once I got it, I also really liked how the main character was more focused on his food than the conversation, that sends a crystal clear message of indifference to the viewer.

Very good video, I'm glad I watched it. Thanks for uploading it.

Thunderhorse761 said:
Ah, the things your mother says make me cringe. While I understand that you must respect her, being your mother, I think she should allow you to believe what you want.

Inzanecrazyboy said:
By the sound of it, your mother's a dumbass.

alden6 said:
wow she is fucked up!
i am very atheist, but even if i was devout im sure i would still find this revoulting.
"doctors that dont belive in god are not good docters" my dad would be considered a "heritic" by your mother, but he is the best and most powerfull docter in southern california.
wow she is crazy, raise your children the way you want.

minedarea said:
It's was well made, but I must say it's completely depressing. Not everyone can have a close relationship with their immediate family, I find it uncomfortable to watch because it's a little too true to life.


mark said:
cant complete this, i have some overdue work i need to do, sorry man.
overall, really great for your first project in the class.

negatives:

The colors are excellent but blurs distinction between the left and
right scenes. A college dorm is rarely so home-ish, even though yours
is. Not looking for harsher colors or fluorescent lighting
necessarily, but maybe ... more sparseness. Less contrasting darks and
lights (a barren wall behind the table, or just the computer or
something.

Shadow technique is excellent. Very classy and minimalistic. We don't
want to see the mother. However, it's weird to the eye to see a shadow
on a light source (the lamp) when we don't have a reference point to
the other light source. The pictures on the wall looked great though.
Kept an otherwise static scene interesting by providing symmetry and
contrast (again good choice on colors)

The vocals recorded are the main problem. The mom's voice sounds read
(which it probably was) and cuts you off unnaturally, stutters, etc.
The price to pay when you don't have an actor and you don't have
enough time for multiple takes to compile together. Nobody films a six
minute scene in one take professionally, its usually hours of takes on
footage cut down into the best parts for six - in that i mean hollywood directors, btw. cool natural actors and indie films often pull it off, specifically for the tension it builds.

Secondly, there's an evolution in the sound. The timbre isnt changing
outside of a certain range, and there are momentary leaps for emphasis
but it returns back to a stasis. In my opinion this makes the viewer's
attention drift away. It's like asking someone to listen to a single
tone for six minutes and concentrate on how the tone sounds...our ears
can't do that. When you have a conversation, you don't think about
this since you're busy thinking of what to say and busy following the
other person's thoughts (unless it's a noob). But when you listen to a
conversation between two people, things have to change.

Finally the mic you are using has a boost in the frequencies its
sensitive to around 2khz, but you're speaking probably below 1khz and
it sounds muddy. In that yt video the old guy is also speaking in a
low voice around the same register you are. But it's been equalized to
resonate

[i'll finish this later]

Positives:

A lot of fun to watch the sandwich being eaten. The end scene of
staring down into the glass and swirling the last bit around says a
lot. There's a lot on your mind, a lot to be said, but what the hell.

[finish later]

project 1 synopsis

Eggland’s Best is a video reenactment of a dialog held between myself and my mother a few days before Easter Sunday this year concerning our differences in regards to the importance of Christian religious ideals--her perspective being that of a devout Catholic and mine of Agnosticism--although both coming from like backgrounds of strict Catholicism, imposed upon us at an early age.

This video highlights the significant amount of change, and simultaneously the lack thereof, in a formally established mode of thinking that has occurred over the span of a single generation – from mother to son. Also emphasized is the persisting indifference I often feel toward my mother and my family in general.

I believe that having such vastly different religious and political views from the rest of my family has slowly evolved my childhood sense of belonging into a familiar program of indifferent behaviors and reactions that I now exhibit almost unknowingly in my day-to-day life.

Proclaiming to refrain from pushing religion onto any children I might have in the future forebodingly suggests that my life will only continue to exist more as a sort of trivial outside affair rather than operating harmoniously as an essential part within the whole of my family.

