TITLE: I, HERO
SCENE ONE
PAGE ONE1. Full page, Wide angle, From ground level looking up.
Late Autumn.
Police station, inner city, viewed from across the street. Station is several stories high extending up out of our view. We cannot see the sky but it is a bright and sunny evening. The ground floor of the building is several feet above street level. Several stairs lead up to the art deco double doors. The visible windows are arched in the same style. The basement windows are barred. There is a ironwork fence that runs from either side of the star case at the doorway as high as the top stair and a gab of several feet between it and the building, enough for a man to walk comfortably. There is a trench in the pavement there, we presume it is as deep as the first basement’s floor.
On the far right of the frame there is a break in the fence and a parking lot filled with cruisers and several cars (Ford LTD’s, stereotypical detective’s vehicles) Likely no more than three cars are actually visible, at least two of which should be patrol cars.
Many people are going about there business. Two police officers are leaving the building, one plainclothes entering with a duffle bag. A woman walks with her young son who carries a balloon. A YOUNG WOMAN walks away searching through her purse on the far right, she is blonde in a skirt and blazer with a portfolio hung over her shoulder, she is wearing sensible shoes, she will be robbed later. A stray dog is in the near left on the far side of the road. A taxi is parked on the station side curb on the right.
Right of center on the far side looking toward the station is TED O’NEIL wearing a beaten leather jacket and fitted blue jeans, he carries a duffle, has a stocking cap on his head, his breath is visible. He is in a state of deep respect looking at the building, but not awestruck. His look betrays determination. We likely can see little of his face.
LETTER: The cars are marked Principal City Police Department.
CAPTION: 09/30 20:06:31 posted by T. R. O’Neil (1 post total)
CAPTION: My father was a patriot. They call me a hero.
CAPTION: I stood outside a police station today and watched. They don’t make the front page, their work does. They aren’t lauded on television; their names are never said unless they die.
PAGE TWO:
1. Same shot from street, sixth of a page full width.
A police cruiser obscures the far left. We see the front tire and quarter-panel.
CAPTION: They are public servants.
2. Same shot, same dimensions. Cruiser now obstructs the center of the page, we see the full vehicle. We may not see the police station now.
CAPTION: I am a public icon.
3. Same scene, cruiser is now on far left only a small portion of it is visible. An officer has a suspect in cuffs approaching the stairs.
CAPTION: Somehow I am the hero.
4. Full width, one sixth page panel. Close up.
TED’s face is deep in thought, yet calm. His shoulders a shrugged against the cold, his stubble is visible as is his breath. In the background is the police station across the street. One person, a young man in his 20’s turns and recognizes TED as he walks by but says nothing. He is visible only over TED’s shoulder.
CAPTION: Both of us clean the streets. Both of us have been for years.
5. One sixth page height one half page width. Newspaper, front page, Picture shows a man in the same clothing TED is currently wearing, with a balaclava over his face fighting a man in an alley. The man is holding a purse, presumably he has stolen it.
HEADLINE: VIGILANTE SAVING CITY!
TAGLINE: Who is this masked marauder?
5. Same dimensions. Newspaper front page, picture shows TED in NIGHTWATCH costume standing with the mayor on the steps of city hall.
HEADLINE: CITY BEGINS LICENSING VIGILANTE ‘HEROES’
TAGLINE: Ted O’Neil, AKA ‘Nightwatch’, The first of many?
6. One sixth page height full width. Medium shot on TED’s back, ahead is an intersection, the light is green and the walk sign is lit.
CAPTION: Both of us run around in gaudy costumes handed out by the city.
PAGE THREE
1. Quarter page, wide shot, a mail room in an apartment building. The walls are lined with post office boxes. On the back wall are the doors to the street and outside we can see it is getting late. TED takes several envelopes from one of the post office boxes, his duffel on the floor.
CAPTION: My name is Theodore Roosevelt O’Neil. My father was a patriot.
