Dan Hart
Forum Replies Created
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Dan Hart
I agree to the terms of this release form.
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
6. Finally, I agree not to bring suit against anyone in this group for any reason, unless they use a substantial portion of my copyrighted work in a manner that is public and/or that prevents me from marketing my script by shopping it to production companies, agents, managers, actors, networks, studios or any other entertainment industry organizations or people.
This completes the Group Release Form for the class.
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1. Name Dan Hart
2. How many scripts you’ve written? more than 5
3. What you hope to get out of the class? Structure
4. Something unique, special, strange or unusual about you? No
We look forward to working with you all!
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ASSIGNMENT:
Create the 3-Act structure for your story.
1. Look through your three tracks (Mission, Villain, and Action) and find the points that could work for this structure.
1 OpeningNick plays in a high school football game in West Texas. Well he say benchwarmer on the team, he knows a lot about lightning and conductivity. While not playing, he watches the weather and tells the coach that they better vacate the field is the storm is coming. The coach makes one of him tells him to leave the field if he’s so concerned. What does Nick do to save the situation, protect his classmates and save the game? After the game, the quarterback Chad approaches him and congratulation for saving the team. Plus she promises to work one on one with Nick to see that he gets some playing time. Chad manages to get Nick to ride his science term paper. Chad uses the excuse that the science teacher discovers is plagiarism of the Internet and Chad sees nothing wrong with that. It’s just unfortunate.
2 Inciting Incident When Nick gets home she was junkyard, the three time traveler/geniuses wait for him naked and Disoriented. Why doesn’t Nick call the cops? Perhaps they say something that his father who is missing and has been presume to be dead. Maybe the three time traveler/geniuses recognize him from a picture in the house.
3 First Turning Point at end of Act 1 Saturday and the time travelers/geniuses are coming out of their confusion. Nick takes them to town or they get to pick up clothes that they were used to. First, they pass say costume store with a pirate standing in the window. Blackbeard recognizes his wardrobe it is ProFlex by the robber sword. Archimedes goes into a mattress store and takes a shit out of bed to make himself a toga. Who is the third person? Madame Curie? She just buys a secondhand dress but then surprises everybody with some technological device she buys to wear. ( note: Can’t make this Halloween because that’s too trite. Why would these guys be OK wearing costumes? Maybe it’s Chad’s party that night.? Maybe nicks dad is pulling the strings on this and knows that Halloween is a cliche.)
4 Mid-Point
5 Second Turning Point at end of Act 2
6 Crisis
7 Climax
8 Resolution
2. Fill in any missing points and tell us the current version of your structure with a sentence or two for each point.
3. Answer the question, “What I learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
4. Post your assignment in the forums at http://www.ScreenwritingClasses.com/forums
Subject line: (Your Name’s) Action Structure! (place in fir Sent from my iPhone
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Create a rough draft of your Action Track.
1. Answer the Action Questions:
A. Considering the concept from Lesson 1, what action could naturally show up in this movie?
I think we will need some physical, perhaps weather related catastrophe that serves as a time keeper of the show.
Action in the football field with aliens on both sides trying to get Nick
Action related to the time raveling geniuses- Bb scares people with flaming beard then hurts them with cutlass (rubber one) then real one -Archimedes invents machines that create action-Leo the same or Edison who wants to clear his name -does electricity
Action-by aliens to take over junkyard
B. Considering the Mission and Villain Tracks, what action could work for this track?C. How can the action start well, build in the 2nd Act, and escalate to a climax in the 3rd Act?
The football game. After Chad teaches Nick to be good enough to play the alien players try to kill him and torture him to get info on the field. And the coach won’t pull him out because he’s an alien
The coach
2. Select the types of action you’ll use.
A. Chase/PursuitB. FightC. ShootoutD. RescueE. Escape/EvadeF. CompetitionG. Dangerous SituationsH. InterrogationI. Torture
3. Sequence the action scenes to deliver your story. Give us your list of action scenes and the purpose of each scene.
4. Answer the question, “What I LESSEN learned doing this assignment is…?” and put it at the top of your work.
5. Post your assignment in the forums at http://www.ScreenwritingClasses.com/forums
Subject line: (Your Name’s) Action Track! (place in first line) Sent from my iPhone
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Lesson 4 answers Dan Hart
A) What might be the Villain’s plan to accomplish an evil outcome or to annihilate the hero? The plan could be pre-existing or created on the spot.
The villain’s plan is pre-existing. We will learn that these humans are aliens, but, in fact, they are actually human and alien. From their point of you, there are only humans in the universe. They really laugh when they see a scene like the cantina scene in Star Wars.
The aliens can communicate telepathically. That is their superpower. It turns out this power is available to our geniuses. They get it quickly. Nick is having a hard time doing it. He didn’t want to tell the geniuses about this, but it leaks out to the three of them and once they learn the secret they are able to do it.
The football player, Chad, is the head of the student aliens. There are a small number. All the males are on the football team and the telepathy helps a great deal playing. There are two teachers who are also aliens who are more hard-core about taking over the earth and getting rid of us. They tend to be more violent in any situation. The comic angle is that the teachers judge humanity by the teenagers they teach. Sometimes not a very good sample.
B) How many ways can the Villain attack or destroy the hero?
The villains are hindered in their ways to attack humans. Because they are humans without lethal super powers.
They can use all the methods that humans use against other humans. (Note: we should think about ways that they can enhance their telepathy so it’s more lethal.)
C. What advantage does the Villain have and how can they exploit that in this movie?
These aliens have one superpower which is telepathy. We can see them using it in everyday situations, mostly humorous, like cheating on tests and giving them powers on the football field that their teammates don’t have.
D) What would be a “fitting end” for these Villains where they pay for what they’ve done?
The fitting end is that, eventually, the younger aliens turn on their teacher leadersand they wish to stay on earth and live in peace. Yes, they will use telepathy for profit but not as a weapon. These aliens are sent back to closer times. To that is more livable. Perhaps, the treachers can be sent back to pre-historic times.
The students go into occupations that we will recognize( e’g. fortune tellers and magicians.)
1. MISTAKE: during the football game call the aliens use their telepathic skills and Nick senses something unusual
2. DILEMMA: Chad drops Nick off at the junkyard and Chad seas three geniuses all dressed in overalls. They seem retarded. The geniuses are still discombobulated by their time travel. Here Chad makes his typical deal for Nick to write his school papers.
3. DECISION: Chad makes a decision that he will volunteer to help out with the old man by bringing food, etc. Nick tries to resist him good naturedly. Chad suggests he’ll bring a couple of girls which the old men might enjoy. Seemingly, it’s all very innocent. Plus Chad volunteers to throw Nick some passes so Nick might get some playing time. Girls and playing time is a big attraction to Nick.
4. PLAN: The boss alien is the science teacher at the school. He has some evidence about the time machine being somewhere near Nick‘s junkyard. Chad has questions about Nick’s father and he finds out about these three seemingly cretin uncles.
5. PLAN this is after geniuses find more appropriate clothing for their time and place. Chad concedes they can wear these clothes while in the junkyard. Chad and the science teacher show up one night unannounced. Either the geniuses are going to a costume party or they change out of their clothes fast. The science teacher talks science to the geniuses and he gets some amazing answers. The teacher’s instinct is take all of them as prisoners and force them to make the TT.Chad resists that. He votes for continuing to play the nice guy and finding the time machine.
6. CAPTURE: The geniuses have found the broken Time Machine and theyt are putting it back together while trying to learn how to do time travel. Geniuses find that they need an immense amount of electrical energy to power the time machine. Nick and the geniuses are at the point they can experiment with the machine and calibrate if it works and what it can do. Here’s where the fourth genius/time traveler comes in. It’s Benjamin Franklin, lightning connoisseur, who is just bumming it around Lubbock mostly staying with women who are attracted to him because of his wit and this nature.(That is how Franklin was.) At this point near the end of the second act, science teacher and Chad Have have found Benjamin Franklin. They know who he is and they take him prisoner.
7. Nick and the geniuses find out that Benjamin Franklin was supposed to be snatched and placed here to help with the lightning as only he can
Note: The Aliens are telepathic. Aliens are actually humans. Aliens suggest they’ve never met aliens and some bar on another planet. It’s just a bunch of humans. That means the hero should be capable of telepathy. Three geniuses are able to do telepathy pretty easily, but it’s hard to teach the kids or maybe there’s a funny way to do it
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Dan Hart What I learned. I’m behind
Lesson 3 BASIC MISSION STEPS
Clear Mission: Nick must get his father back from the past and send these time travelers/ geniuses back to their correct time and place. All while defeating the aliens and preventing them from going back to their time and place
Motivation: Nick wants to save the earth and find his dad.
Inciting Incident: three nude disoriented men are in the junkyard when Nick returns from the initial football game accompanied by ChadFirst Action: Nick’s figures out who the Time travel/geniuses are : Archimedes, Leonardo and Black Beard. The Googal machine is in pieces. It exploded in the junkyard during this last time it was used. Archimedes remembers seeing Nick’s father in his time. 200 AD.
Obstacle: Why were these three chosen by the time machine? What do they have in common? How can they put this machine back together?
Escalation: Nick figures out that his so-called friend Chad is an alien villain in a human body who were picked up by the time machine several years ago in a giant lightning storm. Maybe Nick was not there and his father dealt with them.
Overwhelming Odds: The aliens control the football team and the cheerleaders plus several teachers who seem nastier than the kids. The alien’s superpower is that they can communicate telepathically without speaking
New Plan: Nick and the time traveler/geniuses must put the Googal machine back together to make it work They discover a fourth time traveler/ genius, Benjamin Franklin , who was sent at the same time. Ben decided to check out this future and have a good time.