During the making of this project, my mother visited me in Memphis and happened across a copy of the script for this video, which duly implied that I had did not have every intention of keeping our conversation secret. Undoubtedly this event has broken scab between us and has distanced me even further away, and about this I feel almost complete indifference.

assignment write-up: first edit [video only]

deciding that the voice acting of myself and (especially) that of my actress was significantly less than i'd hoped for, my project will take on a major shift in direction. the dialog and sound effects will be distorted and the footage will directly relate to this transformed audio track. therefore, the draft at this point does not represent the final aesthetic, as it is impossible for me to arrange the video without also working with the sound.

extension?

my actress bailed on me at the last minute. i have rescheduled the shoot with her for this wednesday night.

project 1 script

[A mother calls her son to ask if he is coming home for Easter weekend]

[the son’s cell phone rings]

OWEN: Hey mom.

MOTHER: Hey how are you doing?

OWEN: I’m alright.

MOTHER: Well I was just calling to ask when you’ll be coming down on Friday.

OWEN: What?

MOTHER: For Easter weekend. You said you’d be coming home this weekend.

OWEN: Mom I never said that.

MOTHER: Well, yes you did. Are you saying you aren’t coming home now?

OWEN: No, I didn’t say that either. I’m still not sure yet. Last time you called and asked me about it I said it would depend on how much work I have to do, like it always does. And it turns out that I have a lot of stuff to finish this weekend.

MOTHER: [sarcastically] Great, so I’m not gonna get to see my son for Easter this year.

OWEN: Well mom, school is a little more important I think. You’ll still have Austin and Caren there with you.

MOTHER: I’d like to have all my children here for once, Owen.

OWEN: Well Christopher’s not coming down from Richmond is he?

MOTHER: No, he has to work.

OWEN: Well see, so even if I came down you still wouldn’t have all of us together. I don’t think Christopher was able to come home for Easter last year either and you didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

MOTHER: It would mean a lot to me if you came down Owen.

OWEN: I can’t come for down the whole weekend mom. I’ve just got too much schoolwork.

MOTHER: Can you at least come down for one day?

OWEN: I seriously doubt it.

MOTHER: What if you came down on Saturday evening? You could be here to dye Easter eggs with us that night and you could leave Sunday morning, after Mass

OWEN: Mom, you know mass isn’t over until like one o’clock. By the time I got back to Memphis I wouldn’t have much time left to do homework.

MOTHER: Can you bring your homework with you to do here?

OWEN: No, it’s computer stuff; if I had a laptop, maybe, but I don’t. Even if I did, it’s not like I would be able to get anything done because I’d be visiting with family the whole time.

MOTHER: [sighs]

OWEN: I guess I could try to come down late Saturday and do the egg hunt Sunday morning, but I would need to leave after that. You know there’s really no reason for me to stay and go to mass anyway.

MOTHER: [slightly angered] Oh, so you're at the point now where you aren't even going to church anymore?

OWEN: There's no point in me going mom. I feel uncomfortable just being there because you and Austin always glare at me when I don’t participate. Just walking into the church makes me feel like a liar. I’m not catholic mom. It isn’t a big deal.

MOTHER: It IS a big deal.

OWEN: Only to you it is. (Maybe add something else here)

MOTHER: You know, I really hope you don't have any children until you can start believing in God.

OWEN: What!?

MOTHER: Do not bring an innocent life into this world not believing in God. If you don’t believe in God, you do not deserve to have children. Don't corrupt them with your.. corrupt thinking.

OWEN: I’m not corrupt, mom. Why do I not deserve to have children?

MOTHER: Because having child is a product of God. I would throw up; I would vomit if you had children not believing in God.

OWEN: Well I guess you should know that I plan to have kids someday, and I don’t think God is going to seem any more real to me in the future than it does now.

MOTHER: If you do, then whenever they are around me I am going to be teaching them about God.

OWEN: Oh but they’ll be smarter than that.

MOTHER: Don't you dare spew your venom on innocent lives. That's as bad as abortion; you might as well be killing them. It is a SIN to bring an innocent life into this world not believing in God.

OWEN: Well I don’t think so.

MOTHER: I hope you go the rest of your life without children if you don't believe in God. I pray that you are unable to conceive a child until you can start believing in God. No one deserves children if they don’t believe in God. That's a child of the devil, basically.

OWEN: A child of the devil. Really mom?

MOTHER: A child void of God is a child of the Devil, yes. That's the truth.

OWEN: That’s ridiculous and hateful mom.

MOTHER: No it's not. I do not want you to bring any children into this world if you don't believe in God.

