INT. CECILY'S CAR - DAY
Lawrence drive through a series of strip-malls. They got
the same shit all the strip-malls have. In every town in
America.
LAWRENCE
It's just. It reminds me of something.
From the past. Do they have anything
like this in other countries?
CECILY
No, it's totally an American thing. Even
like, in Canada they have something
similar but it's usually only a few
stores in one building.
LAWRENCE
And this.
They drive past a massive open brown horizon. Big yellow
construction vehicles like dinosaurs in the skyline.
CECILY
Oh look, progress.
INT. TACO BELL - DAY
Lawrence hounds down a crunchy taco. Hot sauce and
crumbs fall through his fingers and out of his mouth.
LAWRENCE
(mouth full)
I'm just so hungry.
Cecily's watching him. Trying to hide that disgusted
look Lawrence has seen on almost every woman's face
starting with his mother.
CECILY
You don't have to eat so fast. We've got
like 2 hours before we have to meet the
land-lord guy.
Lawrence holds his food in mid-chew. Then starts to chew
very slowly, eyes wide, trying not to make noise.
His eyes dart left. A FAT LITTLE BLONDE FAMILY, carving
out their place in Taco Bell history.
His eyes move right. A BALD BIKER sitting with his much
younger little PIERCED GIRLFRIEND.
The TACO BELL EMPLOYEE pushes another tray full of food
forward, reads another number.
Lawrence swallows.
LAWRENCE
I think the suburbs are getting to me.
CECILY
How so? Because this isn't the suburbs.
This is the city.
Lawrence sits back. Looks out the window at the 7 lane
intersection just outside, strip malls to either side of
everything.
CECILY (CONT'D)
This is the city of Olympia. The West
side's more, whatever, bland and choked
with strip malls than the East but...
EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY
Lawrence and Cecily walk to her car.
ZOOM BACK to a view of the city from above. As if from a
plane.
PUSH BACK slightly, it's a video monitor.
INT. COMMAND CENTER, MILES ABOVE THE EARTH - N/A
Antonio sits at a command center desk in a dark room,
munching on a calzonne.
ANTONIO
(through the food)
What the fuck?
Antonio pulls a computer monitor to him. Searches on
Wikipedia for "suburbs".
Sees pictures of huge swathes of land cleared and brown.
ANTONIO (CONT'D)
Mother fuck.
INT. APARTMENT COMPLEX OFFICE - DAY
Lawrence and Cecily stand in a tiny Club House room for
an Apartment complex. There's fake fruit in the bowl and
fake magazines on the table.
MARLENE, a chubby woman with a limp goes through her desk
drawer.
MARLENE
I know I've got those keys in here
somewhere.
(laughs nervously)
The one bedroom, right?
Lawrence strolls away.
CECILY
Yes.
MARLENE
Ah here we go. Now, I can't show you the
one bedroom cause it's not ready til the
first, but I've got a two bedroom that
looks almost the same, just a little
bigger.
Lawrence is looking in the mirror. His beard is a little
scruffy maybe. He looks older than he remembers himself
looking ever before. Maybe his face changed when he was
under that beard. And everything got so much older in
only one year.
CECILY
Baby... Hey, you coming.
Lawrence snaps out of it.
LAWRENCE
Yeah.
EXT. POOL - DAY
FROM ABOVE, a camera zooms out on Marlene, Lawrence and
Cecily as they walk across an empty pool to the sauna and
exercise room.
MARLENE
As you can see, we have a lovely pool
facility that'll be closing in just a few
weeks.
ANTONIO (O.S.)
What are you doing?
Lawrence looks into the sky. Cecily looks back and
follows Marlene into the Exercise room. Leaving him
behind.
Lawrence stares at the sun.
LAWRENCE
I don't feel good. I've been thinking a
lot about the concept of purification.
Baptism to wash away everything you can't
handle. I guess I always thought I lived
in the suburbs, growing up. Turns out
cities can have shity cloned apartments
too. It also turns out, New Yorkers have
been spoiled on what's considered a city
in this country.
(beat)
And the sun has never been any good at
baptism.
EXT. DOWNTOWN OLYMPIA - DUSK
Lawrence and Cecily walk down to the water next to the
capital.
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
Washington skies are constantly at a
state of right after or right before a
storm. But it never seems to storm.
It's beautiful.
CECILY
I bet I could run around the lake in the
morning.
LAWRENCE
It's quite a run just to get here.
CECILY
Ten blocks?