Full out Attack: The aliens have figured out what is going on. They are not nearly as clever as Nick and his friends. Success: as they get the machine to work they will experience small time travel. This allows them to have a theory on how to calibrate the machine to send people back to the desired tome. Bad alien teachers are sent back to prehistoric time with dinosaurs. Alien students don’t really want to go back to the future. They’d prefer to be sent to a time and place on Earth where their telepathic powers can make them successful at that place and time on Earth. ( of course, now we have a problem that the students might screw up history with their activities in the past)
NOTE: where does Nick‘s father come in and how do we get him back?)
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Texas Tee
What I learned doing this assignment is top let ideas marinate in your head. You must also consider the tone of the piece.
Concept: A father disappears, leaving a teenage son alone, in their West Texas junk yard. Three historical characters are left in the father’s place, apparently arriving by a time machine.
Hero Morally Right:
Nick welcomes the three time travelers even though they are nude and disoriented. At turning point in act 1, Nick figures out who these people are. While he searches for his eccentric genius father, he vows to return them safely to the correct place and time. He is trying to save the world for all time.
Villain Morally Wrong:
A star high school QB, Chad befriends Nick, a bench warmer. Turns out Chad is an alien in human form who was inadvertently snatched out of the future where he and his alien colleagues were sent to take over Earth. The aliens are going to take over Earth in the future. They just need to get back to the future time.
Hero: Nick
A. Unique Skill Set: He is a very bright kid and very independent. HIS SUPER POWER IS THAT HE READS BOOKS. His unique skill is he knows history. He reads an old set of encyclopedias saved at the junk yard. He is a geek at school, although he made the football team on sheer grit. He has grit when fewer and fewer people don’t.<div>
B. Motivation: He wishes to get his father back and return the Earth to a safe time plan while not allowing the aliens to return to the future and conquest of the Earth.C. Secret or Wound : He is an only child who lost his mother. He can’t lose his father.
Villain; Chad the QB
A. Unbeatable: Leads a group of aliens teenagers and teachers. They are extremely popular given their rule as successful athletes and cheerleaders at the local high school. Their most effective power is telepathic communication with other aliens. Otherwise, they are kind of ignorant. They don’t know how to do time travel or space travel. They’re soldiers and bureaucrats, not scientists nor experts in their technology (like most humans).</div><div>
B. Plan/Goal Since they are not educated in time travel, they need Nick and the three historical figures/geniuses to get them back to the future on earth so they can plan the conquest of planet
C. What they lose if Hero survives: They lose their ability to conquer the earth and return to their own planet
Impossible Mission
A. Puts Hero in Action Nick uses his own skills and the skills of the famous time travelers/geniuses to reconstruct the time machine and provided the power to send them back. We have in mind a very specific mechanical device now present. It can provide speeds close to the speed of light which is needed for time travel together with massive amounts of energy.</div>
B. Demands They Go Beyond Their Best: The time travelers and geniuses of history must learn to work together and understand what the world knows now.
C. Destroy the Villain: Send the aliens to a time when they can do no harm and there is no chance at time travel.
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Texas Travelers:
Texas Travelers:
What did I learn
Look to the past to find the future.
Conventions
Hero: Dementia Puri-teen. Dementia lives in Lubbock, Texas.
Demand for Action: There are famous people out of their time and place living in her disappeared father’s junk yard.
Mission: Return them to their proper time and place
Antagonist: Aliens who appear like government agents. They were unwilling time travelers from the future when they planned to nvade us. Aliens are from Area 51 in nearby Rosewell, New Mexico. They want this time technology to return to their place and time. These aliens were snatched out of their future time here on Earth. Sure, they had time travel and space travel, but these guys are soldiers. They don’t know the technology. (How many humans can start a fire, no less design an airplane.)Aliens are human-like. Kind of screwed up aliens, but still dangerous. A dramedy comic tone here.
Escalating Action: What where they doing in the future? Once we find out we’re not going to want to send them back. Plus, they kidnapped Dementia’s father.
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Dan Hart
“I agree to the terms of this release form.”
GROUP RELEASE FORM
As a member of this group, I agree to the following:
1. That I will keep the processes, strategies, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class confidential, and that I will NOT share any of this program either privately, with a group, posting online, writing articles, through video or computer programming, or in any other way that would make those processes, teleconferences, communications, lessons, and models of the class available to anyone who is not a member of this class.
2. That each writer’s work here is copyrighted and that writer is the sole owner of that work. That includes this program which is copyrighted by Hal Croasmun. I acknowledge that submission of an idea to this group constitutes a claim of and the recognition of ownership of that idea.
I will keep the other writer’s ideas and writing confidential and will not share this information with anyone without the express written permission of the writer/owner. I will not market or even discuss this information with anyone outside this group.
3. I also understand that many stories and ideas are similar and/or have common themes and from time to time, two or more people can independently and simultaneously generate the same concept or movie idea.
4. If I have an idea that is the same as or very similar to another group member’s idea, I’ll immediately contact Hal and present proof that I had this idea prior to the beginning of the class. If Hal deems them to be the same idea or close enough to cause harm to either party, he’ll request both parties to present another concept for the class.
5. If you don’t present proof to Hal that you have the same idea as another person, you agree that all ideas presented to this group are the sole ownership of the person who presented them and you will not write or market another group member’s ideas.
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Hi Pamela
I like your scene and the new “buttons.” Your dialogue rings true like two people really having a conversation. You don’t say too much or too little. Interestingly, the final line might strike some as too literal, but at the end of the script is the time for the subtext to meet reality. I like this (and the line) scene a lot.
As an aside, due to some insomnia this week, I’ve been able to watch all five of the Pirates of the Caribbean films in succession. You know what? It was a fun exercise. I have always liked the films although a couple get overly goofy in their stories. However, IMHO, I have a new respect for the writers in that the dialogue is amazingly good throughout. This is in contrast to the Marvel world pictures where the dialogue isn’t as strong or funny. I am quite able to change my opinions on this. LOL
BTW. I heard a very interesting story about the very beginnings of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise when all Disney had was the ride.(It was told by an agent I heard at UCLA Extension a number of years ago.) I’ll post it here later.
Good writing,
Dan Hart
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What I learned:
SET UP These four pages are about two-thirds of the way through “Dancing with Defeat.” Chuck-It and Mandonna are starting to warm to each other. They are outside of the TV studio, taking a break from rehearsal, watching their entourages interact. I punched up the dialogue.
EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD – DAY
Chuck-It is outside in his dancing gear, taking a break.
Mandonna does the same thing. They notice each other.
They watch their two crews in sensing gear, pushing and kicking a medicine ball. A camera crews record it all.
MANDONNA
(nods towards field)
Practice. Fly. Hotel, Match. Practice Fly. Hotel. Match. Repeat. My life.
CHUCK-IT
The worst about away games is being away from my wife and home…like now.
MANDONNA
Where Mandonna is…is home.
CHUCK-IT
Didn’t you want a family?
MANDONNA
Ramses say Mandonna only loved for feet.
CHUCK-IT
You let that guy, Ramses, have a lot of power over you.
The two men blink away their sadness. Chuck-It surveys the whole scene before them.
CHUCK-IT
Do you think Hood has bad intentions with this computer game of his?
MANDONNA
There is nothing in world that Sandor Hood doesn’t have bad intentions about.
The two men hold their footballs and appear as they are – fellow footballers.
IN FRONT OF THEM
The hooligans enter their trailer.
The linemen enter theirs. Immediately, the trailer leans, balancing on one set of wheels.
CHUCK-IT
You know how many cities I stayed in but never saw?
MANDONNA
Ha! Mandonna stay every place. See nothing. Mandonna in Paris, one hundred times, no climb Eiffel Tower…except in Las Vegas.
CHUCK-IT
Ha! The only Disneyland I ever went to is in France. Nobody knows me.
MANDONNA
French cook McDonalds best. Deserve Michelin star.
In front of them, the hooligans’ trailer rocks violently. Noises from inside. BANG. BOOM. CRASH.
A window is busted out by a hooligan. He’s pulled back in by his associates.
The trailer is punched out from the inside.
Two hooligans tumble out of the trailer. They quit fighting, seeing the linemen’s precariously balanced trailer.
WHACK. Soccer balls hit the lineman’s trailer. It sways, then falls over on its side.
The hooligans high five, then reenter their trailer.
Chuck-It and Mandonna watch as if it’s all normal behavior.
CHUCK-IT
You a room service guy?
Mandonna shows Chuck-It his tattoo-covered menu arm.
MANDONNA
(points at arm)
Yes. Marriot menu. Hilton. Ritz-Carlton and–
Chuck-It spots golden arches on the underside of Mandonna’s arm.
CHUCK-IT
The Golden Arches?
MANDONNA
(turns arm to show)
Dollar value menu. Brought to hotel in Gucci bags. Otherwise, no leave hotel. Except zoo. Now, you tell me secret.
Chuck-It pulls out his good luck charm – attached to his keys.
CHUCK-IT
My mother and I have these lucky charms. Same thing in this plastic here. Don’t know what it is. She says I’ll remember.
MOMENTS LATER
The linemen climb out of their trailer. In formation, they barrel into the hooligan’s trailer. It flops over too.
The hooligans climb out. The two crews face off.
Mandonna drops a soccer ball at his feet. It’s kicked.
It bounces off the British Hooligan’s head.
All stop. Transfixed, the hooligans move to Mandonna. Linemen follow.
Mandonna balances a ball on his nose like a seal.
MOMENTS LATER
A soccer goal is manned by one goalkeeper.
A less-than-svelte Mandonna stands away from the goal with a ball. He shakes his head “no,” motioning for the massive linemen to be goalkeepers.
More people fill the goal.
Mandonna shakes his head “no” again.
More people block the goal. No opening.
Mandonna kicks. Goalkeepers break, leaving a hole. The ball curves. Goal!
Mandonna crushes the ball. Everybody ducks. Goal!
Mandonna fakes a crushing kick then lobs the ball. Goal!
Turned away from the goal, Mandonna flips the ball into air with his feet. A thunderous bicycle kick. Goal!
