Written by Common Threads 2 2 TITLES OVER BLACK: CHAPTER ONE BLANK MAKES YOU CRAZY EXT. HAWKINS SKY – LATE AFTERNOON Super impose titles: OCTOBER 31st, 1985 HAWKINS, INDIANA TILT DOWN to reveal... THE WHEELER RESIDENCE with HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS LUCA S (O.S) Gee thanks Mrs Whee ler. INT. WHEELER HOUSE – BASEMENT - LATE AFTERNOON LUCAS descends the BASEMENT STRAIRCASE . When he reaches the bottom we see that he’ s dressed in a COSTUME , resembling Leroy Green ’ s first outfit from The Last Dragon . He’s also eating a COOKIE shaped li ke a tiny severed arm. LUCA S (Surprised) What the hell Mike! Why aren’ t you dressed? PAN OVER to MIKE in a SHIRT and BOXERS , hunched over and playing an ATARI 7800 M IKE is in the zone and doesn’t react. LUCA S Hello earth to Mike. Treat or t reat. Sti ll no reaction from MIKE LUCAS walks over to MIKE and loo ks at the game that’s got his attention. LUCA S Really? Millipede ? Man that thing ’ s unbeatable. MIKE Not trying to win. Just beat personal best. LUC A S Uh , okay. So are you coming or - MIKE S t ay here until El c all at 8. T hen we watch Splash over phone. 3 3 A DARK SILHOUETTE resembling the DEMOGORGON descends the STAIRS LUCAS Well Dustin should be here soon, so I’ll head out if - The SILHOUETTED FIGURE reaches out and we hear a ROAR that sounds like the DEMOGORGON . LUCAS SCREAM S and he and MIKE turn towards the INTRUDER The INTRUDER step s out of the shadows and in the low light it looks like a DEMOGORGON . MIKE falls out of his CHAIR , but LUCAS delivers a k ung fu punch t o the DEMOGORGON ’S gut The DEMOGORGON falters back hugging its stomach. DEMOGORGON Shit! Shit! Shit! LUCAS is surprised . Mike sits up from the ground similarly bemused. DEMOGORGON Son of a bitch! The DEMOGORGON reaches toward its head and removes something from the centre of its open maw, revealing the face of none other than DUSTIN. DUSTIN (Catching his breath) Why’d you hit me? LUCAS What do you mean? You - y ou snuck up on us DUSTIN Well I guess we’re even now huh. LUCAS What? DUSTIN Last summer. T he Farrah Fawcett S p r a y. LUCAS What? DUSTIN Forget about it LUCAS Oh. Farrah Fawcett. Really? 4 4 DUSTIN I said forget it. ( Rubs his stomach) O h shit. LUCAS Look I’m sorry. Are you okay? DUSTIN Yeah. Yeah. It’s padded, so i t didn’t hurt that much. LUCAS Really, I’m sorr y Dustin. I thought - man how the hell did you put this together. DUSTIN Well you see it’s actually a lot simpler than you’d think. The suit is a cheap replica of the Xenomorph from Alien I found it in a dumpster a few months ago. The real tricky part w as figuring out the best way to connect the speakers to the head. DUSTIN shows LUCAS a SMALL CYLIND RICAL DEVICE with a BUTTON on top, attach ed to a WIRE running up al ong the right arm of his SUIT DUSTIN press es the BUTTON a nd we hear the same ROAR we h e a rd earlier. LUCAS Awesome. DUSTIN Right. LUCAS Hold on. Should you be going out like that ? I mean is n’t it against the whole secrecy - DUSTIN Nah, i t shouldn’t matter. I think the government is less concerned with us , then preventing another R ussian invasion. I mean I was pretty instrumental in uncovering th e first one and I didn’t even get a medal, not that I was expect ing them to give me one, but they didn’t ev en offer so really what’s up with that. LUCAS But if they gave you a medal , you could n’t show it to anybody so it ’d be pointless DUSTIN Well, I guess. Hey Mike why are you in your underwear? MIKE is back playing the ATARI , but he’s still sitting on the floor. MIKE You should go now. Miss all the candy. 