screenwriting

The Broken Book of Beasties: Book 1, Part 3 – a new script by Thomas Typewriter

The Broken Book of Beasties

———–<.thom.>———–

THE BROKEN BOOK OF BEASTIES

“Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”

Part Three of Three

By Thomas Typewriter and Primo Operahouse-Typewriter & Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

(c) 2023

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN

INT. THE ALCOVE OF THE TRILIBRIS IN THE TRILIBRIS MAGICAL LIBRARY, DAYTIME

CS OF THE OPEN PAGES OF THE TRILIBRIS.

The TRILIBRIS is open to a double-page illustration of the Bakery from part two of Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover. The illustration is still in the woodblock meets flowing lines style. The Bakery itself has changed from the last time it was seen. It now has changed its name to “Books and Buns” and there is a long line of citizens waiting to get in. Additionally, in the frame some of the stand the TRILIBRIS rests on can be seen along with the Grey Mouse leaning on the edge of the book curious as to the latest turn of events in the story.

THE CODEXIAN
“The news of the Baker’s new discovery quickly spread. Soon people from all over the settlement came to her for a spellbook, for access to this new land, access to this new magic.”

CUT TO THE GREY MOUSE

The Grey Mouse SQUEAKS a question.

THE CODEXIAN
“Yes, it does seem at first glance odd that those who fled magic would so willingly embrace magic again. Though you must remember that the Baker was not the only person yearning for the past. Rapid change, especially when brought on by tragedy and disaster, has a way of amplifying nostalgia.”

The Grey Mouse SQUEAKS in understanding. The TRILIBRIS turns the page. On the next page is a picture of the Beastlands. There are people everywhere. With more zapping in and appearing. Use some of the same people from the bakery line and have them eating buns.

PAN IN ON THE ILLUSTRATION

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Soon this new land, this Beastland, was filled with people capturing the beasts, filling spellbooks with beasties and magic.”

The page turns and now see a view of the settlement

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Magic which they used to grow their settlement into a large city.”

Show the settlement growing larger and larger with a montage of construction. Then the page turns and shows a sprawling city, a street scene. Wizards and walking down the street, with some flying, and such. See Wizards using magic in the street vendors, while shopkeepers are using magic to clean windows, dust shops, and craft items. Up in the apartments people are using magic to cook and entertain. See a Wizard take off for work and start to fly. His magic fades out and he drifts down to the ground confused. Soon everyone’s magic starts to fade out. They all grab their spellbooks and look through the pages or shake the books. The spellbooks are all empty. They turn and start talking to each other equally confused and concerned about what is happening.

THE CODEXIAN
“Like most things, everything was going great until it wasn’t.”

The page turns and from here on out the illustrations on the page will have a full animation movement. The wizards on the street murmur to each other trying to figure out what has happened to the magic. In the windows, we can see the various wizards of the businesses and apartments retrying their spells and rummaging through the spellbooks. The wizards in the seating for the cafes on the streets and the pedestrians are discussing with each other confused about what is happening. Then a bright prismatic light that shifts to pure white pulses from the sky. The wizards on the street shield their eyes. Once the pulse has passed they look up. In the background, the wizards inside the buildings step outside or lean out their windows.

The page turns revealing an illustration of the sky above the settlement from the perspective of someone on the street. The tops of buildings can be seen at the edge. In the sky, there is a glowing nimbus. The glow starts to fade as a face begins to materialize. THE KING OF BEASTIES has arrived. He is a large humanoid lion with a large single eye, a thick mane and beard making a multi-colored halo, and a large ornate crown. The crown is made up of a series of various-sized pentagons across a background of repeating smaller pentagons. Sharp short multi-pointed horns emerge from the forehead just below the crown.

THE KING OF BEASTIES
“I am the King of Beasties, and you may have noticed your magic is cut off. You have no rights nor permission to my kingdom, my people, or our gifts. You are trespassers and kidnappers. No more. I will return in one week to discuss the terms of re-entry to my kingdom and the use of its resources. Until then you are cut off. Use this time to appreciate what you have lost so as you may appreciate its true value if it returns.”

The King of Beasties face fades away. The page turns and now it shows a silhouette of the city with fires and buildings falling over. Sirens can be heard inside the city.

THE CODEXIAN
(narrating) “The citizens coped the best they could but still it was one of the longest weeks they had been through.”
The page turns again. Across the page is the caption “One week later…” It fades away leaving a view of the sky from street-level looking up similar to the previous page where the King of Beasts appeared in the previous page. Along the edges of the frame, various citizens gather looking up. They watch and watch but nothing happens. They start to murmur to each other.

CITIZEN #1
“It has been one week right.”

CITIZEN #2
“Yes.”

CITIZEN #3
“Then why isn’t he appearing?”

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “Why indeed. As the hours passed, the citizens worried that maybe the magic would never return. Cursed to forever stumble through life with only what they could do themselves.”

The sky starts to spark and a burst of fireworks goes off and MARMALADE UMBER, singed and mildly burnt, falls out of the sky. He tumbles through the air yelling, gripping a book tight to his chest. He thuds to the ground, surprisingly surviving, and skidding down the street.

CAMERA TRACKS HIS FALL AND SKID

The dust settles over the crater and the crowds slowly trickle in to investigate. Marmalade pops up, singed and burned holding up a thick tome: THE BOOK OF BEASTIES.

THE CODEXIAN
“The crowd was surprised to find Marmalade Umber yelling “I DID IT! I DID IT!” especially after falling out of the sky. He should have died, but then again Marmalade was always disappearing and reappearing in the weirdest places.

The page turns. The new illustration shows a younger Marmalade Umber on his family’s farm. He is holding a spell book and concentrating really hard.

THE CODEXIAN
“Marmalade was easily the worst wizard in the entire community, constantly screwing up the most basic of spells and never once capturing any beasties.”

Marmalade starts to strain and sweat then disappears. He reappears over an animal pen and falls in spooking all the animals. He stands and tries to concentrate again disappearing and then reappearing somewhere else. He gets up and concentrates a third time. He disappears and then reappears but is split in two. His upper torso sits on the ground while his legs are walking around the spooked animals. He screams in shock and then poofs out reappearing as complete. He runs over to the side and vomits. The page turns with the new page having an illustration of the adult Marmalade Umber having just crashed and holding up the Book of Beasties. A crowd has gathered around him.

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “The crowd did not know what to make of the village idiot falling out of the sky and shouting wildly. Eventually, they understood that he was claiming to have captured the King of Beasties.”

PERSON IN CROWD #1
“So you’re saying you captured the King of Beasties in that spellbook?”

MARMALADE UMBER
“I did it.”

PERSON IN CROWD #2
“But you’re like the worst magician.”

MARMALADE UMBER
“Yes, but I did it.”

PERSON IN CROWD #3
“Okay, so lets say you did it and the King is truly bound in that book, wouldn’t that mean…”

PERSON IN CROWD #4
“The Beastlands is open again?”

PERSON IN THE CROWD #5
“The Beastlands is open again.”

PERSON IN THE CROWD #6
“The Beastlands is open again!”

The people in the crowd look at each other and then pull out their spellbooks and disappear. Marmalade hugs the Book of Beasties to his chest.

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “The Beastlands was indeed open again and magic returned. Only not quite the same as before. The King of Beasts had apparently made some changes to the Beastland before he was captured. No longer could you just capture a beastie and use its magic. You had to get the Beastie’s permission. Additionally, where before a Wizard could teleport to any part of the Beastlands, now entry and exit was tied to geographical area. When a wizard entered the Beastland, they entered in a spot that more or less matched where they were in the physical world.”

