Psych Spec Script: "Baby You're a Firework"
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Psych Spec Script: "Baby You're a Firework" by Robert F. Peterson Robert F. Peterson 21-15 27th Street Astoria, NY 11105 516 // 582 // 1300 [email protected] @robertfpeterson robertfpeterson.com 2. EXT. BACKYARD - DAY Overlay: 1987 SHAWN stands in his father's backyard holding a bottle rocket. SHAWN Gus, do you realize what this means? GUS Yeah. Punishment, no TV, a lifelong scar and possible limb amputation. SHAWN You're no fun. This is liberation. This is liberty. This is our destiny! The beginning of our future as pyrotechnics, touring the world with traveling circuses and blasting the sky with showers of fire that will help solidify the dreams of kids everywhere and their dream of living life on the edge. GUS Nope. Beat. GUS (CONT'D) Not me, SHAWN. You know I always wanted to be a salesman with a wife and three kids. I don't have unrealistic dreams like you! SHAWN C'mon, Gus! You're really bringing me down. Shawn starts patting down the pockets on the front of his button up shirt. SHAWN (CONT'D) I can't find the matches. Give them to me. 3. GUS No way, Shawn. You know your Dad is going to be home any minute and he's going to call my parents and then bye-bye fun-loving Gus and hello Burton - go to bed with no dinner - Guster. And you know tonight is taco night. Shawn continues to pat his shirt and then continues to his jeans, he starts to pat the front and seemingly finds something. He reaches in and pulls out a small box of matches. SHAWN Niceeeeeee. Now stand back, Gus, and bask in my eternal glory! Shawn opens up the box of matches, reaches in and grabs one. He goes to strike the match on the side of the box and nothing happens. SHAWN (CONT'D) What the. Shawn continues to run the match on the side of the box, at first slowly and then increasingly more frantic. This continues until he finally decides to take another, this yields the same result. GUS You see, Shawn, this was a really dumb idea. You don't even know how to strike a match and you think you're going to launch that bottle rocket into the sky. SHAWN It's going to happen. You watch. Shawn, now more determined then ever, starts taking out each match one-by-one and striking it against the side of the box. Each match increases his frustration and determination. Suddenly we hear clapping. HENRY (O.C.) Shawn, you never cease to amaze me! SHAWN Oh, shoot. Shawn throws the bottle rocket to Gus. 4. SHAWN (CONT'D) Oh. Beat. SHANW (CONT'D) Uh. Hi, Dad. We were just, uh, hanging out. Right, Gus? GUS Yeah, Mr. Spencer, just, uh, standing around and trying to listen to the ocean. Shawn shoots a look at Gus pretty much saying "that's the best you can do?". Gus shrugs his shoulders admitting defeat. HENRY I'm proud in some ways, Shawn. I really am. You somehow avoided all my traps and I hardly even noticed you got to the bottle rocket. Of course leaving it in such an obvious place I knew you wouldn't be able to resist. Henry kneels down next to Shawn. HENRY (CONT'D) But you missed something really, really simple, and that's what is puzzling. You see, Shawn, when all the pieces don't fit it means something is wrong. Gus sees that this ticking time bomb is about to go off and tries to slyly leave the backyard and go home. HENRY (CONT'D) Gus, stay right there. Your parents are on their way. GUS Shoot. Beat. GUS (CONT'D) Thanks, Shawn, now taco night is cancelled. HENRY You live with those choices, Gus. 5. Henry focuses his attention on Shawn. HENRY (CONT'D) Now look around again. See what the problem is. Shawn is annoyed by this request. SHAWN C'mon, Dad. I'm not in the mood. Plus you're blaming me and clearly Gus is the one with the bottle rocket. GUS HEY! HENRY Gus, don't worry I know it was Shawn. Apparently he thinks I'm blind and didn't see him throwing the bottle rocket to you. Shawn Vision takes over the screen and Shawn notices that the strike-pad on the side of the matchbox doesn't have any streaks but does have scratches. He then focuses on the matches on the floor, all of them are missing the tips. He then focuses on the remaining matches in the box and those, too, are missing