Chuck-It applauds with everybody else.
Mandonna dribbles the ball around, over and through everybody without losing the soccer ball. He is joyful.
MOMENTS LATER
Chuck-It spins a football on his finger.
An easy throw to Corey Johnson.
Unimpressed, the hooligans rest.
Chuck-It puts more heat on it. Corey snags the ball.
The hooligans sit up to watch.
Chuck-It waves the hooligans into the game.
Several hooligans chase Chuck-It who evades them. Hooligans crash into each other.
Chuck-It makes a high, hard throw.
Only Corey’s hands are visible. He snags the ball, then runs circles around his defenders.
Mandonna nods in appreciation.
Chuck-It throws another one.
The hooligans tackle Corey before the football arrives. More football on futbol violence. It’s a brawl between the two entourage.
Everything stops. Everybody’s mesmerized.
A GLISTENING HAND, as bright as the sun, descends between the warring sides.
It’s Mandonna’s right hand – held out by Ramses. There are huge rings on both hands. Both crews are transfixed.
RAMSES
Mandonna’s right hand is the cathedral of world football domination. He wears four World Cup Golden Ball rings…
(to the Americans)
…most valuable player to you.
Ramses switches to Mandonna’s left hand as if giving a tour.
RAMSES
This hand eclipses ring-capacity with seven rings from European Championships. Replicas available through Tiffany.
BRITISH HOOLIGAN
(to Chuck-It)
How many you got?
Chuck-It pulls out his key ring from his skin tight jeans.
BRITISH HOOLIGAN
I thought that was yo’ willy, mate. Made me feel less than.
FRENCH HOOLIGAN
But he has no championships. Rien.
SPANISH HOOLIGAN
Niente.
JAPANESE HOOLIGAN
Nani Mo.
BRITISH HOOLIGAN
Nothing.
Chuck-It holds up his left hand with his wedding ring.
CHUCK-IT
Only the most important one.
FRENCH HOOLIGAN
But that is over. Oui? Non? You have no mistress? Nothing from sport?
Chuck-It points out three black keys on his key ring.
CHUCK-IT
My wife, who is still my wife, calls them my “keys to unhappiness.” Losses. Two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl. I call them motivation.
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What did I learn? This is a great tool. Making scenes better structured also promotes more good writing.
SET UP – Chuck-It left the Super Bowl in the back of a squad car, arrested for his actions after the game. His wife, Cheryl, was arrested too.
1) EXT. POLICE STATION – DAY
A car with Chuck-It’s and Cheryl’s parents wait.
The doors of the station open. Chuck-It and Cheryl exit the police station, unwittingly divided by their LAWYERS.
From nowhere, a large passenger van, is low on its springs. Chuck-It’s huge linemen exit. The van bounces.
The five linemen turn and do a bare-ass welcome. They all have “Free Papa Pepe Pizza for Life” tattoos on their butts.
LARGEST LINEMAN
Papa Pepe cut us off!
LARGE LINEMAN
My exes are pissed!
MAX BLOCK
Boss, there’s other news.
CHUCK-IT
What?
MAX BLOCK
We’re to bring you to Hollywood to compete in a dance contest. It’s called “Dancing with Defeat.”
CHUCK-IT
What else you gonna’ dance with?
MAX BLOCK
No, it’s “Dancing with Defeat,” like “Dancing with Losers.” From all over the world.
CHUCK-IT
Oh, that’s what I am now. They want to make fun of me because I can’t dance.
LARGEST LINEMAN
You owe us bro’. Protectin’ you all these years. You gotta’ redeem us.
CHUCK-IT
We’ll do it next year on the field.
A LAWYER steps forward.
LAWYER
Mister Farr, I’m afraid the team is not picking up your contract.
MAX BLOCK
But listen. This Hood fellow is making us the center of some video game.
SMALL LINEMAN
You gotta’ do it or we’re all screwed.
Cheryl follows her mother into a car. Chuck-It goes to the open car door where Cheryl sits with her mother.
CHUCK-IT
Cheryl, you’re coming. Right?
CHUCK-IT
Not this time, Charlie. You don’t get it. Let me know if you do.
She pulls the car door shut. The car pulls away.
2) What am I trying to accomplish?
A. Put Chuck-It at the whim of his huge linemen.
B. Justify Chuck-It willfully joining the dance contest.
C. Make the scene more surprising.
Surprise.
Start with a surprise of smuggling Chuck-It past the press. We learn about his fate as the audience does.
Crucible
Chuck-It is forced to consider his linemen’s need. Plus, the stakes are raised. Chuck-It has been cut.
3) EXTERIOR. POLICE STATION – DAY
TV crews surround the station waiting on Chuck-It’s release.
Max Block exits the station carrying a big bag over his shoulder. Yet, he’s so big and strong, he makes it look small and light. Nobody could possibly be in that bag.
Max throws the bag into the van. Fooled, the media turns away.
CHUCK-IT (O.S.)
(from inside bag)
Hmmpff. What drill is this?
A hand unzips the bag from the inside. Chuck-It’s in the bag. He climbs out- still in uniform.
CHUCK-IT
Where’s Cheryl?
MAX
She got out last night and flew home with the families.
EXTERIOR. AIRPORT TARMAC – DAY
The van door pops open and the other five lineman jump out of the van simultaneously (as they do everything). Springs, relieved of their huge load, launch the van a foot off the ground.
The BIGGEST LINEMAN carries pizzas as they climb into the private jet.
INTERIOR. PRIVATE PLANE – DAY
The plane is aloft. Chuck-It exits the bathroom, having showered on the plane and changed into club sponsored gear.
All the lineman watch him unhappily.
CHUCK -IT
Why aren’t you guys eating? We got Papa Pepe and suds. Same as always.
Biggest lineman motions to the boxes of pizzas while cans of beer are thrown about.
BIBBEST LINEMAN
Chuck. Look at the pizza. You see anything different?
CHUCK IT
Same to me. Same setup every flight home. Free pizza and beer. Wait a minute…You guys didn’t order all the pizzas with pineapple. Did ya’?
The Smallest Lineman places a receipt under Chuck-It’s nose.
BIGGEST LINEMAN
You know what this is?
CHUCK-IT
A paper receipt? Haven’t seen one of those in awhile.
SMALLEST LINEMAN
Yes, a receipt. A fucking receipt! The difference is…it was for the first time in ten years that any of us had to pay for pizza.
BIGGEST LINEMAN
Do you know why?
CHUCK IT
No.
BIGGEST LINEMAN
Because we lost the one endorsement any offensive line in the whole world had. A nice sum each year–
SMALLEST LINEMAN
…enough to cover my alimony.
LARGE LINEMAN
My Texas exes are pissed!
The five linemen turn and do a bare-ass welcome. They all have “Free Papa Pepe Pizza for Life” tattoos on their butts.
ALL OF THE LINEMEN
(in unison)
To life! And free pizza for life–
BIGGEST LINEMAN
…as long as we maintain our tattoos.
CHUCK-IT
Don’t worry. We’ll get Papa Pepe back next year.
MAX BLOCK
There is no next year. They cut your ass, Boss.
CHUCK-IT
What? Cut me? Cut you guys? Wow.
MAX BLOCK
No, they just cut you, Boss. There’s other news.
CHUCK-IT
What?
MAX BLOCK
We’re to bring you to Hollywood to compete in a dance contest. It’s called “Dancing with Defeat.”
CHUCK-IT
What else you gonna’ dance with?
MAX BLOCK
No, it’s “Dancing with Defeat,” like “Dancing with Losers.” Famous people from all over the world.
CHUCK-IT
Famous losers. They want to make fun of me because I can’t dance.
LARGEST LINEMAN
You owe us bro’. Protectin’ your ass all these years. You gotta’ redeem us.
MAX BLOCK
But listen. There’s good news. Really good. This Hood producer fellow is making us the center of some huge video game. We’re all in it.
SMALL LINEMAN
You gotta’ dance or we lose that, too.
CHUCK-IT
OK, let me get home and talk to Cheryl first.
MAX BLOCK
Too late, Boss. We’re landing in L.A. In an hour.
-
Answer the question “What I learned doing this assignment is. You have to earn the dialogue. That means meaningful action. (Note: I’ve boldened and italicized the characters’ names to make it a bit easier to read.
Subject line: Dan Hart Meaningful Action
DANCING WITH DEFEAT
LOG LINE: America’s beloved quarterback, CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR, harboring a repressed ballerina complex, blows the Super Bowl, then seeks redemption by dancing against the world’s most eccentric soccer star
================
FADE IN:
EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY
A referee’s uniform patch reads: “SUPER BOWL LV, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA.”
The referee blasts his whistle, sprinting towards a dog pile of Dallas Cowboy and Pittsburgh Steeler players.
One footballer’s legs protrude vertically from the pile. They wave in the air with a ballerina’s grace.
BOTTOM OF DOG PILE
Dallas Cowboys QB, CHARLES I. “CHUCK-IT” FARR, number twelve, is the upside-down vertical player.
Steeler hands grope for the ball.
FARTING STEELER has his butt in Chuck-It’s face.
FARTING STEELER
Incoming!
BRAH. A gigantic fart. Other players contribute a cacophony of lesser farts.
CHUCK-IT
Show some respect! You don’t fart in a man’s helmet!
FARTING STEELER
Oh my, did I just expel intestinal gas into the helmet of America’s favorite quarterback, Charles I. “Chuck-It” Farr?…Incoming!
BRAH. Another gigantic fart.
FOOTBALL FIELD
As the players disengage, Chuck-It maintains his verticality until he drops his feet to the ground.
Chuck-It swings his helmet to air it out. Despite perpetual worry, Chuck-It has a natural lightness to his step.
FARTING STEELER
Nice dancin’, Chuck.
CHUCK-IT
I can’t dance.
The score board reads: “Dallas Cowboys-24 Pittsburgh Steelers-24.” Fourth quarter. Six seconds left. Third down.