LAWRENCE
We got back in the car to drive across
the Safeway parking lot to the
Blockbuster the other day.
CECILY
Yeah, but we were being ironic. I'm
fascinated with Americana but I'm not
going to become part of it.
LAWRENCE
You'll mix the Kool-Aid but you won't
drink it?
CECILY
Would you?
Lawrence coughs really hard. Ribs break, lungs fill with
blood kinda cough.
LAWRENCE
I always hide behind the plan. The
greater purpose. And I believe that
through this super-secret plan, I'll fool
everyone. I'll live in the middle of
fuck and I'll subvert it. I'll make all
my terrified urban hipster friends proud.
But it would take far too much explosive
to detonate all the cul-de-sacs and strip
malls in Washington.
INT. U-HAUL RENTAL TRUCK - DAY
Lawrence drives, Cecily sits in the passenger, smoking.
LAWRENCE
I can't believe we took that thing.
CECILY
Why didn't you say something when we
loaded it into the truck?
LAWRENCE
I had no idea how disgusting it was until
I tried to push it through our front
door.
CECILY
Well, Goodwill has to take it.
EXT. GOODWILL DONATION CENTER - DAY
Lawrence drives like a maniac into the narrow drop off
point, the U-Haul jumps curbs.
2 GOODWILL EMPLOYEES having a smoke outside, watch the
truck screech to a stop.
Lawrence jumps out. Runs to the back and opens the door.
GREG, an employee looks in. Lawrence looks in and
smiles. Cecily looks in and frowns.
INT. U-HAUL RENTAL TRUCK, BACK - DAY
There is a fucking nasty cut up couch, turned onto its
side, stuffing poking out, cushions thrown across the
truck.
Greg steps in.
GREG
We cant take this.
CECILY
Why not?
GREG
There's tears in the cushions. Wait...
Jim.
Jim, an older and much goofier looking employee walks
over.
JIM
No, can't take it. It's not salvageable.
Greg looks back to Cecily. Lawrence walks off.
EXT. GOODWILL DONATION CENTER - DAY
Lawrence walks to the front of the truck. He checks his
phone. Looks at the sky. It's starting to sprinkle.
LAWRENCE (V.O)
(looks into the sky)
You watching man? I need a favor.
The sky does not respond. Lawrence looks back. Greg
talks to Cecily.
GREG
Maybe Value Village? But we can't trash
it for you. The dump charges us extra.
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
I need you to remind me over and over
where I am and what I'm doing. Don't
ever take the pressure off. Pressure is
the reason everything ever changed on
Earth. Why should we be any different.
(beat)
Can you do that for me?
INT. COMMAND CENTER - N/A
Antonio flips the channels on the video monitor. Getting
hilarious space sitcoms from other galaxies.
He laughs as a big-green ALPHA-CENTARIAN slithers into a
living room and trips over an Ottoman. (Except I'm sure
they're called something else out there.)
A cell phone rings. Antonio picks up.
ANTONIO
Oh, yeah, we gotta do that.
He gets up and walks away from the desk.
EXT. GOODWILL DONATION CENTER - DAY
LAWRENCE
Dude? Come in...
FADE OUT:
INT. U-HAUL RENTAL TRUCK - DUSK
Lawrence and Cecily drive around.
INT. BACK OF TRUCK - DUSK
The old couch shifts around in the back.
CECILY
That last place said it had security
cameras.
LAWRENCE
Where are the giant dumpsters that come
with every suburb?
CECILY
I donno. Baby, lets just leave outside
our palce with a "free" sign on it.
LAWRENCE
That's living in denial. No one will
take this piece of crap and then the city
just has to take it away and fine
whoever's house it's in front of.
LAWRENCE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I did so much to be weightless. Why am I
carting this couch around this fucking
city, looking for a place to drop it?
CECILY
I think it's gonna rain.
Lawrence looks into the sky.
LAWRENCE
How can you tell?
INT. CECILY'S OLD HOUSE - DAY
Lawrence on the phone. Listens to hold music. An
operator picks up.
SHIRLEY
Good afternoon, this is Shirley with
Comcast. How may I help you.
LAWRENCE
I'd like to sign up for internet and
cable in my new place.
SHIRLEY
I can certainly help you with that. It's
ninety-nine dollars for phone, cable, now
that's your basic cable, and internet.
We have several options to upgrade your
channels.
LAWRENCE
No, I got an offer in the mail for just
internet and cable for twenty-four bucks
a piece.
SHIRLEY
You got a what?
