Christy Waites
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Christy Waites’ Comedy Scenes
Although I knew what makes comedy, it was more concrete, like knowing the name of each football member and their job, but not really know what that player does because I’ve never played professional football. So I really appreciate this class. Nothing came hard, I enjoyed the examples to understand what-was-what, I love the lessons, and I feel much more comfortable and confident about writing a comedy instead of anything else with some comedic incidents in it. 🙂
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Tavis Crawford Angus McThorn IV can make it into a sporting team at the academy, but with disastrous results, so he turned to the debate, which he excels at. The problem is his father, Lord Tavis Crawford Angus McThorn III, only considers participating in a contact sport to turn a boy into a man.
Tavis IV learns ,to his delight, that this is not true, and he joins the debate team. Tavis does have his mother’s, Lady Celest Lenore McThorn, support. She and Nanny Lise has never missed a single tournament.
Lady McThorn even allows the boys to celebrate their victories in their home, and with Tavis on their team, they were wining each time. However, this information must be kept secret from Lord McThorn. Luckily, the days of the tournaments corresponded with days that Lord McThorn went to the London to complete paperwork.
INT. MCTHORN HOUSE – DAY
One day Lord McThorn is home early and surprises the boys in the dining room. They are in their team outfits, wearing party hats and cheering for Tavis by throwing colored confetti on him. It was their last win, therefore, their last celebration.
Lord McThorn
What’s the meaning of this?
The children froze. Their eyes moved from Tavis to Lord McThorn.
Lord McThorn
Tavis, I asked a question? What is this?
His hands move across the room imply his friends in the dining room.
The boys swivel their heads to look at Tavis, who is stuck for words.
Tavis
Huh. Well. You see, I…Uh. Uh…well…You see. Uh.
Lady McThorn comes in carrying a tray of sandwiches and one of the maids has a tray with glasses and a picture. The maid lays her tray on the table and retreats.
Lady McThorn
Oh, stop picking on the boys. I took them to the city where they could play marbles in the back alleys to make their allowances go further.
All the boys continued to look forward while they sent each other messages with their eye.
Lord McThorn
You did what?
Lady McThorn is passing out small plates that were on the dining stand. She gives each boy a sly wink as she passes by. The Lord’s patience is running long.
Lady McThorn
Go ahead boys, do not be shy. Tell Lord McThorn how the day went and why are celebrating.
Lord McThorn gaze becomes fierce, and the boys understood what they must do.
Boy One
Uh…yeah…and…uh…I won two pounds…a shilling…and a sparkling Cat’s Eye.
He and the other boys nod their heads and smile. The closest one to him pats him on the shoulder.
The next boy was a little hesitant at first, the blurted out the end.
Boy Two
Uh, well…I didn’t win much, only some shillings…but I did win a nice Cat’s Eye
Boy Three
Well, I won…three pounds and a new Bumblebee!
Boy Four
That’s nothing. I…I won four pounds, and a Steely!
Calum had to be different.
Calum
I didn’t w…w…win any money. I did get a Boulder, though. That’s good, right?
He looks around at all his friends smiling. The boys give Calum a cheer.
Lord McThorn sears each child’s soul with his piercing eyes.
Lord McThorn
I see trophies beside you in the empty chair. Why do you have trophies? Did they have competition going on at those back alleys?
Each boy stiffens, sitting straight in their seats, Tavis cheeks begin to turn red.
Lord McThorn
I’d like to see them, please.
Each boy, except Tavis, reluctantly placed their trophy on the table. The trophies were simple with the same design. The team then stood up to move their chairs and their trophy as far away from Tavis as they could, sitting and starring at Lord McThorn with fear.
Lord McThorn
Tavis, me laddie, I can also see part of your trophy in the chair next to you. I’d especially like to see yours.
Now shaking a little, Tavis brings his trophy out. It’s a small bowl on a stand, wider and taller than the other trophies.
Lady McThorn
Boys, eat your sandwiches before the fresh vegetables go spoil!
Each boy finds a small plate and napkin, stands up and serves himself a few small sandwiches then return to their seat. They begin stuffing their mouths with the small finger food.
Lady Thorn strolls around the table filling glasses from the pitcher. The boys were happy to have the drink to help the sandwiches go down.