The Cowboys offense stands at the Steelers forty-yard line.
Chuck-It Farr pulls a plastic good luck charm from his uniform and rubs it. Center MAXIMILLIANO FERNANDEZ, aka, MAX BLOCK watches.
ON THE SIDELINES
Dallas’ kicker EMORY WASHBURN takes his last practice kick.
CHUCK-IT
I like Emory…
(gestures to side line)
…but, really, a soccer player shouldn’t be winning a damned football game.
MAX BLOCK
Boss, better to kick, win and drink beer. That’s my plan.
ON THE FIELD
Chuck-It looks up at the mammoth video scoreboard. He’s still rubbing that good luck charm.
MAX BLOCK
The charm’s out. You worried?
Chuck-It stuffs the plastic-encased memento into his pants.
CHUCK-IT
I’m worried that a worldwide television audience can see things about me I can’t. Can they?
MAX BLOCK
Sorry, Boss. I got these fellas shortening my neck all day. I can’t see a damn thing.
IN THE STANDS
The four most important people in Chuck-It Farr’s life, all wear number twelve Dallas Cowboy jerseys.
CHUCK-IT (O.C.)
You know who can tell what’s going on? My wife.
CHERYL FARR, 30’s, gnaws on her fingernail. The name plate on her Cowboy jersey reads: “CHERYL FARR.” Forever cheerleader, Cheryl does an unconscious cheer routine in her seat.
CHUCK-IT (O.C.)
My mother-in-law is probably betting right now.
JOAN COOPER taps on her phone covertly away from her daughter Cheryl. “MOTHER-IN-LAW” is on her name plate.
CHERYL
Mom, Charlie’s out there playing his heart out. You promised you wouldn’t do this anymore…
JOAN COOPER
Honey, I’m hedging. For you.
CHERYL
Oh, Mom. Money is one thing we don’t worry about.
ON THE FIELD
Chuck-It holds up his good luck charm to the stands.
IN THE STANDS
Chuck-It’s MELODY FARR, 50’s, holds up an identical charm in response to Chuck-It. Her name plate reads, “MOM.”
CHUCK-IT (O.S.)
…my old man’s gonna’ send me to my room if I don’t win this thing.
CLIFF FARR mumbles to himself as if still coaching his son. On his jersey name plate is “QB MAKER.”
CLIFF FARR
(shouts loud)
Keep your head in the game, boy!
STEELER FAN (O.S.)
Hey Chuck-It, pull some dancin’ out your ass!
CLIFF FARR
(yells back)
He can’t dance! He’s a quarterback.
MELODY
C’mon honey. Don’t get pulled into that again. Please. Be mindful.
CLIFF FARR
Melody. I never said he “can’t” dance. I said he “can’t” dance…
(meaning he won’t let him)
…people don’t know the difference.
MELODY
You ever tell Charlie that?
INT. SUMPTUOUS HOLLYWOOD OFFICE – DAY
Out a window, through cigarette smoke, the Hollywood sign is visible. The smoke comes from SIR SANDOR HOOD, British TV impresario. He stands, surrounded by tailors, who appear to be tailoring a T-shirt.
A motto on the desk: “Reality doesn’t count unless it’s HD.”
Posters of Sir Sandor Hood’s reality shows: “Survival of the Fittest,” “America’s Super Singer” and “Dance Your Ass Off.”
MALCOLM, Hood’s assistant, is poised like a Wimbledon ball boy. With amazing quickness, Malcolm lights a cigarette, takes a drag, then replaces his boss’ finished cigarette. Like a cigarette pit-stop
ON THE TELEVISION
The Super Bowl is on.
SIR SANDOR HOOD
America’s quarterback. Bloody loser, he is. Does this bloke ever dance?
MALCOLM
Wall flower.
Malcolm presses buttons on the TV remote.
SERIES OF SHOTS – CHUCK-IT’S REPRESSED DANCING PHOTOS
A) Chuck-It and Cheryl Farr’s wedding party. Half-kidding, Cheryl takes a football snap from Chuck-It. The wedding party does likewise.
B) The wedding cake topper is Chuck-It handing off to Cheryl.
MALCOLM
While there’s zero dancing in his private life, our research shows repressed dance in his play.
C) In NFL play, Chuck-It Farr does a “grand jete”, a leap with a full split. Simultaneously, he fumbles the ball.
SIR SANDOR HOOD
An amusing grand jete.
D) More NFL play. Chuck-It does a “saut de chat.” His feet drawn to his chest. The ball flies out of his hands as if weightless.
SIR SANDOR HOOD
A brilliant saut de chat! At his moment of peak stress his football and dance minds are battling. And he’s unaware?
MALCOLM
Unaware…actually, extremely combative to the notion.
SIR SANDOR HOOD
(points at TV)
Anything today?
MALCOLM
Nothing, but the game isn’t over.
EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY
Still in timeout, Chuck-It’s interest is in the stands.
CHUCK-IT
Max? Is everything good, where the families are?
MAX BLOCK
Looks OK. You know Boss, your family could be sitting in the team’s box.
CHUCK-IT
My daddy must be within shouting distance of any and all games I’ve ever played.
ACROSS THE LINE
Farting Steeler leans over the line of scrimmage with his hand cupped to his helmet’s ear hole – eavesdropping on the Cowboys.
FARTING STEELER
(yells to mates)
Max Block got to remind mister-happy-feet-quarterback…there’s a game going on.
Max Block fakes like he’s going to go after Farting Steeler.
MAX BLOCK
I got happy feet ‘cause I been happy kicking your ass all day.
CHUCK-IT
If I could dance, don’t you think I’d know it?
FARTING STEELER
If you thought you were anything more than a mediocre quarterback with a hot wife, would you know it?
Chuck-It runs and grabs Farting Steeler by his face mask. Whistles SHRILL. Penalty flags.
REFEREE
Personal foul! Number twelve.
The ref marches the ball backwards – out of field goal range.
IN THE STANDS
Cliff slams his program down.
CLIFF FARR
What’s he doin’ out there?
MELODY
Honey, it’s better now. It’s too far to kick. Charlie’ll win it!
Always consoling, Melody rubs her daughter-in-law Cheryl’s shoulders. Cheryl responds with a wishful look.
CHERYL
He’ll do it this time. Won’t he?
All the fans get to their feet.
Seemingly from out of nowhere, a toddler takes baby steps down the row, passing Joan and then Cheryl.
Cheryl’s the only one to sense his presence. She looks on with concern.
FROM THE AISLE
A DRUNK COUPLE motions the toddler to stop.
CHERYL
What a beautiful baby.
(to all)
Whose baby is this?
DRUNK HUSBAND
He’s ours…
Drunk Fan gets an ugly stare from his equally drunk wife.
DRUNK WIFE
…we’re babysitting him for my sister.
DRUNK HUSBAND
Missus Farr, my wife and I sympathize with your impregnation problem. We thought, maybe if you borrowed this baby for this one play–
CHERYL
Borrow a baby? What?
DRUNK FAN’S WIFE watches this all critically.
DRUNK WIFE
My husband means you should hold this boy during this historic moment.
DRUNK HUSBAND
(sotto to wife)
And your sister wants him back?
DRUNK WIFE
What? You’re an idiot! She’s on a cruise. Not dead. You’re drunk.
DRUNK FAN
You’re drunk.
CHERYL
You’re both drunk! This is no place for a baby.
(pulls out cell phone)
I’m texting security.
DRUNK FAN takes the baby back.
ON THE FIELD
Still in time out, Chuck-It jogs towards the sidelines. He scans the stands, making an interlocking “hook ‘em horns” University of Texas hand signal.
IN THE STANDS
Despite the baby drama, Cheryl returns the hand signal. It is so automatic.
ON THE FIELD
COACH WILSON watches, his mouth wide open in disbelief.
COACH WILSON
Tell me, Farr. Are you winning a Super Bowl or having a nervous breakdown?
CHUCK-IT
It’s not a this-or-that thing, is it, Coach? With these long ads, I just get to thinkin’–
COACH WILSON
Oh, no…
Chuck-It looks at to the electronic signage which dominates the stadium.
INSERT – SUPER BOWL TV AD
Coincidentally, Chuck-It and Cheryl walk hand-in-hand down a beautiful beach. Their Rolex tandem watches glisten against the setting sun. The Kayron reads ,” __________________”
CHUCK-IT
Not a good time for that–
COACH WILSON
What are you thinkin’ ‘bout Farr? Get it out.
CHUCK-IT
My daddy has always preached that “football is numero uno.”
COACH WILSON
He’s right. So, go play like you’re in that famous backyard he made.
CHUCK-IT
I don’t ever go in the backyard, Coach. Not even in my head.
COACH WILSON
Quit thinkin’, Farr. Damnit! Just play!
(scans his play card)
Run “Two Jet All Go.”
CHUCK-IT
Ok, Coach. I’m pure play. No thinkin’.
Chuck-It furrows his brow. Inner conflict.
He trots back unto the field.
ON THE FIELD – MOMENTS LATER
Chuck-It stands behind center, calling signals. He takes the snap, then fades back to pass.
Receiver COREY JOHNSON sprints downfield.
Chuck-It’s encircled by Steelers. He spins away. From nowhere, Farting Steeler looms above him, blocking the view.
Chuck-It elevates on his toes like a ballerina. He can see downfield. He heaves the ball.
BLAM. He’s knocked face first into the grass. He’s out.
BACK OF THE END ZONE
Corey Johnson leaps. The ball is in his hands. A sure TD…
…except a defender snatches the ball away. The crowd roars.
BACK UP THE FIELD
Chuck-It wakes and rolls over. Goofy, he gets to his feet, looking towards the stands…
…while the interceptor runs free.
Chuck-It’s in a position to tackle him, but instead he’s celebrating with a sky-point. He thinks he’s won!
He’s smashed again by a blocker.
The interceptor runs by, heading for the winning touchdown.