5 5 DUSTIN Okay, but - MIKE El call s oon. N eed to get ready. DUSTIN (Whispers to LUCAS) Did he hit his head? LUCAS (Whispers to DUSTIN) Nah, I think it’s the video games. DUSTIN (Whispers to LUCAS) Or its cause he’s only been talking with El and now he sounds just like her. It’s like they’ re one person now, like an old married couple. LUCAS Yeah right. DUSTIN Okay Mike, see ya. LUCAS L ater Mike. LUCAS and DUSTIN make their way up the STAIRS , as we slowly DOLLY IN on MIKE. DUSTIN (O.S) Max still AWOL ? LUCAS (O.S) Last time I checked. DUSTIN (O.S) Hmm, maybe we’ll see her LUCAS (O.S) Yeah. Hey did you try some of these cookies, they ’re pretty good. DUSTIN (O.S) Can’ t. The hands have no grip. LUCAS (O.S) Oh, so how are you supposed to carry you r bag? DUSTIN (O.S) Got that covered. Check it out. 6 6 LUCAS (O.S) Dude serious ly . That’s just disturbing. DUSTIN (O.S) C’mon we never got that close to the D emogorgon. I t could have a pouch. LUCAS (O.S) Yeah I guess, it ’s just you could have asked me to carry you r bag. DUSTIN (O.S) Well it ’ s too late now. Anyway the real reason I’m wearing this is for Dart. LUCAS (O.S) It at e you r cat, you remember right? DUSTIN (O.S) Yeah well aside from that, this would have been our one - year anniversary. LUCAS (O.S) Yeah , you got to let that go. DUST IN (O.S) Oh buddy, one day you will know love like that and it will change your life forever. LUCAS (O.S) What are you talking about ? I thought Suzie was your one an d only. DUSTIN (O.S) That’s different. What Suzie and I have is special , because we fou nd each other at camp. The difference is I found Dart. I think I was meant to find him. LUCAS (O.S) What ? T hat’s crazy. DUSTIN (O.S) I don’t know , is it? LUCAS (O.S) Yeah it is. There’ s a short pause, and we get the idea that some one has walked in on them. NANCY (O.S) Seriously Dustin, that thing killed Barb. MIK E’S eyes begin to close, and then the TELEPHONE RINGS. 7 7 TITLES OVER BLACK: CHAPTER TWO YOU RULE, YOU SUCK CLOSE UP SHOT of a TELEVISION SCREEN We watch a scene from the first act of the film 2001 : A Space Odyssey , the part w h ere the man - apes discover the Monolith. STEVE (O.S) Are you sure this isn’t that one with the talking monkeys. ROBIN (O.S) What? No , that’s an entirely different movie. Also they were apes , dingus. We gradually ZOOM O UT ... STEVE (O.S) Okay geez. They’re apes not monkeys, g ot it. But are they like gonna do something or just keep looking at that thing. ROBIN (O.S) Do you want me to explain the entire film to you or are you going to actually let yourself experience this pi ece of art. STEVE (O.S) Oh, is that what that is ? I thought it was like a spaceship. ROBIN (O.S) What are you talking about? STEVE (O.S) The thing - t he rectangle thing. ROBIN (O.S) Yeah I see that. (Beat) Oh my god! I meant the film is art , not the Monolith. STEVE (O.S) Oh, okay. Monolith. C ool. So there are tiny aliens in there. ROBIN (O.S) (Sigh) Yeah, but the monkey’s don’t know that. They think it’s like their creator. STEVE (O.S) Whoa . Hey , you said they aren ’t monkeys. ROBIN (O.S) Wel l l ook at that , you were paying attention a nd technically they’re man - apes. We finish ZOOM ING OUT to reveal... 8 8 INT. FAMILY VIDEO RENTA L – SUNSET ROBIN and STEVE are seated behind the COUNTER watching a SMALL TV SET, while a CUSTOMER who we recognise as SCOTT CLARK E stands waiting to be served. STEVE Seriously Robin, what the hell is this movie? ST EVE looks over his shoulder and is startled by SCOTT STEVE Holy crap! STEVE knocks over a STACK OF VHS from the return pile Robin turns around, seeing the c ommotion and gives STEVE a shameful look. SCOTT I didn’t mean to cause a ruckus. Are you okay there? STEVE (Picking up the videos ) Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks. ROBIN Sorry it was a little slow earlier, so we thought why not take a break. I hope we didn’t kee p you waiting too long. SCOTT Oh no , quite the opposite. I’ve been meaning to re - watch 2001 I was actually thinking of doing a Kubrick marathon. ROBIN That sounds totally awesome. SCOTT Yeah, I guess so. ROBIN Well I could check if those films are ava ilable SCOTT Oh no, that’s okay. I think I’ll just maybe - SCOTT looks around like he’s a bit lost. STEVE Whoa, what’s up Mr Clarke? 