A moment or two went by while the boys ate, Lady McThorn proudly watches over her son, and steam begins to escape from Lord McThorn shoulders.
Lord McThorn
What about those trophies and why is Travis’s bigger than the others?
Lady McThorn
Of course, it was a formal competition. Look at how they are dress? You think I’d take them anyplace that was not part of the up-in-up?
The boys nod their heads, their cheeks full of sandwiches, as they concur.
Boy 3
Oh, yeah, yeah, it was a competition. That’s what it was, yeah.
Boy 1, Boy 2, Boy4, Calum (together)
Yeah, a competition!
Lady McThorn
Ah, can’t you tell? Our son was the big winner!
McThorn face brightens as he makes a noise to show his true feelings.
Lord McThorn
O-auch! (beat) How much money did you win, laddie?
Tavis
Oh, uh…not much, really…huh.
Lady McThorn
Oh, he’s just being modest. He won a fiver, and an entire collection of marbles.
Lord Thorn grabs the top of his head.
Lord McThorn
A fiver? Me laddie! Me son! Me boy! Your grandfather is pissing himself in his grave right now, he’s so proud.
The boys wear a half smile as they nervously smile between the two adults.
Lord McThorn moves closer to Tavis.
Lord McThorn
Let me have the trophy! I want to show everyone at the office!
Lady McThorn easily, but quickly, arranges herself between Tavis and his father.
Lady McThorn
Oh, it’s still needs its plate.
Lord McThorn
What?
Lady McThorn
Dear, you’ve never received a trophy with your name on it, now, have you? You got to see it then return it for the name plate to be added. It’s the same in this case.
Lord McThorn
Oh, I didn’t think about that.
Suddenly, Lord McThorn reaches over and grabs the trophy.
Lord McThorn
Still, the office knows I’m not a liar.
Then Lady McThorn grabs the other end of the trophy.
Lady McThorn
I didn’t said they did.
Now, Lady McThorn happens to have a good grip of the top edge of the trophy, and Lord McThorn has a good grip on the bottom base.
They begin by gazing at other with love, but when it became obvious that the other was serious about not letting go it became a battle ground for a tug of war.
As they tried to take control of the custody of the trophy, one moment the Lord had the lead, the next moment the Lady had the lead, they would grit their teeth making a wider smile across their faces and the fire in their eyes glow brighter.
Poor Tavis is below the Battle of the Parents. He looks at his mother, he looks at his father. He didn’t say a word, he just put his hand over his ears and his head down.
The maid was coming in with the celebration desert, a three-layer cake with a small forth layer holding the representation of Tavis in front of the podium, when Lord McThorn got the base of the trophy loose enough skip backwards and trip into the cake.
Lady McThorn was lucky enough to land into a cushion chair.
And the boys were happy that there was a lot of cake still good to eat.
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Christy Waites’ Action Props
“What I’ve Learned…”
First, I changed my setup and punchline. The first one is a little too racy. Not that I’m a prude, I just felt I should change it. I think this one is still incongruent because Lady McThorn is a true lady and would not be seen in the areas of London where illegal gambling is being held, and I really doubt that the young urchins would be playing marbles to cheat grown men out of their hard earned money, nor would Lady McThorn even take boys from fine outstanding families to that area of London. So I went back through my brainstorming notes and am using another reason for this scene to be incongruent, and, therefore, funny.
I’m not big on slap stick, but have never truly given props their due. I already had props in this scene, so it made it easy to work them into the scene which makes the ruse overall longer and, hopefully, (hopefully) funnier.
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Lady McThorn saves the day by entering at the right moment carrying a tray of sandwiches. Behind her is the kitchen aide carrying glasses and a pitcher of sweet tea. The young boy puts his tray down and excuses himself, but Lady McThorn remains.
Lady McThorn
I took them to the city where they could play marbles in the back alleys to make their allowances go further.
Lady McThorn passes out the glasses.
Lord McThorn gaze becomes fierce, and the boys attempt to continue the excuse that Lady McThorn had started.
Boy One
Uh…yeah…and…uh…I won two pounds…a shilling…and a sparkling Cat’s Eye.
Boy Two
Well, I won…three pounds and a new Bumblebee!
Boy Three
That’s nothing. I…I won four pounds, and a Steely!
Calum
I didn’t win any money. I did get a Boulder, though. That’s good, right?