Chuck-It’s back on his feet. He’s still celebrating.
IN THE STANDS
Shocked by the calamity, Drunk Fan drops the baby. Yikes!
SLOW MOTION
The baby falls through space.
Cheryl’s eyes open wide with terror. She dives, making a shoestring baby catch. The baby giggles – enjoying it all.(NOTE: No babies were hurt in the writing of this screenplay.)
CHERYL
You can’t be trusted with this baby! I’ll find security.
Protecting the baby, Cheryl descends the stairs.
ON THE FIELD
Chuck-It sprints towards the stands as Cheryl descends.
Cheryl bends over a wall to hand the baby to Chuck-It. Crowd noise blocks out her shouts.
Chuck-It takes the baby. In the mayhem, he’s pushed away.
CHUCK-IT
Cheryl? Is that our baby? For winning the Super Bowl? Is it a he or a she?
-
WHAT I LEARNED. I am still behind so I’m putting my work in progress up here. I’ll fill in the last couple of lessons in the next few days.
If you’re intested in partnering up, you can probably just read the synopsis. The beat sheet is for me at this point and organized by color which I don’t have here.
In addition, I have just gone through the first two thirds.
DANCING WITH DEFEAT
America’s beloved quarterback, CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR, harboring a repressed ballerina complex, blows the Super Bowl, then seeks redemption by dancing against the world’s most eccentric soccer star, MANDONNA, and other celebrity losers.
In my football versus futbol comedy feature, DANCING WITH DEFEAT, the Super Bowl is tied. Time for one last play. Our hero quarterback fades back to pass. Cornered, he elevates like a ballerina, letting loose with a pass. BLAM! He’s knocked silly. Waking moments later, he jumps to his feet, celebrating, believing he’s won. Tragically, during his celebration, his pass was intercepted and run back for the winning touchdown.
Thus, quarterback CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR loses everything: Super Bowl, new contract, endorsements, fans and, most importantly his equally beloved wife, CHERYL FARR. For good measure, they break up on the Super Bowl postgame show. Chuck It Farr is hero to zero in one play.
For redemption, Chuck It competes on TV’s “Dancing with Defeat” against other celebrity losers including MANDONNA, the Elvis of soccer. Mandonna humiliates himself in a manner similar to Chuck It. No more a soccer demi-god, he’s just a “broke and broken” soccer player.
Chuck It can’t dance a lick until he remembers and embraces his toddler-aged ballerina brilliance. Only then can he find balance in his life, win Cheryl’s love back and win himself a Super Bowl.
Mandonna, the “Great Goaler Bear of Madrid,” loves polar bears. He spent his only billion dollars to secretly move scores of polar bears from the Arctic to the Antarctic. More ice toi be sure, but also “pinguinos”. Mandonna is racked by guilt that his bears have developed a taste for penguins.
Mandonna considers himself too famous to love or be loved. Even though he dances perfectly, Mandonna won’t touch his All-American partner, TAMMY. Yet, she’s the only person in the world who doesn’t know who he is.
The show’s megalomaniacal British producer, SIR SANDOR HOOD, schemes to destroy both men and their sports. On their way to the epic finals, Chuck It and Mandonna learn more than dance steps, recover love and save both footballs.
DANCING WITH DA’ FEET? What else ya’ going to dance with?
BEAT SHEET
DWD112621 — CHARACTER REPORT FOR ALL CHARACTERS
DETAIL:
1) Scene: EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY P.1-4
EV 8
CI REVEALS CHARCTER -NEEDS WORK!
2) Scene: EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY P.1-4
EV 6
heighten melody and cliff’s relationship. maybe foreshadow can’t versus can’t thing. cliff tells melody what she can’t and can’t do.
Play Up Cheryl catching her-mother betting. Leave button with Joan talking about nothings wrong with betting because she didn’t bet Chuck to win
3.)Scene: EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY P.5-11
NEED ANIOTGHER BUTTON FOR MELODY: Honey, it’s better now. It’s too far to kick it. Charlie’ll win it!
4) Scene: EXT. SUPER BOWL FOOTBALL FIELD – DAY P.5-11
EV 10
CI BLOWS SB. CONCUSSED. WANDERS AROUND FIELD REVEALING FEARS BELIEVING HE’S WON.
5) Scene: EXT. OUTSIDE STADIUM – NIGHT
EV 9 P.11-13
CI AND CHERYL ARRESTED OVER KERFLUFFEL ABOUT THE TODDLER HANDED TO CHERYL NEAR THE END OF THE GAME. REVEALS RELATIONSHIP WITH CHERYL. GOOD SCENE. MAY NEED BETTER BUTTON
Here Cheryl’s mother answers question about her betting and that she bet Charlie to lose. What’s wrong with that? It’s opens up the bedding I was another one of Chuck’s problems with NFL
6) Scene: EXT. SALT LAKE CITY SOCCER STADIUM – NIGHT P.14-17
EV 9
MANDONNA: (Spanish accent)NO!
MADONNA AT MLS CHAMPIONSHIP – PLAYS WITH HIS JHANDS IN HIS POCKETS TO HANDICAP HIMSELF VS. US PLAYERS. MANDONNA IS SUPPOSEDSLY HURT OVER THE HANDBALL AGAINST US IN WC.
Scene: INT. TENT – NIGHT P.18-19
MADONNA EXPLAINS WHAT HIS MOTIVES WERE TO REPORTERS. (OR INDEED, RAMSES, DOES. WE DON’T SEE MANDONNA’S HANDS. (YMAKE A JOKE HERE.)
7) Scene: FLASHBACK – INT. ESPY AWARDS STAGE – NIGHT P.17-18
EV 7
INTRO CI AND MANDONNA BACKSTORY. HEIGHTEN DIFFERENT WORLD VIEWS AS EXPRESSED BY DIFFERENT FOOTBALLS. MAYBE THE TWO BALLS TOGETHER AND SOLILOQUOY LIKE HAMLET.
8) Scene: EXT. POLICE STATION – DAY P.22-24
EV 4
CI AND CHERYL RELEASED FROM JAIL. LEARN ABOUT “DANCING WITH DEFEAT” REALITY SHOW. MORE JUSTIFICATION. NEEDS WORK.
9) Scene: INT. PRIVATE JET CABIN – CONTINUOUS
EV 7
CI ON AIRPLANE WITH GAME PREP. REVEALS HIS INABILITY TO RAISE ABOVE HIS FOOTBALL MIND. GOOD SCENE. NEEDS ADDITIONBAL THOUGHT.
10)SCENE- BALLLING FOOTABAALL IB CARAVAN- RETHINK SCENE p.24-27
EV 8
Scene: INT. PRIVATE JET – CONTINUOUS
MANDONNA FLIES TO LA WITH CREW. HEIGHTEN RAMSRES, EXPLAIN SOCCER HOLOLIAGNS AND TOUCH ON MAN’S OBSESSION WITH POLAR BEARS AND WHY HE IS. ANS. HE CAN LOVE THEM AND HE THINKS THEY LOVE HIM BACKK.
P.28-30
11)Scene: EXT. HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD PARADE – DAY P.32
EV ? Rewrite!
Change scene to being thrown out by crowd or kicked out the soccer balls. Check it won’t throw the ball for fear of being charged with attack with a deadly weapon. Madonna looks on and stops crown by showing his hands. Just a bright light. Check it and crew I repelled by bright light
Watching parade on TV,Cheryl should reference betting problem with her mother.
12) Scene: INT. STAGE WINGS – DAY
EV 9
ON STAGE AT DWD. INTRO TO DWD AND CI’S BEING UNCOMFORTABLE IN ANY NON-FOOTBALL SITUATION.CHARCTRER iNTERTWINE WITH CLIFF YELLING. P.35-38
Mandonna intro in DANCING WITH DEFEAT. It should be in the reveal here in Mandonna’s ark
13) Scene: FLASHBACK – INT. ESPY AWARDS STAGE – NIGHT
EV 9
BACK STORY. CI AND MANDONNA’S RUN-IN AT ESPY’S. MANDONNA ACCIDENTALLY BREAKS LEG GETTING HIM SOLD TO MLS – GOOD LINE, BUT HEIGHTEN CHARCATER FLAW AND CHERYL’S GOONESS AND CODDLING CI. P.38-39
14) Scene: INT. DANCING WITH DEFEAT STAGE – CONTINUOUS P.40-46
EV 10
FIRST SCENE CI AND MANDONNA SHARE THOIUGHTS ON SITUATION.GOOD SCENE. ADD SOME MORE OF MANDONA’S INSIGHT INTO SANDOR AS SPORTS OWNER AND HOW BAD HE IS FROM MANDONNA’S POV.
Mandonna and Chuck argue about worth of fathers since Cliff car is so dominant in Chuck’s life
15) Scene: INT. CHUCK-IT AND EVA’S PRACTICE STUDIO – DAY P.46-4\
EV 6
CI AND EVA PRACTICE. EVA SIZES UP CI. GOOD SCENE. MIGHT NTRO CI TALKING POSITIVELY ABOUT CHERYL AND HIS PLAN TO GET HER BACK. EVA WANTS TO HOOK THUS GUY.
16) Scene: INT. MANDONNA AND TAMMY’S PRACTICE STUDIO – D… P.49-50
EV 9
Need a scene with Ramsey‘s here Explaining his relationship with Mandonna. Ramses will sort of fight off melodies help for Mandonna
Melody refers to Mandonna as “that poor man” who is manipulative by Ramses
Non-speaking.
Come up with a joke about Chuck’s handwriting
VERY IMPORTANT SCNE. MELODY BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS FOR MANDONNA AND RAMSES PUTS THEM RIGHT OUT AGAIN. MELODY SEES THROUGH RAMSES. CLIFF DOES HIS “CAN’T” ROUTINE HERE.