9 9 ROBIN Don’t be a dweeb Steve. You can call him Scott. SCOTT (Beat) I t’s just – this is the first Halloween without Je n. STEVE Oh. Oh! Did she - ROBIN (Smacks STEVE’S arm) Steve! STEVE What I was only asking? SCOTT No it’s al right. The breaku p was mutual . I just didn’t consider how all the memories of us together c ould come back , especially during the holidays. ROBIN and STEVE aren’t sure what to say or do in this situation. SCOTT See ing you two together is really - really nice ROBIN What? Us? SCOTT Yes. STEVE Me and Robin? ROBIN Robin and I. STEVE What? ROBIN You were grammatically incorrect. STEVE Well he kn ow s what I mean. 10 10 SCOTT I’m sorry , did I say the wrong thing. ROBIN No. W ell kind of. We’re not together. STEVE Yeah. Just friends. Amigos. Compadres. ROBIN E mployees. SCOTT Well, I apologise for the assumption. STEVE Ah don’t sweat it Mr Clarke – Scott. Look I’ve only had one serious relationship with a girl and we were able to kind of end it, in a way that was better for the both of us. I can totally understand where you ’ r e coming from. SCOTT Thank you Steve, but I’m - ROBIN Yeah it’s not like you need to completely erase the past to move on. Those memories are a part of you, and you can find comfort in knowing that the relationship you had actually meant something. SCOTT Very true Robin. It’s like Newton ’ s Third Law. ROBIN Exactly. ( To cluel ess STEVE) Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. STEVE Huh. You take the good with the bad and the bad with the good. SCOTT Yes , t hat too. ROBIN is slightly impressed with STEVE. SCOTT Well I won’t keep you any longer. I guess I ’ll just gra b some candy; I don’t think I got enough this year. 11 11 STEVE Sure. STEVE walks over to the candy bar and opens the JARS , while ROBIN eject s the VHS of 2001 and put s it into the appropriate CASE SCOTT I’ll ta k e a whole jar of them mixed, if that’s doable STEVE Absolutely doable ROBIN hands SCOTT the VHS of 2001. ROBIN We can always watch it another time. SCOTT Thank you Robin. STEVE comes over with a JAR OF MIXED CANDY and SCOTT pays with a generous tip. As SCOTT leaves he turns back to ROBIN and STEVE. SCOTT I meant what I said, it’s really good seeing y ou two together, a s friends of course. SCOTT exits and we PUSH IN behind ROBIN and STEVE, look ing out the STOREFRONT STEVE What should we watch now? ROBIN Well it’s your turn, o nly nothing wit h Chevy Chase this time. Please! STEVE Fine , as long as you ease of f with the Woody Allen movies ROBIN Okay, o kay. How about the Marx Brothers? STEVE Oh I love Bugs Bunny. ROBIN & STEVE’S conver s ation FADES OUT , as we FOCUS IN a FIGURE crossing the S TREET outside the STORE It’s MAX MAYFEILD , holding a SKATEBOARD and listening to a WALKMEN MAX is entirely in her own world until she glances at the STORE . She then quickly hopes on her SKATEBOARD and exits out of frame. 12 12 TITLES OVER BLACK: CHAPTER THREE THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN STUPID BOYS INT. HAWKINS POLICE STATION – NIGHT The MAIN OFFICE SPACE has a few HALLOWEEN ITEMS sprawled about. FLORENCE is asleep at her DESK ; at least that’ s what it looks like . We can see that the CLOCK mounted on the WALL be hind her says that it is a 19:45 . We hear a CAR pull up outside and the ENGINE turn off, but FLORENCE is undisturbed. Seconds later DEPUTY CALLAH AN ent ers with MAX. He’s holding her SKATEBOARD and p oints to a CHAIR at his DESK . MAX takes a seat. CALLAHAN peeks inside the CHIEF ’ S OFFICE and sees that it is un occupied. MAX checks out FLORENCE, who is o ddly still. CALLAHAN also