Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Part 4 - Mr. Bond's Great Escape

(Please read the previous episodes before reading this posting)
Part 1 - Meet Jack Collins
Part 2 - Jack Would Rather Be in the Coffin Than Giving the Eulogy
Part 3 - Danielle's Ultimatum

Jack decides to get rid of his movie stuff as Danieele asked, but saying goodbye is never easy.

INT. JACK’S APARTMENT – NIGHT.
We see Jack packing up all his guy movie stuff: videos, DVD’s, posters etc. He has not changed clothes from the restaurant. Once he has made up his mind, he’s afraid he’ll chicken out if he
stops.
.
The camera FOLLOWS HIM CLOSELY to show his frantic pace. Jack packs with no organization, moving from one box to another, barely looking at what he is getting rid of. Like an exorcism, it’s better if it’s over quickly. Ultimately, there are five boxes overflowing with stuff sitting on the floor of the now bare TV room.
.
INT. STAIRWAY – NIGHT.
Jack carries a box down the two flights of stairs to the street below.
.
EXT. SIDEWALK – NIGHT
Jack pushes through the building’s heavy doors and walks down the front steps. Under a street lamp, by the trashcans, Jack drops the box. With each load he is building a small pile of cinematic
debris.
.
MONTAGE OF CARRYING BOXES OUT TO THE STREET.
CUT TO:
EXT. SIDEWALK – NIGHT.
Jack bursts through the doors, covered in sweat, barely under control. Midway down the front steps he stumbles and two VHS tapes fall out of the box and tumble down the steps. Jack does
not stop to retrieve them. After he carries the last box down, Jack straightens up, his back
sore from the effort.
.
CLOSEUP SHOT of Jack catching his breath while he looks up at the stars. He wipes the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
.
PULL BACK as Jack bends forward with his hands above his knees, then looks up at the lights on in his apartment, two stories above. Standing erect again, Jack turns and walks back for the two tapes he dropped. We see they are Scarface and The Magnificent Seven. Jack returns to the boxes and drops the two tapes on top.
.
EXT. SIDEWALK – NIGHT. JACK’S POV
We see across the road and down a block to a woman. Jack believes this to be Danielle walking toward him.
.
EXT. SIDEWALK – NIGHT.
Jack waves and points to the stack of boxes. She does not respond, so he begins to walk towards her. She stops under a lamppost on the other side of the street and waves to another man
approaching her. Jack starts to cross the road and calls out.
JACK
Danielle!
Again, she does not respond, but embraces the stranger warmly. They kiss intimately.
.
Jack stops in the middle of the road staring at the scene in disbelief.
.
PULL IN as suddenly his heart is racing, he pulls at his collar, sweat pours into his eyes and blood pounds in his ears. He starts to unbutton his shirt to get some air.
.
Jack tries to shout “Danielle” again but his voice is just a croak. We see the light from a car’s headlights rapidly grow brighter on Jack. He ignores the oncoming car as his vision grows narrower. Finally his knees buckle just before the driver hits the HORN. We hear the SQUEAL OF TIRES as JACK collapses to the ground.
.
At the sound of the car, the kissing couple breaks their embrace. The woman is not Danielle. The couple rush toward Jack lying in the street.
WOMAN
Tom, call 911!
MAN
(kneeling beside Jack)
Hey Buddy. Are you all right?
.
The driver of the car gets out and approaches Jack. The camera PULLS BACK from the scene as people attempt to help Jack who is still passed out.
FADE OUT.
EXT. STREET CORNER – DAY.
Warren is standing in front of his house where JACK usually picks him up. He looks at his watch; Jack is very late. Warren paces, stares far down the empty street for Jack’s Pacer. He looks at
his watch again.
WARREN
Shit!
.
INT. DANIELLE’S OFFICE – DAY
We see Danielle at her desk. Her private office is well appointed with nice furniture, tasteful art and certificates of achievement. Her success is a stark contrast to Jack’s cluttered cubicle. Danielle has some flies open in front of her, but is staring into the distance, tapping her desk with a pen. She BUZZES her assistant on the intercom.
.
DANIELLE
Cindy? Are there any messages?
.
VOICE OF CINDY
Sorry, still no.
.
DANIELLE
Thanks.