The page turns. The new illustration shows an overhead type of the city. The city is divided into five outer neighborhoods surrounding a central inner neighborhood.

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “The return of magic sparked a regrowth. The city expanded again but since the magic had changed the city did as well. Since entry and exit out of the Beastlands were tied to corresponding points in the physical world, the city developed five distinct neighborhoods, each corresponding to one of the realms. Ultimately growing into a city of prismatic wonders and colorful characters, especially one of Marmalade’s descendants.”

The page turns and the new illustration is of a close-up of RAWLSTON UMBER. It is in the style of a static pencil sketch or ink illustration. The page starts blank and as the Codexian narrates it fills in. Rawlston will appear very bored and indifferent.

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “Whose lack of magical skill, utter lack of talent, makes him the least likely candidate to be the hero of any story…”
The sketch or illustration of Rawlston turns into an actual moving image, with an effect similar to where a static picture snaps into a live image of the subject moving. A transition from picture to video or illustration to live motion recording. Rawlston exhales a sigh of discontent.

RAWLSTON UMBER
“This is sooooo boring.”

THE CODEXIAN
(narration) “…And yet this is who we find ourselves with.”

The Codexian shuts its pages. The eye-like symbols on the side of the cover look at the Grey Mouse.

THE CODEXIAN
“And thus ends today’s portion of the tale.”

THE GREY MOUSE
“Squeek Squeik?”

THE CODEXIAN
“No, there is more to the story. A story that ended there would not be very good. It’s just that I have not had an audience in a long long time and am a bit out of practice. Let me rest and I’ll be ready to continue the story.”

The Grey Mouse nods at the Codexian and then turns. He takes a few steps and then turns back and waves at the Codexian. He then runs off the edge of the podium and out of frame. The Codexian closes its eye-like symbols and starts to sleep.

PAN BACK FROM THE CODEXIAN AND ITS ALCOVE

FADE OUT

The Broken Book of Beasties: Book One, Part Two – a new script by Thomas Typewriter

The Broken Book of Beasties

———–<.thom+.>———–

THE BROKEN BOOK OF BEASTIES

“Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”

Part Two of Three

By Thomas Typewriter and Primo Operahouse-Typewriter & Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

(c) 2023 thomas typewriter

———–<:type+:>———–

FADE IN

INT. THE ALCOVE AT THE BACK OF THE TRILIBRIS’ MAIN ROOM, DAYTIME

MS OF THE CODEXIAN

The Alcove is a dark wood wall decorated with gold and brass metal in long blocky snaking patterns illuminated by two torches. In the center of the alcove is a podium holding THE CODEXIAN. The Codexian is a thick book, with covers of a purple stone and thick leather binding. The front cover has a vertical row of three circles made from gold wire on the binding side. The other side is a snaking angular pattern similar to the patterns on the alcove walls. The pattern snakes down to two horizontal lines across the bottom portion of the front cover. It is currently open to the middle of its binding with THE GREY MOUSE off to the corner looking in at the illustrations on the page.

CS OF THE CODEXIAN

Golden scroll-work forms a border around a central image across the two pages. Inside the border is an image of THE BAKER leaning on her counter looking forlorn. The image is done in a style combining woodblock prints and illuminated manuscripts. Small hands of THE GREY MOUSE enter the bottom of the frame followed by the head and body. The Grey Mouse is leaning over the page.

THE GREY MOUSE
“Squeak”

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “That is funny. It almost sounded as if you asked why she was sad.”

THE GREY MOUSE
“Squeak.”

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Oh, you did. In that case, maybe the Baker was sad because they had spent so much time fleeing and surviving that they had forgotten how to live. Or maybe something simpler. While she was a good baker and well respected in the community, baking was something she never thought of very glamorous.”

THE GREY MOUSE
“Squeak.”

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “I understand that makes no sense to you and how amazing bread is, but if you could lean off the page I can continue the story.”

The Grey Mouse moves out of the frame.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Thank you.”

The page turns. The illustration shifts between a series of images of The Baker mixing dough and baking bread.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The Baker would find her mind wandering to certain thoughts repeatedly. I used to be someone who mattered. I used to be the best bookbinder in the city. Now I bake bread. Now I don’t know my value. Anyone can bake bread. Where is the specialness in that.”

The page turns. The illustration shows The Baker at her counter. At this point the illustrations start to show some basic animation. Where before they would fade from one static drawing to another, each picture now has a little bit of animation in each sequence. The Baker leans on her counters and sighs. The sigh appears as a written sound effect on the page. The baker then starts to think with her thoughts written out in thought bubbles and with the Codexian narrating.

THE CODEXIAN
(Voice-over) “I used to be one of the best. Now I just make bread. Bread. Ugh. People used to come from all over the city to buy one of my spell books. I was respected. I was important. I was a true artist. Now, what am I? I make bread. Ugh. So common. So pedestrian. What is the value in a common thing? More importantly, what is the value in those who make common things?”

The thought bubbles fade away and the Baker leaves her counter. The empty counter fills the page for a moment before the Codexian continues the story.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “And so she would have continued self-flagellating if not for a simple moment.”

It changes to The Baker at her counter with a Mother and her daughter entering the shop. The Baker waves hello. The Mother approaches the counter and purchases one loaf of bread. She breaks off a bit of the heel of the loaf, steam rises from it, and hands it to her daughter. The image shifts to the daughter eating the bread, closing her eyes and smiling. The illustration shifts to the Mother shocked at the smile quickly shifting to smiling and turning to speak to The Butcher

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The mother said something so simple it cut through all the Baker’s doubts and disappointments. She said, that is the first time I have seen her smile. Thank you.”

The Mother and her daughter leave the bakery. The illustration shifts to the Baker at her counter visibly moved and affected by the Mother’s words.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The Baker, as the mother and her daughter left the bakery, realized that maybe there is something worthwhile in baking bread. She also realized that as great as she felt about her current situation now, she was still dwelling on the past. It was a poison and she needed to let go.”

The page turns. The new page shows an illustration of The Baker at the front window of her bakery. She rotates the open sign to close. She then moves over and locks the door before walking to a table in the back room. The table is laid out with bookbinding tools and supplies.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The Baker decided she would make one last book and then move on, putting that part of her life behind her.”

In a series of vignettes makes a book. Note that the Baker incorporates some extra steps not usually included in bookbinding. The prestigious bookbinding career she has been remembering was binding spell-books. She rubs each page with various herb leafs before cutting them. Once all the pages are cut, she places the herbs in a pan and burns them. The ashes she mixes with oil and then messages into the leather cover and strings. She sets aside the pile for later. She then continues building the book. At the end, she pulls back the oil and ash mix. She dips a small brand into it and then heats it over a flame. The oil flares with streaks of red, blue,yellow, orange, and green. Then she presses the hot brand onto the cover of the book. Smoke rises from where the brand touches the leather. When she removes the brand, the Baker sees that five colors are leaking from the brand into the leather: red, blue, yellow, orange and green. She sees the bleeding colors and is surprised. She runs her fingers over the colors and the book starts to shimmer. The Baker disappears from the room in a flash of light.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The Baker soon discovered that the world has a way of surprising you.”
The page turns. The Beastlands fill the page. A landscape of orange grass and prairie fills the foreground while in the background blue mountains, green forests, red forests and yellow sand dunes spread out. In the bottom corner of the illustration a sparkle appears then fades out becoming an image of the Baker. She looks around, confused as to what just happened.

