Shattered Dreams (2011) Second Draft By David Raygoza

October 16th 2011

INT. CHURCH

DAY

OPEN on a group photograph of ALEX, MEGAN, SHELBY, CARRIE, ASHLEY, CASSIE, and SAMMY, all of them in their prom dresses, all of them smiling. It begins on ALEX and zooms out to reveal each of them. Slowly, the camera backs away until we see more pictures of their friendships surrounding the one from prom, pictures of SAMMY with SALMAN, CASSIE with ASHLEY, JEROME with FREDDIE, group shots, yearbook photos, until it becomes apparent that this is a huge board lovingly assembled and the camera has zoomed so far out we see its top, and it reads: MEMORIAL SERVICE The camera holds still on this board as people walk by, one of them in a wheelchair. A microphone clicks on. TITLE CARD: Shatter Dreams MAN (V.O.) Welcome. Thank you for coming out this evening, as we remember the lives ofCUT TO: INT. OARD HOUSE DAY

ALEX leans against the front door, wearing her prom dress. ALEX (YELLING) Hollys waiting! Come on, Megan, hurry up! MEGAN makes it to the front door MEGAN All right, lets go. CUT TO: PROM MONTAGE Fast pacing and quick cuts play out: Checking make-up in the car. ALEX, MEGAN, and HOLLY meeting up with the others. The group picture of ALEX, MEGAN, SHELBY, CARRIE, ASHLEY, CASSIE, and SAMMY being taken by SALMAN. (Note: these can be any various shots to establish their bonds. Have fun with (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

it. The point is to illustrate, fun, friendship, and a zone of comfort among the cast, before it all crumbles down) Finishes with a Time Lapse shot of the sky going from Evening-Orange to Late Night-Black. CUT TO: EXT. PARKING LOT NIGHT

The group stands in a parking lot after prom, deciding what to do next. (Note: The framing here could be very nice if done in pairs, allowing for subtle characterization. SAMMY standing next to SALMON, HOLLY holding ALEXs hand while MEGAN rolls her eyes, CARRIE and SHELBY, ASHLEY and CASSIE, JEROME and FREDDIE leaning against the light post or a car.) (2nd Note: The pacing here should be conversational, business as usual, but with that sort of pep youve got after a fun school event.) SALMAN Im not saying it was terrible, Prom is never TERRIBLE. All Im saying is, if I had been the DJ we wouldnt be here. Because everyone would still be dancing, going wild crazy all night long. SAMMY Well, you werent DJ and now its time to go home, unless one of us has a plan. SHELBY Well, we could all go over to my house. A beat of skepticism, SHELBY isnt the kind of girl to go party, much less host one. ALEX What about your parents? Its past 11, I doubt theyre going to want us there. SHELBY They knew Id be out all night, and they trust me, so they took the chance to go see family for the weekend. Ive got the house to myself.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

3.

ALEX I dont know if its such a good idea for Shelby Sutton, Queen of Innocence and Bubbly, to have people over without her parents knowing. JEROME I dont think Christian girls party past 11. HOLLY Not with Salman, the go-wild-crazy-all-night-long DJ. SHELBY Oh come on, it could be fun! CARRIE Shelby, youve never been to a party before, have you? SHELBY Ive been to parties! ASHLEY Were they all birthday parties? SHELBY Well, yeah. ASHLEY Those arent the kind of parties were talking about. (Note: Its important that throughout this conversation there are at least a few shots of ALEX and HOLLY, who are at this point our Moral Anchor. Remember that neither of them want to go to this party, for whatever reason, either they dont want to drink or they just dont feel like hanging out with them. This can be achieved with a shot of HOLLY and ALEX holding hands and looking at each other with that look of "Not tonight, lets go home.") JEROME Well, before you guys go party can someone give me a ride home? FREDDIE Youre not coming?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JEROME Nah, Ive got to run tomorrow morning. Gotta keep in shape, now that Ive got the scholarship to look forward to. ALEX Yeah, I dont think Holly and I are going either. MEGAN shoots her a look

4.

(2nd Note: Here is where the conversation can feel a shift in pacing, slower, more contemplative on the attitudes. ALEX doesnt want to go, but feels obligated by MEGAN, the emotion can be portrayed in the silences, which the others try to fill with encouraging words.) ALEX Holly has to go home, and Im pretty tired. CARRIE Come on, itll be fun, and it wont take long. CARRIE grabs her hands and playfully tries to pull her towards a car CARRIE Please? Come on, you owe this to yourself! One night of fun never hurt anyone! MEGAN Well stop by quickly, and then well leave, I promise. ALEX glances at HOLLY HOLLY Its all right, Ill get a ride home with whoever picks up Jerome. ASHLEY I can take Jerome and Holly home, make some quick stops and pick up some things for the night. You staying or going home, Freddie? FREDDIE Ill go to Shelbys. HOLLY hugs ALEX and whispers into her ear (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

5.

