Short Form Anthology
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CONDENSED SHORT FORM ANTHOLOGY Here follows our compendium of short stories, film scripts, plays and a bibliography that should give you some sense of the possibilities of the short form. The Anthology continues to be a work in progress, and we would be grateful for any suggestions you have for future inclusion in this document. Jerome Gary, Kathy Murphy, and Sven Toorvald, Editors Short Films I. Session Man Seth Winston 3 II. Room 716: The Misbehavers Robert Rodriguez 27 III. The Making Of Killer Kite Screenplay by Bob Gray 55 Story by Mike Wallace IV. Prostitutes Stacy Cochran 81 John 106 V. Screenplay by Jerome A. Nachman Story by J. B. Sugar VI. The Homefront (or A Short Wait Between Trains) Michael Zaidan 126 VII. Maria & Jose Catherine Nilsen 144 VIII. El Santo Screenplay by Ryan Viguerie 160 Story by Ryan Viguerie & Fernando Lebrija IX. What Really Happened During Charlie McNamara 182 the Cuban Missile Crisis X. Inserts Jacqueline D. Hoyt 209 XI. Dogtown Screenplay by Howard Rabinowitz 227 & Gerardo Naranjo Story by Gerardo Naranjo XII. Bender Howard Rabinowitz 238 XIII. Nebraska Olga Zurawska 253 Story & Screenplay I. The Bet Story by Anton Chekhov 261 Screenplay by Rob Waller 267 II. The Girl with a Pimply Face Story by William C. Williams 280 Screenplay by Daryl G. Nickens 290 III. Among the Paths to Eden Story by Truman Capote 302 Screenplay by Eleanor Perry 312 & Truman Capote Short Story & Plays I. Three Hours Between Planes F. S. Fitzgerald 338 II. The Killers Ernest Hemingway 343 Chekhov III. The Wedding, a play Anton 351 IV. Are These Actual Miles? Raymond Carver 369 Why Don’t You Dance? 376 2. V. From Jesus’ Son: Emergency Denis Johnson 380 VI. Girls in Their Summer Dresses Irwin Shaw 389 VII. Going to the Dogs Richard Ford 396 VIII. Goodbye, Shirley Temple Joseph Mitchell 402 On the Wagon 405 The Kind Old Blonde 410 3. SESSION MAN original screenplay by Seth Winston 4. FADE IN: INT. McQUEEN BEDROOM - NIGHT In the faint light, curled up under the covers, a Man and a woman sleep in a queen-size bed. The PHONE RINGS SHRILLY next to a clock radio. It's 1:15 A.M. Digital time. MCQUEEN sits up in bed, collects his thoughts before he answers the phone. Mid-thirties, long hair, small gold stud in his left ear, a face that has done its share of living. The PHONE RINGS A SECOND TIME. McQueen looks over at his WIFE, who sleeps on undisturbed. Alert now, McQueen picks up the phone. MCQUEEN Yeah. LEE FISHER'S VOICE (O.S.) (over the phone) McQueen, Lee Fisher. Got a job for you. (beat) You want it? MCQUEEN Yeah, sure. When? LEE FISHER’S VOICE (O.S.) Now. McQueen's Wife stirs softly next to him. WIFE (whispers) Is it a job? (McQueen nods) Good. We could use the money. MCQUEEN (into phone) Where am I going? LEE FISHER’S VOICE (O.S.) Cherokee. MCQUEEN Who you workin' with? LEE FISHER’S VOICE (O.S.) I'll tell you when you get here. McQueen's eyebrow raises. That's a little unusual... 5. INT. SHOWER McQueen stands under the water, forcing himself to wake up-- INT. MCQUEEN LIVING ROOM - NIGHT McQueen enters, almost dressed. He coughs a couple of times to clear his lungs. His house is woodsy, rustic, a large fireplace. Not luxurious. But comfortable. He slugs down some coffee, finishes buttoning his shirt. Walks past the bedroom, sees his Wife sleeping in their bed. He picks up the tool of his trade... a black guitar case. Finds his sunglasses. EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE - NIGHT McQueen puts the guitar case in the back seat of a 1987 Honda Accord. Gets in behind the wheel, puts his sunglasses down on the seat next to his case. Starts the engine and heads off down the street. EXT. CHEROKEE RECORDING STUDIOS - NIGHT McQueen pulls into a parking lot next to a red brick building with no windows. Several limousines and a large mobile home are parked in the lot. A Security Guard comes over to the car, checks McQueen's name an a list. Waves McQueen in... INT. RECEPTION AREA - NIGHT No windows, gold records on the walls. McQueen enters, carrying his guitar case. LOUIS, a sixtyish Black Security Guard, sits behind a desk. LOUIS Hey, McQueen, how ya doin'? MCQUEEN Not bad, Louie, how you been? So who you got back in there? LOUIS Got the Raging Kings in tonight. The name "Raging Kings" registers on McQueen's face. LOUIS Those boys been on top of the mountain long time now. Louie buzzes McQueen in through a side door. 6. INT. CHEROKEE RECORDING STUDIOS McQueen steps into a hallway. A lavish buffet of food and drink