CUT TO CS OF THE BAKER

THE BAKER
“Well, this is a surprise.”

CUT BACK

Hold a moment as The Baker stands in the vast new realm. The page turns to reveal a closer image of the Baker standing with the orange grassland behind her. She is looking around with a face of pure joy. In the grass behind her comes a “rustle” sound effect. The Baker turns to see what the cause of the noise is. From the grass emerges a Furocerous. It is a large rhino-like creature covered in very thick fur. The fur is longer on the head and shoulders than the rest of the body. It charges towards the Baker. The fur on its head stiffens into a kind of plate armor. The Baker screams in surprise and fear with the words of her scream drifting out across the page. The illustration cuts to a close-shot of the Furocerous running. It then cuts to a medium-shot of the Baker backing up then falling down and scrambling backwards. She pulls up the spellbook in a feeble attempt to shield herself. The illustration then changes to the Furocerous colliding with the Baker and her spellbook in a bright flash of orange light.

The page turns and now the illustration is of a long shot of the outside of the Bakery. There is a flash of orange light. The illustration shifts to the inside of the Bakery. The Baker materializes in the air in a flash of orange light and flies backwards against the display. Her spellbook goes flying in another direction. The Baker shakes her head and slowly gets up. She checks her body for injury and does not find any. She starts to laugh to herself.

THE BAKER
“Did that just really happen? That is too wild.”

She walks over to the spellbook and retrieves it from under a table. The spellbook looks different. She examines the changes. The front cover branding now has a line of orange in it. She then opens the book and sees an image of the Furocerous surrounded by a circle of runic patterns and scroll-work.

THE BAKER
“Wow.”

She runs her fingers over the image. The illustration changes to a close-shot of the spellbook’s page. She then runs her fingers in a circle along the scroll-work and runes. They start to softly glow orange. Her fingers start to glow orange. The illustration shifts back to the bakery. As the Baker runs her fingers over the page a spectral glowing version of the Furocerous explodes out and into the bakery display pushing it back. The spectral disappears. The Baker looks back and forth between the spellbook and the display case. A large smile spreads across her lips. She starts to run her fingers over the page again. The illustration cuts back to the longer shot of the Bakery from outside. In the windows flash an orange light burst and then the entire bakery shakes.

FADE OUT

a new script: “The Great Works Project: Season Five, Episode Two” by Thomas Typewriter

scripts, The Great Works Project scripts

———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 05, Episode 02

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2023 thomas typewriter

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN TO BLACK


From the bottom of the screen scrolls up the following text: “05-02”. It moves upwards, pausing a moment in the center of the frame, then continues upward, exiting the frame at the top edge.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. WRITER’S ROOM. LATE AT NIGHT
Z-MOUSE sits at the end of the table in the Writer’s Room. He leans over his floating cloud chair, head propped on an arm. His other arm is stretched out to the desk attempting to take notes. His writing slows and eventually halts, as his head nods forward.

OPEN INITIALLY IN A SOFT FOCUS MS OF Z-MOUSE AS HE TRIES TO STAY AWAKE.

He attempts to stay awake but sleep’s siren call is too loud.

SHIFT BETWEEN IN-FOCUS AND OUT-OF-FOCUS ON THE SHOT OF Z-MOUSE. AS HE STARTS TO FALL ASLEEP, GO OUT-OF-FOCUS. THEN WHEN HE CATCHES HIMSELF NODDING OFF AND TRIES TO STAY AWAKE PULL BACK INTO FOCUS.

Z-Mouse drops his pencil, pulls in his arm and rests his head down. Soon he is fast asleep.

ZOOM OUT TO A MS OF Z-MOUSE WHILE BRINGING INTO CLEAR FOCUS. THE CAMERA DETACHES FROM Z-MOUSE AND ROTATES TO LOOK AT THE DOOR BEHIND HIM. IT MOVES TOWARDS AND THROUGH THE DOOR.

TRANSITION FROM THE WRITER’S ROOM TO THE ALPHABET STAIRWELL

INT. ALPHABET STAIRWELL. LATE AT NIGHT
A small rectangular landing, the top level of the Alphabet Stairwell opens out to the night. Glass windows line the far left wall and part of the opposing wall. A stairwell flanked by yellow railing sits directly in front of the door to the Writer’s Room. The left, behind and opposite wall are a mixture of concrete and brick. The right wall is a cascade of striation, as if the stairwell was chiselled out of a mountain. The area over the stairwell and Writer’s Room door is brightly illuminated. The area by the natural rock wall is not as brightly lit, instead softly illuminated by one wall sconce. Next to the sconce, a door bearing the letter Y in golden script is built into the rock face.

THE CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE DOOR AND ONTO THE LANDING. IT LOOKS LEFT AND THEN RIGHT “SPOTTING” THE Y DOOR AT THE OTHER END OF THE LANDING. THE CAMERA GOES THROUGH THIS DOOR.

INT. Y-STAIRS. LATE AT NIGHT
Behind the door we find a small stairwell. Decorated with walls of deep green and deep natural wood tones, the stairwell seems to ascend seven floors. Small windows are placed alternately. At the top of the stairs is a small landing. At the end of the landing is the green door for Y-Apartment. A doormat, with the words “Y Knot” welcomes guests, as does the potted plant in the corner.

THE CAMERA PANS UP THE STAIRS. AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS IT GOES THROUGH THE DOOR AND INTO THE APARTMENT.
TRANSITION FROM THE Y-STAIRS TO THE Y-APARTMENT

INT. Y-APARTMENT. LATE AT NIGHT.
Y-Apartment has a small front entryway, with a small table and small bowl on top for keys and mail. Coat hooks and an umbrella stand sit on the wall near the door. The entryway leads to a large open room. This is the Living Room/Dining Room area. A counter top and floating cabinets divide the two areas from each other. The Living Room area has rattan furniture and nautical themed decorations. The Dining Area has a small stove, fridge, sink and table set to the side. Green and yellow dishes can be seen in the open areas of the floating cabinets. A second hallway, leading to the bedroom and bathroom, branches off from the Living Room area and shares a wall with the entryway. Glass sliding doors flank one side of the Living Room leading to the patio deck. On the opposite wall is a very heavy ornately carved door that seems out of place with the rest of the apartment.

THE CAMERA MOVES THROUGH THE ENTRYWAY INTO THE DINING AREA/LIVING ROOM. IT SCANS THE ROOM AND THEN MOVES TOWARDS THE HEAVY ORNATE DOOR. THE DOOR STARTS TO OPEN AS THE CAMERA APPROACHES. THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO MOVE TOWARDS AND THROUGH THE DOOR BUT IT POINTS INTO THE ROOM, GENERATING A FEELING OF MOVING BACKWARDS.

From under the couch we can see different colored lights blinking.

TRANSITION FROM Y-APARTMENT TO THE HIGH-STAGE OF THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE.

THE CAMERA CONTINUES PANNING BACKWARDS AND MOVES OUT OF THE Y-APARTMENT AND OUT THROUGH THE NARRATOR’S DOOR OF THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE. THE CAMERA PANS OVER TILL PROPERLY FRAMING HIGH-STAGE.

