bwind22
09-26-2007, 07:40 AM
I am in a short script contest with the objective being to write a short screenplay (5 pages or less) using only 1 character on screen. I wrote my story, but I am struggling to come up with a title. If anyone has the time & doesn't mind helping me out, I will post it below. Look it over if you can and let me know any feedback you have on it, but also let me know any suggestions you have for a title. (Pay no attention to the lack of proper formatting. The format was lost when I copy/pasted it here but it's formatted properly on my computer.)
Thanks in advance for anyone that can help me out.
FADE IN:
INT. PARKED SEDAN, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- NIGHT
CASPER, mid-40s, male, a blond shock of hair contrasts his otherwise dark garb. He leans against the rear passenger side door as he lights up a cigarette and inhales deeply. He frowns slightly as he glances ahead to the front of the car.
CASPER
Everyone always says the first one is the worst.
(Beat)
That ain't always the case though, 'least not for me it wasn't.
(Beat)
First one for me was Joey Cappalaggio, you know him?
(Beat)
No? Then consider yourself lucky. The guy was a real fuckin' prick, which made it pretty easy to put him in the dirt. You know what I'm saying?
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT
A black car creeps down a street lined with million dollar homes and eventually pulls to a stop. The door opens and the driver climbs out. It's Casper. He looks several years younger, but it's definitely him, dressed in all black. He pulls on a pair of gloves and tucks a pistol into his pants.
CASPER
I cased his place the night before as a precaution, but I knew that fat fuck well enough to know that all I had to do was wait until after four in the morning. He'd be passed out by then and the hookers' would be long gone.
Casper crosses the street. He looks over his shoulders, then ducks in to the shadows of someone's tree lined yard. He arrives at his target house on the opposite side of the block and finds an open window. A small knife removes the only obstacle, the window screen, and Casper is in the house without a sound. It's dark and he waits, letting his eyes adjust. While he does, he produces his pistol and quietly screws on the silencer. He creeps through the living room, then silently up the stairs, then finally down the long hallway to the last door on the left.
CASPER
And I was right. I went in there at a quarter after four and the place was like a tomb. No hookers, no light, no sound, nothing... Just me, my pistol and that fat bastard, Joey Cappalaggio, snoring in his bed!
Casper creeps through the bedroom door and looks down. He scowls as he raises the pistol at his unseen target.
CASPER
Vinny The Don sends his regards you Rat-Fuck!
Casper squeezes the trigger twice as two bright blasts illuminate the room. He stares down with a scowl as the smoke dissipates.
CASPER
No, my first wasn't bad at all. Actually I kind of enjoyed it. The cock sucker was talking to the Feds behind our backs, so greasin' him was my pleasure.
Casper gives a satisfied sneer before exiting the dark room in silence.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PARKED SEDAN, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- NIGHT
Casper is still sitting in the back seat of the parked sedan. His cigarette is still burning. He exhales a plume of smoke in to the front seat.
CASPER
You, on the other hand. You had a wife and kids and you an' me, we never met before tonight so there was no bad blood between us or anything. Makes it tougher, you know?
Casper frowns behind the smoke.
CASPER
Nothing personal though. Just business. I get an envelope full of money and a couple pictures in it and I do my job like everybody else.
Casper shrugs and sucks on his cigarette.
CASPER
If it were up to me, I'd want every one of my assignments to be a miserable piece of shit like Cappalaggio.
(Beat)
Unfortunately for both of us, but especially for you, I don't get to make those choices. Last week when I got my assignment, it was you. You seemed like a nice enough guy. Sorry I had to kill you.
With his cigarette hanging from his lips, Casper opens the door in gloved silence and climbs out of the car.
EXT. STREET, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- CONTINUOUS
Casper walks in front of the sedan, which is stopped in the middle of a street right at a stop sign. The driver side window and windshield are coated in blood. Casper disappears down the eerily silent block lined with large factories and warehouses.
INT. PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT
A row of cells sits empty and dark with the exception of one on the end which is illuminated.
