Filmmaking

Page fourteen

I’m starting to get nervous. Just looking ahead, I’m thinking this is a fifty page script at best. Obviously this isn’t good enough for a feature-length film and I don’t want to add filler just to get to my ninety pages. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I’ll just worry about getting what I have in my head down on paper.

(page 14)
INT. BAR

A small quaint pub with a long bar and only a few tables with chairs.
The bar’s tinted windows are keeping the bar dark.

The bartender JOEY, 50s, is drying glasses when Sam enters.

JOEY
Hey, Sammy.

The bartender doesn’t even ask what Sam wants to drink. He just starts pouring him a scotch on the rocks and a glass of ice water. He puts both glasses on napkins at the bar.

Sam walks over to the drinks and has a seat.

JOEY
Damn, what happened to you?

SAM
What?

JOEY
You’re clothes. You’re covered in mud.

SAM
Oh, yeah. I fell.

JOEY
I have to run to the back and stock up. Just holler if you need a refill.

SAM
(mumbling to himself)
Refill.

Sam picks up the shot glass and smells it. He puts the glass back down.

Sam starts rubbing his wedding ring and takes a look at it.

SAM
Ah, Claire, you never should have left me. I don’t know what to do without you. It’s all gone to hell since you left.

Sam removes his wedding ring. He drops it in the scotch.

Sam starts drinking the ice water. The bartender comes from the back.

SAM
Hey, Joey, take away the scotch. I’m done drinking.

Pages twelve and thirteen

I’m not sure if I technically wrote the scene properly. The action is Sam getting the money and taking it to the drop off point. The dialogue is Scene One continued. I hope it makes sense.

As for the drop off point, I need to go look for a good location so I can accurately set that up. I’ll probably go generic, but I love it when I recognize places in movies and I’m trying to do the same thing here.

(pages 12 & 13)
Sam sits patiently waiting for his money.

OFFSCREEN A telephone rings several times.

SAM (V.O.)
Hello?

VOICE (V.O.)
Where the fuck is my money?

SAM (V.O.)
What?

VOICE (V.O.)
You fucking heard me. Where the fuck is my money?

SAM (V.O.)
I’ve been busy getting it set up. I’ll have it tomorrow and bring it by.

Murphy brings the suitcase of money, sits down, opens it up and shows it to Sam.

VOICE (V.O.)
That’s no good.

Sam picks up one of the rolls of money and counts the money in the roll.

SAM (V.O.)
No? Why not?

Sam finishes counting the money in the roll and starts counting the numbers of rows. He finishes and closes the briefcase.

INT CAR – CONTINUOUS

Sam is in his car driving.

VOICE (V.O.)
There’s too much heat here. I need to you to drop it off at a different location.

SAM (V.O.)
Where at?

VOICE (V.O.)
Blah, blah, blah….I need to do some research here and come up with a good spot in downtown Detroit for Sam to put the money. I’d like an obscure place where he can throw the money in a dumpster. I’d also like him to fall into a mud puddle while doing it. These commands start annoying Sam.

SAM (V.O.)
Are you fucking with me? I’m not a god damn errand boy. Send one of your lackeys.

EXT. DOWNTOWN DETROIT – CONTINUOUS

Sam exits the car with the briefcase and starts walking to the location.

VOICE (V.O.)
Hey, asshole! Who owes who money here? Shut the fuck up and do what I say.

He walks down a grass patch and stumbles at the bottom of the hill and falls into a puddle of mud.

SAM (V.O.)
Then are you done with directions or do I need to hire a stenographer?

Sam finds a dumpster and stuffs the briefcase in it.

VOICE (V.O.)
The money better fucking be there.

Page six

I need to do backgrounds on all of my main characters and get their loves, fears, ambitions, desires and all that crap fleshed out. It might create better dialogue and scenes. I’ll worry about it later. I’m trying to keep pace with the date. Today is the 8th and I’ve only written 6 1/2 pages, so I’m getting behind. I’ll try to get caught up tonight.

Here’s page six:

INT. JIMMY’S OFFICE – CONTINUOUS

DINO, 40s, is sitting in a chair across from a desk.

JIMMY
I never thought I’d have to chase you down, Dino.

Jimmy sits across from him at the desk.

DINO
I’m sorry, Jimmy, I’m sorry. Look, man, I got in over my head. I was double-crossed. I had a buyer lined up and on the way…

JIMMY
(interupts)
Dino, I don’t want the labor pains. Just deliver the baby.

DINO
What?

JIMMY
Aren’t women expensive?

DINO
What? Yeah, sure. I guess so.

JIMMY
You guess so? Didn’t Perry find you with your girlfriend, cheating on your wife?

DINO
Yeah.

Jimmy gets out of his chair and sits across Dino.

JIMMY
I have a wife. She’s expensive. Always with the shoes. So here I am, with a wife that I can barely afford, loaning you money. And you have a wife AND a girlfriend and you’re borrowing money from me.

There’s a several second pause in the room.

DINO
I don’t know what you want, Jimmy?

JIMMY
What I want? I want my money back plus the juice that’s owed on it on the date I’ve provided you to return it.

DINO
But I don’t have the money.

JIMMY
So I guess we have a dilemma. I guess, since you spent all my money on your girlfriend, I’ll have to have a girlfriend myself. Martin, go get me a girlfriend.

MARTIN
Yes, sir.

DINO
Jimmy, don’t, please. She has nothing to do with it.

JIMMY
Give me my money back and I’ll give you your girlfriend back.

I’m Robert Rodriquez.

Yes, I’m Robert Rodriquez. Well, not really, but we do share one similarity, and it’s not me making a $7,000 film that leads to a career making movies that routinely generate $200,000,000. The similarity is that we’ve both donated our bodies to science to raise money for our first features.

Recently, I’ve discovered a subculture in which people become “lab rats” to make money. Now, I’d read about it in Rodriquez’s own biography Rebel Without a Crew, but I never seriously thought about it. I thought it was some fringe medical lab, barely legal, setting up shops in ghettos taking advantage of poor people. Boy, was I wrong. These clinics are completely legit with state of the art facilities. More importantly, they pay very well.  Of course, what is well is relative, but this pays better than any job I’ve ever worked and I’ve had many many jobs. Besides, not having a boss or doing the 9-5 thing is rewarding in of itself. I’m currently in a month-long study that is going to pay me $4,600 when I’m finished. That’s a grand a week and I’ve never made a grand a week.

There are some caveats to getting that money and every study is different. The one I’m in, I have to take three pills every morning at the same time and I’m not allowed to smoke, drink alcohol, have caffeine or any kind of medication including aspirin. My study also includes two weeks of overnight stays in which my meals are given to us at specific times and we regularly have to give blood and urine samples. One day I had to give twelve urine samples and had blood drawn twelve times. But they do try to make the stays as pleasant as possible. They have three high-definitions TVs, DVD player, X box, wi-fi, a ping-pong table and a pool table. In addition to all the fun activities they offer, I’ve met some really cool people. A couple of which I’m sure I’ll be good friends with for long after the study is over.

Now, since I’m enjoying it so much, I decided to do some investigating and see where more clinics are and how do I get into them. I found a really cool site featuring a list of clinics offering studies along with a blog about them. Just another lab rat is the website which lists studies going on around the country (including Hawaii!) and Thoughts of a lab rat is the blog founded by the same creator. I’m really looking forward to getting into about seven or eight of them within the next year and a half and being able to save about $25,000-$35,000 to make a feature. That’s over three times the amount Rodriquez needed to make El Mariachi and that turned out pretty well for him.

I know some people may think I’m crazy (including my girlfriend) about not worrying about the long-term effects these drugs may have on my body. Well, I drink a lot of beer, eat a lot of red meat, don’t exercise and I’m overweight; the pills are the least of my worries. The medicine we’re given has passed the animal testing stage and if it’s good enough for animals, then it’s good enough for me. So if you’re looking to make some extra money, check out Just another lab rat and see if there’s something in there for you. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you at a clinic ; ).