Lord McThorn sears each child’s soul with his piercing eyes.
Lord McThorn
I see trophies beside each of you. Why do you have trophies? Did they have competition going on in those back alleys?
<i style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Each boy stiffens, sitting straight in their seats, Tavis cheeks begin to turn red.
Lord McThorn
I’d like to see them, please.
The boys, especially Tavis, reluctantly place their trophy on the table. The team then stood up to move their chairs as far away from Tavis as they could as they stared at Lord McThorn.
Lady McThorn
Boys, eat your sandwiches before the fresh vegetables go spoil!
The boys did as they were told. They find a small plate and a napkin, and serve themselves a few small sandwiches, then return to their seat. They begin stuffing their mouths with the small finger food.
Lady Thorn strolls around the table filling glasses from the pitcher and they were happy to have the drink to help the sandwiches go down.
A moment or two went by while the boys ate, Lady McThorn proudly watches over her son, and steam began to escape from Lord McThorn shoulders.
Lord McThorn
What about those trophies and why is Travis’s bigger than the others?
Lady McThorn
Of course, it was a formal competition. Look at how they are dress? You think I’d take them anyplace that was not part of the up-in-up.
The children looked at each other suspiciously before they smiled, nodding their heads as they concur.
<b style=””>The Children
(together)
Oh, yeah, yeah, it was a competition of come sort. That’s what it was, yeah.
Lady McThorn
Ah, can’t you tell? Our son was the big winner!
McThorn face brightens as he makes a noise to show his true feelings.
Lord McThorn
O-auch! (beat) Of course! Me one, me only one, me own son won! How much money did you win, laddie?
Tavis
Oh, uh…not much, really…huh.
Lady McThorn
Oh, he’s just being modest. He won a fiver, and an entire collection of marbles.
Lord Thorn grabs the top of his head.
Lord McThorn
Did ja say a fiver? Me laddie! Me son! Me boy, your grandfather is pissing himself in his grave right now, he’s so proud.
The boys wear a half smile as they nervously divide their attention between the two adults.
Lord McThorn moves toward Tavis.
LORD MCTHORN
Let me have the trophy! I want to show everyone at the office!
Lady McThorn easily arranges herself between Tavis and his father but not before he grabs the top. She was able to grasp the bottom
Lady McThorn
Oh, it doesn’t have it’s plate.
She pulls on the trophy.
Lord McThorn
What?
He pulls it back.
Lady McThorn
Dear, you’ve never immediately received a trophy with your name on it, now have you?
She pulls on the trophy.
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Christy Waites’ Topper Outline
Boy, I hope I did this right. I understand it. The sample scene from There’s Something About Mary is only the first of the two top scenes that everyone remembers, so I understand the comedy setup of running gag with a Topper, I just hope I’m doing it correctly in my scene.
Again, I pulled a scene from my current script. This scene I’ve had to add when I was writing the second outline because it wasn’t in the first, so I haven’t thought much of it. I’ve been thinking I’ll work it when I reach it in the draft. But I realize it’s a great place for a good running gag since it’s a montage of three scenes that repeat (mechanically with obvious passing of time) to show the protagonist finally finding something he could do that he is innately good at instead of beating himself up trying something he should have never tried in the first place, and finding true friends in the process.
I did punchlines with Toppers to my other setups before I decided on this one because they stopped being funny and felt forced. This one really is my favorite, although there is one about marbles and allowances that I do like and I will save it for another script.
I just hope I posted the assignment itself correctly. Oh, well, this too will come out in the wash.
Setup:
Lord McThorn: “I took the boys to a bare-knuckle fight.”
Punchline from Topper to least favorite:
The Topper:
“We were so close, we could actually see their balls!”
“We could see the whites of their knuckles!”
“We could feel the fibers of oily wet hair whipping out from their heads!”
“Yeah, we were so close, we could smell the sweat coming from their eyes!”
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Christy Waites’ Comedy Brainstorm Session!
“What I’ve Learned…”
I’ve learned brainstorming a comedic scene isn’t any different from brainstorming a drama scene if you let your mind loose and pour into it or treat it as if it is difficult and get a head ache racking your brain. Since I’m working on a comedy, which is why I wanted to take this class, I chose a scene that was added in later outlines, one that was not original part of my very rough draft. Yep, it needed some action lines, and I wasn’t worried that action lines wouldn’t happen, but what about the comedy? Well, now I think I know where I’m going with it.
PREMISE: Tavis father doesn’t know that he’s on the debate team and everyone knows it must be kept a secret.
Comedy situation: Tavis is the hero of their recent debate tournament, and the team are celebrating at his home when his father, who was not expected to be at home, asks after the party. His teammates glance over at Tavis, who doesn’t know what to say and stutters a response, when Lady McThorn walks in and lies about the happy affair; and the children continue the lie, embellishing it, leaving the Lord never the wiser. Shocked, but not knowing the truth.
Comedy Characters and their loglines:
Tavis McThorn, IV, is the protagonist who, although he has some positive times in his life, the bullies seem to always find him and make him their figurative punching bag.
Tavis McThorn, III, thinks in the old ways of Scotland, a boy prepares becoming a man by not being soft as he grows, that’s how he was taught. This keeps him from understanding son and excepting Tavis for who he is.
Celest Lenor McThorn, loves both her husband and her son, and must be the referee between them to keep the peace. She figures Lord McThorn is too busy, anyway, and what he doesn’t know the details to won’t harm him, nor harm the relationship he has with young son.
Possible funny moments:When Lord McThorn ask what they are celebrating, Lady McThorn responds:
“I took them to a bare knuckle fight. I thought it was time for them to experience one before they’re banned for good.”
“I took them to the city where they could play marbles in the back alleys to more their allowances go further.”
“I took them out to teach how to shoot a gun and they got pretty good, ‘till the coppers caught them shooting bottles we stole from the tavern.”
“I took them to a cock fight.”
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Christy Waites’ Punchlines
“what I’ve learned…”
I had a harder time coming up with a scene for this assignment. I understood each of the figure of speeches, I hear them so many times used in overly comic shows and shows that just want to throw some comedy in (like I just watched Aquaman for the first time, and wondered why they had to throw in three bad setups for three bad punchlines—absolutely not needed if you ask me). So I had to work harder on this lesson. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything else but what I know, i.e. exaggeration. However, I did stick insult in at the end. Now I know what I need to work on to get more humor in my so call truecomedy scripts.
This scene is the result of Tavis McThorn secretly returning home after being away for three years in British Ruled India. He’s visiting his father office after he’s discovered some bad news.
TAVIS
Jack let’s face it. You’ve been stealing from my family since yours lost everything.
LORD MCTHORN
Ochs! I was suspicious, but I didn’t want to believe it!
In the outer room, the Young Woman Secretary is screaming.
Jack turns to face Lord McThorn who is holding his head with both hands and shaking it from side to side.
LORD MCTHORN
I trusted you! You are the son of my best friend!
Jack returns his attention to Tavis, his face turning red.
JACK
Why you, you dirty damn little thrum, you!
Jack, gritting his teeth, moves rapidly towards Tavis.
At the same time, Nair opens the office door and walks in. Tree-years-old, three hundred- and fifty-five-pound Tilly follows rapidly behind him. Tilly quickly ascertains the threat and pounces on Jack.
Grabbing the back of his pants by the waist, Tilly pulls Jack and sits down, leaving Jack in an acute angle.
She growls deep in her throat.
(PUNCHLINE: EXAGGERATION)
TAVIS
Ah, Tilly, my pet, I’m so happy to see that your first manhunt has been resolved. I do believe you will be eating off that carcass for days.
Jack struggles to see what is pulling on his pants.
JACK
What? What the hell is going on?
(INSULT)
TAVIS
I know his meat might be gamey, but a little bit of honey will make it taste tolerable.
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Christy Waites’ Character’s Intro
“What I’ve Learned…”
Once again, I turned to my current screenplay for this scene. The protagonist is introduced as a baby, and he ages during the first scenes. Still, his personality is developing during those scenes. The following is when the protagonist and antagonist meet for the first time and it follows through with the protagonist’s logline. Therefore, I’ve learned that I must match the protagonist logline to the intro of that character.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Protagonist Logline: Because he is small and is always amiable, Tavis is made the butt of jokes by larger bullies.
INT. MCTHORN HOUSE – SMALL PARLOR
Jack (14) stands over a table filling his mouth with cookies. His cheeks are full and he has a difficult time chewing. Tavis (13) enters and stands by the door.
TAVIS
(clears his throat)
Uh, hem.
Jack turns and gives a small wave, then points at his mouth. Once he finishes chewing and swallows, he wipes his mouth and hands with a napkin.
JACK
You must be Tavis. I’m Jack. Jack Baird.
Jack walks towards Tavis with his hand out, a large toothy grin on his face.
Tavis looks at his hand. It takes a moment before he realizes that Jack wants to shake his own.
He quickly moves towards Jack, his hand out, returning the smile; but when they meet, Jack turns up his hand and Tavis slides on the lacquered floor and trips because he couldn’t stop his momentum in time.
He falls onto the carpet.
TAVIS
Ooooof!
JACK
(laughing)
What are you, a thrum, Tavis McThorn?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>(The end of the visit:)
JACK
Well, Tavis. It’s been a pleasure.
He puts his hand out to offer it to Tavis. Tavis hesitates.
JACK (Cont.)
Oh, come on. I was just playing around with you earlier.
TAVIS
(chuckles lightly)
Oh, of course.
Tavis puts his hand out and walks towards Jack. Again, when they meet, Jack raises his hand; but this time, Jack also trips him with one foot. Tavis hits the carpet hard.
TAVIS (Cont.)
Ooooof!
JACK
(laughing)
You are such a thrum!
Jack continues to laugh as he walks towards the door. He stops when he notices a small glass figurine sitting on a table that was over the hard wood floor.
Jack knocks over the figurine and it breaks.
JACK (Cont.)
Oh, that’s so sad.
He glares down at Tavis who is still on the carpet.
JACK (Cont.)
Don’t you tell anyone that I did that.
He takes a couple more steps towards the door.
JACK (Cont.)
Oh, what am I thinking. They won’t believe a thrum like you!
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Christy Waites’ Funny Situations
Still keeping with my new screenplay first draft, I decided to write out a Montage from my outline that covers a big embarrassing scene for the protagonist that includes a Comedic Tragedy. I’ve been thinking this out as I was developing my outline, and now, from this lesson, I can see that I have been on the right track at making a terrible tragedy to the protagonist an actual funny bit after all.
In addition: This is an animation, so I’m working with adding funny sound effects where appropriate.
MONTAGE–TAVIS’S MISHAP ON THE PITCH
–Jack has the ball and is looking for a Red teammate.
–Tavis is leaving his position and is weaving around the Blue opponents without being seen. Finally, he jumps up and down waving his arms over his head.
BOING! BOING! BOING!
TAVIS
Me! Me! I’m clear! Throw me the ball! Throw me the ball!
–The ball flies over head in slow motion right into Tavis’s waiting hands. Noise of joy and anger raises in the stands.
–Tavis makes a large toothy smile while the force of the throw knocks him onto his back.
TAVIS
Oooooffffff!
THUD!
–The entire blue team is now aware of the fallen Tavis and the ball in his hands. One by one they zero in, run, and, THUMP, jump on top of him.
–A voice from an unknown source shouts something that spurs Tavis’s mates to also join the pile.
BOY (O.S.)
Dog pile on Tavis! Dog pile on Tavis!
–The umpire blows his whistle wildly, running across the field, but he’s unable to stop the dog pile from getting higher and higher. He blows one long trill over the pile.
TRILLLLLLL!
–Snickering, one by one, each boy leaves the pile. At the bottom, Tavis is still holding the ball, still smiling, but he is creating an impression into the field itself.
–The players on the field and most of the spectators point and laugh.
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Christy Waites’ Funny Situation
I’m developing a comedy screenplay right now, so I chose a scene where the protagonist meets his nemesis for this assignment. I like the possibilities of a Misinterpretation situation, so I wrote this part of the the scene to set up the misinterpretation and hopefully ended with
and inappropriate response, even if it isn’t very wild. I need to work on that, otherwise I like the conversation.
Pretext: Jack Baird (14) visits Tavis McThorn (13) for a short first meet. Tavis has no friends and has never had a visitor.
The boys are alone in the small parlor. Jack has been interrogating Tavis.
Jack begins sauntering around the room with his hands behind his back, looking at the various paintings on the walls and ceramic figurines on the end tables.
JACK
Why haven’t I seen you in school?
TAVIS
I’ve been ill. Much too ill for school.