INT. PRISON CELL -- CONTINUOUS
Inside the cell, Casper sits. His blond hair has been shaven bald and his black wardrobe, replaced by prison orange. In front of him, a tray of food that looks considerably better than typical prison food. Steak, lobster, shrimp and pasta among other things. Casper sits over his tray, taking pause from his meal only to glance at the clock on the wall and scowl.
CASPER
'Turns out the guy in the sedan...
(Beat)
The one I felt bad about killin'...
Casper rolls his eyes.
CASPER
He was a rat too, just like Joey Cappallagio.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM -- NIGHT
Casper sits at a small table in an orange prison jump-suit. He is sweating under the bright lights but still has an arrogant smirk on his face.
CASPER
Kiss my ass. I ain't saying another word to you pigs without my lawyer. You can't hold me here like this. You've got nothing on me.
A tape recorder slides from OS across the table, stopping just in front of Casper. He looks down at it in shock as it cackles to life with the sounds of his own voice.
CASPER
(Playing on Recorder)
You, on the other hand. You've got a wife and kids and you an' me, we never met before tonight...
Casper's eyes widen and his face goes white as he hears the tape.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PRISON CELL -- CONTINUOUS
Casper is still sitting in his cell eating his meal.
CASPER
The little prick was wearing a fuckin' wire when I waxed him. The DA played that tape in court and presto.
(Beat)
Here I am counting down to my date with the electric chair.
Casper stares at the clock. It's four fifty five in the morning.
CASPER
That countdown's all but over now though. Just five more minutes and they'll be coming for me. Five minutes to live.
Casper muses.
CASPER
That's five minutes more warning than I ever gave anyone though.
Casper eats a chunk of steak and then leans back against the concrete wall.
CASPER
No one to blame but myself for where I'm at now though. I knew the risks involved with what I was doing. In my line of work, I probably should have been dead a couple dozen already.
Just so happens that today's the day my number's finally up though.
Casper shrugs as he continues to eat his last meal.
CASPER
I feel fortunate to know how and when I'm going to get it. In my line of work, that's a luxury very few of us ever receive.
At the far end of the corridor, a heavy iron door unlocks and grinds against the concrete floor as it opens. Casper looks at the clock on the wall.
CASPER
Five o'clock. Time to die.
Casper strolls casually to the cell door where he waits for the approaching footsteps to reach him.
FADE OUT:
Thanks in advance for anyone that can help me out.
FADE IN:
INT. PARKED SEDAN, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- NIGHT
CASPER, mid-40s, male, a blond shock of hair contrasts his otherwise dark garb. He leans against the rear passenger side door as he lights up a cigarette and inhales deeply. He frowns slightly as he glances ahead to the front of the car.
CASPER
Everyone always says the first one is the worst.
(Beat)
That ain't always the case though, 'least not for me it wasn't.
(Beat)
First one for me was Joey Cappalaggio, you know him?
(Beat)
No? Then consider yourself lucky. The guy was a real fuckin' prick, which made it pretty easy to put him in the dirt. You know what I'm saying?
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD -- NIGHT
A black car creeps down a street lined with million dollar homes and eventually pulls to a stop. The door opens and the driver climbs out. It's Casper. He looks several years younger, but it's definitely him, dressed in all black. He pulls on a pair of gloves and tucks a pistol into his pants.
CASPER
I cased his place the night before as a precaution, but I knew that fat fuck well enough to know that all I had to do was wait until after four in the morning. He'd be passed out by then and the hookers' would be long gone.
Casper crosses the street. He looks over his shoulders, then ducks in to the shadows of someone's tree lined yard. He arrives at his target house on the opposite side of the block and finds an open window. A small knife removes the only obstacle, the window screen, and Casper is in the house without a sound. It's dark and he waits, letting his eyes adjust. While he does, he produces his pistol and quietly screws on the silencer. He creeps through the living room, then silently up the stairs, then finally down the long hallway to the last door on the left.
CASPER
And I was right. I went in there at a quarter after four and the place was like a tomb. No hookers, no light, no sound, nothing... Just me, my pistol and that fat bastard, Joey Cappalaggio, snoring in his bed!