notices this , while not pay ing attention to where he’s going, and hits his knee on the corner of his DESK CALLAHAN (Trying not to swear) Ffffff...uuuuu.... FLORENCE doesn’t react to the noise, so MAX stands up and head s over to her. CALLAHAN ( To MAX ) Hey - MAX gives CALLAHAN a look that sets him straight and he limps over to FLORENCE. CALLAHAN Hey Florence. Florence. Still no re action from FLORENCE. MAX gently pats FLORENCE ’S shoulder, but again nothing. CALLAHAN gives FLORENCE a nudge. There is a short second where MAX and CALLAHAN think that F LORENCE might be dead, and then FLORENCE’S eyes sud denly open and she grabs CALLAHAN’ S ar m. CALLAHAN AHHH! FLORENCE (Letting go of CALLAHAN) What are you doing? CALLAHAN Ah, nothing. Well we thought - (looks at MAX) MAX shakes her head and CALLAHAN shuts up. 13 13 FLORENCE (P oints to MAX) Who is this? CALLAHAN Ah, I don’t know. She won’t t ell me her name. FLORENCE ( Not s urprised) What’s your name hon ? MAX keeps tight - lipped and takes a seat. CALLAHAN I’m starting to think she might be a mute. MAX r aises an eyebrow and crosses her arms. CALLAHAN Or maybe she’s you know Buddhist and this is like a vow of silence. FLORENCE Alright Deputy, easy there. Don’t we ar your self out. I think someone is takin g the ir right to remain silent very seriously. What did she do? CALLAHAN Well for sta r ters, I caught her trespassing at the Community Pool. S he also has this skateboard, which might be stolen or was being used to vandalise the property. MAX smiles and shakes her head. CALLAHAN drops the SKATEBOARD o n the DESK CALLAHAN I’m sorry, is there something funny you’d like to share? MAX pretends to look like she’s think ing hard about something. FLORENCE Was there any damage? CALLAHAN What? Oh, well I didn’t have a good look around but no - FLORENCE Alright - CALLAHAN But I couldn’t just let her go. I need to contact he parent’s right, but she wo n’t tell me anything. You sure you don’t recognise her? 14 14 FLORENCE I’m a secretary , not Mother Teresa. MAX stares out of the window, opposite. FLORENCE gets a little closer to MAX. FLORENCE Look hon, we nee d an address or else we can’t legally let you go. MAX sighs and considers saying something, before shaking her head. CALLAHAN Where’s the c hief? FLORENCE I thought he was out on patrol. Why didn ’t you just call him ? MAX smiles at CALLAHAN knowingly. CALLAHAN (Whispers to FLORENCE) I left my radio at home. FLORENCE shakes her head and walks over to a CABINET . She unlocks it, take s out a small HANDHELD RADIO and gives it to CALLAHAN. CALLAHAN Thank you. (On the radio) Hey chief, I’m at the station and could use your help with something . O ver The re’s a few awkward second s of RADIO SILENCE CALLAHAN (On the radio) Y ou there chief ? I’m at the station now and need assistance. O ver. More RADIO SILENCE . CALLAHAN looks at FLORENCE MAX sits up a little. CALLAHAN (On the radio agitated) Hey chief if you ’ r e there, Florence and I could use you so ... DEAFENING RADIO SILENCE CALLAHAN (On the radio desperate) Chief I got a random kid who I swear is messing with me, so can you please I don’t know , just tell me what to do here! NAUSEATING RADIO SILENCE , and then suddenly we hear the sound of MOVEMENT coming fro m the opposite end of the room. 15 15 CALLAHAN puts the RADIO down and instinctively reaches for his GUN , but FLORENCE gives him a disapproving look that makes him reconsider. CALLAHAN (To MAX and FLOREN CE) Wait here. MAX and FLORENCE give CALLAHAN a look that says ‘obviously what else would we do ’. CALLAHAN doesn’t catch it and limps off. MAX carefully take s her SKATEBOARD off the DESK without FLORENCE noticing. CALLAH AN is about to round the corner, wh en he turns back in the last second. CALLAHAN T he radio - Just then CHIEF POWELL enters and sees CALLAHAN , but