CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE THE (UN)CHOSEN ONES A graduate project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting by Mario Ardito Yuwono May 2020 The graduate project of Mario Ardito Yuwono is approved by: Professor Scott Sturgeon Date Professor Morgan Land Date Professor Alexis Krasilovsky, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Table of Contents Signature Page ii Abstract iv The (Un)Chosen Ones - Screenplay 1 iii ABSTRACT THE (UN)CHOSEN ONES A feature-length screenplay by Mario Ardito Yuwono Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting In the Kingdom of Tirine, a myth tells of a Chosen One destined to save the land from the evil Dark Elf lord Arcturus every century. But the truth is…it’s all a sham, orchestrated by Arcturus as a means of amusement with everyone none the wiser. Now, Arcturus’ son Ypheus picks up where his father left off to continue the tradition, and in a surprising turn he designates four young men as the new unwitting Chosen Ones. But as they embark on their quest to “stop” Ypheus, they fall short and leave the fate of the kingdom at the hands of two unlikely tagalongs: Caleb, a young idealistic orphan, and Siobhan, a jaded blacksmith. Over time friendships and legacies will be tested, true natures will be revealed, and everyone will learn what it is that defines a real hero. iv The (Un)Chosen Ones – Screenplay EXT. DARK VALLEY - CLEARING - DAY Dark clouds loom overhead. Our HERO stands in the middle of a barren clearing. Battered and disheveled, but still boyish and handsome; the kind of hero type that wouldn't be out of place in a "Lord of the Rings"-type story. In the distance, mountains span the valley with an ominous and foreboding castle built into them. Hero takes out a large medallion from his satchel. It's beautiful, made of gold with a central gemstone. He holds it up to the sky, at the castle. There's a glint of light from the gemstone. A loud and menacing foghorn sound echoes throughout. Not far away, a large puff of green smoke materializes, accompanied by small crackles of lightning. From the smoke, ARCTURUS emerges. Tall, slender humanoid with pointed ears, silvery white hair and a corpse-like pallor. Arcturus flicks his wrist. With a rumble, a small army of ELEMENTAL SOLDIERS emerge from the ground below. One of them roars at Hero in a show of force. Hero is undeterred. He and Arcturus walk toward each other. They stop. A short distance between them. A stare down. DARK VALLEY - OVERLOOK - CONTINUOUS The SEER, a wizened old man in the vein of Gandalf, stands on the rocky overlook. He observes the standoff between the Hero and Arcturus, far away and down below, in anticipation. A DARK ELF WARRIOR quietly advances on the Seer, whose back is turned. The Warrior unsheathes a curved dagger... DARK VALLEY - CLEARING - CONTINUOUS The Hero glances at the elemental soldiers behind Arcturus on standby. He and Arcturus circle each other. Hero looks at the back of his hand. There's a glowing ornate symbol on it. He’s determined. He holds the medallion to his chest. It glows and enters into him. His eyes glow a bright blue. 1 Arcturus laughs. He gets into a fighting stance. They charge at each other... CUT TO: DARK VALLEY - OVERLOOK - DAY The Dark Elf Warrior opens a bottle of ale with the dagger. He hands it to the Seer, who drinks. SEER Wow! Oh, bugger me! That is the good shit! DARK ELF WARRIOR I figured you'd like it. The Seer hands the bottle back to the Warrior. They take turns drinking and help themselves to a food platter. The Seer and the Warrior sit on the overlook in the foreground, as the Hero and Arcturus do battle OUT-OF-FOCUS in the background. SEER (re: bottle) Where'd you find this anyway? DARK ELF WARRIOR Village we ransacked. Run by some human woman named…Martha, I think? SEER Martha's Vineyard? I hear it’s nice. DARK ELF WARRIOR Clear skies, blue waters. Greenery as far as the eye can see. Well, the ones we didn't chop down anyway. You should go when this is over. SEER I can't afford it. DARK ELF WARRIOR Let's just say now's a non-busy season. The Warrior taps his nose knowingly. SEER Ah, you cheeky git! 2 DARK VALLEY - OVERLOOK - MOMENTS LATER In the background, still out-of-focus, the Hero and Arcturus are still at it. The Seer and the Warrior still watch. DARK ELF WARRIOR (CONT'D) So you and your...fellowship have been traveling for the past... SEER Forty