Jack stops and peers at Tavis, his eyes squinting.
JACK
And you’re so much smaller than me.
TAVIS
Aye. My maw says it’s because of my illnesses.
Jack continues moving around the room.
JACK
Are you on any Kent youth athletic teams?
TAVIS
Athletics? You mean sports? Oh, no, not me.
Jack stops. He pushes out his chest and stands with his legs astride, both hands on his waist.
JACK
I’m the captain of the junior football and junior golf teams!
TAVIS
Oh? Well done!
JACK
Aye! One day, I’ll be old enough to start training in the back hold.
TAVIS
Maybe one day I can do all of that.
JACK
You? (beat) I have my doubts.
Jack returns to wandering. He vies a beautiful crystal figurine, picks it up, and tosses it over his shoulder. Tavis catches it before it hits the floor.
Jacks stops to face Tavis again.
JACK
What do you do all day long, anyway? What do you do for fun?
TAVIS
Oh, many fun things!
Jack waits patiently.
TAVIS
Uh, well, I like to read, especially myths of giants and mer-people!
Jack fakes a yawn.
TAVIS
And I write my own stories of dragons, and knights who save the Princess!
Jack sits in the nearest chair and drops his head to one side.
TAVIS
I put up bird feeders, and watch the birds. I have an entire sketch book of birds that I’ve drawn!
Jack rolls his eyes as his tongue drops from his mouth.
TAVIS
Oh, and I love tigers! I draw tigers from books I got from a real big game hunter!
Jack stands straight up and shouts.
JACK
Stop! I can’t take it any more!
TAVIS
Uh?
JACK
I meant, what athletic games do you play. What sports do you play for fun?
TAVIS
Oh. I don’t play sports like you do.
Jack throws his arms up.
JACK
Uggh!
Tavis body stiffens as his eyes go wide.
JACK
I thought I was going to meet an equal today, and instead I find a little strum!
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I’m sorry that I didn’t do this sooner.
Hello Everyone!!
1. Name? I like to be called Christy, but my full name is LuChristy Waites.
2. How many scripts you’ve written? 8: 3 shorts, 1 Hour TV pilot, 4 features. Working on my first comedy animated feature meant for the entire family, but aimed at children ages 8 years and up.
3. What you hope to get out of the class? I know what the elements of comedy are, but I need the practice in order to purposefully write a very funny comedy or be able to put purposeful comedy into any screenplay genre.
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? I like fantasy, but fantasy that’s really more towards the supernatural and the really weird than simply having stories with fairies, elves, dwarves, and such. I really love dragons. If I can fit a dragon into a story, I will. I also love Vampires and untypical zombies stories that make common sense (still a big Walking Dead fan).
And for those of you who wonder about my avatar, that’s me as a Wood Fae known as The FantaSim. Long story. Maybe I’ll share one day.
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<div>Christy Waites’ Comedy Plots</div>
“What I’ve Learned…”
This was fun, and I felt like I could do more. I took my characters from one of my high concept ideas from earlier this year and used them for this assignment. I’ve been watching the best animation movies of last year recently, so I now have animation on the brain. That’s what I was thinking when I was writing these plot ideas—adult animations, of course. After the two days of lessons here, I’ve found that this came easier than plot ideas for comedies have come to me previously. Then I feel that I was actually forcing comedy to happen.
Fish out of water: Bey, a winged,
horned Fae from the 7<sup style=”font-family: inherit;”>th</sup> Realm of Existence is placed in 21<sup style=”font-family: inherit;”>st</sup>
century Earth by her Master, Nadir, for disobeying a direct order. She
must survive, without her powers, as an Earthling in New York City for 30
days.Incongruent pairings: Bey, a
winged, horned Fae from the 7<sup style=”font-family: inherit;”>th</sup> Realm of Existence, is pitted
against Joseph, an ancient mighty Gollum, in a decathlon on Earth by their
Masters, Nadir and Zenith; however, Joseph becomes disillusion in winning for
his master’s pure enjoyment when he finds that he is in love with Bey. (ha! a Romantic/Comedy at that, and I hate Rom/Coms! :D)Hilarious purpose:
Bey, a winged, horned Fae from the 7<sup style=”font-family: inherit;”>th</sup> Realm of
Existence, is sent to find a rare flower, a Violet, in 21<sup style=”font-family: inherit;”>st</sup>
century Earth. However, since she has never seen a Violet before, (Is it bluer?