LAWRENCE
An offer, a flier in the mail. You guys
send these things like twice a day.
And it says just cable and internet for
twenty-four bucks til the yesr of the
year.
SHIRLEY
Oh, yes the Summer Blow-out.
INT. IKEA FURNITURE STORE - DAY
Antonio and CINDY walk through the store.
ANTONIO
Okay, what do we need?
CINDY
Oh these are kinda cool. Do you like
these chairs?
Antonio looks at a series of chairs that look like the
future. They're round but oddly chair shaped, with
colorful cushions.
CINDY (CONT'D)
Seventy-five dollars. Never-mind.
ANTONIO
Do they sell desks here? Like non-Star
Trek looking desks?
CINDY
I think that's on the other floor. The
desk floor.
They laugh.
INT. CECILY'S OLD HOUSE - DAY
Lawrence still on the phone.
SHIRLEY
So that's 46 dollars each after the end
of the year. Plus nineteen ninty-five
for installation of the internet and nine
ninety-nine for the cable.
LAWRENCE
But the flier said free installation.
SHIRLEY
I don't think it does.
LAWRENCE
Yeah, it says it right here.
Lawrence flips over the flier.
LAWRENCE (CONT'D)
Yeah it says, "Ask about Free
Installation."
SHIRLEY
Right, if you ask I'll tell you that free
installation comes with the triple-play
offer, not the summer blow-out.
LAWRENCE
How can you live with yourself?
INT. U-HAUL RENTAL TRUCK - NIGHT
Lawrence drives past the giant open swath of land, carved
up by yellow construction vehicles. It starts to
sprinkle.
Lawrence and Cecily look at each other at the same time.
CECILY
You want to?
Lawrence maniacs it into a small gravel pull off, swings
the truck around. Jumps out, keys still in the ignition.
Cecily follows.
EXT. GRAVEL LOT - DUSK
Lawrence is peering into the open site. POV each of the
empty vehicles.
Cecily is at the back of the truck. She looks around.
There's a MAN across the street mowing his lawn.
CECILY
Baby, lets do this quickly.
Lawrence runs to the truck, watching the street. Pulls
it open. Grabs the couch and drags it to the front of
the truck.
Cecily gets behind and pushes. The couch tumbles out of
the truck. She goes for the cusions.
LAWRENCE
Help me with this thing.
She drops the cushions and jumps down.
CECILY
Where are we going?
LAWRENCE
(eyes on the mowing man)
Over here.
They carry it across the lot to some trees.
They run back. Cecily garbs the cushions again and
throws them on the ground.
Lawrence is already in the front.
LAWRENCE (CONT'D)
Lets go!
Cecily runs to the front, hops in. Lawrence pulls back
quickly, over the cushions. Stops a foot from a ditch.
LAWRENCE (CONT'D)
I can't see a thing.
He pulls forward kicking up dust, spins around in the lot
and pulls onto the main street. Speeds away.
INT. ANTONIO AND CINDY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Antonio flips a kitchen table over, after putting it
together. He and Cindy slide it into place.
INT. CECILY AND LAWRENCE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Lawrence and Cecily sit up in bed looking at their bare
walls and talking. Her laptop screams out music, boxes
crowd the floor and garbage bags full of clothes fill the
closets.
It's pouring outside.
INT. GRAVEL LOT - NIGHT
The old shity couch gets rained on.
FADE TO BLACK:
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Saturday, September 02, 2006
INT. APARTMENT, BROOKLYN - NIGHT
Antonio picks up his cell phone. Dials a number. He's
rich in company. The fellows out of focus behind him are
his closest in the world.
ANTONIO
Hello?
"One Life" by Nas starts inside his head. And a vision
of a thousand cities falling and rising again.
Speeding across bridges in black muscle cars. Throwing
Molotov cocktails into the passenger window of every
family SUV that fled the invasion.
Warrior cowboys riding through throngs of people,
awaiting the next time one of them decides to speak.
LAWRENCE
Hello brother, let me remind you.
EXT. ROOFTOP, BROOKLYN - DUSK
Lawrence and ANTONIO (24) stand atop a roof, smoking
cigarettes. They look around their city.
LAWRENCE
Dude, this is the place. To look around
is to see proof of man's ability to work
together to build something greater than
himself.
ANTONIO
And this is you, telling me this from
three-thousand miles away.
LAWRENCE
Brother am I ever.
INT. PIZZA PLACE - DUSK
Lawrence and Cecily at a back table, eating slices and
sharing a salad.