HOLLY (Whispering) I love you. Ill see you tomorrow, okay? SALMAN lively claps and heads to his car and music starts SALMAN Cool beans, so 50 minutes, drop off whoever, change into party clothes, call EVERYONE, I want to see all the Cool Kids there! And then, get ready to go wild crazy all night long! (Note: My biggest image here is the sincere hug between ALEX and HOLLY, as SALMAN claps saying "cool beans", completely oblivious to the emotional center, and completely ready to go and party.) Everyone gets into their respective cars, and drives off CUT TO: EXT. JEROMES HOUSE NIGHT

JEROME is closing the door to ASHLEYs car JEROME Thanks for the ride! ASHLEY No problem, Jerome! Congrats on the scholarship! JEROME Thanks! As ASHLEYs car leaves, JEROME heads into his house. He loosens his tie or takes off his vest/jacket while heading into the kitchen. He finds a note that reads: "Hope you had fun! Dinners in the fridge. So proud of you! - Love, Mom" JEROME smiles Zoom out from his house as ALEX and MEGANs car passes by CUT TO:

6.

INT. CAR

NIGHT

In the car, MEGANs driving and ALEX isnt exactly in the best of moods, and she definitely isnt happy with MEGAN. ALEX I cant believe youre making me go to this. MEGAN Oh come on, youre no fun. ALEX Im not comfortable drinking with them. MEGAN No one said anything about drinking. ALEX Oh, come on, everyone knows that if Salman, or Ashley, are having a get together, theres going to be booze. And both of them are going to be there. Not to mention that theyre going to corrupt everyones favorite Christian barbie. MEGAN Jesus, chill out. ALEX Whatever, Ive gotta tell mom were staying out tonight. ALEX gets out her cellphone and dials WOMAN (V.O.) Hello? ALEX (Into the phone) Hey, Mom. Megan and I are going to stay over at a friends house, is that all right? WOMAN (V.O.) Whos house? ALEX Shelby Suttons.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

WOMAN (V.O.) Yeah, thats fine. When will you be home? ALEX Probably around 7. Hey, I gotta go, my phones running out of battery, I love you mom. WOMAN (V.O.) I love you too, have fun. And honey, please be safe. ALEX Goodnight, Mom. ALEX hangs up MEGAN See, moms fine with it. ALEX Shut up and drive. CUT TO: GETTING READY MONTAGE Again, fast pacing and quick cuts, these portions serve to advance the story and wake up the audience. Here we see each character getting ready in their "party clothes", SALMAN, CARRIE, and ASHLEY preparing the drinks and snacks at SHELBYs house, everyone showing up, etc. Like before, have fun with it. Even quick stutter cuts of chip bowls and drink cups being filled can be entertaining of done right. CUT TO: INT. SHELBYS HOUSE NIGHT

The group is relaxing, sitting in the living room, while SALMAN, CARRIE, and ASHLEY, are in the kitchen getting every poured into cups and bowls. CASSIE comes up to ASHLEY CASSIE Why are you doing this?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: ASHELY What? CASSIE points at the drinks CASSIE This! ASHLEY Im sorry, did you want me to bring juice? Theres water in the fridge if youre going to be a baby. CASSIE just stares at her, hurt by the bitterness of ASHLEYs voice ASHLEY Im sorry, Ive had a bad week. CASSIE So thats your excuse? ASHLEY Its been...you dont even know, okay?! CASSIE I get sad sometimes too! So, yes, I do "even know", but it doesnt mean I drink. ASHLEY Like youre so much better than me?

8.

(Note: I know the aim was to have minimal dialogue, but if filmed correctly, these scenes offer enough exposition for the audience to care about the characters. In regards to filming, I see this in a sweeping camera hover. Think, opening scene of Tarantinos Resevoir Dogs. The problem with Shot/Reverse Shot is that its used all too often for dialogue, and its boring. This isnt a play, its a film, so use the camera as a character of its own.) SAMMY Ashley, you got a scholarship for soccer, right? ASHLEY (FROM KITCHEN) Yeah, 80 percent tuition is being paid by the college. ASHLEY takes this as a cue to leave CASSIEs side and join the group, but not before shooting her a small, irrate glance. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

9.

SAMMY (To Freddie:) Do you have any idea how much Jeromes getting? FREDDIE A lot, I think its almost 90 percent. He works like crazy for it, completely deserves it. SAMMY No wonder hes out running every morning. FREDDIE He never stops working for it. We havent been able to hang out lately, and I dont know what Im gonna do whenever we leave for different universities. SHELBY Isnt it crazy to think High Schools pretty much over? ASHLEY Trust me, Im ready for it to be over. FREDDIE Same here. ALEX Things change too quickly, and how many of us are actually enjoying the moment? Im ready for college too, but well never be this age again. Tomorrow all of us will be one day older than we are today. SAMMY I just want to get started. Theres so much I plan on doing, and none of it can happen until Im out of High School. ALEX But think about that day you found out where you were going. Not the day you applied, but after you were accepted and you decided "This is where I want to go." Everything changed in that one second. Thats (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

10.

ALEX (contd) how quickly your life can take a turn, and no one ever thinks about that. SALMAN, and CARRIE join and pass the cups around. SALMAN Okay, enough serious talk, its time for Shelby to become a big girl. SHELBY I am a big girl! SALMAN Really? Cause Im pretty sure the door to your room has more princesses stickered onto it than I saw at Disney World. Drink it, youll be fine. SHELBY takes a look at her cup, a bit uneasy, as everyone looks on waiting for her response (Note: The cups and the liquor need to be enemies, and I trust that Tommys music accompanied by the framing of the shots will accomplish this.) After a beat of silence, SHELBY gulps down the liquor, and immediately starts coughing, SALMAN and the others cheer. She gives a small smile, as they fill up her drink. The rest of the group, now satisfied having watched SHELBY take her first drink, continue on with their own conversations and drinking at their own pace. SHELBY takes another gulp, and coughs even harder than before. ASHLEY leans over ASHLEY Dont worry, itll get better the more you drink. CUT TO:

11.

DRINKING MONTAGE Unlike the other montages, that highleted many characters and different occurences, this one highlights just how long theyre drinking for. This one is various shots of the living room, jumping forward in time, with text at the bottom dictating the time, for example: 1:33am Theyre all drinking and talking 2:06am SALMAN, SAMMY, CARRIE, and MEGAN are all dancing around while FREDDIE, ASHLEY, CASSIE talk, ALEX is texting someone (presumably HOLLY), and SHELBY lies out on a couch or chair 3:15am FREDDIE, SALMAN, MEGAN, and SHELBY are all playing a board game while a movie plays (or theyre simply watching a movie/playing a videogame) CARRIE is taking a little nap, ASHLEY, CASSIE, and ALEX are all three talking now. 4:08am Everyones doing shots. Then finally we CUT TO: INT. SHELBYS HOUSE-BATHROOM Here the time reads 4:46am Shelby is vomiting into a toilet, barely holding her hair back. Shes not vomiting, shes VOMITING. And the camera must be unflinching, hovering over her shoulder so that we get a look at the liquid CHUNKS and so we hear the sound, the rasping of her throat, desperate coughs, and PLUNKS into the toilet water. (Note: If the audience isnt cringing, were not doing our job.) After a good 30 seconds of watching her puke, the camera can pan away from the toilet and toward her face. There are tears streaming down her cheeks, and if she had any make-up on its now smeared and ruined. She grabs a piece of toilet paper and wipes her mouth. Stands up, washes her hands at the sink, and look regretfully into the mirror. She hates the girl she sees. EARLY MORNING

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

12.

After turning off the lights and heading out, we follow he back into the living room, where things arent as fun or comfortable as they used to be. CARRIE is passed out on a couch, SALMAN is still drinking, SAMMY screams at him to stop, angry and confused, but he refuses, telling her hes "all right", pushing her away, hitting her hands as she tries to grab the bottle from him. He knocks her over onto the floor, and takes another swing of the bottle. MEGAN and ALEX are arguing, MEGAN should have known, ALEX didnt want to come in the first place, now theyve got to go home drunk and disappoint Mom, etc. ASHLEY and CASSIE are gathering their things, and FREDDIE is so dizzy hes barely able to keep up with them as they walk out the door. Eventually they all leave the house and head for their cars, even SHELBY (Note: This entire sequence must be genuine and harrowing. The music, the filming, the acting, all of it needs to be as aggressive as possible. And time should not be a problem, if the improvisation ends up making this last 2 minutes, so be it. SHELBYs vomiting makes people turn away, SALMANs rejection of SAMMY and his embracing of alcohol seems evil, MEGAN and ALEXs argument is heartbreaking, CARRIE, ASHLEY, CASSIE, and FREDDIE all lack concern and display an apathy that should make us HATE them. As long as it takes to get these effects across, thats how long the scene should last.) (2nd Note: Although it would be quite an effort to choreograph, if it could be one long shot without cuts, it would be far more effective and engrossing.) CUT TO: INT. SALMANS CAR EARLY MORNING

SAMMY sits in the passenger seat without saying a word to anyone, as SALMAN gets into the drivers seat and CARRIE and SHELBY get into the back. The attitude in the car is low, and their speech is slurred. CARRIE Guys, weve got to take Shelby somewhere, she cant be hungover when her parents get home tomorrow.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

13.