She turns back to her work, but only for a moment. She BUZZES the intercom again.
.
INT. OFFICE – DAY
We see CINDY at her desk just outside Danielle’s door. Cindy picks up her phone.
.
CINDY
Okay. Would it make you feel better if I
called some hospitals?
.
INT. GENUINE LOGIC OFFICE – DAY
Warren has just arrived. He is sweaty, hair disheveled, tie undone and shirt open to fourth button. At the far end of the office, Bryan Bettman sees Warren across the top of the cubicles and makes a beeline to him. Warren hustles to get to his desk before Bryan can make it through the maze of cubicles.
.
Bettman intercepts him just before his desk.
.
BRYAN
Keeping bankers’ hours Osky?
.
WARREN
(panting)
Traffic.
.
BRYAN
And where’s Collins? He’s supposed to brief
me on the development schedule.
.
WARREN
(still out of breath)
He’s...not...here?
.
BRYAN
No. -- He’s probably pissed about screwing
up the presentation yesterday.
.
Bryan looks around the office.
.
BRYAN (CONT'D)
He better not be trying to move it over to
another department.
(beat)
Be a good guy and let me know when he comes
in.
.
Bryan pats Warren on the shoulder and walks away. Bryan makes a sour face seeing the sweat on his hand and wipes it on his pant leg.
.
WARREN
Oh yeah, you’ll be the first... (under his
breath) Dick!
.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY.
SOUNDS of general hospital hubbub can be heard as the scene opens on Jack’s semi-private room. Jack is unconscious, lying on his back in a hospital bed, with a heart rate monitor PINGING beside him. An IV of clear liquid hangs beside his head.
.
Jack looks fine other than a gauze bandage wrapped once around his forehead, covering what may be stitches from where he fell. In the next bed, a man in his seventies is sleeping. Around his bed are flowers, a “Get Well” balloon and several cards taped to the wall. It is a contrast to Jack’s plain side of the room.
.
As we watch, Jack’s eyes open for the first time since the incident. He blinks and raises his hands to rub his eyes. His left hand is stopped from rising because of a wrist restraint to prevent him from dislodging the IV.
.
Jack sits up (as much as he can) and looks around in panic. At this moment a NURSE passes by his door and sees the patient has arisen.
.
NURSE
Well look who’s up. How’re we feeling today
Mr. Collins?
.
The Nurse enters the room and prepares to check his vitals. Jack, however, has heard only MUFFLED SOUNDS from her, not discernible words. He flinches as she reaches out to touch his
head.
.
NURSE
It’s okay Mr. Collins. You’ve had a bit of
a fall, but nothing to get upset about.
.
The telltale signs of panic Jack has exhibited before begin to arise again: sweating, agitated movements, blood pounding in the ears.
.
NURSE
(looking a little concerned)
Maybe I’ll just get Dr. Ollenberger to take
a look at you.
She dials the phone at Jack’s bedside. Jack has heard her this time, but the doctor’s name is garbled.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY. JACK’S POV
In a slow motion close up, we see and hear the nurse speak as Jack hears:
NURSE
Goldfinger.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY.
NURSE
(into phone)
Yes Doctor, the patient in 315 is awake but
distressed and somewhat disoriented.
(Beat)
Yes sir, right away.
The nurse hangs up.
.
NURSE
The doctor will be here right away to
explain everything.
.
The Nurse exits. Panic continues to rise in Jack. He is at the point where he has blacked out in the past.
.
A man in his late fifties enters. This is DR. OLLENBERGER. He is heavy set and bald and speaks with a very mild German accent.
.
DR. OLLENBERGER
Ah, Mr. Collins. You have decided to come
back to the world.
.
He takes Jack’s wrist in an attempt to check his pulse.
.
DR. OLLENBERGER (CONT'D)
Let’s have a look a look at you then...
.
Dr. Ollenberger takes a small flashlight from his breast pocket, pulls Jack’s right bottom eyelid down and shines the light into his pupil. This is too much for Jack. He is at the point of collapse when suddenly:
CUT TO:
INT. GOLDFINGER’s LAIR – DAY.
We see Jack is no longer in the hospital room, but dressed in a tuxedo and strapped to a metal table. Above him is an enormous laser slowly cutting a line up between his legs to his crotch.
Beside him we see Dr. Ollenberger, but he is dressed in the same suit as Goldfinger.
.
JACK
(as James Bond)
Do you expect me to talk Goldfinger?
.
DR. OLLENBENGER
(as Goldfinger)\
No Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.
CUT TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY.
Dr. Ollenberger is concentrating on taking Jack’s pulse. Jack grabs a metal lunch tray with a bowl of uneaten pudding on it at his right and smacks the doctor over the head with a loud CLANG. Dr. Ollenberger falls to the floor, his head covered in pudding.
.
The patient in the next bed wakes at the sound of the commotion. Immediately, he sits up as the doctor is knocked unconscious. Jack rips the IV from his arm, undoes the wrist restraint and
hops out of bed. At the door he stops and looks left and right.
.
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY - DAY.
The hallway is crowded in both directions, but to the left Jack can see an exit sign over a door. Still in his hospital gown, he runs down the hallway, dodging gurneys and patients. Jack reaches
the door and CRASHES through it.
.