17) Scene: EXT. WALKWAY OUTSIDE THE TV STUDIO – DAY
EV 5
CI TRIES TO CHANGE BY LEAVING VOICE MAIL (VERSUS TEXTING). HE REVIEWS HIS FOOTBALL MIND. THEN EVA TEMPS INTERFERS WITH DANCE “PLAYBOOK”. P.50-56
Really get into the beauty of the two sports Mandonna might explain how many women he’s had. He loved and liked very many of them, but they always seem to disappear. Ramses overhears as a force smile check it catches
CHUCK-IT: (into phone)
Look, Sweetie. No hands. No text. I’m using voice mail. World’s gotta’ change, right? You gotta’ see this Mandonna. He’s so famous, he’s can’t be himself. Now, you know me. There’s me and then there’s the famous me. This dancin’ thing has opened up my mind a little. Maybe change my throwing motion a bit…Oops, bet you didn’t want to hear about football…Hey, I’m revamping my offense…Shoot, that’s talkin’ ball…I’m hiring a new staff…Darn, that doesn’t work either…I’m tryin’, Honey. I really am.
CHUCK-IT: What’s this?
CHUCK-IT: “The book I play with?” Oh, you mean my playbook?
(leafs through book)
The Foxtrot? That’s our dance this week? Slow. Slow. Quick. Quick.
CHUCK-IT: If I think about it, I can’t do it.
CHUCK-IT: That’s what my coach is always saying.
(thinks)
In football language, the Fox Trot is “down and out.”
CHUCK-IT: I can see that.
CHUCK-IT: Emory. What you doin’ here?
CHUCK-IT: (to Eva)
Emory’s sensitive about just being a kicker.
CHUCK-IT: Hey, Corey. Go out.
18) Scene: INT. THE VIEW STAGE – DAY P.57-69
EV ?
MELODY SDDURING THE VIDEOS SHOWN ON THE VIEW. SEE MELODY AS A YOUNG PERSON, SHE ALMOST LITERALLY DANCES TGHROUGH LIFE. CLIFF IS MORE PROSECUTORIAL THAN BEFOPRE. IT’S
19) Scene: INT. DANCING WITH DEFEAT STAGE – DAY
EV 10
GOOD SCENE. P.56-68
CHUCK-IT: Hut…hut…
CHUCK-IT: Warming up.
CHUCK-IT: (looks at his phone)
Well, I need a warm up and I gotta’ try to call my wife again. We always talk before games.
CHUCK-IT: That’s harsh.
CHUCK-IT: Had? You lost a billion bucks? Do we have the same mother-in-law?
CHUCK-IT: No baby Mandonnas?
CHUCK-IT: Wow. Who counted?
CHUCK-IT: Chuck-It with one woman forever and Chuck-It can’t get her pregnant.
CHUCK-IT: I thought I’d try third person.
CHUCK-IT: Tell me something. Did Mandonna really spend a billion dollars?
CHUCK-IT: A mom’s worth a billion. For sure.
CHUCK-IT: We have to compete against her?
CHUCK-IT: And ate him? You believe that?
CHUCK-IT: What do polar bears eat?
CHUCK-IT: Pinguinos? Sounds even cuter that way. You know the movie about the little penguin…pinguino…who danced? I cry like a baby every time I see it. Don’t know why exactly. But I don’t remember polar bears eating pinguinos. I thought it was a shark–
CHUCK-IT: Give it to charity…Mom? Dad? What happened to my brother?
CHUCK-IT: (to himself)
You know. I never go into the backyard. Not even in my head. But I do kind of remember that throw.
CHUCK-IT: Somebody’s playing a joke. Russians maybe.
19)Scene: INT. HOLLYWOOD – DANCING WITH DEFEAT STADIUM … P.69-72
EV ?
Maybe this is a good time for Cheryl and Joan to go to Hollywood.Big question who has checks toddler videos and what do they do with them?
Think about The View scene
CHUCK-IT: (freezes)
That’s what they called me at the Super Bowl.
CHUCK-IT: Fake.
CHUCK-IT: Not that!
CHUCK-IT: Something else. My mom likes dancing.
CHUCK-IT: “Words that bring balls?” Oh, you mean the snap count.
CHUCK-IT: Hurry. Hurry. Hut. Hut.
CHUCK-IT: Don’t say that!
CHUCK-IT: But I could hurt someone. My thrown football is a lethal weapon.
20)Scene: INT. DANCING WITH DEFEAT STAGE – NIGHT P.72-75
EV ?
CHUCK-IT: Her mother is–
CHUCK-IT: No, no. She’s not really sick. She just gambles a lot.
CHUCK-IT: Most of the money she gambles is ours. Lucky, we have some. Otherwise, she’s nice.
CHUCK-IT: That was only after big games.
21) Scene: EXT. ATHLETIC FIELD – DAY P.75-82
REVEAL MORE ABOUT THE TWO MYSTERIES OF MANDONNA’S HANDS AND CI’S LUCKY CHARM HE RUBS AT MOMENTS OF STRESS. HEIGHTEN THESE TWO THINGS. HEIGHTEN RAMSES CONTROL.
END OF REVIEW 3/4/2022
MELODY STIULL TRIES TO BREAK IT EASY WIRTH CHUCK.HE’S NOT BUYINHG IT.
CHUCK-IT: The worst was being away from my wife and home. Like now.
CHUCK-IT: Didn’t you want a family?
CHUCK-IT: You let that guy, Ramses, have a lot of power over you.
CHUCK-IT: Do you think Hood has bad intentions with this game of his?
CHUCK-IT: You know how many cities I stayed in but never saw?
CHUCK-IT: Ha! The only Disneyland I ever went to is in France. Nobody knows me.
CHUCK-IT: You a room service guy?
CHUCK-IT: Are those the Golden Arches?
CHUCK-IT: My mother and I have these lucky charms. Same thing encased in this plastic here. Don’t know what it is. She won’t tell me.
CHUCK-IT: Only the most important one.
CHUCK-IT: My wife, who is still my wife, calls them my “keys to unhappiness.” Losses. Two NFC Championships and a Super Bowl. I call them motivation.
CHUCK-IT: It’s my lucky charm.
CHUCK-IT: My cleats?
CHUCK-IT: What did I just do?
CHUCK-IT: I’m going to lose the competition tonight. Then, they’ll have to let Cheryl join me in exile.
CHUCK-IT: All those people telling me, I’m a good dancer. No, I’m not. I’m a quarterback. I can’t dance. Maybe there’s some little dude dancing inside me, but I’m a grown ass quarterback. I’m not switching the football guy for the little dancer.
CHUCK-IT: Don’t you? Who’s inside you?
CHUCK-IT: For the game?
22) Scene: INT. DANCING WITH DEFEAT STAGE – NIGHT P.82-83
EV ?
Non-speaking.
23) Scene: INT. BACK STAGE – CONTINUOUS P.83-84
EV ?
CHUCK-IT: Who’s that? They’re hot.
CHUCK-IT: When?
CHUCK-IT: Now? Am I missing something?
CHUCK-IT: He’s not president anymore.
CHUCK-IT: Sandor won’t make us computers any more and you’re not going to be a Communist…unless you want to be. Let’s win.
24) Scene: INT. CHUCK-IT’S DRESSING ROOM – DAY P.88-90
EV ?
CHUCK-IT: Hood’s unveiling his computer game tonight.
CHUCK-IT: I’m not playin’, Dad. Just talkin’.
CHUCK-IT: I know. Mom told me.
CHUCK-IT: Or a dancer?
CHUCK-IT: “Can’t dance” and “can’t dance.” They are different. My dad says I can dance! I’m not bad at it?
25) Scene: INT. DANCING WITH DEFEAT STAGE – NIGHT P.90-91
EV ?
Non-speaking.
26) Scene: INT. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL CHAMBER … P.91-93
EV ?
CHUCK-IT: I know you’re having fun, but would you please listen? My friend Mandonna has this foot thing all wrong.
(holds football)
This ball is called a football because it’s a foot long.
CHUCK-IT: Yes, it’s called a “pig skin.”
CHUCK-IT: No. No. It’s really cow hide.
(points at ball)
“Genuine cow hide.” Says right here.
(boos start)
Well, at least no American football game I’m aware of ever used a human head.
(to massive boos)
Ooops, that was pretty stupid.
(holds up American football)
See. It’s not even shaped like a head. Couldn’t do it!
27) Scene: INT. CHUCK-IT’S DRESSING ROOM – CONTINUOUS P.98-99
EV ?
CHUCK-IT: Just practicing for tonight.
CHUCK-IT: I have an idea.
28) Scene: EXT. LOS ANGELES ZOO – DAY
EV ? P.99-102
CHUCK-IT: Why didn’t you kick it?
CHUCK-IT: Just my offensive line.
CHUCK-IT: We’ve all been deceived….Let me ask you a question. Why polar bears?
CHUCK-IT: Like you? Maybe?
CHUCK-IT: This is fish, isn’t it?
CHUCK-IT: Wait a minute. In the dancing penguin…er, pinquino movie, there were no bears.
CHUCK-IT: Who’s we?
CHUCK-IT: And you spent a billion dollars?
CHUCK-IT: (sotto)
I don’t want to offend, but doesn’t Ramses have too much power over you?
CHUCK-IT: My wife won’t talk to me, so I communicate through the show with hand signals.
(shows hook ‘em horns)
Sandor Hood makes it look like I love Eva. And Eva is helping him.
CHUCK-IT: How? I call. No answer. If I leave the show, I’m exiled.
CHUCK-IT: I’d look like a real loser.
CHUCK-IT: (to Zookeeper)
Isn’t that dangerous?
CHUCK-IT: Mandonna pays for the exhibit? How? He’s broke.
CHUCK-IT: Does Fluffy think this is a penguin?
CHUCK-IT: Wasn’t she in Antarctica?
Scene: LATER P.104-111
CHUCK-IT: There is more to life than football. Dance!
(to entourages)
There may even be some who are courageous enough to dance with you.