five days. DARK ELF WARRIOR So, when was the last time you had to...you know... The Warrior makes a wanking motion. SEER A fortnight ago. DARK ELF WARRIOR Bloody hell! SEER What do you expect? Nearest inn is hundreds of miles away. After that it's just open plains. There weren't any big enough trees or giant rocks or bushes for me to hide behind. DARK ELF WARRIOR You should do something about that. The Seer shushes him. In the background, the Hero gathers a pulsing ball of energy. He fires on Arcturus, who fires his own energy blast. Both beams collide with each other, resulting in a huge orb in the center. SEER And that's our cue. The Seer and the Warrior get up. They shake hands. SEER (CONT'D) Good talk. DARK ELF WARRIOR See you in a hundred years? Oh shite, sorry. Forgot. You guys aren't immortal. 3 SEER It's fine. You didn't know. They go their separate ways. The Seer runs down from the overlook. DARK VALLEY - CLEARING - DAY The orb increases in size, with the force causing dust and rocks to hover off the ground. Hero plants his foot down and exerts even more power into his energy blast. It slowly overpowers Arcturus' blast. He unleashes every power he has for one more push. HERO Return to where you came from, lord of shadows! The energy blast completely overpowers Arcturus, who screams and slowly disintegrates into dust, scattered in the wind floating about. Hero falls to his knees tired, as Arcturus' elemental soldiers collapse and go back into the ground. The Seer runs up to Hero. SEER You've done it... HERO I...I guess I did... They look up. The overcast skies clear up to let some light in, but not too much. Hero checks his hand. The symbol is gone. HERO (CONT'D) What now? SEER It means…you can go home. We all can. HERO For now. But he'll be back. SEER And we will be waiting. The Seer helps Hero up. They mount their horses and ride out of the valley. As they disappear from sight… 4 The dust floating about gather together. One after another. It forms into an amorphous blob, and then back into Arcturus, alive and looking as pale as before the fight. ARCTURUS Whooo! The Dark Elf Warrior runs up to him. DARK ELF WARRIOR My liege! ARCTURUS So…how was I? DARK ELF WARRIOR Sir, if there were trophies for acting, you’d win uncontested. ARCTURUS Thank you, Chuck. Now then... Arcturus flicks his wrist. The green smoke portal from earlier reappears. The two step into the portal. It disappears. MONTAGE A Chosen One "kills" Arcturus with an energy blast, just as before. A different Chosen One does the same thing. And another. And another. And another. On and on... Each iteration of the Chosen One, similar to the one from the beginning. All interchangeable. All throughout, Arcturus acts out his dramatic "death". Gives as good as he's got. Over time, boredom and listlessness kicks in. In the final go-around, he lets out a long, disaffected sigh. END MONTAGE. FADE TO WHITE. INT. ARCTURUS' CASTLE - DINING HALL – DAY SUPER: Many Centuries Later A vast and lavish dining hall, fit for a king. Or a tyrant. YPHEUS, Dark Elf, three hundred years old but looks about thirty, sits at the head of the table with a medieval birthday hat. His father Arcturus stands beside him, beaming. 5 On the table in front of him, a pale-colored cake with three candles on it. The candles light themselves. Off to the side, Dark Elf servants stand in a choir. Others assemble as an audience. DARK ELF SERVANTS (singing) For he's a jolly good Dark Elf! For he's a jolly good Dark Elf! For he's a jolly good Dark Eeeelf! Which nobody can deny! Which nobody can denyyy! (beat) Or else! Everybody cheers and claps. Ypheus looks bored. ARCTURUS There we go! Now, come on boy! Make a wish. Just nothing cute or cuddly. Or nice by human standards. You get the picture. Ypheus glances at everyone in the room. He blows out the candles. CUT TO: INT. DORA'S SCHOOL FOR ORPHANS - COURTYARD - DAY Smoke wafts from extinguished candles on a modest cake. Eighteen candles all. CALEB, eighteen, sits and faces the cake. All around, a small group of ORPHANS of varying ages cheer him on. Among them is WILL, fourteen. The group disperses. Will stays behind. Pats Caleb on the back, who’s bored. WILL Congratulations, Caleb! CALEB Thanks. I guess. The two walk over to a nearby small table with some presents. Caleb goes through the presents. It’s mostly tunics. CALEB (CONT'D) So many tunics. Oh joy. 6 WILL Wait! Here's something different.