he’ s unable to get out of the way They collide and while POWELL is unfazed , CA LLAHAN falls back and hits his other good knee into ANOTHER DES K CALLAHAN AHHHH! Come on! POWELL Damn it Callahan , are you alright? CALLAHAN awkwardly props himself up on ANOTHER DESK CALLAHAN Yeah chief all good, j ust banged up both of my knees is all. POWELL Well damn man you need to be careful , coming arou nd like a loss bullet. CALLAHAN Right chief, I will make a note of that. POWELL looks over to MAX, and his eyes fall towards the SKATEBOARD in her hands. CALLAHAN Hey chief , w ere you in the station the whole time? POWELL Yeah, the lounge room has a be tter couch CALLAHAN Seriously , am I the only one who isn’t a llowe d to sleep in here ? 16 16 POWELL Yes. (To MAX) Ms Mayfield. MAX is a little confused, but nods politely. CALLAHAN You know her chief? POWELL Not personally, but I knew her stepbrother. Caug ht him speed ing once and h e tried to convince me to let him of f, on account that he was late picking up his sister. Gave him the ticket off course, not like that made much of a difference though. MAX looks away before anyone can notice her remorse. POWEL L Anyway, I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. Not today especially. CALLAHAN Well chief, I ’m not sure what you want to do. I found her at the pools and I’ m still not sure what she was doing there. FLORENCE Not much of a talker this one. POWELL Well I’m g oing to guess judging by that, Ms Mayfield was skating. CALLAHAN Okay, but how do we know that board is hers. POWELL If someone reports it stolen we’ll fi nd out, but for now I think we can just let Ms Mayfield off with a warning and expect that she has l earnt her lesson. POWELL gives MAX a respectful nod th at suggests his understanding of her situation. MAX graciously takes the queue and makes her way out. We follow MAX as she disappears around the corner and then we SWING BACK around to CALLAHAN, FLOREN CE and POWELL. CALLAHAN (Sarcastically) Your welcome. POWELL Happy Halloween 17 17 TITLES OVER BLACK: CHAPTER FOUR WE’VE GOT SHARED TRAUMA EXT CUTTERS BEACH – MIDDAY EXTRA WIDE SHOT of a gorgeous BEACHFRONT PAVILION facing out to SEA Super impose ti tles: RESERVOIR, CALIFORNIA A YOUNG MAN walks into frame. Their back is turned, but we can see that they are dressed in C A SUAL HIPSTER WEAR and appear to be taking photos of the BEACH . We PUSH IN slightly and they turn around , revealing JONATHAN. JONA TH AN focus es his PANTAX MX CAMERA ahead and we change to the CAMERA’S POV. We see a strip of COMMERCIAL BU I LDINGS and t he camera ZOOMS IN on a triple storey theatre , painted black and dark green, called THE PUNK YARD. We hear a mechanical BUZZ and BEEP , an d exit the POV. JONANTHAN removes something from his pants pocket and we CLOSE UP on the item , revealing a PAGER with a message that simply reads CODE RED 765 555 0113. JONATHAN checks b oth sides of the STREET , but we can’t see what he’s look ing for. He w aits for a CAR to pass, crosses the STREET and heads into THE PUNK YARD. IN T . THE PUNK YARD – ENTRANCE HALL - MIDDAY There are no staff member s in sight , which is expected since there wouldn’t be any bands playing at this time of day. JONATHAN walks down the HALL with urgency. IN T . THE PUNK YARD – WAITING ROOM - MIDDAY LONG SHOT of JONATHAN in a large WAITING ROOM filled with band posters, graffiti and worn out couches. We hear MINOR THREATS SALAD DAYS playing from some speakers in another room. A TR I O OF PUNKS , some male, some female, exit out of a BATHROOM. They walk passed JONATHAN and recline on a COUCH IN T . THE PUNK YARD – HALLWAY - MIDDAY JONATHAN peaks around a corner and we see a long narrow HALLWAY , with a PAYPHONE and a DOOR at the end tagged OWNLY F UR HARDCOR. JONATHAN quickly slides up to a PAYPHONE and inserts some COINS . He picks up the RECEIVER , checks the PAGER and dial s the phone number from the message. We hear the phone RING FIVE TIMES until it CLICKS. 