LAWRENCE
I think I should incorporate. Get tax
write offs for shit like travelling. You
can practically write off anything as
research when you're in the movies.
CECILY
What would that involve? Incorporation I
mean.
LAWRENCE
I donno. Filing something, paying
something. My mom can do it. I'll get
articles, then I can use the vast wealth
of free labor at Evergreen.
CECILY
That's such a good idea. Every student
can make a contract to work for you for
credit, they might even do workstudy
internships.
LAWRENCE
Fuck me. That's what we gotta do...
FADE OUT:
LAWRENCE (CONT'D)
Do you remember how it started bro?
ANTONIO
Not entirely. Although we should
definitely find a way to mock-ument the
beginnings of Cinema Set Free.
LAWRENCE
It started with our friendship. It's no
older. It's seed was in my head for
years, but it's first breath was spoken
to you.
EXT. SPUTNIK BAR, BED-STY BROOKLYN - NIGHT
Lawrence and Antonio sit and drink. Kings in their
kingdom. They speak quickly and without end.
LAWRENCE
The idea is community. Anarchist in the
best sense of the word. Communist as far
as the ideal will take us. Through
brotherhood and shared love of
filmmaking, we create a movement, a
revolution, to break the oligopoly of
Hollywood, to offer a new, uncensored
voice to young filmmakers. And because
it's a community built on love, it cannot
be bought or sold. Which is the only way
we can hope to compete.
Think about it there's only one real film
community in America. Everybody living
and breathing it in New York would like
to think there's a strong community here.
But the truth is, there's a shit load of
tiny communities that don't interact
outside of the occasional competitive
festival.
EXT. RECORD STORE, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON - DAY
Lawrence and Cecily tape small fliers to the window,
place a stack on the counter. They jump back in the car
and drive down the block to the next shop.
The flier reads: "SHORT FILMS NEEDED! OPEN CALL FOR
COMPLETED SHORT FILMS FOR COMPILATION DVD. ALL PROCEEDS
GO TO THE FILMMAKERS. VISIT CINEMASETFREE.COM FOR MORE
INFO."
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
We can create a process, from production
to exhibition that's purely do it
yourself, that facilitates young talents
reaping rewards for their work, maybe
even making a living off their work,
without the need to be accepted by
Hollywood. But this is not a service
rendered by Cinema Set Free, it's a door
opened by Cinema Set Free. It's their
job to walk through it.
CUT TO:
INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Lawrence sits up drinking coffee. Programming the
website that'll hold all the submissions for the contest.
His eyes are red and swollen. His beautiful girlfriend
sleeps in the bed next to him.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
Do you remember what we were going
through when we breathed life into this
movement?
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
Not often.
INT. ANTONIO'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
A small room in Brooklyn. A bed, a chair, a mirror
opposite the chair, a red light bulb provides the only
light.
ANTONIO
Jeff fucking took my camera and my laptop
and he said he'd only give it back when
I've paid him back the money I owe him.
LAWRENCE
So pay it back.
Antonio stares at his reflection in the jagged mirror,
smokes.
ANTONIO
There's no way of knowing what's what. I
have a jar, I fill it with money from my
tips and it's all supposed to go towards
paying him back, but he won't tell me
what I owe him. Some days it's eleven
hundred, some days it's only eight. It's
like he decides when it's paid.
LAWRENCE
You'll never pay that piece of shit back.
He stole your two most valued
possessions. The camera, fuck that.
What's that worth, five-hundred? But the
old laptop. What's on it is more
important than the thing itself. You've
got everything you've ever written in
there. What's that worth?
ANTONIO
Everything man. That laptop was my life.
It had my life in it. It's worth all the
money in the fucking world!
LAWRENCE
Or...it's worthless. You're still alive,
you can rewrite it. Better this time.
Fuck the laptop, fuck the camera. Fuck
Jeff and fuck paying him back. If you
stay here this summer and give him a
hundred dollars a week, every week,
that's eleven hundred dollars. Those two
old pieces of shit ain't worth that.
ANTONIO
You're right man. You're right.
LAWRENCE
I'm getting on a train in June and I want
you to meet me in Atlanta. We're going
to the woods and we're going to free
ourselves of all this...this.
ANTONIO
I won't pay him. Not another fucking
dime. He doesn't deserve it. He'll
never give that shit back. It's lost.
LAWRENCE
It's all up here.
Lawrence taps Antonio's head in the mirror.