is laid out. Carrying his bulky guitar case, McQueen threads his way through a hip crowd of beautiful young women, scruffy hangers-on, and well-dressed industry types. They are talking, snacking an catered sushi, Nicoise salad, French pastries, brie, Perrier, beer, single malt Scotch, the very best. McQueen passes by DAVID ABRAMS, 25, a junior "suit", who is trying very hard to impress a good-looking YOUNG WOMAN... YOUNG WOMAN ... So you work with the Kings? DAVID ... I'm with Goffigon Management. You know if you want, we could go out and catch some breakfast later with Torrey and Chris... The Young Woman's eyes light up. McQueen makes his way past a Photographer, reaches the end of the hall. LEONARD, the Kings' efficient bodyguard, stands by a thick door. When he sees McQueen, Leonard looks him up and down... LEONARD You McQueen? McQueen nods. Leonard opens the door, admitting McQueen into the inner sanctum... INT. MIXING ROOM Absolutely state-of-the-art. The session's Producer, LEE FISHER, the Engineer, STUART, and Assistant Engineer, NEAL, sit behind the mixing board. Rock royalty are in the studio tonight, and the people working are the best in the business. Tonight the situation is very tense and volatile, and no one turns their head when McQueen enters. LOUD ANGRY VOICES from the studio come over the speakers. McQueen looks through the glass wall separating the Mixing Room and the Studio. What McQueen sees surprises even him, a longtime veteran of the rock wars. Tho four members of the legendary rock group Raging Kings are attempting to record their next album. But years of turmoil and in-fighting have taken their toll, and tho Kings are starting to burst apart at the seams. DEAN STORM, the flamboyant guitarist of the Kings plays a few angry notes on his guitar. TORREY COLE, vocalist and frontman of the Kings, is not happy. 7. TORREY We've got three bands out there doing what we did last year, and you wanna play it again? DEAN They're just cheap imitations of me anyway. This is what I do. CHRIS MANNING, the lanky bass player, lights up a cigarette. CHRIS You've gotten lazy, man. What happened to trying something new? DEAN What happened to you shutting the fuck up? Chris has had enough. He yanks his pickup out of his amp, goes over and stands next to the drum kit. SPIDER MOORE sits uneasily on his stool, pointedly avoiding taking sides. From a working class background, Spider is the member of the group who most personifies the rock and roll spirit. INT. MIXING ROOM Standing behind the mixing board, McQueen overhears Lee Fisher talking to PETER GOFFIGON, the trim, balding, savvy Manager of the Kings. Goffigon wears a coat and tie. GOFFIGON It's never been this bad before. We've spent $600,000 dollars, and what have we got? FISHER Two great tracks. GOFFIGON Yeah. In six weeks. Neal gets up from the board and comes over to McQueen. NEAL Hey, McQueen. How you doin’? MCQUEEN Doin' all right. (glances into studio) What's the problem? 8. NEAL They fuckin' hate each other. That's what the problem is. Neal sits back down behind the board. A feisty, slightly overweight Woman catches McQueen's eye from across the room. He nods back. Like McQueen, DARCY VANCE has been around a long time. She is a singer and a damn good one. But her niche in life is as a Backing Vocalist. Suddenly BONE-JANGLING ELECTRIC GUITAR -- Darcy looks away from McQueen, watches the Musicians on the other side of the glass... INT. RECORDING STUDIO Dean is purposely playing ear-splitting out-of-tune noise on his guitar. Just to irritate the other members of the band. As Dean loudly screeches away, Torrey is fuming. He goes over to Dean, threateningly -- TORREY Why can't you do me a personal fucking favor and play it the way we want?! DEAN 'Cause it sucks. (approaches the drum kit) That right, Spider? Is that what you wanna do, man? You wanna play it the way -- (glances sharply at Torrey) "we" want to play it? SPIDER We could try it. It'd be better than just fuckin' sittin' here. Dean realizes it's three against one. Turns to the mixing room, calls over to Lee Fisher... DEAN Sure. Play it back. (sarcastic) Sorry I've been fucking this up for everybody. Torrey shoots Dean an “It's about time” look. 9. INT. MIXING ROOM Neal, the Assistant Engineer, punches up the PLAYBACK. McQueen listens carefully to the tracks which have already been recorded. Drums, bass, vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, all the tracks but the solo voice of the lead guitar. McQueen watches Dean Storm prepare to play. Darcy Vance comes over to McQueen.