Casper creeps through the bedroom door and looks down. He scowls as he raises the pistol at his unseen target.
CASPER
Vinny The Don sends his regards you Rat-Fuck!
Casper squeezes the trigger twice as two bright blasts illuminate the room. He stares down with a scowl as the smoke dissipates.
CASPER
No, my first wasn't bad at all. Actually I kind of enjoyed it. The cock sucker was talking to the Feds behind our backs, so greasin' him was my pleasure.
Casper gives a satisfied sneer before exiting the dark room in silence.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PARKED SEDAN, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- NIGHT
Casper is still sitting in the back seat of the parked sedan. His cigarette is still burning. He exhales a plume of smoke in to the front seat.
CASPER
You, on the other hand. You had a wife and kids and you an' me, we never met before tonight so there was no bad blood between us or anything. Makes it tougher, you know?
Casper frowns behind the smoke.
CASPER
Nothing personal though. Just business. I get an envelope full of money and a couple pictures in it and I do my job like everybody else.
Casper shrugs and sucks on his cigarette.
CASPER
If it were up to me, I'd want every one of my assignments to be a miserable piece of shit like Cappalaggio.
(Beat)
Unfortunately for both of us, but especially for you, I don't get to make those choices. Last week when I got my assignment, it was you. You seemed like a nice enough guy. Sorry I had to kill you.
With his cigarette hanging from his lips, Casper opens the door in gloved silence and climbs out of the car.
EXT. STREET, WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -- CONTINUOUS
Casper walks in front of the sedan, which is stopped in the middle of a street right at a stop sign. The driver side window and windshield are coated in blood. Casper disappears down the eerily silent block lined with large factories and warehouses.
INT. PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT
A row of cells sits empty and dark with the exception of one on the end which is illuminated.
INT. PRISON CELL -- CONTINUOUS
Inside the cell, Casper sits. His blond hair has been shaven bald and his black wardrobe, replaced by prison orange. In front of him, a tray of food that looks considerably better than typical prison food. Steak, lobster, shrimp and pasta among other things. Casper sits over his tray, taking pause from his meal only to glance at the clock on the wall and scowl.
CASPER
'Turns out the guy in the sedan...
(Beat)
The one I felt bad about killin'...
Casper rolls his eyes.
CASPER
He was a rat too, just like Joey Cappallagio.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM -- NIGHT
Casper sits at a small table in an orange prison jump-suit. He is sweating under the bright lights but still has an arrogant smirk on his face.
CASPER
Kiss my ass. I ain't saying another word to you pigs without my lawyer. You can't hold me here like this. You've got nothing on me.
A tape recorder slides from OS across the table, stopping just in front of Casper. He looks down at it in shock as it cackles to life with the sounds of his own voice.
CASPER
(Playing on Recorder)
You, on the other hand. You've got a wife and kids and you an' me, we never met before tonight...
Casper's eyes widen and his face goes white as he hears the tape.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PRISON CELL -- CONTINUOUS
Casper is still sitting in his cell eating his meal.
CASPER
The little prick was wearing a fuckin' wire when I waxed him. The DA played that tape in court and presto.
(Beat)
Here I am counting down to my date with the electric chair.
Casper stares at the clock. It's four fifty five in the morning.
CASPER
That countdown's all but over now though. Just five more minutes and they'll be coming for me. Five minutes to live.
Casper muses.
CASPER
That's five minutes more warning than I ever gave anyone though.
Casper eats a chunk of steak and then leans back against the concrete wall.
CASPER
No one to blame but myself for where I'm at now though. I knew the risks involved with what I was doing. In my line of work, I probably should have been dead a couple dozen already.
Just so happens that today's the day my number's finally up though.
Casper shrugs as he continues to eat his last meal.
CASPER
I feel fortunate to know how and when I'm going to get it. In my line of work, that's a luxury very few of us ever receive.
At the far end of the corridor, a heavy iron door unlocks and grinds against the concrete floor as it opens. Casper looks at the clock on the wall.
CASPER
Five o'clock. Time to die.
Casper strolls casually to the cell door where he waits for the approaching footsteps to reach him.
FADE OUT: