Saturday, June 15, 2002

Foul Stench


An alternate scene from the original Star Wars ...

INT. DEATH STAR - CONTROL ROOM

Admiral Motti enters the quite control room and bows before Governor Tarkin, who stands before the huge wall screen displaying a small, green planet.

Motti: We've entered the Alderaan system.

Vader and two stormtroopers enter with Princess Leia. Her hands are bound.

Princess Leia: Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.

Tarkin: Foul stench? Seriously? You recognized it?

Princess Leia: Governor --

Tarkin: How about this? (cuts one) Recognize that?

Vader, Leia, Motti all react.

Leia: Gahhhhhh.

Vader: Apparently, something has died inside your ass!

Tarkin: How about this? (another loud fart) Does that one ring a bell?

Princess Leia: Stop it!

Tarkin: (sniffs) Why, that smells like Tarkin! I love the smell of Tarkin in the morning!

Another prolonged blast of methane. The lights flutter, go off. The death ray shuts down.

Vader: Damn it, Tarkin -- you blew out the Death Star electrical system! It's highly sensitive to methane, you idiot.

A stormtrooper enters.

Stormtrooper: Hey. Let’s get some light in here.

He lights a match. The Death Star explodes.

Tuesday, April 30, 2002

I Want My NKVD

(to the tune of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing")

I want my, I want my NKVD.
I want my, I want my NKVD.

Russian mobster, look like lobster
Got a Lubyanka mamma in a dacha on the old Black Sea.
That ain't freedom; that is way they screw you.
It's freedom for nothin' cause nothing's free.

That ain't freedom; that's the way they screw you.
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain't dumb.
Sell your sister, like transistor.
Suitcase bomb, you can have some fun.

We stocking GUM with crates of fucking blue jeans.
Designer label posteriors.
We got to please these Euro tourists.
We're working for nomenklatura.

Here comes new boss
Just like old boss.
Lemme tell you, these guys are worse.
A bullet in the brain can be an act of mercy.
A brain that's full of pain is lifetime curse.

We stocking GUM with crates of fucking blue jeans.
Designer label posteriors.
We got to please these Euro tourists.
We're working for the nomenklatura.

Look at them prestoopniks.
That's the way you do it!
Brains just like a monkey's.
They do what they do and don't know it's crime.
That ain't freedom; that's the way they screw you.
Papa Joe made the trains run on time.

I want my, I want my NKVD.
I want my, I want my NKVD.

David Lynch's "Psycho"

The following is my response to David Lynch's Mulholland Drive -- which struck me as Psycho edited with gardening shears. Then I wondered what Lynch would do if he actually directed Psycho ...

OPEN, NORMAN BATES in an insane asylum. He’s listening to doctors talk about him. The sound is distorted so we don’t understand what they’re saying.

NORMAN: Why. I wouldn’t even hurt a fly.

ZOOM in on fly on his face. Keep zooming to impossible, microscopic closeness.
Watch fly crawling around for ten minutes.


EXT, BATES MOTEL - NIGHT

Ice machine. Static shot.


Audio: Crashing noise. Ice falling down inside. Audio continues (OS) over --

Montage: Stack of money. Blood going down drain. MARIAN screams. MARTIN BALSAM climbs up stairs. Wrecker pulls NORMAN's car out of swamp.
NORMAN’s MOM in rocking chair, a grinning skeleton illuminated by a swinging light bulb. MARIAN screams. NORMAN, on his knees, cleaning and cleaning. Silence.


Sound, ice crashing down. Impossibly loud.

EXT - NIGHT - BATES MOTEL

MARIAN leaves BATES motel, walking backwards - film footage in reverse. Her entire journey repeats, backwards, from her arrival at Bates motel to the time she leaves her office with the money she embezzles.


Extreme close up of ice falling backwards, up into the ice machine mechanism, in slow motion of the tune of freaky-deaky industrial synth track.


INT - NIGHT - BATES MOTEL

NORMAN in office, watches MARIAN through peephole. We watch him for twenty minutes. Hold on the same static camera angle. The scene goes on far too long. Andy Warhol would lose patience. Finally, the camera tracks left. Slowly. Keeps tracking.

Zoom up on stuffed MOOSE HEAD.

Zoom in to MOOSE’s nostril.

Keep zooming down long, dark, endless corridor of MOOSE’s nostril.


Weird industrial noises. Get louder and louder.

Pull out into corridor of BATES motel.

Camera tracks aimlessly through motel corridors.

NORMAN’s POV. His mother is screaming at him. NORMAN, being a psycho, doesn’t realized she’s a stuffed dummy in a rocking chair. Neither do we. We have no clue what’s going on.


NORMAN'S MOM: How dare you bring that slut in here! How dare you! I demand respect, Norman! R-e-s-p-e-c-t!

The room burns to brightness in the fierce light of heaven. We see a caricature of a 1960s GIRL GROUP -- sluttier than the real thing, drawing on that coarse, whorish, gum-chewing fetish imprinted on DAVID LUNCH’s mind at the age of 13. One is a dwarf.

They start doing the jerk and singing. Backwards masking effect. I.e.: singers sing phonetic transcription of a backwards song to a backwards music track, then the film is shown in reverse.

GIRL GROUP: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Another montage. Stack of money.

Blood going down drain. A commercial for Old Dutch cleaner.

MARIAN screams.

BATES house. MAMMA BATES' voice.


MAMA BATES: (O.S.) Norman! Norman!

MARTIN BALSAM climbs up stairs.

Knife stabbing in shower.

MARIAN screams.

A MOOSE sitting on a couch.

Another shot of the wrecker pulling MARTIN BALSAM’s car out of swamp.

Motel hallway.

Footage of two lane blacktop. Night.

NORMAN looking through hole in the wall.

Endless corridors.

We move to room 99. Enter.


INT, MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

The MOOSE FAMILY is watching TV. The program they're watching is --


MARIAN’s COUSIN and her BOYFRIEND looking for MARIAN. The footage has been edited badly and it’s out of order. The sound is terrible. There are Cantonese subtitles. And a laugh track.

We watch the badly edited Whodunit segment for 35 minutes, almost forgetting that it’s the show on the TV set the MOOSE FAMILY is watching. We're thinking, perhaps, what we're seeing really happening. But there are commercials for taxidermy, unbreakable shower curtain rings, cleaning supplies. and plastic sheeting, MARIAN's insurance company and other crap that doesn’t make sense. Perhaps it’s all in NORMAN’s mind. Perhaps it’s in DAVID LYNCH’s mind.


ANNOUNCER:(almost unintelligible) Will they solve the mystery? Tune in next week.

OLD DUTCH cleanser commercial.


The OLD DUTCH CLEANSER LADY comes to life. It’s NORMAN’S MAMA. She starts shaking her rolling pin.

MAMA: Chase the dirt, Norman! Chase the dirt!

Pull out. Of TV screen. Weird industrial noises.

We’re back in the motel room.

We see the MOOSE family again.

One MOOSE irons a shirt.


We track up to the wall to the mounted head of a squirrel. ROCKY the FLYING SQUIRREL. He laughs.

ROCKY: And now here's something we hope you'll really like!

Camera goes out the door.

The number now says 666.

Laugh on laugh track.

More endless footage of hallway.


Stack of money.

Insurance forms.

MAMA: Norman!

Blood goes down drain.

MARIAN screams.

MARTIN BALSAM climbs up stairs.

Knife stabbing.

MARIAN screams.


MAMA: (backwards) Namron!

ROCKY THE STUFFED SQUIRREL: Ekil yllaer ll'ouy epoh ew gnihtemos s'ereh won dna!


A MOOSE sitting on a couch.

Neon sign. Flickering.

Norman’s record player.

Money blowing in wind.


MAMA: Norman!


NORMAN, dressed as the OLD DUTCH CLEANSER lady. Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning.

MAMA: Norman!

The GIRL GROUP, dancing backwards.

SINGER: Stop stepping on my foot, bitch!

MARTIN BALSAM walks up stairs.

Shot of wrecker pulling MARTIN BALSAM’s car out of swamp.

Shot of motel hallways.

Footage of two lane blacktop. Night.

NORMAN looking through hole in the wall.

Pull back, we go through another hole.

NORMAN is looking through that.

Pull back.

Another hole, another NORMAN.

Oooh. Clever. This goes on for awhile.

Camera moves away from the last NORMAN in the series.

Long tracking shot of stuffed animal heads in NORMAN’s office.

Pull out of motel office.

15 minute static shot of flickering neon sign announcing BATES motel. VACANCY . The NO next to VACANCY flickers to life.

Two lane blacktop.

Endless corridors.

We move into a dark corridor.

Loud industrial noises.

We pull out of the Moose’s nostril.

We see Norman inside it, a tiny figure, two centimeters high. A tiny little human with the head of a fly.


NORMAN: Help me! Help me!

The ice machine rattles.

Ice crashes down.

We zoom in. Go inside the ice machine. Impossibly scaled detail of ice machine mechanism. We see the little crescents of ice pushing out. Pushing out.

We hear a loud CRASH!

NORMAN wakes up in bed. The stock is now color.

NORMAN BATES is now played by VINCE VAUGHN. He sees himself in the mirror.

NORMAN screams.

Friday, March 22, 2002

Missing Scripts

Cartoon scripts, spec scripts and serials ...

Except for fragments, I am also missing the following spec scripts. Most of these were written and posted in serial format on various websites.These websites have all been scrubbed off the face of the !@#$ earth.

Clinton, Clinton, I’ve been Thinking (1995-1999)
No story arc. Pretty much a bunch of surreal sketches about 1996 Presidential campaign, and the endless investigation that continued before, during and after. Ken Starr, Clinton, Monica Lewinski … it pretty much wrote itself. [fragments recovered]

The following three scripts had a loose story continuity. I wrote them in serial form, then attempted to edit them down to something episodic and producible. Saw it as an animated cartoon, but could also have worked as live action.

THE BIG DAMN MEDIA SATIRE TRILOGY

Revenge of the Son of the Glass Teat (1995)
The world is disappearing up its own self-absorbed asshole. There’s a simple explanation: aliens are stealing our media. Their spaceship resembles an enormous glass teat. But Elvis and Bigfoot overcome the aliens, take control, return from space and set humanity free. At least for now.

Koreshan (1996)
Jack Getz is a single parent who lives with his two sons in the dilapidated family hotel he inherited in Florida. A cartoonist, his once promising career is on the skids. A few years back, Walt Disney Studios fired him for putting suggestive images in Alladin -- yeah, he's that guy. After that stunt, Jack's career took a downward slide to progressively crappier ad agencies, print shops and huckster promotion firms. Salvation comes: a golden cash cow. Jack is hired by an emerging global media empire. The CEO is Mr. Haack -- a South African composite of Rupert Murdock and other media tycoons. Unknown to Jack, the aliens are using Haack's corporation as a front to launch their new product. Agents from the Okinawan independence movement tell him about the alien plot. They inform him that, instead of writing whiz-bang cartoons about cosmic battles, he actually has to fight one for a change. Jack thinks it's bullcrap -- until he discovers a vast underground network of tunnels left over from the last human civilization 20,000 years ago. The aliens have used us before. Jack stands up and fights. Or he doesn't. There's some kinda resolution, but I forget. Once again, Jack gets fired.

Me, Robomonkey (1997)
Haack releases the test version of the alien product -- User Generated Media -- a black box that the aliens plan to install in every human home. (An all-purpose, home entertainment center/replicator) Robomoney is the cute, helpful intelligent agent designed to make it easy for the humans to use the product -- just tell him what you want, and he grabs it for you! But Robomonkey escapes the virtual world and wreaks havoc in the real world, thereby derailing the aliens’ plans.

CHARACTERS
Ethan Haack -- the South African CEO of Haackworks Media. He resembles Sydney Greenstreet.
Jack Getz -- cartoonist, writer, loser. Basically, Jack is to me what Kilgore Trout is to Kurt Vonnegut.
Supermodel -- a model with superpowers. She's bitter about the loss of her native Hong Kong to the PRC.
Robomonkey -- an intelligent agent who escapes the alien's virtual world in a parody of "Altered States."

Highway Woman -- a mild-mannered woman who transforms into a Fury of Vengeance at the sight of a lack of courtesy.

Tuesday, March 19, 2002

Missing Posts

What follows is a partial list of missing comedy sketches, dates approximate. These were originally posted on various AOL message board and, later, in the free speech zone of ACLU's web site. Both entities cleaned house and deleted these files. The sketches still existed as word documents on my HP. Then, naturally, I had a hard drive crash. I backed the sketches up on a Zip disc, of course, but have now misplaced the !@#$ disc. **

2002

I want my NKVD [Rewritten]


2001

Tales of the FBI
The FBI ignores evidence of an Al Qaeda terrorist plot in its zeal to fight video piracy. [Found]

Johnson Jones, Private Dick
1930s slang and lots of bad puns. [Rewritten]

Crap-n-Poop
A massive store (a la Safeway) has a massively annoying jingle containing every possible marketing cliche. "There's so much more of what there's so much more of -- at your friendly neighborhood Crap-n-Poop!" [Partially rewritten]

2000

Travel Advisory
A parody of a State Department travel advisory. The message: Most of the planet wants to kill us: stay home. [Found.]

Gorilla Suit Jesus
Jesus, as a test of faith, returns a second time, not as a gorilla, but as a man in a gorilla suit. The Fundamentalist Christians, not expecting this, reject him. [Found]

The Legacy
The Skull and Bones Society (which resembles Animal House) conspire to make George W. Bush the President of the United States. He may be incompetent, but, like Flounder, he’s a legacy. [Not found]

The Death Interview
The Grim Reaper promotes his new book on Late Night with David Letterman. [Rewritten.]

Mr. Large
A kingpin of crime rises from the gutter. Ultimately, he dies of old age. [Found]

What Really Happened to the Taco Bell Chihuahua
The Taco Bell Chihuahua (in an obvious homage to John K's Ren) eats genetically engineered StarLink corn, grows to enormous size (What ... ees .. happening to me?) and goes on a rampage. [Rewritten]

Bugger Off! -- by the makers of Piss Off!
[Not found]

1999

About a Doughboy
The Pillsbury Doughboy sees a shrink. He wants to be a Doughman. He’s sick of people poking him in the belly and expecting him to make that cute laugh. The shrink pokes him in the belly. He goes on a shooting rampage. [Found]

Monster on Trial
Perry Mason defends Godzilla for the crime of stomping Tokyo. There are 10 million witnesses. Godzilla is declared innocent. [Found, partially rewritten.]

The Yogi Bear Sutra
Capacious indeed is the intelligence of Yogi Bear, far surpassing the mental abilities of ordinary bears. [Rewritten]

Conspiracy Fact
The secret rulers of the global financial system meet in their underground lair: Richie Rich, Rich Uncle Pennybags (aka the Monopoly Man), Daddy Warbucks, C. Montgomery Burns and the Monopoly Octopus. They agree to speed up the timetable for the destruction of the American Middle Class. [Rewritten]

TiVo is DEVO
A machine that lets people watch TV all the time turns America into a nation of morons. [Not found.]

1998

Acid Casualty Insurance
Acidheads running an insurance company grok the deep connections between life and death and math and stuff. [Found]

MTV's Robe Rules. If Jesus and pals had taken a road trip in an RV stuffed with cameras in the days of hip, self-referential media. [Found]

War of the Worlds [Oct 30 1998]
A rant in honor of the 60th anniversary of the War of the World’s Broadcast. Complaint #1: The future is a cheat: no flying cars. Complaint #2: HG and Orson probably had it right. If there are aliens out there, they probably want to eat us. Why are we broadcasting our presence? [Earlier draft found]

Teddy Bear's Picnic
The Teddy Bears turn out to be badass, Hells Angel biker-types. They don't appreciate their fucking picnic being disturbed. [Found]

When Irish Eyes Aren't Smiling
An American-Irish family visits a charming Irish pub in Dublin filled with colorful characters. They leave with snapshots and memories. They return two hours later. It turns out the charming characters were all paid character actors. Now we see the bar's actual patrons: bitter, IRA thugs. Who beat the Americans savagely. [Lost but performance exists on tape -- somewhere.]

Clown College Reunion
Ronald McDonald appears at his Clown College reunion. The other clowns mock him for being a "corporate clown" and deride his fake magic. [Rewritten]

Tomorrow is a Piece of Shit
James Bond's latest assignment takes him to various redneck junkyards, gas stations and shitty trailers in Atlanta. The latest Bond villain is a snuff-dipping fatass. The latest Bond woman is, too. [Rewritten -- not as full sketch but quick movie pitch.]

1997


Necromarketing
Dirt Devil had the digitally reanimated corpse of Fred Astair dancing around with a vacuum cleaner. As long as we're going to turn the dead into corporate shills, who else could we dig up? [Found]

Titanic -- the God-proof boat!
In 1912, the White Star Line makes "God Himself couldn't sink her!" the tagline of their advertising campaign for the Titanic. It's God-proof, or your money back. [Rewritten]

The Bob Marley Trial
Bob Marley is tried for shooting the Sheriff. He’s stoned out of his mind and his testimony makes no sense. “I did not shoot the Deputy.” What Deputy? Who said anything about a Deputy? [Earlier draft found]

An Immigrant's Story
A man comes to America from the old country in the early 1900s. He has a dream: selling hot, steaming turds from a pushcart. Anything is possible in America! [Found]

1996

Quentin Tarantino's Knife Before Christmas
Santa and henchman stage an ultraviolent home invasion. (Written in collaboration with Kevin Dean)[Found]

Woody Allen's "Crash"Woody Allen directs "Crash." Basically, his nebbish character takes over for Steven Spader. (Oct. 29 1996) [Found]

English as a Second Language Theater

A beginning English speaker writes sketch comedy in which the punchline is always “Turds!” [Rewritten]

Slingbladerunner
Carl chases replicants with his slingblade. Some folks call it a Kaiser blade. [Found]

Side Effects May Include
A new wonder drug has a long list of symptoms including Lycanthropy and "Scanners" syndrome. [Found]

Miss Oleo
Miss Oleo (a real psychic, as opposed to Miss Cleo) warns a woman that her murderous, ex-boyfriend stalker is in her apartment. She tells her where to stand and exactly when to bash the skillet over his head. [Found]

The Real Psychic Network
Real psychics tell you your real future, which turns out to be horrible and depressing. For an extra fee, they tell you what you did in a past life, which is also horrible and depressing. [Not found]

Tourettes Syndrome Telethon
The Jerry Lewis-style announcer asks for help and cusses you out. [Found]

The Mega-Mega-Mega-Mansion

1995
Star Trek: Generation X
Twentysomething yuppie scum in space. [Not found]

Republichrist
The New Republican Bible reimagines Jesus as a glad-handing, asshole businessman. [Rewritten]

A Clockwork Gallery Walk
Alex and his droogs engage in art criticism. [Found]

Alex's Clockwork Oranges
Alex introduces his new breakfast cereal. [Not found]

Son of Religion Incorporated
A grab-bag of jive religions: Jehovah's Prosecuting Attorneys, Seinfeldology, Harry Kirshners, Christian Mad Scientists and more. [Not found]