2. Eighth page, top right, close shot, a booted foot on stained carpet stairs.
3. Eighth page below frame 2, close shot, a hand inserting a key into a deadbolt. ‘4A’ is barely visible on the door.
4. One half page height one third page width, bottom left, wide shot, we see TED from in a less than tidy apartment living room. TED is taking off his coat; the answering machine light shows three messages.
CAPTION: Someone once asked me why do we wear masks?
5. One third height by one quarter width panel, this and the next three panels are one beside another beginning at the top right of panel four, running along the top of panel eight.
Close shot on jacket hanging over a couch.
6. Close on coffee pot, full.
7. Close on mug full of hot coffee in TED’s hand.
8. One third height by two thirds width, medium shot. TED is sitting on the couch with his feet up in a tee shirt and the jeans he has been wearing; his boots are still on, across from him is a chair draped over as if sitting in it is the upper half of his costume particularly the mask. It is as if they are staring at each other with contempt.
CAPTION: To be quite honest I have no idea whatsoever.
PAGE FOUR
1. One quarter page height by one third width, close shot. TED’s hand grabs mask.
2. Same dimensions, close shot. Mask lands in clothes hamper.
3. Same dimensions, close shot. Hand puts mug down by laptop computer.
4. Quarter height full width, wide shot.
TED sitting at a desk in a bedroom, the desk has a laptop on it and he is typing. The window just to the left of the page from the desk is open to the street; we see a fire escape outside and another building across. We cannot see the street. Under the window is the clothes hamper with the costume sticking out. An unmade bed is visible in the lower left obscuring our view of the hamper.
CAPTION: I want to answer that question, I want to answer a lot of questions.
CAPTION: I don’t think I have an answer. We wear masks. It might be stupid but we do.
5. One quarter height full width, medium shot.
TED is drinking from the cup, a profile shot we see his shoulders and up and the screen of the laptop also in profile shines on his face in the dimly lit room.
CAPTION: My mother would cry when I said he was insane.
6. One quarter height, medium shot.
TED has left the frame, the laptop remains and everything else looks as it did in frame 5.
CAPTION: My father shot a man dead when I was thirteen. He spent the rest of his life in prison.
PAGE FIVE
1. Third page height, full width, wide shot. A long thin man with wild hair in his mid forties is slumped in a chair holding a smoking gun. It is Ted’s FATHER.
CAPTION: He said the man was a communist. He said communists were trying to invade our country and take away our livelihood.
2. A succession of five panels, one third page height by one fifth page width, follows.
A MAN IN SUIT sits at a kitchen table in a cluttered room. The kitchen looks muggy and sweaty. It is maddeningly hot.
3. FATHER’s hands hold a cigar box. In the background is a cluttered bedroom closet.
4. FATHER levels the small revolver at the MAN IN SUIT. We see the MAN IN SUIT from his back and look three quarter on at FATHER.
5. MAN IN SUIT lies face down in a pool of his own blood on a stained linoleum floor.
6. FATHER faces a woman in the kitchen doorway wearing an apron and a sundress. Her hair is in shambles and she covers her mouth. She holds back tears. She is afraid. FATHER does not see her. She is Ted’s MOTHER.
7. Third page height, full width, wide shot. A long thin man with wild hair in his mid forties is slumped in a chair holding a smoking gun. A young boy stands looking at him with an expression of awestruck terror, he holds a toy robot. It is Ted’s FATHER and YOUNG TED.
CAPTION: He wasn’t a spy. It was 1987. I was thirteen years old and in the next room.
PAGE SIX
1. Half page panel. Wide shot, TED stands on the fire escape outside his apartment looking out over the city holding his coffee cup still seaming. He is wearing his tee shirt and jeans. He appears serious.
CAPTION: My mother never recovered from the shock. Shut in for the rest of her life.
CAPTION: She convinced herself all of my father’s delusions were gospel truth.
CAPTION: She had to.