HIGH-STAGE: CURTAINS CLOSED
The High-Stage Curtains part. The stage lights turn on to the sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING ON revealing…

HIGH-STAGE: INT. ROOM 304 OF THE MEDICALSHIP THE FLUTE
Three Medi-pods sit across the stage. The lights atop their ovid forms blink softly, growing brighter as those interned inside awaken. The stage-right side of the room we see a large wall-size vid-screen. To the stage-left side of the room we can see a large window looking out on the space outside. Lights twinkle in the distance. Lights dance in the distance. Between the stage-left and center Medi-pod stands the bathroom door. Between the center and stage-right Medi-pod stands the entry door to the room. PANACEA FLAUTO stands in the doorway, Med-scanner in hand.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Morning gentlemen.. How’s everyone feeling today.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Heavy. Weightless. Confused.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“To be expected. Normal Medi-pod reaction.”

She moves over to the other Medi-pods, knocking gently on each as she rouses each occupant.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Cedar. Carro. Wakey-wakey.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Are we getting out of these things today.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
(Chuckles) “Heavens no. You’re not even close.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
(groggily) “Where am I.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“You’re in the hospital.”

CARRO
“Where are we.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“We’re in that hospital ship.”

CARRO
“But what about our ship?”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Why can’t I move?”

Panacea presses a button on her medical device. On each of the Medi-pods, one of the three lights shifts in color from green to pale blue.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Everyone feeling calmer?”

CARRO, CEDAR WAXWINGS, AND LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Yes.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Good. Now if you could follow me, you have an appointment. I’ll answer your questions on the way.”

The Medi-pods roll around the room awkwardly, bumping into each other.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Watch it.”

LUCIDO OBSIDIAN
“Sorry.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
“No, just try to imagine walking. The Medi-pod is designed to respond to your thoughts.”

CARRO
“What’s walking? Does it involve legs.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“Of course it does.”

PANACEA FLAUTO
(to self) “I can see this is not going to work. Time for plan B.”

Panacea steps to the side of the room and pulls out her scanner. She holds down a button. The three lights atop each of the Medi-pods begin to blink randomly, then they blink three times in unison. The Medi-pods stop moving.

PANACEA FLAUTO
“Gentlemen, since you are having problems, let me help. I’ll guide your Medi-pods to the appointment.”

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“But I wanted to do it myself.”

Panacea presses a different button on her scanner and one of the three lights atop the Medi-pods turns blue.

CEDAR WAXWINGS
“But, that’s cool that you want to help.”

Panacea presses the wand of her scanner onto the scanner pad, using it as a control stick to direct the Medi-pods. She drives them in a single file line out of the room, following behind the last one. She flips off the room light as she walks out the door. The stage lights turn off as she flips the light switch. The sound of A COMPUTER BOOTING OFF can be heard. The High-stage curtains close.

TRANSITION FROM THE HIGH-STAGE TO THE MID-STAGE

THE CAMERA DETATCHES FROM FRAMING THE HIGH-STAGE. IT PANS DOWNWARD MOVING ACROSS THE CURTAIN OF CLOUDS. DOWN IT GOES AND SOON THE TOPS OF THE MID-STAGE SETS POKE INTO VIEW. THE CAMERA CONTINUES PANNING DOWN UNTIL PROPERLY FRAMING THE MID-STAGE.

MID-STAGE: EXT. MARY MARCHHARE’S LIVING ROOM WINDOW. DAYTIME
The main window for Mary Marchhare’s house sits center stage. A large window with two smaller windows on either side framed by a wide white trim. Through the window we can see MARY MARCHHARE sitting in her living room chair watching daytime television. The background noise of DAYTIME TELEVISION can be heard. She fans herself with a paper hand fan and wipes away a bead of sweat with a crumpled tissue in her other hand. A glass of water sits on the coffee table to her side. She alternates between taking a sip of water and wiping her forehead with the tissue all the while fanning herself. The sound of TIRES ON GRAVEL sings out from off-stage. ALICE, Mary Marchhare’s pet Boston Terrier, jumps at the window barking. Mary notices the dog barking and gets up. She ushers the dog out of view, placing her in a pet crate behind her chair. As she is out of sight, THOMAS TYPEWRITER enters stage-left, walks past the bottom of the window, and exits stage-right. From off-stage we hear A DOORBELL.

MARY MARCHHARE
(off-stage ) “Coming.”

A DOOR OPENS.

MARY MARCHHARE
(off-stage) “Thomas!”

THOMAS TYPEWRITER
(off-stage) “Hi Grandma.”

The stage-lights turn off with the sound of A LIGHT SWITCH CLICKING OFF. The Mid-Stage curtains close.

FADE OUT

a new script: “The Broken Book of Beasties – Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover (part one of three)” by Thomas Typewriter, Primo Operahouse-Typewriter and Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

The Broken Book of Beasties

———–<.thom.>———–

THE BROKEN BOOK OF BEASTIES

“Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”

Part One of Three

By Thomas Typewriter and Primo Operahouse-Typewriter & Secondo Operahouse-Typewriter

(c) 2023

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN

TITLE SEQUENCE
The title “The Broken Book of Beasties” appears far off in the dark screen, written in bright red flowing script. The word Beasties, unlike the rest of the title, is written in a thick slashing font. The title flies towards the camera and past the edge of the frame. The dark screen is filled with a shimmer as the following text appears in white block letters: “Book I: A Book by Any Other Cover”. It fades away in a shimmer. In the absence appears the following test: “Part One.”

PAN DOWN

The dark screen fades to light grey as the “Part One” slides off the top of the screen from the camera panning.

TRANSITION FROM TITLE TO THE OVERLAP

The dark grey shifts in tones changing to dark clouds.

CONTINUE PAN DOWN

EXT. THE OVERLAP HILLS, DAYTIME
A series of forested hills in front of a forested snowcapped mountain slides into view. This is the Overlap Hills, one of the many realms used by the great wizard Orgle. So named because they are areas of multiple different dimensions folded over each other by Orgle’s vast and great magicks until they create a pocket dimension. The Overlap Hills are not as well known as Orgle’s other overlaps such as the Overlap Hotel, the Overlap Waves or the Overlap Trail. Yet, they do contain one of his greatest treasures.
In the distance stands the Trilibris, Orgle’s special library. It appears as three different columns that seem to fuse with each other but also separate creating a kind of hyper-dimensional hourglass shape.

SHIFT TO XLS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO LS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO MS OF THE TRILIBRIS

CUT TO CS OF THE TRILIBRIS DOORS

TRANSITION FROM THE OVERLAP HILLS TO THE TRILIBRIS

ENTER THE BUILDING AND MOVE TO THE MAIN ROOM THROUGH A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS AND FADES

INT. THE TRILIBRIS MAIN ROOM, DAYTIME
The Main Room is a teardrop shaped dome. The walls are covered in bookcases with a second story also filled with bookcases. Spiral staircases are scattered around the circumference. The bookcases are designed in a unique way that books are stacked horizontally and vertically giving the impression of the folds in a human brain. The center of the room is a large open space filled with thick tables and chairs. The top of the dome is glass, stained a light blue, allowing natural light to illuminate the space. The bookshelves are illuminated by pendant lights within the rows. Each desk has a bulbous table lamp to illuminate in case the dome is not allowing enough light. Across from the entry way the bookcases stop. A large alcove is built into the wall. A dark wood wall decorated with gold and brass metal in long blocky snaking patterns illuminated by two torches. In the center of the alcove is a podium holding THE CODEXIAN. A very special book, it is separated off from the rest of the main room by golden chains and small golden pedestals. A “Do Not Disturb” sign hangs off the chains.

CUT TO LS OF THE CODEXIAN’S ALCOVE

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN’S ALCOVE

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN

The Codexian is a thick book, with covers of a purple stone and thick leather binding. The front cover has a vertical row of three circles made from gold wire on the binding side. The other side is a snaking angular pattern similar to the patterns on the alcove walls. The pattern snakes down to two horizontal lines across the bottom portion of the front cover.

