Posted October 4, 2011 at 3:11pm in the gangster squad movie film on the set celebs emma stone ryan gosling
The Absence of Presence script
My last semester at school I wrote this script and I wanted to film it, but kind of forgot about it, today i reread it and changed it a bit.
INT. DARK ROOM - NIGHT
large room, with walls lined in bookcases from floor to
ceiling, filled with dusty books. There is no windows in this
room, and only one door that is also surrounded by book
cases. The lighting is very dim and there is only two larger
than life red velvet chairs in the middle of the room, with a
coffee table between them. There are no bright colors,
everything is in tones of brown, grey, black and red. There
is a vase black flowers in the middle of the coffee table.
CLOSE UP OF MARY (20) DARK RED WAVEY HAIR, GREEN EYES VERY
BEAUTIFUL IN BLACK DRESS SHE LOOKS VERY TIRED, DARK CIRCLES
UNDER HER EYES, FRAIL. SHE IS CRADLING A NEW BORN BABY IN HER
RIGHT ARM WRAPPED IN A PINK BLANKET, WE CAN JUST BARELY SEE
THE BABIES FACE.
Mary looking very concerned takes a deep breath, scratches
her eyebrow, closes her eyes deep in thought.
CLOSE UP of Mary’s Lap, we see a BIBLE laying on her lap open
to PSALMS 34:17 (When the righteous cry for help, the Lord
hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.)
Mary Rolls her Eyes, and flings her free hand in frustration,
Closes the bible quickly, sets it down on the table in front
of her and pushes it forward.
The baby begins to fuss and Mary bows down and kisses the
baby on the forehead rocking her body slowly to calm down the
baby. Mary brushes the babies face lightly and smiles in
admiration.
MARY
I just don’t understand….
Mary shakes her head and breaths out deeply, looks down at
the baby in her arms, who is now very calm and quiet, looks
at the bible on the table in front of her.
MARY (CONT’D)
I just Feel so foolish, believing
that there is this man in the sky
who was going to save me… (pauses
for a while and than continues more
angry) I am such a fucking joke.
THIS IS HELL! Am I being punished,
did i not do enough?
PULL BACK TO REVEAL AZRIEL (ABOUT 45) SITTING IN CHAIR ACROSS
FROM MARY. TALL, DARK HAIR, ALLURING BLUE EYES, PALE SKIN,
WEARING DARK JEANS AND A WHITE SHIRT, CASUAL. SITTING
SIDEWAYS WITH FEET HANGING OVER THE ARMREST
Azriel’s eyes flash and the corner of his mouth twitches as
he waits for Mary to finish her thought.
Mary’s eyes narrow and she squirms in her chair
MARY - ANGRY
You think this is a joke? You think
this is funny? This is MY LIFE it
is not a joke!
Mary gets up and drags across the room to one of the book
cases, her head hangs low in defeat.
AZRIEL - DRY
Continue.
Mary brushes her hands against the books, whipping the dust
off the spines revealing dates written on them.
MARY
Something has changed within me,
all i can do is second guess
everything i believed in.. Its like
i cant tell right from wrong
anymore and i just feel so
(struggles) lost.
Mary laughs to herself as she walks back to the chair, and
sits down.
Azriel looks pleased that she is finding humor in the
situation. Swings his legs forward and sets his elbows on his
knees, with his hands folded in front of him.
MARY (CONT’D)
Stop that.. stop looking at me like
that. (she rolls her eyes, and
places her feet on the coffee table
in a folded fashion swtiching the
baby from one art to the other) Its
just funny, you know the bible says
in everything give thanks to God…
in EVERYTHING!
After a few moments of silence Azriel begins to laugh widely
The baby begins to cry startled by the sudden outburst of
laughter, mary rocks the baby back and foth but it does not
help.
MARY (WHISPERING TO THE BABY) (CONT’D)
Its okay sweet baby, everything is
going to be alright, i am here,
everything is fine.
Azriel continues to cackle until he abruptly stops, leaning
forward towards Mary only inches away from her face, his eyes
that were once alluring now seem very frigid. He looks at the
baby, and begins to reach for it.
Mary smacks Azriel’s hands away from the baby with a very
concerned look on her face.
AZRIEL
You weren’t ready for it anyway..
Mary is now holding her breath, trying not to cry, she is
looking past Azriel, and holding the baby very close to her
chest with both arms.
AZRIEL (CONT’D)
I have a job to do.
Mary begins shaking her head rapidly, she is shaking and
fighting back tears.
MARY
No, no, no.. you cant do it, there
has to be a way around it. I can
change, I can make this better.
The baby is still crying, its getting worse and Mary can not
do anything to make the baby calm down, this in turn makes
mary very upset and she begins to cry.
Azriel looks at Mary very calmly and nods his head.
Mary stands up kisses the baby on its head, and hands it over
to Azriel.
She turns, walks towards the door and as she walks pasts the
books she pulls a handful of them off in anger as she is
sobbing
We hear the books drop to the ground and echo because of the
large room.
We do not hear the baby crying anymore.
Mary opens the door, her face hot with rage
The door slams and the camera revels a small silver name
plaque attached to the wall inscribed “DEATH”
Any input?
get ready to give this your all, work 80 hours a week, not know when or who your next paycheck is going to come from and be persistent. i am only here because i never believed that giving up was an option.
Posted March 24, 2011 at 11:46pm in production design food stylist sweeney todd Dante Ferretti film inspire
Advice for Young Designers
1: Be authentic. The most powerful asset you have is your individuality, what makes you unique. It’s time to stop listening to others on what you should do. 2: Work harder than anyone else and you will always benefit from the effort. 3: Get off the computer and connect with real people and culture. Life is visceral. 4: Constantly improve your craft. Make things with your hands. Innovation in thinking is not enough. 5: Travel as much as you can. It is a humbling and inspiring experience to learn just how much you don’t know. 6: Being original is still king, especially in this tech-driven, group-grope world. 7: Try not to work for stupid people or you’ll soon become one of them. 8: Instinct and intuition are all-powerful. Learn to trust them. 9: The Golden Rule actually works. Do good. 10: If all else fails, No. 2 is the greatest competitive advantage of any career.