18 18 JONATHAN Nancy ! N ANCY (O.S) J onathan. JONATHAN Are you alright ? Is everyone okay? NANCY (O.S) Yes. Yes. We’re fine. JONATHAN What is it? What’s happening? NANCY (O.S) Jonathan relax. Everything is okay . There’s nothing to worry about. JONATHAN Wha - what? B ut you r mess age, I though t - NANCY (O.S) I’m sorry. I should have been more specific. I just really needed to talk. We hear what sounds like a LAWN MOWER coming from NANCY’S end. JONATHAN O kay. (Beat) Is that a fan? Where are you? The SCREEN SPLITS in two , revealin g NANCY inside of a LAUNDRY MAT. NANCY I’m not at home, if that’s what you think ? JONATHAN No, it’s just you really freaked me out Nancy? NANCY I know, I’m sorry. (Beat) Look it’s safe to talk, okay. JONATHAN Okay. NANCY Okay. (Sigh) How are you? H o w ’s everyone? 19 19 JONATHAN (Uncertain) I’m good. We’re good. NANCY Has the place been approved? Are you set to move in soon? JONATHAN No, we’re still waiting to hear from them. Owens said it should n’t take more tha n a few weeks when we got here, but it’s been close to a month now s o. NANCY Have you called Owens? JONATHAN No, I told you they’re - look Nancy is this what you wanted to talk about? NANCY (Abrupt ) No. JONATHAN (Hurt) Okay. On JONATHAN ’ S side, MINOR THREAT S STUMPED begins playing. NANCY I m ean yes, sort of. I mean of course, it sucks that you r family moved away and now are stuck somewhere , because these arseholes are paranoid you ’ll leak something to Russian spies. (Sarcastically) W ho could be anywhere and everywhere now? JONATHAN Yeah, li ke Califo rnia really? What are they doing here , buying up beachfront property so it will be easier to invade by sea? NANCY Exactly. (Beat) And honestly Jonathan, it ’ s the l abs fault those leaks got out. It had to h ave come from inside. But no , w e ’ re stil l the ones who have to deal with the fallout of the ir mess. We have to let them decide how we go on living our lives. JONATHAN You r right it’s not f air, but we don’t have a choice. We did the best we could Nancy. We made them answer for their bullshit. I t wasn’t the truth, but it was close enough. NA NCY goes quiet and thinks about her next words carefully. JONATHAN Nancy? Are you still there? 20 20 NANCY Yes. We hear some thing BUMP against t he WALL on JONATHAN’S side. JON ATHAN tentatively glances at the DO OR tagged OWNLY F UR HARDCOR. Nothing happens. NANCY Do you really think we can trust them? JONATHAN (Sigh ) I don’t think it will help us if we don’t appear like we do. Owens hasn’t given us a real reason to think he’s playing us or needs something more from us. NANCY What about El and Will? Do think he might want to study them and use them , now that they know that the Russians want to open another G ate On JONATHAN ’ S side, MINOR THREAT S GOOD GUYS ( DON’T WEAR WHITE ) begins. JONATHAN I don’t think so E l and Will are different now. They ’re ordinary, for a lack of a better word. I’m not saying ther e was something wrong with them personally before. You know what I mean Nancy, they’re just kids now. NANCY I kn ow. (Beat) If I’m not mistaken you kind of sou nd a little envious of them. JONATHAN What do you mean? NANCY Oh you know , like it would be fun to think about what you might do , if you were that age again; just a freshman with your whole high s chool social life ahead of you. JONATHAN Well if you reme mber , I wasn’t really part of all that. NANCY That’s what I mean. I f you could have a do over, what would you do differently ? JONATHAN But that’s it I don’t need to imagi ne it, because I wouldn’t want to change anything. NANCY Really ? What about us? Wou ld you have wanted to know me? Would you have talked to me sooner?