CHUCK-IT: You worked with Sandor and Ramses to sell out Russian children? For gold?
CHUCK-IT: Find someone else to dig. Our playbook is closed.
CHUCK-IT: This is dedicated to my dear mother, Melody Farr, and my wonderful wife, Cheryl, who I love very much.
CHUCK-IT: Thanks, Dad.
CHUCK-IT: (to the camera)
I miss you, honey. The good about losing big games or just being a loser, was that it was nothing compared to the pain of losing you.
CHUCK-IT: Cheryl, will you dance with me?
CHUCK-IT: This vote is not real. Sandor Hood decided who won. How else could I have reached the finals? However, I will accept my loss and exile because Mandonna is the superior dancer.
CHUCK-IT: Sandor Hood is buying up the world’s football fields and spreading lies about the safety of grass. Our children are losing their places to play.
(turns to Mandonna)
And to my friend Mandonna, all the money you believed gone was stolen by Ramses. No bear was ever moved. No penguin ever eaten.
CHUCK-IT: Authorities have taken steps that have identified all of your stolen assets. They are frozen–
CHUCK-IT: In the banks.
CHUCK-IT: All footballers will join us. We will protect these fields from predators like–
CHUCK-IT: You are the unscrupulous character.
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LOG LINE – America’s beloved quarterback, CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR, harboring a repressed ballerina complex, blows the Super Bowl, then seeks redemption by dancing against the world’s most eccentric soccer star, MANDONNA, and other celebrity losers.
NOTE: CI is Chuck It
A. OPENING
1) Super Bowl tied. Last seconds. Charles I. (Chuck It) Farr QB, drives his team. His fans pray he doesn’t screw up and make bad moves that resembles dancer moves.
2) In stands, Cheryl Farr leads the wives and their family. (Cheryl’s mother is a big gambler on football. Her motivations are Cheryl, money, then Cheryl’s marriage.)
3) The public knows they can’t conceive a baby. At this moment of peak drama, a drunken couple offers Cheryl a toddler to hold for good karma. DRUNK DROPS THE BABY! Cheryl makes a Lamar Chase-shoestring catch of the dropped baby. Baby laughs. No hurt babies!
B. INCITING INCIDENT
4) Last play. Chuck It goes up on his toes like a ballerina and chucks it. Last thing he sees is his receiver reaching for the ball in the end zone. A sure touchdown. Not so quick. Concussed, Chuck It gets to his feet thinking he’s won. Meanwhile, the pass was intercepted and run back for the winning touchdown as Chuck It continues Sky and Thor pointing skyward.
5) Not wanting to hand the baby back to these drunks, Cheryl brings baby to the field to find Chuck It and the authorities to report the drunks. Chuck It’s overjoyed. Still concussed and still believing he’s won, he thinks the baby is a newly adopted son. A surprise baby for winning the Super Bowl prize to him. He names him Danny for the “dancer” label the crowd always chants derisively at him. “I’m taking my Disney to Dannyland…err…Danny to Disneyland.”
6) Finally, Chuck It’s defeat becomes evident to him. He quarrels with Cheryl as part SB post game coverage. The drunken couple shows up and accuses the Farrs of stealing their baby (Danny is the baby of the drunken woman’s sister who is on a cruise.) Chuck It runs away with Danny tucked under his arm like a football. No babies hurt in “Dancing with Defeat.”
7) Chuck It and Cheryl end their Super Bowl day by being arrested and put in separate squad cars – Chuck It still in uniform.
C. BY PAGE 10, YOU KNOW WHAT THE MOVIE IS ABOUT.
8) A week later. The Major League Soccer Championship. Mandonna, the world’s most eccentric and famous futboler, was sold from his beloved Real Madrid to Real Salt Lake City. Mandonna hasn’t played or even spoken…until now the climax of the championship game.
9) Mandonna finally plays! Mandonna’s fat.(He loves American fast food but claims to dislike America because of bad soccer).
10)Teammates carry him like weapon. Mandonna is still brilliant with his feet. It’s an easy header to win the MLS championship. Instead, he bicycle-kicks the length of the field, scoring an own goal on purpose.
11)Ramses, Mandonna’s historian and right-hand man since their days in a Rio orphanage, explains Mandonna’s purpose. Mandonna is protesting America and its football. “A sport played by fat people for fat people.”Mandonna now “Virgin Mandonna”. Mandonna is actually the world record holder of number of times of sexual intercourse, without pregnancy. Mandonna’s biggest endorsement was from the world’s biggest condom manufacturer. Then, Mandonna swore off all love. Now, with no sex for five years, Mandonna considers himself re-virginzed. No relationships because it always ends in sadness. He’s too famous to love or be loved
D. FIRST TURNING POINT AT END OF ACT 1
12)Simultaneously in Hollywood. British producer Sandor Hood (think Simon Coyle) casts his latest reality show, “Dancing with Defeat”. Hood knows that there are ballet moments in Chuck-It’s dance which means something interesting about his persona.
13)Chuck It and Mandonna will star in the show in this opportunity at redemption along with other international celebrity losers. It’s really Hood’s plot to eliminate both footballs and replace it with a computerized new football which will cover the globe.
14)Chuck it flies to LA with lineman and receiver. Chuck It’s motive? Retain endorsements. He doesn’t think he’s getting divorced, but he thinks he can patch it up with Cheryl if he just wins. On the private jet owned by Sandor, a game developer is working on new football game proposed by Samndor Hood. Cheryl could care less about winning the SB. All she wants is her husband back. CI’s linemen have grievances.
15)Mandonna flies to LA. His entourage is Ramses (his lifelong non-foot) and infamous hooligans. Mandonna is Elvis. He dotes on polar bears. He will model world peace with his notorious hooligans. Seemingly, Ramses is in total control except for how Mandonna kicks ball.
16)Airport arrival news conference. Worldviews and footballs clash. Intro other contestants. Messy Mahan, actress and bad driver. President Gomez, deposed dictator of Condonostariqua. An Italian heartthrob on “Best Chef” who poisoned Chefs Colicchio and Ramsey with toadstool risotto. Mademoiselle Derriere (Kardashian?) Congressman Berger who gets naked too much on the Internet. Plus, others…
17)Dance partners go into immediate surprise show – live to the world. Mandonna’s partner, Eva, is too attractive for him. He fears her. He covers his eyes when he talks with her. Eva is too beautiful and a sexy, capitalist Russian to boot. Mandonna makes Chuck It switch partners. Chuck It is now matched with Eva, The Russian schemer and temptress
18)Chuck It apologizes to Mandonna for their only previous meeting. FLASHBACK to ESPY’s where Mandonna balks at giving award to Chuck it. Mandonna disrespects Chuck It, the USA and American football (he is not quarter man. Not even half.”). In mix-up Mandonna kicks at soccer ball prop. Breaks his leg. Start of his descent. He blames it on Chuck It
19)BACK TO LIVE SHOW Mandonna now matched with Tammy, the All-American Texas gal who is the double for Chuck It’s wife, Cheryl. Initially, Mandonna feels safe with her because she’s too American to attract him. Ironically, Tammy seems to be the only person in the world who doesn’t know who he is. (This is exactly what Mandonna needs.)
20)REVISE -Again, as in all his games FOREVER Chuck It’s parents are in audience. Explore their relationship. Father was ultimate football dad. Mother loves to dance which has been repressed in her as it has been more deeply repressed in CI
21)WEAK – Watching the live show from their home in Dallas, Cheryl wants to come to come to LA to work things out with Chuck It. Watching show on TV, Cheryl’s mother misleads Cheryl about CI and his intentions. She pushes for their own reality show – always thought Chuck It is a loser. She wouldn’t be unhappy if Cheryl got a divorce.
22)Back on stage. Mademoiselle Derrière(aka Kardashian) loses her derriere on live TV. They are fake bums. She will be sent to a place for a year where nobody knows her. She will do her own reality show” What will I do if I’m not famous?” This punishment is new to all the contestants. CI is particularly upset, it will end his career.
23)Practice. Chuck it and Eva. Chuck it can’t dance a lick. Chuck it explains his mnemonic for remembering his high-end endorsements (MARRY). Eva produces “dance playbook”. It’s like CI’s football playbook. She’s working on him. CI is faithful to Cheryl, but Eva does things that ingratiate her to Chuck It. CI’s parents Cliff and Melody Farr show up. Cliff has a football and he wants to work on some plays with Chuck It’s linemen and receiver’s entourage present
24)Melody leaves and sees Mandonna and Tammy through an open door as she wanders the hallways of the show. Melody notices Mandonna doesn’t touch Tammy which hurts Tammy’s feeling since she finds Mandonna a great natural dancer and a kind soul. Melody takes her scarf off and offers it for the two to dance. ( It is an important first step in Mandonna’s inability to love again. A connection.) Melody is the wonderful mother Mandonna never had (he’s an orphan). Mandonna likes Melody. They will bond.
25)Mandonna is a naturally brilliant dancer. The business is his feet and dance is just another soccer step. He watches a dance step and does it perfectly. No need for practice particularly since he won’t touch his partner, Tammy.
26)(B-story) Entourages play/invent hybrid football. They play and fight on a field/pitch behind the DWD studio. Evil Sandor encourages them. He videos everything for the new computer game. Linemen and hooligans have fun football games A mysterious ulterior motive. Ramses runs Mandonna’s life.
E. MID-POINT
27)Competition. Chuck It freezes. Band is cued. They play Bunny Hop. CI humiliated. Tammy dresses as Lady Liberty. Mandonna dances around her disrespectfully. Contestant from “Survival of the Fittest” is injured by soccer ball kicked from off stage. Both men survive this night. Chuck It barely.
28)(B-story melds with A-story) Next day. CI and Mandonna join entourages on field. Mandonna stops entourage fight by flashing “his hand museum” – his incredible collection of championship rings. It is so iconic and magnificent that it stops people in their tracks. It shines like the sun.