The camera PULLS BACK to show Danielle just getting off of the elevator carrying a small bouquet of flowers and a Mylar balloon which reads “Go Ahead, Make My Day!”
.
INT. HOSPITAL STAIRWELL – DAY.
Jack leaps down the stairs three at a time. His actions are those of a man fleeing for his life. However, we see there is no one behind him.
.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY.
Dr. Ollenberger is rising from the floor. He reaches up to feel the pudding sliding down the back of his head. He stares in horror at the gooey mess in his hands fearing it is something oozing from a head wound. After a moment his eyes narrow. Dr. Ollenberger sniffs the mystery substance, then tastes it.
.
DR. OLLENBENGER
Ugh. I hate butterscotch.
.
EXT. ALLEY BEHIND THE HOSPITAL – DAY.
Jack EXPLODES through the service door to find himself beside a dumpster in the alley. To his right are two orderlies and an ambulance attendant having a smoke on a break. They see a man in a hospital gown with a bandaged head and immediately move towards him, putting out their cigarettes.
.
ORDERLY 1
Hey. Mister.
.
ORDERLY 2
You shouldn’t be down here Sir.
.
ATTENDANT
(to the orderlies)
I’ll call Security.
CUT TO:
EXT. ALLEY BEHIND THE HOSPITAL – DAY. JACK’S POV
To Jack, the three men are not what they appear, but two SS officers and a Nazi soldier with a rifle slung over his shoulder. Jack is now dressed as Steve McQueen from The Great Escape: Khaki trousers, and brown leather jacket.
.
EXT. ALLEY BEHIND THE HOSPITAL – DAY.
At the opposite end of the alley we can see a coffee shop where a female college student has just pulled up on her Vespa. It is tricked-out with numerous rear-view mirrors and a “Hello Kitty”
saddlebag. Jack races towards her and hops on before she can turn off the ignition.
.
Jack spins two doughnuts as the girl SCREAMS for him to get off. The three men from the alley come running towards him SHOUTING. JACK straightens the scooter and REVS the engine. He heads right towards the three men.
.
JACK makes no attempt to avoid them and they are forced to jump to the side at the last second as he flies past, gown flapping out like a cape behind him.
CUT TO:
THE GREAT ESCAPE – CLIP.
MCQUEEN escaping on his motorcycle, trying to find a way to jump the barriers at the Swiss border.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY.
We see Jack zipping through traffic, avoiding pedestrians.
CUT TO:
THE GREAT ESCAPE – CLIP.
McQueen successfully jumps over the first line of barbed-wire fencing.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY.
Jack jumps the curb and is now on the sidewalk, avoiding pedestrians.
CUT TO:
THE GREAT ESCAPE – CLIP.
McQueen sees a jeep loaded with German soldiers ahead, stops and drives in the opposite direction.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY.
Jack comes to an intersection blocked by a delivery truck bearing the label “Authentic Bavarian Sausage”. He stops, and like McQueen, zips off in the opposite direction, then down an ally.
CUT TO:
THE GREAT ESCAPE – CLIP.
McQueen is airborne, landing smoothly on the lush, alpine fields.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY.
Airborne, Jack emerges from the alley, clears the sidewalk and lands in the street He turns hard to his right. We see him disappear into the vast traffic, becoming just a hospital gown flapping in the distance.
CUT TO:
THE GREAT ESCAPE – CLIP.
McQueen makes his final, desperate jump and crashes into the last barrier from the Swiss side of the fence.
CUT TO:
EXT. CITY STREET – DAY.
Jack emerges from behind a delivery van and is unable to avoid three girls playing with a skipping rope at the side of the road. He CRASHES the Vespa into the curb and sails into a pile of
garbage bags at the edge of the sidewalk. Beside the bags we see the five boxes of movies JACK put at the curb the night before. Jack staggers up, stumbles up the front steps and into his
building.
.
INT. APARTMENT STAIRWAY – DAY. JACK’S POV.
We see the stairway winding up several floors, stretching into distance, looking quite formidable.
We see a CLOSE UP of Jack’s eyes filled with fatigue and fear below his sweaty, grimy forehead.
CUT TO:
DIE HARD – CLIP.
JOHN MCLAIN in Die Hard struggling up the stair way of the office building. McLain is bloody and his cloths are torn.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT STAIRWAY – DAY.
Jack slowly climbs the stairs to his apartment, pulling himself up with the handrail. He passes an ELDERLY WOMAN on her way down. She stops and watches speechless as Jack toils past her.
.
At the door to Jack’s floor, he stops and turns back to the elderly woman.
.
JACK (AS MCLAIN)
Yippee-o kiyah, motherfucker.
.
Jack opens the door.
.
INT. JACK’S APARTMENT – DAY.
Jack bursts through the door, out of breath, dirty and with a few cuts to his exposed legs. He SLAMS the door behind him, takes three steps and collapses on the floor. His bum is clearly
visible as the hospital gown falls beneath him.
FADE OUT.

3 comments:

Mama Dawg said...

Oh, man, I was laughing so hard at the tray hitting the docs head and then the image of Jack running (and driving) around with nothing on but a hospital gown and his ass showing out the back.

Priceless.

Keep 'em coming.

Trooper Thorn said...

Thanks Mama Dawg. There will be another post this week. I need to figure out how to work a pet squirrel into the story.

Mama Dawg said...

LOL! I love it.