2. Quarter page full width, Medium shot. TED is climbing back in the window.
CAPTION: Every story starts somewhere, not all of them start with a bang.
3. Same dimensions, close shot. TED’s hand places empty cup on desk.
CAPTION: I want to tell mine if only because I’ve never told it before. -Ted
PAGE SEVEN
1. One sixth height, half width, top left.
Close shot, TED brushes his teeth looking into a stained bathroom mirror. He is dressed for bed, no shirt, jogging pants. We see him from mid chest to mid forehead.
2. One sixth height, half width, top right.
Close shot, same camera angle. TED has bent down to spit, we see his arched back and in the mirror is reflected the door to the bedroom and the bed beyond. The clock beside the bed is in view.
DIGITAL CLOCK: 12:21
3. Two sixths height, full width, immediately below 2.
A solid black frame, inside which frame is a smaller frame, half the size of the outer frame and in its center.
A light bulb hangs from a cord coming from the ceiling. Swaying, dangling from the bulb is a string. The string was pulled and the light bulb is now out.
4. One sixth height, full width, below frame 3.
Medium shot, TED lying in bed, sheets carelessly draped over him. His eyes are open staring at the ceiling. Clock is in view.
DIGITAL CLOCK: 1:34
5. Same size frame.
Close on costume. Because hamper is near the bed, and because of the angle we see the costume from (parallel to the nearest wall) we can also see the bedside table and the clock.
DIGITAL CLOCK: 2:03
6. Same size frame.
Same angle and shot as 4, TED is not in bed. We can see the clock once more.
DIGITAL CLOCK: 2:34
PAGE EIGHT
1. Two thirds height, one third width, top left.
Wide shot, from street level up toward the roof of a several story apartment building. A figure is running across the roof. It is NIGHTWATCH.
CAPTION: 09/31 7:21:07 posted by T. R. O’Neil (2 posts total)
2. Same size panel, immediately to the right of panel 1.
Wide shot from below in an alley looking straight up. NIGHTWATCH leaps between two buildings.
CAPTION: I put the costume on last night.
3. Same size panel, top right.
Medium shot. NIGHTWATCH is crouched on the ledge of a building, his hands apart; one leg crouched under him the other extended out. He is looking down into an alley.
CAPTION: I told myself I wouldn’t. It didn’t take.
4. One third height, full width, wide shot.
We see an alley from above, below several men are advancing on YOUNG WOMAN from page 1. She clutches her purse. Some men carry weapons, some simply advance menacingly.
(OP): Don’t worry ‘bout’cho purse bitch! We don’t wan’cha money!
CAPTION: There are at least four of them. I’m not a paranormal, I don’t have any powers. I’m just a man in a Hallowe’en costume.
PAGE NINE
1. Full height, one third width, wide shot.
From below, NIGHTWATCH vaults himself over the edge of the building one handed like a gymnast over a bar.
CAPTION: This is my God-damned town--
2. Half height, one third width, medium shot.
NIGHTWATCH lands with two feet on the back of THUG 1’s neck. He crumples. THUG 2 and 4 are out of frame. THUG 3 has his back to the situation.
CAPTION: --And I don’t need any damn powers.
3. Half height, one third width, medium shot, to the right of frame 2.
NIGHTWATCH ducks a bullet fired by THUG 3 and moves toward him. THUG 1 is still down.
4. Half height, one third width, close shot, below frame 2.
NIGHTWATCH grabs THUG 3’s arm and breaks it swiftly, causing THUG 3 to drop his weapon.
CAPTION: I make it a rule not to kill.
5. Half height, one third width, wide shot.
We see THUG 2 between NIGHTWATCH grappling with THUG 3 and YOUNG WOMAN at the end of the alley. THUG 2 has shot at NIGHTWATCH but because of the angle it hits THUG 3.
CAPTION: Doesn’t mean no one dies. Guns mean that’s par for the course.