CUT TO CS OF THE CODEXIAN

A TRIUMPHANT MYSTICAL MUSICAL SCORE plays. The score plays a few moments and then it stops with A RECORD NEEDLE SCRATCH.

PAN TO LEFT OF THE CODEXIAN.

A GREY MOUSE crawls up onto the podium. It tentatively approaches the Codexian.

CUT TO MS OF THE GREY MOUSE

The Grey Mouse sniffs along the Codexian, moving to the top corner. It starts to nibble on the edges of the pages.

THE CODEXIAN
“OWWWW!”

CUT TO MS OF THE CODEXIAN

The Round circles on the left of the cover open revealing non-organic golden eyes. The two golden lines along the bottom of the cover move as if lips or a mouth. The Grey Mouse stops chewing.

THE CODEXIAN
“Who did that?”

The Grey Mouse steps away from the Codexian

THE CODEXIAN
“Come on, I know your there. Who is biting me!”

The Codexian’s eyes scan around the room. Ultimately they settle on the Grey Mouse.

THE CODEXIAN
“Oh, hello there. Were you the one chewing on my corners?”

The Grey Mouse blankly looks at the Codexian. It sneezes. A golden shimmer flickers in the air.

THE CODEXIAN
“Bless you.”

The Grey Mouse stands upright and nods at the Codexian.

THE CODEXIAN
(to self) “Well that’s new.” (to the Grey Mouse) “Let’s try this. Maybe what your truly hungry for is a story. If I tell you a story will you stop chewing on me.”

The Grey Mouse nods and then sits down.

THE CODEXIAN
(to self) “Definitely new.” (to the Grey Mouse) “I will need to open up to tell the story, so you may want to adjust your position.”

The Codexian opens and the Grey Mouse moves to the bottom of the podium top. The pages start to move, quickly moving to the middle of the book in a blur.

THE CODEXIAN
“Ahhh, here we go.”

The Codexian is open to a set of pages bordered in golden illumination but the actual area inside the border is blank.

THE CODEXIAN
“The Broken Book of Beasties.”

From somewhere in the Trilibris A CHIMING TONE rings out. The blank page starts to fill with an illustration in a style that is a mix of woodcut block print and midieval illuminated scripts. A vast city fills the page.

TRANSITION FROM THE LIBRARY TO AN ILLUSTRATED STORYBOOK STORY

PAN IN ON ILLUSTRATION TO FILL THE FRAME

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Once there was a vast city filled with magic, wonder and charm.”

The illustration changes to the city in ruins with a giant burst of light exploding from the center of the city. Prismatic storm clouds fill the sky, raining storms down on the city.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “The city of magic became a city of too much magic, as the Great Rupture ravaged the city. Magic rained down like storms melting what was known and unknown equally.”

The illustration changes to people on hills outside the city fleeing. The city gripped in storms can be seen in the distance.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Those who were able fled the city. The Great Rupture lasted decades driving one group further and further from the city.”

The illustration changes to a long stretch of landscape. Hills on the right give way to grasslands, then forests, and then mountains to the right. A group of refugees appears in the hill section. Fade to the group in the grasslands section and prismatic storms in the hills. The illustration changes more with a fade to the refugees in the forests The prismatic storms now fills the hill and grassland sections. The illustration shifts again. The refugees are now in the mountains section. The prismatic storm fills the hills, grassland, and forest sections. The illustration changes one last time. The refugees are gone and the prismatic storm fills the entire page. A THUNDER BOLT CRACKS. The Codexian turns the page.

THE CODEXIAN
(voice-over) “Past landscapes that ate lives, the refugees found a place of safety, or at least which they hope offered peace.”

The illustration area is filled with many tree branches. Colorful flowers grow along the base of the trees while animals can be seen peeking their faces out of the upper branches. The illustration changes with the trees sliding. They part in the center moving left and right. In the center of the screen sits a valley made from five rivers feeding into a lake in the center. There is a large island in the center of the lake along with a few small islands in sandbars scattered around the lake. The illustration changes again with the sun emerging in the clouds above the valley. Bright sunlight beams across the page. The illustration changes one last time with the illustrations of the refugees moving in from the left and right side of the frame and walking down to the valley. The Codexian turns the page.

THE CODEXIAN
“Having found sanctuary, the people set about building a new home for themselves.”

The illustration is blank but then small illustrations of people enter from the left and right sides. They break off into five groups, with the fifth group in the center made from the remaining few from each group. Each group then disappears into a cloud of construction dust. CONSTRUCTION SOUNDS can be heard. Slowly simple houses emerge from the construction dust. Once a house is finished the construction dust cloud disappears and the group looks at their work. Once all five houses are completed, the people CHEER.

THE CODEXIAN
“And grow they did. It was as if some creative spirit had been unleashed.”

The small people in the illustration then go to the area behind the houses and start constructing again. Rows of houses emerge from the dust. Once a house is finished, each group builds another behind it. Soon the houses recede into the distance. The construction dust finishes and the houses sit. The sun sets and the people go into their homes. The stars come out and then dawn breaks. Small people exit their houses and do daily chores. The sun rises and sets. Everyone goes back to bed. The day/night cycle speeds up to a blur until sixty days have passed. Time returns to its regular speed on the sixtieth day.

The illustration shifts zooming in on a house in the background. A lady leaves at sunrise and walks two houses down to a bakery. She enters the shop and starts baking. Smoke starts to emerge from the bakery’s chimney. As the sun rises to mid-morning, the sign in the window changes from closed to open. The illustration changes to looking in through the window of the bakery. The bakes stands at the counter.

THE CODEXIAN
“And while everyone else was moving forward, one person was stuck looking back. Little did anyone realize she would change the direction of everyone’s life.”

The illustration changes to the baker at the counter. She has a sad far away look in her eyes.

ZOOM IN ON THE BAKER’S FORLORN EXPRESSION

FADE OUT

a new script: “The Great Works Project: Season Five, Episode One” by Thomas Typewriter

scripts, The Great Works Project scripts

———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 05, Episode 01

a prologue

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2023 thomas typewriter

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN TO BLACK


From the bottom of the screen scrolls up the following text: “05-01”. It moves upwards, pausing a moment in the center of the frame, then continues upward, exiting the frame at the top edge. Shortly thereafter, from the bottom center of the screen scrolls up the following text: “a prologue”. It moves upwards, pausing a moment in the center of the frame, then continues upward, exiting the frame at the top edge.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

EXT. THE UNDOCUMENTED SPACE, OUTSIDE UNROOM NOT.SEVEN

OPEN AND HOLD ON A CS OF A SCRIPTBOOK FOR THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT. IT IS OPEN TO THE SCRIPT FOR SEASON THREE, EPISODE 10

GRIGIO COLORI
(off-screen) “So that’s where my scriptbook went.”

CUT TO POV OF THE OUTER ONE, WHO WAS READING THE SCRIPTBOOK, TURNING AND LOOKING UP AT GRIGIO.

The Outer One is leaning against a partial wall coming from the doorframe for a pair of double doors in the midst of the greyness of the Undocumented Space. There is an unseen light illuminating the double doors while the rest of the area has a foggy ambient light with patches of darkness in the distant. Each door has in a golden script “7” written on it denoting them as the doors to the Unroom Not.Seven.

THE OUTER ONE
“Oh, sorry about that.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“No problem. Here let me help you up.”