OWEN: So it’s not enough to just love and care for them?

MOTHER: Love and God are one in the same; if you don't have God you are incapable of loving. You don't know what love is if you don't have God. You cannot experience love on any level for another human being if you don't have God, because that's what love is — it’s God inside you — so you are incapable of loving if you don't have Him.

OWEN: So I am incapable of loving you?

MOTHER: You can't love me in a true sense if you don't have God. People who don't believe in God are selfish, self-absorbed creatures.

OWEN: Just because they don’t concern themselves with religion?

MOTHER: God is pretty much fact. If it takes you until you are on your deathbed that you start to believe in Him and ask for His help, then—-

OWEN: I would ask for the doctor's help in that case.

MOTHER: Doctor's that don't believe in God are not good doctors. You can only be a good doctor when you realize that you are being guided by a much higher power than yourself.

OWEN: I’d rather be under the care of a doctor who doesn’t rely on imaginary beings to help him fix people. I think science does a better job at that.

MOTHER: People die when they are meant to die, as part of God’s plan.

OWEN: Then why would you go to a doctor at all?

MOTHER: Because a doctor can help to ease a temporary hardship, but God has a plan for everyone and no matter what choices you make, your fate stays the same. That’s his design.

OWEN: Well mom, to me that’s just a depressing idea. That sounds like being in prison your whole life. And bad things happen to good people everyday; innocent lives are lost all the time.

MOTHER: Everything happens for a reason, Owen; the best thing anyone can do is pray for God’s guidance.

OWEN: Then why didn’t God save your marriage with dad? I know you prayed for him to.

MOTHER: God's unanswered prayers are gifts; something good always comes from the bad. My gift from God was finding another man that I am much happier with.

OWEN: So if I have a child one day and I’m still agnostic, that would be evidence that your prayer for me was unanswered. And according to you that would be a gift from God — perhaps for me to be able to raise my children the way I want to?

MOTHER: No, that would certainly not be a gift from God.

---

End Scene:

[OWEN at his computer – emailing (or IMing) a friend]

"... i told her toward the end of our conversation that my one hope for her was that one day she’d realize how hateful and intolerant she was being, and maybe even apologize for some of what she said to me.

and she replied "i will never apologize for saying any of those things"

project 1 pre-production

pre-production package

1)
a. mom - save her son from eternal damnation by converting him back to catholicism
son - at least get the mother to accept his differences, but possibly make her realize that religion is dumb (long term goal)

b. the mom is brainwashed beyond all reason

c. debate

d. logic and reasoning from the son; guilt, fear and threats from the mother

e. shift from civilized argument to insults and personal attacks

f. mother-son bonding time?

2)
a. 2 - one actual and one voice only
b. 3 scenes total. four to five minutes total
c. 1 location - in the son's apartment
most shot in bedroom, but some walking back and forth is done, to and from kitchen
d. recording of phone call
e. none
f. phone, sandwich, apple, glass of water


3) location shots (subject to change)









4 & 5 are on paper

project 1 ideas

Self-inventory: Recreate an incident from your life and provide a narrative, then transform it.


idea 1 - bee paranoia
- stung by yellow jacket 8-10 times up my back at a young age
- later believed there was a bee at the foot of my bed which would not leave; couldn't tell if it was real or a dream
- still occasionally have short nightmares of bees being under my sheets, and i'll wake up with a quick jolt

idea 2 - mom and religion
- document conversation had with my mother concerning religion and her overreactions to my being agnostic

idea 3 - grass fire
- section of our yard caught on fire a long time ago around christmas because we lined the driveway with sand-filled candle bags
-black patch of grass remained for a long time

idea 4 - tooth fairy
- older brother and i caught the tooth fairy/our mom once by setting a trap

idea 5 - accused of being racist
- involved summer school and a bottle of liquid paper

idea 6 - jolly rancher sickness
- threw up once on a camping trip from eating a whole package of watermelon flavored jolly ranchers followed by ramen noodles for dinner

idea 7 - caught "stealing"
- as a child i found a piece of candy on a department store floor and pocketed it
- the store alarm went off as my mother and i were leaving
- i stopped and looked guilty; when questioned, i confessed to stealing an m&m off the floor. later i realized that a real thief must have gotten away that day