PAGE ONES: A WRITING SAMPLE FOR TALENT POOL. Written by. Conner Good

Transcription

1 PAGE ONES: A WRITING SAMPLE FOR TALENT POOL contact@connermgood.com Copyright, All rights reserved.

2 THE END "Pilot" Copyright, All rights reserved.

3 THE END Pilot ACT ONE EXT. BASEBALL STADIUM - NIGHT THWACK. A BATTER (26) sends a shining baseball into the darkness beyond stadium lights. The traditional stitching on his Cincinnati Reds jersey tells us that this is Robbie SMITH, #16. The stadium seats are empty. Robbie grabs a ball from a basket beside home plate. ROBBIE Can t even afford a damn pitching machine. He throws that ball into the air - THWACK. Another. Another. Another. Another - He stops to take a break, and pulls a water bottle out of his pants pocket. As he drinks, he squints. The scoreboard beyond the stadium wall runs orange numbers. 6: : :46... He turns to the announcer box up top and cups his hands to his mouth: HEY! ROBBIE (CONT D) The space behind the window is dark. ROBBIE (CONT D) HEY, IS ANYBODY UP THERE? ARE YOU COUNTING DOWN SOMETHING? A baseball drops from the sky - right behind him. He whips around and gives that ball a hard stare. While he s doing that, another baseball drops right beside him. His eyes catch it this time. Robbie looks up into the midnight blue......and a bright, white baseball screams straight down at him -

4 PARKS AND RECREATION "If You Can't Beat 'Em"

5 COLD OPEN EXT. EAGLETON CITY HALL - DAY A beautiful day outside Eagleton s municipal building. LINDSAY CARLISLE SHAY (V.O.) And now, Pawnee Councilwoman Leslie Knope would like to say something. INT. EAGLETON RECEPTION ROOM - DAY SHAY stands at a podium, and behind her hangs a logo for the EAGLETON HARVEST FESTIVAL. LINDSAY CARLISLE SHAY We are forced by propriety and politeness to reluctantly listen. Leslie Knope, everyone. LESLIE takes her place at the podium. She begins her remarks cordially enough, but her attention is definitely divided. LESLIE My... dear neighbors of Pawnee, I m here today to ask that you do not go on with your harvest festival. Shay frowns as the Eagletonians murmur in the audience. LESLIE (CONT D) Back when I was deputy director of the Pawnee Parks Department, it was a honor to revive the Pawnee tradition of corn mazes and cotton candy machines and getting kicked in the shins by petting zoo goats. But those lower body bruises are Pawnee s staples, not Eagleton s. (to herself) Mary and Margaret Thatcher --! Leslie s knees buckle in. She grabs for one, squirming. LESLIE TALKING HEAD Even here, beside the stage before the forum, she bounces from one foot to the other: LESLIE The air is really dry up here to keep the cold-hearted pterodactyl copycats of Eagleton from experiencing human feelings. (MORE)

6 LET THEM EAT HOT DOGS,

7 LET THEM EAT HOT DOGS FADE IN: EXT. SUBURBAN BACKYARD - DAY TWO WOMEN stand behind a grill, charcoal steam coming off burgers and dogs. One is the Neighbor, and the other is the Host. They both stare absent-minded BEYOND THE GRILL. NEIGHBOR Does it bother you that we re murderers? HOST I try not to let myself think about it. (laughs, turning to her) Wait, you don t mean because of the burgers and dogs, do you? NEIGHBOR Oh, no. I mean -- you, me, the upright ape, man -- HOST I prefer -- homo sapiens. NEIGHBOR Human beings. HOST Yes. (pausing) I try not to think about it. NEIGHBOR Me neither. HOST You neither or you, too? NEIGHBOR Ah, grammar. Good catch. The Host beams. She gathers glasses of lemonade from the table behind them. BEYOND THE BACKYARD S FENCE, on the yellow horizon -- air strikes send distant MISSILES towards the earth. The sounds of explosions are so muffled that they re barely recognizable.

8 SUBCULTURE "Pilot - New Year's Resolution" 201 West Orange Street Lititz, PA , 2011

9 SUBCULTURE Pilot - New Year s Resolution ACT ONE FADE IN: INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT On a Panasonic 12-inch TV set. A forty-year-old HISPANIC WOMAN walks up to the set and clicks it on. ON THE SCREEN: a ball of lights suspended alone in the middle of a dark sky. It s CBS, the Happy New Year, America program. CATHERINE BACH (V.O.) 11:59, America! And the ball starts to drop. Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke on Hazzard) leads the East coast. EXT. TIMES SQUARE - CONTINUOUS On that ball as it makes its descent. The sound of the enormous crowd fades in below. CATHERINE BACH (V.O.) We are going to start the countdown. Oh my goodness, there s people out here kissing! (giggles) The ball s starting to drop! A MAN GRIPPING A SPRAY PAINT CAN rips through a group of men dressed in military uniform -- and through the excited crowd. CATHERINE BACH (V.O.) (CONT D) Here it goes! We re on our way, America! An NYPD OFFICER follows him not long after. CATHERINE BACH (V.O.) (CONT D) Okay, we re gonna start the countdown! Spray Paint pushes people out of his way as NYPD gains speed. CATHERINE BACH (V.O.) (CONT D) Look at all these people, we re all together!

10 BROKEN ARROWS: A MINISERIES "Operation:" 201 West Orange Street Lititz, PA , 2011

11 Broken Arrows Operation: TEASER FADE IN: INT. CAR - NIGHT Rays of street lights shine onto the dark upholstery in rhythm. NATHAN LEWIS, 22, part Native American, convicted and focused on that steering wheel. Drive, he says -- drive. Tears escape him. He pounds the steering wheel in anger, then puts on his turn signal to ease the pain. EXT. LAST CHANCE DINER AND BAR - CONTINUOUS He pulls the car into a space. A billboard READS: Last stop for good food and good spirits in Padre! INT. LAST CHANCE DINER AND BAR - NIGHT At the bar, Nathan notices the televisions hanging above him. NATHAN You think you could change the channel? The BARTENDER looks over at this sad soul. BARTENDER Sorry, man, it s all that s on. But we still don t get to see it -- WOMAN S VOICE (O.S.) They ve been saying we will never forget. Nathan turns to the woman at the end of the bar. It s Ayumu Young, only younger. She stirs an ice water. AYUMU But who are they kidding. NATHAN (gesturing to her drink) Water?