The Outer One reaches with their left hand, keeping the glitching right hand to hold the scriptbook. Grigio grips their hand and pulls the Outer One to a standing position.

GRIGIO COLORI
“So, you into Thomas Typewriter too.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Yeah. I was down here hoping to study his works.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Yeah, me too. I find they give me a “unique” perspective on my life.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Would that have anything to do with you being a character in his stories.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Potentially. Names Grigio.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Hello Grigio. (hands the scriptbook) I guess you’ll be wanting this back.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Just for a moment, I wanted to look up something real quick. May I?”

THE OUTER ONE
“Sure.”

Grigio reaches for the scriptbook.

GRIGIO COLORI
“Which Alphabet Mouse was the sleepy…(grabs Outer One’s right hand hand What happened to your hand.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Stuck it somewhere I wasn’t supposed to. Got glitched.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Does it hurt.”

THE OUTER ONE
“No, not really. More irritating than anything else. Banned from the Unrooms though. Didn’t think they were monitored. Stuck out here.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“That sucks. Anything you can do to fix it.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Maybe. There might be something.”

GIGRIO COLORI
“So you going to try?”

THE OUTER ONE
“Not sure.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“If you’re worried about doing it alone, you won’t have.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Really? Don’t you have some role to play in the plot.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Yes, but the narrative will fix itself. It’s not like some other character could make that delivery. I got a feeling about you, a good feeling, and want to help.”

Grigio holds out his hand for the Outer One in a sign of friendship and help. The Outer One takes a moment to look, to understand the gesture Grigio offers him. A moment of internal debate plays out inside the Outer One before they ultimately accept Grigio’s help.

THE OUTER ONE
“Yes.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Okay so where to now.”

THE OUTER ONE
“We need to find a sword in the haystacks.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“What?”

THE OUTER ONE
“It’ll make more sense when we get there.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Lead the way.”

The pair exit the scene.

THE CAMERA SHIFTS FROM POV TO THIRD PERSON. IT DETACHES FROM THE OUTER ONE’S VIEWPOINT AND WATCHES AS THEY AND GRIGIO WALK AWAY. AS THEY MOVE AWAY IT PANS LEFT AND BACKWARDS TO THE DOOR TO THE UNROOM NOT.SEVEN.

As The Outer One and Grigio Colori walk away we hear bits of their conversation fading away.

THE OUTER ONE
“So you in the habit of leaving the play to help an audience member?”

GRIGIO COLORI
“No, first time. How about you? You break a body part on a work of fiction before?”

THE OUTER ONE
“Nope. First time.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“Well, they say there is a first time for everything.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Also a last time.”

GRIGIO COLORI
“We might be getting ahead of ourselves there.”

THE OUTER ONE
“Too true.”

TRANSITION FROM THE UNDOCUMENTED SPACE TO THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE

THE CAMERA ROTATES AND PANS THROUGH THE DOOR TO THE UNROOM NOT.SEVEN

The TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE sits in the center of the Unroom Not.Seven. The lights in the Unroom are at a dim setting. The sound of TYPEWRITER KEYS CLICK CLACKING chimes out from somewhere within the Typewriter Abstract Puppet Stage.

PAN IN ON TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE

PAN IN ON THE MID-STAGE AREA

The Mid-Stage curtains part revealing an empty stage. The Curtain of Clouds that lines the back of the Mid-stage is the only

BACK-STAGE: THE CONCURRENT DISTANCES, SPECIFICALLY DOWNDREAM

The stage is dark, only illuminated by a soft pale blue light. A gentle fog rolls across the bottom of the stage. A few DREAM-BUBBLES emerge from stage-right and slowly drift across the stage exiting stage-left. After they leave, a YUCK-BUBBLE enters from stage-left and erratically drifts across the stage. THE MOTHER rushes on stage from stage-left in pursuit. The Yuck-bubble picks up its pace. She quickly closes the gap and starts to try to catch it. It manages to elude her grasp a few times, the two of them tumbling and bouncing around the center stage area, before ultimately she nabs him. Ensnares it. The Yuck-bubble struggles to get loose, struggles against her grip.

THE MOTHER
“Hush now, it is going to be okay. Calm now. Shh. It’s going to be alright.Shh.”

The Yuck-bubble starts to calm down as she coos to it. Finally it stops struggling.

THE MOTHER
“There. There. Much better. See no harm is going to come to you.”

She leans over and kisses the Yuck-bubble on the top of its form.

THE MOTHER
“I am sorry you felt hurt. I am sorry you felt damaged. Felt incomplete. You are very special. I want you to know that. Very special to me and many others. Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for existing.”

As The Mother leans up we see that the Yuck-Bubble has changed back to into a Dream-Bubble. She lets go of it and the new Dream-bubble drifts up and away, exiting stage-left. The Mother watches it leave, waving goodbye. After it exits, the Mother coughs. She then coughs harder, doubling over, caught in a coughing fit. When she stops we can see blood on her hands where she had covered her mouth. Some blood tinges the corner of her mouth.

CUT TO CS OF THE MOTHER’S HANDS WITH BLOOD ON THEM

CUT TO CS OF MOTHER’S REACTION

CUT BACK TO FRAMING SHOT OF THE BACK-STAGE

THE MOTHER
“Oh no.”

She then starts coughing again and falls over, disappearing into the fog

THE CAMERA PANS OUTWARD AND OUT FROM THE BACK-STAGE

TRANSITION FROM BACK-STAGE TO THE MID-STAGE

The Curtain of Clouds closes.

CAMERA PANS BACKWARDS OUT FROM THE MID-STAGE

The Mid-stage curtains close.

THE CAMERA CONTINUES TO PAN AWAY FROM THE TYPEWRITER ABSTRACT PUPPET STAGE

FADE OUT

a new script: “The Great Works Project: Season Four, Episode Twelve” by Thomas Typewriter

scripts, The Great Works Project scripts

———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 04, Episode 12

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2022

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN TO BLACK

From the bottom center of the screen scrolls up the following text: “04-12”. It continues upward, pausing briefly in the center then exits off the top of the frame.

FADE OUT
FADE IN

INT. THE DEEPEST HALLWAY

LS OF THE DEEPEST HALLWAY FROM OUTSIDE B-MOUSE’S OFFICE DOOR

A long wood grain beige hallway, the Deepest level contains a series of frosted glass widows and doors to the various Alphabet Mice’s offices. The other side of the hallway is illuminated by wall sconces and also contains a water fountain and two vending machines. One of the vending machines is for Satelite Soda while the other is for various candies and bagged snacks such as Wowies, Tip Chips, Zappers, and Cheesy Weezys. B-Mouse’s office is in the center of the hallway across from the water fountain and vending machines. Both ends of the hallway have a set of double doors leading to stairwells connected to the other levels. The door opens and out steps B-MOUSE busily scribbling notes into a small notepad. He pauses writing to reach inside and turn off the office’s lights. He shuts the office door and finishes his note. Down the hall N-MOUSE exits his office. B-Mouse looks up from his notes and waves. M-MOUSE leaves his office at the end of the hallway while B-Mouse and N-Mouse are waving. He closes the door and leans against the wall. B-Mouse and N-Mouse walks towards M-Mouse.

PAN DOWN HALLWAY FOLLOWING B-MOUSE

N-Mouse and B-Mouse stand by M-Mouse.

M-MOUSE
“You guys ready for this meeting.”

N-MOUSE
“Yup.”

B-MOUSE
“Yup.”

