Poppe Culture
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UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-2008 Poppe Culture Jaq Greenspon University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Greenspon, Jaq, "Poppe Culture" (2008). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 2405. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/q39p-cvzj This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. POPPE CULTURE by Jaq Greenspon Associate of Arts Santa Monica City College 1993 Bachelor of Arts University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2005 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Department of English College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2008 UMI Number: 1463508 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, If unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 1463508 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Jaq Greenspon 2009 All Rights Reserved Thesis Approval uNiy The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas November 1 9 ,20 08 The Thesis prepared by JAQ GREENSPON Entitled "POPPE CULTURE" is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS Examination Committee Chair Wc— ;Cr Dean of the Graduate College Exmnmatiou Committee Member ion CdrnmiUee Member Graduate College Faculty Representative 11 ABSTRACT Poppe Culture by Jaq Greenspon Pablo Medina, Committee Chair Professor of Creative Writing University of Nevada, Las Vegas We open in Venice Beach, with the hung-over Skids Poppe (30’s). Skids, a former biker, is now a cult journalist for a variety of magazines. He still retains his dubious friends, one of which, Guantanamo Bey (30’s), is an ex-military loafer who’s sleeping on Skids’ floor. Skids refers to Guantanamo as his “faithful sidekick.” So, when another old friend, Bemie, calls Skids up and says he needs help. Skids and Guantanamo figure they’ll get a free breakfast out of it at their favorite hang-out, the Sidewalk Café, a Venice Beach landmark. Skids says he knows better, but he still agrees to help Bemie when it turns out his friend is a suspect in a murder case. Bemie has gone legit and now owns a successful bar on Main Street called the Cup of Fools. He is making so much money that his accountant. Marty, has suggested some kind of investment in which they could take a loss. So, when Bemie’s bartender Ja Alweighz, wanted money to direct his first film. Body Mechanics, Marty said it would be a good investment, even if they didn’t show a profit. I l l Bemie loaned Ja $150,000 and gave him a signature card for the account. The movie started shooting, everything was fine. Then, Ja took $80,000 out of the account at one time and disappeared. Two days later, he wound up dead, floating in the Venice Canals. Since it was from Bemie the money was stolen from, he is bound to be a suspect. Bemie wants Skids to find out who really killed Ja. Skids agrees, reluctantly, for the normal fee of $200 a day plus expenses (at least Skids thinks this is normal). Skids’ first move is to get Bemie out of town and sends him to Las Vegas to stay with Skids’ sister. Brandy. Brandy is not thrilled, but she agrees. Then Skids goes to Bemie’s bar to try and talk to the other people who work there, including Ja’s former girlfriend, August Everywhere (20’s) She’s the beautiful lead singer in the house band, Bridemaid’s Protocol. In the bar. Skids orders a drink which he sends to August. She agrees to see him after her set. After prompting, she recognizes his name from some of his articles. Skids, meanwhile, is smitten with August and so takes a while to get to his agenda.. .her dead ex-boyfriend. Eventually, she tells him they broke up a few days earlier and he asked to see her the night before he was killed. She tumed him down because she was mad at him for sleeping with her best friend and band mate. Spring Thyme. Though August and Skids stay up all night talking, it’s Spring who calls him first and agrees to tell her side of the story. Skids doesn’t like her nor believes her story that Ja was blackmailing her in exchange for not telling August about their affair. He doesn’t get much else out of her and, of course, gets stuck with the check. When he gets home that moming, Guantanamo tells him August called and wants to see him that night. She had found a key to Ja’s apartment and knew Skids wanted a IV copy of Ja’s shooting script. Before he meets August, though. Skids leaves messages for Bemie’s girlfriend, Gina, and Marty, the accountant. Skids is pretty shocked when he and August get to Ja’s apartment and find Gina inside.. .dead. August screams so loudly when they find the body. Skids has to call the police, since he knows they’re coming anyway. While they wait for the cops. Skids prints out all of Ja’s files on the film and pilfers a script. The cops act tough, wanting to hold them for something. But ultimately, they have to let the couple go. August is impressed with Skids’ cool act. They go for another walk and Skids finds out more about Ja. August tells him that Ja was traveling back and forth to Las Vegas and even gave her contact information for when he was out of town. During this. Skids and August have their first kiss, but August won’t let Skids come home with her. After he drops her off. Skids discovers August has left her day planner in his saddle bag. He can’t resist looking up the night Ja was killed to check her alibi. According to her schedule, August was playing a kid’s birthday party. Relieved, he sets his sights on Ja’s movie materials. Among other interesting things, he finds two budgets: One which matched the numbers Bemie had mentioned and one much larger. Skids realizes his next course of action is to visit the set of Body Mechanics. Skids arrives and lies, saying he’s writing an article for a movie magazine. One of the actors tells him there was a huge fight between Ja and his director of photography, Ian, possibly over a girl. By the time the fight was over, Ian was fired and the production was in danger of being delayed. They seemed to have straightened their differences out by the next day. Then Ja disappeared. Skids tries to talk to Ian, who has taken over as director, who gets mad and throws Skids off the set. Skids next appointment is lunch with Bemie’s accountant, Marty Haifisch. Skids is surprised by Marty’s hostility. Marty says what Bemie needs is a good lawyer, not some low-life joumalist. When Skids refuses to give up the case or divulge Bemie’s whereabouts, Marty leaves in a huff. Skids and August make plans to see each other, but Skids is still a little wary of her — he still doesn’t really know where she was the night Ja was killed, but he wants to believe she’s innocent. He plans for their date carefully taking her up the coast to have dinner at the beach. Afterward, they head back to Skids’ place. There, they are attacked by waiting thugs, whom Skids, after a long stmggle, manages to overcome and leaves tied up. He and August head for her place, where there are more thugs waiting. Skids and August get away due to Skids’ motorcycle riding expertise, but he knows they need to lay low, so they head for Vegas. While stopped for a meal halfway to Vegas, Skids and August get into an argument when she finds out he’s read her day planner, so she tries to hitch-hike back to Los Angeles. Finally, he convinces her to come with him. They wind up at his sister, . Brandy’s house in the middle of the night. Skids dreads having to tell Bemie about Gina and avoids the subject as long as possible. Then he and August decide to check out the address Ja gave August for him in Vegas. There, they meet a gorgeous dancer, Kim Goldman (20s), who, it seems, was also Ja’s girlfriend.