the tips. SHAWN You cut off the tips of the matches? That's slightly disturbing and must've taken hours. HENRY (Contemplative) Yeah, it was kind of a laborious task... Beat. HENRY (CONT'D) But it was well worth it. Now every hour I did that will be the amount of days you will be grounded. It took me about three- and-a-half hours so we will round that up - 6. SHAWN But, Dad, I learned my lesson and I think I already served my punishment by seeing the error in my dreams of being a pyrotechnic. So if you'll excuse me I'm going to call Gus' parents and we are going to focus on our real dream of being the next Ebony & Ivory. GUS I call dibs on Paul McCartney HENRY That doesn't even make sense - Beat. HENRY (CONT'D) I can't believe I just responded to that. Shawn, you're grounded for a week. Gus, I think I hear your parents pulling up. Henry puts his hand back on Shawn's shoulder HENRY (CONT'D) Shawn, this really is for your own good. You'll see that I was right one of these days. EXT. BEACH PARKING LOT - DAY Shawn and Gus are walking next to each other and both have cups of ice cream, Shawn then starts drinking the melted ice cream goodness from the cup. SHAWN Kareem! Shawn mimics Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his famous "sky hook". The slow motion footage makes us feel what Shawn is imagining, it's late in the 4th Quarter, his team is down by one in the closing seconds and this basket will win the NBA Championship. We follow the cup as it flies through the air and straight into Gus' face. GUS What the hell was that? 7. SHAWN Gus, that was a perfect shot. It was going right into that garbage can. GUS That shot that just flew into my face was going into that garbage can over there? We see that despite the fact that Shawn threw the cup into Gus' face there was really no chance he would've made the shot given the garbage can was over 20 feet away. SHAWN Gus, you know I have a super-human arm. Remember that no-hitter I threw in little league. GUS You walked three batters and then hit Bobby Jenkins in the back. He started crying so much that he hyperventilated and couldn't finish the game and then his team had to forfeit. SHAWN It was one of my finest moments. GUS No, Shawn, it was one of your worst. You started crying too and we didn't even get pizza after because you were so upset. SHAWN That was me being sympathetic and trying to help Bobby out. It's embarrassing crying in front of all those people, he needed my support. I'm a great friend. GUS Shawn, you're incorrigible. SHAWN Yes, I am adorable. You're so sweet. GUS I can't even deal with you. Beat. 8. GUS (CONT'D) Wait, was there any ice cream left in that cup? You better not have gotten any ice cream on me. There is a decent glob of ice cream on the shoulder of Gus' shirt. SHAWN In the 20-something years we have known each other have you ever seen me waste even a drop of ice cream. GUS Pft, I'd be lucky if you even gave me a taste sometimes. SHAWN You got that right. Both men fist bump. LASSITER and JULIA are both on the beach examining the body of a man who has apparently been the victim of a terrible pyrotechnic accident. The man's clothes are all burnt and his hands are literally blown off, as if he was holding the firework when it exploded. LASSITER Damn. JULIA Yeah, I know the feeling. But at the look of this blast he probably didn't feel any pain. LASSIDER What? I don't care about this goon! This is clearly an accidental death. Lassiter looks over to the other officers. LASSIDER Bag him and tag him, boys. Shawn and Gus reach the scene of the crime. SHAWN Doggie or Plastic? LASSIDER Har. Har. Har. 9. Beat. LASSIDER (CONT'D) Burton, what the hell happened to your shirt? Park under a tree? Lassiter turns around to reveal that he too fell victim to a bird's droppings. LASSIDER (CONT'D) Yeah, it got me too. GUS Shawn. You said it was empty. Beat. Gus' face almost turns white as if he saw a ghost. GUS (CONT'D) Oh, damn. What the- Cut to: opening credits End of Teaser. 10. EXT. BEACH - DAY - CONTINUOUS SHAWN Gus, don't be a wimp - Shawn vision takes over and he notices that his left hand isn't mangled but completely missing as if amputated or a birth defect.