CUT BETWEEN CS OF EACH SPEAKER AS EACH SPEAKS

M-MOUSE
“What do you think the meeting will be about.”

N-MOUSE
“Writer’s block if anything like before.”

M-MOUSE
“Remember those all-nighters we’d pull when Thomas was in high school.”

B-MOUSE
“I remember how we still didn’t finish a single essay.”

N-MOUSE
“What about that Mutant Cat story.”

M-MOUSE
“Stumpy the Mutant Cat?”

N-MOUSE
“Yeah. I thought that was the one essay we finished?

B-MOUSE
“Nope. Stumpy was in the middle of talking to the pickles in Pickle Heaven when the story stopped. Like mid-sentence. Thomas said screw it and turned it in anyway.”

M-MOUSE
“Did we every finish anything.”

N-MOUSE
“Those scripts that no studio wanted.”

B-MOUSE
“Can you blame them. The spy who had to gain weight so there was enough mass to duplicate him.”

N-MOUSE
“Yeesh. That one was bad.”

M-MOUSE
“Or how about Thomas Typewriter: World’s Worst Stuntman.”

N-MOUSE
“Yeah, he was pretty desperate and frustrated by the time he wrote that one.”

CUT BACK TO LS OF THE GROUP FROM DOWN THE HALLWAY.

C-MOUSE and K-MOUSE exit from C-Mouse’s office. V-MOUSE exits his office. The two sets of Alphabet Mice wave at each other. C-Mouse, K-Mouse and V-Mouse walk down the hallway joining N-Mouse, M-MOUSE, and B-Mouse.

B-MOUSE
“You guys ready for the meeting?”

C-MOUSE
“Is anybody?”

They chuckle.

C-MOUSE
“Seriously, if things have reached the point we are pulling an all-nighter, the problems are bigger than one cram session.”

K-MOUSE
“True.”

The others nod in agreement. They start walking through the doorway to the stairwell.

CUT TO

INT. CTRL-SHIFT-ENTER STAIRWELL, EVENING

THE CAMERA PANS FROM WALKING ALONGSIDE THE GROUP TO FOLLOWING BEHIND THEM AS THEY PASS THROUGH THE DOOR.

A tall stairwell with three walls of cement and one wall of striated stone, as if the stairwell was cut into the side of mountain or large rock and part of the rock was left bare. The rock wall sits opposite the doors stairwell doors. Round globe lights posted on every landing. The stairs run up the center, rails of metal, moving from dark red at the bottom through the spectrum to pale violet at the top. Moving from dark violet to pale red at the top. The stairwell uses a fairly standard stairs up to a landing halfway between the floors then snaking to the other side to walk up to the next floor. N-Mouse, M-Mouse, B-Mouse, V-Mouse K-Mouse and C-Mouse start to climb the stairs. The sound of DOORS OPENING AND CLOSING click out. X-MOUSE walks to the stairwell pulling on a rope tied to something trailing behind him.

X-MOUSE
“Hey guys, hold up.”

X-Mouse starts to climb up the stairs. What he is pulling comes into view. The other end of the rope is tied to a floating cloud. Z-MOUSE is asleep on the cloud.

C-MOUSE
“You got stuck hauling Zees?”

X-MOUSE
“Not like any of you were volunteering.”

N-MOUSE
“Sorry about that.”

M-MOUSE
“Yeah. We’ll get him next time.”

The group ascend the stairs moving from The Deepest or bottom floor to the Deeper or second floor. S-MOUSE, D-MOUSE, F-MOUSE, G-MOUSE, H-MOUSE, J-MOUSE, K-MOUSE, and L-MOUSE exit the Deeper’s stairwell to join the group. The larger group continues up the stairwell to the landing for the Deep or the third floor. Q-MOUSE, W-MOUSE, R-MOUSE, T-MOUSE, Y-MOUSE, U-MOUSE, I-MOUSE, O-MOUSE, and P-MOUSE exit the stairwell doors and join the group. The assembled mass continues up the stairs to a set of doors for the Numetarium or fourth floor. The stairwell opens to a landing larger than the previous landings. The stairwell going upward shrinks to a single person stairwell behind a metal screen. If one continued upward they would end up in the Y-Apartment. The door to the Numetarium is covered in numbers and formulas in a fun and whimsical way. The group opens the doors and walks through.

INT. THE NUMETARIUM

XLS OF THE GROUP AS THEY PASS THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE STAIRWELL ON THE STAGE-LEFT TO THE THE DOUBLE DOORS JUST OFF CENTER.

The Numetarium appears like a planetarium, with sloped rows of reclining chairs situated around a projector in the center. Across the domes ceiling various planets and their rotations are being projected, only the planets are circular centers with numbers from 0 to 9 in the center. Then each planet has a set of rings orbiting it. Each ring has a number os sides equal to the number in the planetoid center while their are a number of rings equal to the number in the center. Zero has no rings. One has a single circle. Two has two convex lenses spiraling around it. Three has three triangles spinning around it. Four has four squares…etc
In the controls of the projector sits #-MOUSE. He is writing figures in a book, when the crowd walks in. He notices them, watches them exit, dogears the page before closing the notebook, and stands to join them. #-Mouse leaves through the central exit doors.

CUT TO

INT. WRITER’S ROOM EVENING

A long meeting room decorated in light brown wood tones. An elongated hexagon of a table fills the center of the room. The entry doors for the Control-Shift-Enter Stairwell are a set of double doors opposite one of the tables short sides. The entry doors from the Control-Shift-Tab Stairwell are on the opposite side of the room. The longer sides of the room hold a series of cabinets and wooden paneling on one side and a series of large windows behind thick curtains on the other. When looking at the windows, the Control-Shift-Enter Stairwell doors are to the left and the Control-Shift-Tab Stairwell door is to the right. Each corner of the room holds a large potted plant and a trash can. The room is illuminated from three rows of pendant lamps. The light switches are next to the entrance doors.

LS OF ROOM FROM OPPOSITE THE DOORS, LOOKING AT SIDE OF THE ROOM WITH THE DOORS.

Y-MOUSE is already standing at the head of the table nearest the doors.

Y-MOUSE
“Come in. We’ll get get started once everyone is seated.”

Q-Mouse, W-Mouse, R-MOUSE, T-MOUSE, U, MOUSE, I MOUSE, O-MOUSE, and P-MOUSE are already sitting down at the table. S-MOUSE, D-MOUSE, F-MOUSE, G-MOUSE and H-MOUSE are near their respective chairs. J-MOUSE, K-MOUSE, L-MOUSE, C-MOUSE, and K-MOUSE walk over to their chairs. V-MOUSE, B-MOUSE, N-MOUSE, and M-MOUSE emerge through the double doors followed by X-MOUSE and #-MOUSE. The pair help direct Z-MOUSE on his floating cloud, asleep, through the door and over to his chair before sitting down in their chairs. Once everyone is sitting down, Y-Mouse addresses the group.

CUT TO MS OF Y-MOUSE

Y-MOUSE
“Thank you everyone for coming out at such a short notice. I know you prefer we schedule these cram sessions ahead of time, but I think circumstances warrant it. A-Mouse and E-Mouse were suppose to be back with food for everyone. They’re not and I am sorry for that. We’ll order some take-away later, but lets get started for now and get a little work done before taking a break.”

Y-MOUSE reaches down and flips a switch in a hidden compartment in his desk or he presses down and up pops one of those 60’s style control consoles. He presses a button.

CUT TO LS OF WALL ALONGSIDE LONG SIDE OF ROOM

A panel on the wall slides up revealing a large board for writing on. Y-Mouse walks over to the board and writes “Thomas?”. He then turns to the group.