Antonio stands up and snatches up the mirror, opens the
only window in his room and throws it out. Outside a
faint crinkling sound is heard.
ANTONIO
Fuck this room. Fuck this city. Fuck
those guys out there.
LAWRENCE
Fuck the girl who won't have you. Fuck
the one who will. Fuck your past, fuck
everyone who ever told you you're not in
complete control.
Lawrence holds out his hand to his brother. Antonio
accepts it.
ANTONIO
The only power anyone has is the power to
relinquish control.
ZOOM OUT OF THE MEMORY INTO BLACK:
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
You told me that at some point. Probably
one of the times I was at my lowest.
I've been trying to imbibe that line ever
since. I was wrong, you were right.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
Where do we go from here?
EXT. ROOFTOP, BROOKLYN - NIGHT
Lawrence and Antonio stand behind a camera. In front of
the camera are MELISSA and CAMERON (20). They're saying
Lawrence's words.
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
We made a movie. From thought came word
and from word came action. We had a
wonderful plan and it's the same one
every year. Make as many movies as
possible. Make them every fucking
weekend. All else aside. Make the
movies because it's all we've ever wanted
to do.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
But I never made a movie. And you never
completed yours. We just talked about it
and got a couple of girlfriends. And the
pressure grew inside us until we did
stupid desperate shit.
INT. CAR, MANHATTAN - NIGHT
It's snowing crazy shit outside, the car is completely
covered. Lawrence and Antonio are getting high inside,
with the camera rolling.
THROUGH THE VIDEO CAMERA:
LAWRENCE
I can set it at low shutter speed. It
makes everything seem crazy.
ANTONIO
Dude. Dude. You know what we need to
do? We gotta find more time. We need
some fucking twix.
LAWRENCE
Yeah, we need some chocolate.
Antonio gets out of the car, the snow blows in. Lawrence
is left alone with his camera.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
But that was your fault all along. There
I said it. You brought Lora back to New
York, you lived with her instead of me.
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
Don't blame the whole fucking year...
INT. LAWRENCE AND LORA'S APARTMENT, WOODSIDE - NIGHT
Lawrence and Lora sit and watch a movie and eat grilled
cheese and tomato soup in their comfortable bed. Outside
it's snowing.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
What'd you tell me on the back porch at
your mom's house?
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
What?
ANTONIO (V.O.)
What'd you tell me dude!?
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
What'd I say?
INT. APARTMENT, BED STY - NIGHT
Antonio climbs the stairs alone. He opens a door to a
small filthy room with a temporary wall on one side.
Books, clothes and wires cover the flood along with a
blow up mattress.
ANTONIO (V.O.)
You said that Lora asked if she could
come to New York and you said you were
telling her no. Because you wanted two
thousand five to be the year of
filmmaking. You and me. You said you
would make that sacrifice to make
filmmaking part of your life again.
Antonio inflates the mattress. Lays down and lites a
bowl.
ANTONIO (V.O.) (CONT'D)
Now where the fuck are you?
FADE OUT:
INT. APARTMENT, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON - NIGHT
Lawrence sits up writing in his underwear, only the
laptop illuminates his face.
Lawrence types:
"LAWRENCE
I'm here in Olympia. And fuck if you
expect an apology for that. I will not
take that year back. Even if I regret my
lack of work."
The cursor blinks. He looks at his beautiful girlfriend,
sleeping.
LAWRENCE (V.O.)
I learned from that. And I think I've
got a better plan this time. And New
York is your home. You deserve to start
the New York chapter. You were the first
person to believe in me. You can't stop
now. Now that shit is falling into
place...
(pause)
Tony? ... Bro?
FADE OUT:
INT. APARTMENT, BROOKLYN - NIGHT
Antonio sits up at night. Typing.
Antonio types:
"ANTONIO (V.O.)
Yeah bro, I'm here. I haven't called in
a while cause I'm doing my own thing. I
guess I understand where you were last
year. I'm living with my girl now.
Happiness you know? It's a bitch. But
this ain't gonna be like two-thousand
five. Cyndi isn't Lora. I'm not you.
You tell me which parts of this city need
light and I'll start the fucking fire."
Lawrence types:
"LAWRENCE (V.O.)
My intention was never to build soldiers.
You are a leader. That is your birth
rite. You need only say the word and
everything begins."
Antonio types:
"ANTONIO (V.O.)
And what word is that?"
Cursor blinks...
"LAWRENCE (V.O.)
You remember. You taught it to me."
FADE TO BLACK:
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