SALMAN Yeah, thats fine, whatever. CUT TO: EXT. SUNNY SIDE DR. EARLY MORNING

JEROME is running on the west side of Sunny Side, his earbuds are blasting music and his mind is focused only on the running, so he doesnt notice when the Oards pass him. INT. OARDS CAR EARLY MORNING

ALEX I cant believe we just went through that. MEGAN Could you please shut up about it? I already apologized, it happened, get over it. CUT TO: EXT. SUNNY SIDE DR. EARLY MORNING

A scenic shot of the street signs, where Sunny Side meets Waterside along the High School. The OARDs pass the sign and turn onto Waterside Dr. (Along the High School) CUT TO: INT. OARDS CAR EARLY MORNING

ALEX I feel sick. Pull over in the parking lot real quick. MEGAN turns into the parking lot and stops. In the distance, JEROME is running on Waterside now, not expecting anyone to be speeding this early in the morning. CUT TO:

14. EXT. SUNNY SIDE DR. EARLY MORNING

SALMAN and ASHLEYs car meet at the street sign. CUT TO: INT. SALMANS CAR EARLY MORNING

SALMAN revs his again and ASHLEY laughs. SAMMY What do you think youre doing? SALMAN Chill out, no ones awake right now anyway. SHELBY & CARRIE Do it, do it! SALMAN gets out his cellphone and sends ASHLEY a text that reads: "Race?" she responds: "Youre on" They both take the turn and start speeding up, pushing at the pedal, the wheels accelerating all too fast CUT TO: INT. OARDS CAR EARLY MORNING

We hear some coarse coughs, possibly from vomiting and ALEX gets back into the car ALEX All right, lets get out of here. CUT TO: INT. SALMANS CAR EARLY MORNING

SALMAN is racing down Waterside Dr., when suddenly he notices the Oard car pulling out of the parking lot He starts to brake SALMAN No, no, no no no But its too late. The screen goes dark and we hear the crunch of their cars

15. INT. ASHLEYS CAR EARLY MORNING

ASHLEY turns to look at the wreck that just happened ASHLEY Oh my god CASSIE Ashley, watch out! She turns to look at the road, where JEROME has his back turned to the car, and is unfortunately running on the road. She starts to brake, but we all know what happens. The screen goes dark, ASHLEY and CASSIE scream, and a THUNK is heard. (Note: Here would be the crash aftermath scene, with the EMTs body tagging the dead, and hauling away SHELBY and JEROME. Its too much action for me to dictate, unless you would like it included in the next draft. As for now, I trust that it will be executed efficiently by the media tech crew.) FADE IN ON: INT. OARD HOUSE DAY

Childhood photographs of ALEX and MEGAN. Family portraits. ALEXs yearbook photo. The doorbell rings. MEGAN opens the door, and theres HOLLY. After a moment of standing, HOLLY starts to cry and MEGAN hugs her. CUT TO: INT. JEROMES HOUSE DAY

We can only see JEROMEs face, as he stares off into the distance, contemplative with tired eyes. His cellphone rings. The camera begins to back away.

16. It rings again. On the third ring, he picks up. INT. HOLDING CELL DAY FREDDIE Im sorry. Again, we see only his profile, nothing below the neck, but it doesnt matter, what matters is the emotion, and FREDDIE is in tears. FREDDIE Im so sorry. INT. JEROMES HOUSE DAY

JEROME doesnt say a word, because he doesnt know what to say. By now the camera has panned far enough back that we see hes in a wheelchair. And we hear one last "Im sorry" from Freddie. CUT TO: INT. CHURCH DAY

SHELBY wears a sling for her right arm and has bruises along her forehead, which she timidly tries to conceal behind bangs. SALMAN (V.O.) Drink it, youll be fine. She walks alongside JEROME, holding the door for him as he wheels himself inside the church. MEGAN (V.O.) No one said anything about drinking. The tracking shot follows them inside, until they pass the board from the opening shot. The one with the countless photographs. It holds still. WOMAN (V.O.) I love you too, have fun. And honey, please be safe. ROLL CREDITS