Is it redder? What do the leaves look like? Are the petals rosettes or
long with a point?), she is misled many times on her search. She must
succeed because in her realm, the Violet is the number one ingredient of a
powerful aphrodisiac. -
Christy Waites’ Funny Scene!
“What I’ve Learned…”
First, I stopped to think of the comedy movie that I’ve seen most recently that left me at the end with that over all “feel good” aura because it had me laughing all through the story. Which film not only had a good plot, but had extremely clever setups and punchlines? And the movie I came up with immediately was the third sequel to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted’s Face the Music. And I found that movie had a long intro that gave the viewer background, but was also the set up for the next four pages of punchlines with new setups. It just didn’t stop! So I learned that a good comedy grabs you immediately within the first ten pages, and doesn’t let go!
Lesson 1:
Script: BILL AND TED’S FACE THE MUSIC, 2020
SETUP:
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE:
CLOSE UP: VIDEO FOOTAGE OF BILL AND TED, 17 YEARS OLD, from
the beginning of “Excellent Adventure.”
CUT TO: BILL AND TED AT 19 – doing their guitar solo at the
end of “Bogus Journey” – the super-fast, virtuosic riffing..
SHOT: PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, watching.
CUT TO:
NOT LONG AFTER THAT (circa 1992): Bill and Ted, excited,
wide-eyed – the picture of youthful optimism. Being
interviewed by KURT LODER on MTV.
KURT LODER
In other music news.. Claiming they have
been told by “a civilization seven hundred
years in the future” that their music will
“do nothing less than save the world..”
Now on MTV we see a PHOTO OF BILL AND TED, age 20.
CUT TO: DISTANT, HAND-HELD VIDEO FOOTAGE of the guys handing
a ceremonial 4 foot check to the “FABULOUS FORUM” BOOKING
MANAGER. The footage is shaky and distant.
20 YEAR OLD TED
See you all here in twenty years – to
celebrate two decades of triumphance!
CUT TO: THE BAND VAN HALEN
SAMMY HAGAR
The only problem was – and it turns out to
be a pretty big problem..
PUNCHLINE:
EDDIE VAN HALEN
They never came up with a song.
ALEX VAN HALEN
The song, let’s say. Not to mention the
record. Or any record, really.
CUT TO: THE BAND IRON MAIDEN
BRUCE DICKENSON
They got record deals – we know that cuz
they paid us a ton to just basically be
session guys.
SETUP:
BRUCE DICKINSON
Yeah – cuz like, they kept saying to us:
“This has to save the world.”
QUICK SHOTS:
JEFF BECK
“No, Jeff – this has to save the world.”
JIMMY PAGE
And I remember saying: “Guys, it’s a
song.” The Beatles didn’t save the world.
Mozart didn’t save the world.
PUNCHLINE:
ERIC CLAPTON
“Save the world, save the world..”
Clapton rolls his eyes and makes the “jerk off” motion.
SETUP:
CUT TO: THEIR SONS NOW (INTERVIEWED ON TV)
years old now. Title: “WILL LOGAN AND THEO PRESTON.”
WILL
Okay, like, our dads – they were told – in
high school – that their music was gonna
save the world.
THEO
I mean that’s a lot of pressure. Like, if
somebody came to us, and told us that our
music was gonna save the world?
PUNCHLINE:
WILL
Well that would be pretty okay.
THEO
Yeah, I’d be good with that.
SETUP:
CUT TO: THEIR WIVES, now. Title: “JOANNA PRESTON AND
ELIZABETH LOGAN.”
JOANNA
Look, the point is, they took it seriously
– they take it seriously.
ELIZABETH
They really care, and they work hard.
It’s pretty much all they do, actually.
JOANNA
But they’ve found ways.. Certain,
whatever, ‘hobbies,’ you know, to cope.
CUT TO 1994: POLISH MTV
Not great video quality: the guys interviewed on a cheap
set.
PUCHLINE:
Ted is KNITTING some kind of thick, amorphous shape.
SETUP:
POLISH INTERVIEWER (O.S.)
(Polish accent)
What are you making there, Ted?
PUNCHLINE:
24 YR OLD TED
I never know. I just knit till it feels
done.