CUT TO MS OF Y-MOUSE

Y-MOUSE
“When we last saw Thomas, he claimed he was fine. But was he really? Losing all his script options coupled with the stress of getting married has him rattled. He tends to cling onto bad experiences like awards in a trophy case.”

L-MOUSE
“I’ll say.”

Everyone laughs at that.

Y-MOUSE
“So he is most likely going to interpret these events as failures instead of parts of a process and let his creativity dry up.”

K-MOUSE
“Why does he blame himself. Its not his fault. Every writer has moments when the craft is good and moments when the craft is bad.”

Y-MOUSE
“Yes, but he does not know that yet. That part of his life is not written yet.”

L-MOUSE
“Okay, so how do we help then.”

Y-MOUSE
“Short term, we can try to get ahead of things on these plot holes we’ve noticed last meeting. Long term, those of you working on side projects, keep working on them. It is not important that we get finished projects right now. What is important is we keep that joy and excitement alive until Thomas is ready again. “

Everyone agrees.

CUT TO CS OF EACH ALPHABET MOUSE AS THEY SPEAK

Y-MOUSE
“Okay. So what were some of the plot holes or unanswered questions?”

D-MOUSE
“The lost astronaut from the commercial.”

Y-MOUSE
“Right”

Y-Mouse starts to write it down on the board when the writer room doors burst open. A-Mouse and E-Mouse are each wheeled in on medical stretchers. Each one has a pile of food bags on their chest. Also a SCRIPT DOCTOR is pushing them in.

E-MOUSE
“Did somebody order some food”

ALPHABET MICE
“Food!”

Y-MOUSE
“Are you two okay?”

E-MOUSE
“Had a little trouble that required medical intervention, but we made it.”

A-MOUSE
“We would of been here sooner but the ambulance rang over some glass in the road and got a flat tire.”

E-MOUSE
“Everyone come and get it.”

CUT TO LS OF THE WRITER’S ROOM

The Alphabet Mice get up and walk over to A-Mouse and E-Mouse. The food is moved to the cabinet tops by B-Mouse and X-Mouse. The Script Doctors wheel A-Mouse and E-Mouse over to their respective spots at the Writer’s Table.

PAN OUT

FADE TO BLACK

a new script: The Great Works Project: Season 04, Episode 11 by Thomas Typewriter

scripts, The Great Works Project scripts

———–<.thom.>———–

THE GREAT WORKS PROJECT

a puppet play in many parts

Season 04, Episode 11

By Thomas Typewriter

(c) 2022

———–<:type:>———–

FADE IN TO BLACK

From the bottom center of the screen scrolls up the following text: “04-11”. It continues upward, pausing briefly in the center then exits off the top of the frame.

FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. B-MOUSE’S OFFICE, EVENING

LS OF B-MOUSE DOWN THE END OF THE AISLE

B-Mouse sits at a simple semi-circular writers desk in the center of his office. Stacks of blank notebooks sit to the side of the desk. He has one open, pen in hand ready to write. Rows of bookcases line the room on either side of his desk. His desk is set up in a center aisle made from the rows of book cases. The bookcases are filled with alternating rows of books and banker boxes. At the back of the center aisle is visible the door to B-Mouse’s apartment. On the door hangs a motivational poster of a giant book smashing through the middle of a brick building with the caption “Books break bricks.”

CUT TO A MS OF B-MOUSE

B-MOUSE
(thinking out loud) “In a time past. Past times. No. At the edge of a town called Smokestacks. No. Outside the town of smoke and bricks, of crowds and distraction. Not right. A witch in a town of magic.”

B-Mouse makes a wrinkled face like smelling something bad. He scribbles in his notepad.

B-MOUSE
(to self) “Outside a town of smoke and ash, whose numerous citizens call the Smokestacks, outside the shadow of the mountains made from a time past not all who escape the city seek a better life. No. How about in the cursed woods outside…nope that is just as bad.”

He stands and paces the center aisle. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Then he pauses. Something on a shelf has caught his eye. He walks to the shelves towards the back, the back stacks, and out of sight.

CUT TO MS OF ONE OF THE SECTIONS IN THE BACK STACKS

B-Mouse walks in from stage-left. He walks over to a shelf and pulls out from a shelf of books and binders a neon splatter paint decorated trapper keeper. He opens it and peruses its contents.

B-MOUSE
“Nope.”

He puts back the trapper keeper. He grabs another from the shelf and starts to read the handwritten pages inside.

B-MOUSE
“Nope.”

He closes and re-shelves the trapper keeper. Then he spies a box on the shelf above. A simple cardboard box, with an overlapping top flap design. On one side, written in a marker with a poor penmanship is the word “Amosha”.

B-MOUSE
“What do we have here. Another relic from Thomas’ stupid years?”

B-Mouse pulls the box down. As he does, an unseen pamphlet for babysitting sitting on the top of the box falls down. B-Mouse opens the box. He shifts through the contents of the box, looking at the various index cards of juvenile drawings of anthropomorphic fantasy creatures. A few of the card he looks through include Rabbitfrog, Hand Dragon, Calibre, Eelectric, Horse Eel, Rook and Geo Wizard.

B-MOUSE
“Maybe.”

As B-Mouse considers the characters on the cards an announcement rings out over the speakers in the hallway.

Y-MOUSE
(over speaker system) “Hey everyone, lets start the emergency meeting. If you could come up to the Writer’s Room. This will probably last all night, so A-Mouse & E-Mouse should be back with the food soon.”
B-Mouse closes the box. He notices the pamphlet on the floor and picks it up.

B-MOUSE
“Now, where did this come from?”

B-Mouse reads over the pamphlet.

B-MOUSE
“We’ve never really ever done any babysitter stories. I wonder why? Probably because Thomas never babysat. (pauses) Oh wait, he was always babysitting his younger brother. (pauses) So why haven’t we written a babysitter story yet? (pauses) Maybe it’s time.”

B-Mouse holds the Amosha box one hand and the Babysitting pamphlet in the other.

CUT TO SHOT OF HIS HANDS

B-MOUSE
(moving the Amosha box closer) “But on the other hand wizards and magic are pretty cool.” (moves the Babysitter pamphlet forward in emphasis) “Yet, babysitting is something new. What to work on. Babysitter? Magic? Babysitter? Magic…”

B-Mouse moves the box so it is touching the pamphlet.

B-MOUSE
“Magic babysitter?”

CUT BACK

B-Mouse is thinking, nodding his head as the idea starts to take form.

B-MOUSE
“But we need to make it different than any of those Nanny or Poppins stories. Got to put a unique spin on it, or at least do the opposite.”

B-Mouse starts slowly walking to his desk thinking out loud.

B-MOUSE
“Okay. Lets see. Previous stories had a normal person get a magical babysitter to help. They also had kids were more out of control than evil. Okay B-Mouse, think. Think. Creativity is merely taking what exists and twisting. It is all merely a bunch of parts that can be removed and resized. Think. What can we flip. Okay. What if the kids actually were evil. Or the parents have magic but the babysitter does not. Or what if the babysitter never left. Hmm. Those are interesting. Better jot them down.”

He sets the box and pamphlet on the desk. Reaching into the top drawer he pulls out a pen and notebook. He starts jotting down ideas. He walks up the aisle towards the camera. He turns and walks off-stage stage-right. The office DOOR OPENS as he exits the office. The lights turn off. The DOOR CLOSES.

FADE OUT