29)Eva identifies CHUCK IT’S lucky charm with help of ballet-dancing French hooligan(Chuck It doesn’t know what it is. We saw the block first at the Super Bowl.) It’s a wooden block from tiny ballet toe shoe. Chuck It’s subconscious surfaces. He rips off a ballet riff without knowing how or why. All crew on field is gob smacked. Chuck It’s center Max Block buys the videotape from the show’s camera people to keep it quiet.
30)NEW SCENE – Cheryl goes on The View with Sandor Hood. She’s publicizing her “let the kids play” program which espouses kids playing sports without tight adult supervision all the time. Like CI, she makes their relationship a public issue without directly addressing the other. Neither get it. Cheryl loves CI, but he always puts football first. Sandor Hood upstages Cheryl on “The View” with a video aimed revealing footballs dangers to children. Cheryl has been used dejected. She’s dejected. She has allowed herself to be used. FLASHBACK ON THE VIEW via old video which they play on air. Chuck It, toddler prodigy in West Texas with only a PBS station to watch, was captivated by famous ballerina and he just aped her steps. ANOTHER OLD VIDEO. His father forces him into football. CI plays Pee Wee football. Toddler CI in ballet pointe shoes bought surreptitiously by mother. CI avoids tackles with ballet leaps. Father nixes and represses that. No more ballet for CI until now. that.
31)CI low. No wife. Love of dance has been deeply repressed. Now, another “humiliation” is public. CI and Mandonna commiserate. Mandonna reveals why he’s doing show. He’s bankrupt due to secret scheme to move bears from the Arctic to Antarctic. Polar bears ate penguins.
32)Ramses is bitter. Alone with Sandor Hood, they conspire. Ramses has kept Mandonna uneducated to control him. One reason Mandonna eats so much fast food. Pictures are the menu.
33)Set piece. Montage. Competition proceeds. Lesser contestants eliminated. CI wants to explore ballet but Eva resists. She likes CI “destroying things with his balls” (thrown footballs). CI mistakes new love of dance for falling for Eva. She’s after his money. CI resists. Barely.
34)Mandonna is natural. Dance mirrors soccer. Tammy is as pleasingly sentimental as Mandonna. They make a killer dance relationship, but they never touch each other
F. SECOND TURNING POINT AT END ACT 2
35)WEAK – After latest competition. Night of “bling, tat and rap off”. Sponsored by fast food chain. Mandonna confronted with addiction. He locks himself in bathroom stall. DWD crews film all. Chuck It tries to talk him out. Mandonna demands stakes be raised. The name of football must be at stake. Winner keeps name.
36)Sandor appears at UN with Mandonna. Without Mandonna’s knowledge, Sandor intros hybrid football, played as computer game. Sandor uses Mandonna’s illiteracy to blackmail him. Sandor buys off diplomats who want to be on DWD. UN approves new football for international distribution.
37)Ramses conspiracy with Sandor unfolds. Mandonna’s nadir. He’s losing his beloved Futbol. He and Tammy touch accidentally. Mandonna won’t admit he’s falling in love with her.
38)Cheryl wants Chuck It back. Sandor leaks bogus story about Chuck It and Eva’s affair. Cheryl destroyed.
39)Chuck It considers himself a guilty man. His nadir. It’s “Shawshank Redemption” – “Football vs. Futbol” style.
ACT THREE
40)Eve of the finale. Chuck It discovers Sandor’s duplicity. CI will quit. Sandor will get Eva deported. Chuck It relents to save her, although there’s nothing between them.
G. CRISIS
41)The world swept by Sandor’s computer game. Football and soccer fields are empty. Sandor buys up real estate.
42)Mandonna disappears on day of final. Chuck It has an idea where to find him – at the zoo, with the bears.
43)At the zoo. Mandonna frolics with his best polar bear friend who he believes was moved here from Antarctica. A plague shows that Mandonna pays for the polar bear exhibit. Chuck It queries the bear’s keeper who knows nothing about the bear’s movements. Bear keeper is to speak to Mandonna about bear’s health and nothing else. Chuck It and Mandonna reflect on their love of footballs. They must save them for the children.
H. CLIMAX
44)Finals. Mandonna vs. Chuck It. Set is football vs. futbol. The entourages battle. Chuck It and Mandonna use beer to quell the riot. Mandonna and Tammy dance spectacularly. Mandonna embraces Tammy. Fred and Ginger redux.
45)Chuck It learns Eva betrayed him. Chuck It dances alone. He does a football ballet. A testament to his loneliness. Brilliant. Cheryl appears onstage and they dance. In love again.
46)Chuck It and Cheryl win the vote. Sandor disqualifies them, revealing true evil self. Mandonna and Tammy turn down the win. There is peace between the two footballs. Chuck It will not be exiled. Mandonna and Tammy wish to be exiled worldwide, to teach the world to dance and love. Maybe a little soccer too.
47)Sandor’s comeuppance. Crew and dancers’ revolt during show. Dancers angry. Sandor plans to computerize dancing too. They show videos of Sandor as mean bully who hates sports and dance. Worldwide votes never used. Elimination decisions made by Sandor. Ramses revealed as coconspirator. Chuck It steps forward to tell the world that Mandonna was defrauded of his fortune by Ramses. No bears were moved anywhere. Mandonna still has his sole billion.
I. RESOLUTION
48)Mandonna and Tammy in love now. Mandonna admits he can’t readwell. It’s OK. Tammy was an elementary ed major, not a cheerleading major at U.T. like Mandonna thought.
49)Chuck It and Cheryl. Mandonna and Tammy. The two couples dance beautifully. World peace next?
DENOUMENT
50)Mandonna and Tammy marry and dance, dance, dance, stressing exercise, moderation and health. They are the new Fred and Ginger with dance studios worldwide free to the public.
51)Next year’s Super Bowl. A pregnant Cheryl is in the stands. On the field, Chuck It toe dances his way out of a tackle, pirouettes and throws a revolutionary winning pass.
52)Former President Gomez of Condonostariqua has been cleared of war crimes and is now the Governor of California.
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Dan Hart – I agree to the terms of this release form.
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HI FOLKS. I’m Late. No, that’s my name. Dan Late….No, it’s Dan Hart. Sorry, I am late and this assignment is not what was requested. I’m working on it. I’m learning being simple is very hard for me.
DANCING WITH DEFEAT
LOGLINE – America’s beloved quarterback, CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR blows the Super Bowl, then seeks redemption by dancing against the world’s most eccentric soccer star, MANDONNA, and other celebrity losers.
SYNOPSIS – In my football versus futbol comedy feature, DANCING WITH DEFEAT, the Super Bowl is tied. Time for one last play. Our hero quarterback fades back to pass. Cornered, he elevates like a ballerina, letting loose with a pass. BLAM! He’s knocked silly. Waking moments later, he jumps to his feet, celebrating, believing he’s won. Tragically, during his celebration, his pass was intercepted and run back for the winning touchdown.
Thus, quarterback CHARLES I. “CHUCK IT” FARR loses everything: Super Bowl, new contract, endorsements, fans and, most importantly his equally beloved wife, CHERYL FARR. They break up on the Super Bowl post game show. Chuck It Farr is hero to zero in one play.
For redemption, Chuck It competes on TV’s “Dancing with Defeat” against other celebrity losers including MANDONNA, the Elvis of soccer. Mandonna humiliates himself in a manner similar to Chuck It. Exiled to America’s MLS, he’s no longer a soccer demi-god, he’s just a “broke and broken” soccer player.
Chuck It can’t dance a lick until he remembers and embraces his toddler-aged ballerina brilliance. Only then can he find balance in his life, win Cheryl’s love back and win himself a Super Bowl.
Mandonna, the “Great Goaler Bear of Madrid,” loves polar bears. He spent his only billion dollars to secretly move scores of polar bears from the Arctic to the Antarctic. More ice to be sure, but also “pinguinos”. Mandonna is racked by guilt that his bears have developed a taste for penguins.
Mandonna considers himself too famous to love or be loved. Even though he dances perfectly, Mandonna won’t touch his All-American partner, TAMMY. Yet, she’s the only person in the world who doesn’t know who he is.
The show’s megalomaniacal British producer, SIR SANDOR HOOD, schemes to destroy both men and their sports. On their way to the epic finals, Chuck It and Mandonna learn more than dance steps, save both footballs and recover love.
DANCING WITH DA’ FEET? What else ya’ going to dance with? It’s TALLADEGA NIGHTS with lots of balls.
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So, the car is destroyed? I’ll read your next assignment.
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Thanks Jon. I’ll make Mandonna’s arc clearer in the beat sheet. His real nemesis will turn out to be his right hand man, PHAROAH. They’ve been together since they were in an orphanage together in Rio. PHARAOH does everything for Mandonna except play soccer. Mandonna thinks that he has lost his only billion to moving polar bears to the Antarctic. It will turn out that Pharaoh only made Mandonna think he’d moved polar bears. It was a scam to rob Mandonna of all his money. This knowledge which will be provided by Chuck It is the final step that brings these two footballers together to defeat Sir Sandor Hood (think Simon Coyle). My script is pretty broad. I’m dreaming Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen. LOL.
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Hi Jon
Great hook. I like the idea of tracking down one’s old car. I love the idea! My first car was a ‘59 VW. I owned it from 1969 thru 1979. Cost $375. That car went everywhere, multiple trips to deep into Baja, river trips on the King’s River and lots of freeway miles. No gas gauge or radio. I sold it and I had buyer’s remorse until about 1984 when I saw it on the PCH headed for Malibu with four surfboards on top. My old car was still out there! Going on adventures😱
Ok, enough reminiscing. Your script is a comedy and I think you could go much broader. Maybe this Toyota has become super valued by collectors OR maybe there’s something in the car that’s a treasure. Then, there should be conflict . You may have already considered these things.
Also, how can it be a romantic rom-com if one of them is gay? Just a question.
Great idea.
Dan