Sex is Fun for Kids on Drugs
A lampoon of conservative perceptions of the evil, liberal media. Various hypothetical TV shows designed to destroy belief in God and sexual morality. [Fragment found]

Sometimes Murder Can Be Murder
Sketch about irritating detective who keeps using the "But, sometimes, ___________ can be murder!" trope. [Not found]

1994

Homerman
Homer Simpson attends a company picnic with his family. Suddenly, nobody knows who he is and Homer is on the run in a parody of Nowhere Man, the Prisoner, the Manchurian Candidate, and every other paranoid fantasy. A spec script for The Simpsons Halloween special. [Not found. Probably lost forever]

Beanie Babies
A Peter Lorre-like figure lives in terror of the Beanie Babies. Their little bellies are filled with beans. They're always following me! He meets a bad end. [Found. Ending expanded. Backstory added.]

Wo Fat Diet
Wo Fat of Hawaii Five-0 captures Detective McGarrett. He informs his old enemy that the People's Republic of China has, at last, defeated the decadent United States. Then he buries him beneath a mountain of cheap, crappy consumer products. [Rewritten]

The Clastic Fantastic Constructions of Pseudo DiGiolinio
A parody of a bloated, pretentious, jargon-ridden art review. [Found]


1993

Rage against the Schween
The head of Schween Marketing reveals the giant machine at the heart of his factory spitting out Rage Against the Machine t-shirts, CDs and bumper stickers. [Rewritten]

The Flamemaster 3000
Kids love fire! Now, just in time for Christmas--a flame-thrower for kids! Use only as directed. (South Park did something pretty freaking similar. Not that I'm saying anything.) [Rewritten, which makes it hard to prove I thought of it first.]

Mr. Mercenary's Neighborhood
Mr. Rogers' replacement is a survivalist gun nut. [Not found]

An Ugly Day in the Neighborhood
Mr. Rogers is insane. In our continuing Mr. Rogers saga, a cameraman witnesses him declaring himself the God of the Neighborhood of Makebelieve. Mr. Rogers captures the snooping cameraman, ties him up. The puppets hold a trial, verdict: death. The cameraman is rescued by Barney, who shoves Mr. Rogers down the toilet. [Rewritten]

You Can Never Go Down the Drain
Mr. Rogers, graphically, reassures children that you can never get sucked into the toilet, kicking and screaming helplessly as the filthy waters choke you and the darkness closes in. Your parents didn't lie to you. No, of course not. [Rewritten, incorporated in sketch]

Fight Stubborn Grunge with New! Instant Prozac
A drug company tests its new, fast-acting anti-depression medication on Nirvana and Pearl Jam. It works and ruins their music careers. [rewritten]

1992

Nazi Track
A parody of the Nordic Track -- an exercise machine involving goose-stepping and seig-heiling. [rewritten]

It's a Horrible Life
A corrupt businessman is ultimately responsible for destroying the hopes of the 1960s. The world would be a better place if he'd killed himself. Clarence the Angel points this out to him. (SNL did a similar skit featuring Newt Gingrich. Mine was first, damnit.)[Found]

Oh, Say, Could You Just Shut Up a Second?
Francis Scott Key rushes into Ft. McHenry where his friends have all been shot up after a night's long seige. Is the flag OK? All he can think about is the freaking flag. His friends are pissed. [Rewritten]

Royal Shakespeare Dinner Theatre
A serious actor stuck in a travesty of Shakespeare at a crass dinner theater where ancient, rude patrons interrupt "Richard III" to ask about the Apple Betty. [Rewritten]

Moonwalker: the Director's Cut
A re-edited version of Moonwalker in which the Joe Pesci character saves the children from pedophilic attentions of Michael Jackson. [Not found.]

1991

The Ballad of Slade Killgun
A serial killer's killing spree brings publicity and prosperity to a dirtbag town in the Old West. When he dies by accident, the townsfolk cover it up, stage copycat murders and keep the legend alive. [Rewritten]

Believe in the Beans
The Magic Bean salesman sells Jack a new religion. [Rewritten]

ASAP's Fairy Tales
A series of ridiculously telegraphic fairy tales for busy parents with no patience. [Found]

Satan Claus
Santa is an evil figure who dominates the world and uses children’s greed to turn them against their parents. [Found]

Mold Injected Plastic
The American Mold Injected Plastic Association throws away millions of dollars on an idiotic, nationwide "mold-injected plastic awareness" campaign. The advertising agency can't convince the President of the AMIPA that no one gives a crap about mold-injected plastic. It is, after all, his life. [Fragment found]

1990

The Old Prospector
This character is truly a shit. He has a knack for predicting disasters. Everyone always ignores him. Then he dances around like a loon when the disaster happens saying "I told you so." [Not found]

American Chainsaw Association
When chainsaws are outlawed, only outlaws will have chainsaws. [Found]



** As of now, 14 skits remain missing, indicated in red. These are just the ones I recall, of course -- and not counting long-form comedy like "Me, Robomonkey."

Friday, February 1, 2002

The Next Minute

OK, some classic films reconsidered. What happened AFTER the ending ...

CITIZEN KANE

INT. CELLAR - XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

A large furnace, with an open door, dominates the scene. Two laborers, with shovels, are shoveling things into the furnace. Raymond is about ten feet away.


RAYMOND: Throw that junk in, too.

Camera travels to the pile that he has indicated. It is mostly bits of broken packing cases, excelsior, etc. The sled is on top of the pile. As camera comes close, it shows the faded rosebud and, though the letters are faded, unmistakably the word "ROSEBUD" across it. The laborer drops his shovel, takes the sled in his hand and throws it into the furnace. The flames start to devour it.

EXT. XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

No lights are to be seen. Smoke is coming from a chimney.

Camera reverses the path it took at the beginning of the picture, perhaps omitting some of the stages. It moves finally through the gates, which close behind it. As camera pauses for a moment, the letter "K" is prominent in the moonlight.

Just before we fade out, there comes again into the picture the pattern of barbed wire and cyclone fencing. On the fence is a sign which reads:


"PRIVATE - NO TRESPASSING"

FADE OUT:

THE END

RAYMOND: (O.S.) Hey, wait a minute!

We go back to --

INT. CELLAR - XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

RAYMOND: Get that thing out of there!

WORKER: What thing?

RAYMOND: That sled. Get it out of there!

WORKER: Yeah, yeah. OK. Ow. I got it. What’s the …

RAYMOND: Well, look at it! See? It says Rosebud?

WORKER: Oh, yeah. Rosebud. That reporter guy kept talking about Rosebud.

RAYMOND: Hey Thompson! Get back in here. Thompson!

THOMPSON runs in, followed by the other photographers and reporters.

THOMPSON: Yeah, yeah. I'm here already! Keep your shirt on. What's the beef?

RAYMOND: Rosebud! We got it!

WORKER: Yeah!

THOMPSON: What are you talking about?

The WORKER holds up the sled.

THOMPSON: That's it? Rosebud's a sled?

WORKER: Yeah.

THOMPSON: It's just a lousy sled?

WORKER: Guess Mr. Kane was just feeling sad about the loss of his innocent childhood and all that stuff.

The cynical REPORTERS and PHOTOGRAPHERS all groan. RAYMOND snatches the sled from the WORKER.

RAYMOND: Gimme that! I saw it first.

He holds it out to THOMPSON.

RAYMOND: You want to take it?

THOMPSON: "How much you want for it?" That's what you mean?

RAYMOND: How much?

THOMPSON: Not one red cent.

The REPORTERS laugh.

RAYMOND: You're kidding! This is your whole story --

THOMPSON: The story stinks. Corny, you know? My readers hate that crap. I give 'em the big build-up -- and it's just a lousy sled? They'll run me out of town.

PHOTOGRAPHER: Too bad it wasn't a dame or something.

THOMPSON: Ah. Let's blow this pleasure dome.

THOMPSON and the REPORTERS and PHOTOGRAPHERS leave.

RAYMOND: Here. (roughly hands sled to WORKER) Throw it back in.

WORKER: Sure thing, boss.

He throws it in.

EXT. XANADU - NIGHT - 1940

No lights are to be seen. Smoke is coming from a chimney.

Track out as before.



THE WIZARD OF OZ

INT - DOROTHY's BEDROOM - DAY
Dorothy surrounded by Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and the farmhands, Zeke, Hunk and Hickory. Dorothy is explaining that the Land of Oz wasn’t a dream. The assembled people look at her like she’s nuts. They laugh and try to humor her. But Dorothy holds firm.

DOROTHY: No, Aunt Em -- this was a real, truly live place. And I remember that some of it wasn't very nice....

MCU -- Dorothy -- Camera shooting down past Aunt Em --


DOROTHY: ...but most of it was beautiful. But just the same, all I kept saying to everybody was, I want to go home. And they sent me home.

MLS -- Dorothy lying in bed -- Aunt Em sitting by her – Professor at window -- Uncle Henry -- Zeke -- Hunk and Hickory standing by -- they laugh -- Toto jumps up on to bed -- Dorothy takes Toto in her arms --

DOROTHY: Doesn't anybody believe me?

UNCLE HENRY: Of course we believe you, Dorothy.

DOROTHY: Oh, but anyway, Toto, we're home!

MCU -- Dorothy holding Toto in her arms -- Camera shooting past Aunt Em at right f.g. -- Dorothy looks around room -- speaks -- tears come to her eyes -- Aunt Em rises -- puts her arm around Dorothy -

DOROTHY: Home! And this is my room -- and you're all here! And I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all! And -- Oh, Auntie Em -- there's no place like home!

FADE OUT:

FADE IN -- THE END -- FADE OUT

DOROTHY: (O.S.) Wait a minute.

FADE IN --

INT - DOROTHY'S BEDROOM - DAY

A face appears at the window. JOE.

DOROTHY: I don't remember you.

JOE smiles.

DOROTHY: Who are you?

JOE: Why I’m Joe.

DOROTHY: Joe?

JOE: Uh, yeah. Joe. Joe Dickinson, the Edwards County Animal Control Officer.

DOROTHY: Huh?

JOE: That’s right, little girl. Gosh, I’m sorry. I’ll need to take Toto.

DOROTHY: What?

JOE: I’m real sorry. (holds out official form) I’ve got the order to destroy right here. Miss Gulch’s complaint against your dog still stands.

HUNK: Say, you leave her alone. This kid’s been through a lot.

JOE: I’m sorry. But it’s my job. Now … now you guys stand back! I’ll come back here with the Sheriff if I have to. I don’t want to, but I –

Sound: WHANG!

JOE: Uggggh.

Joe crumples. Zeke stands there holding a bloody shovel.


DOROTHY: Zeke!

HUNK: Jeez, Zeke. He ain't breathing.

ZEKE: Run, kid. Run. Take the dog. You got your whole life ahead of you. Me, I’m already dead. Can you take her with her Professor?

PROFESSOR: (too eagerly) Oh yes, yes certainly. I’ll find something … useful for Dorothy to do.

ZEKE: Now go, already. Go!

DOROTHY: But I just got home!

ZEKE: There's no place like home. Not for you, kid. Now go!

Dorothy grabs Toto and runs out weeping with the Professor. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry weep. We hear sirens.

HICKORY: Gee. Too bad she had to wake up, huh?

ZEKE: Guess I wasn't thinking.

HUNK: Guess not.

ZEKE: I'm sorry, fellas. I can't go back.

HICKORY: Zeke -- Zeke no!

ZEKE: I always was a coward.

He puts a revolver in his mouth and shoots himself.



THE PLANET OF THE APES

CLOSE ANGLE - TRACKING WITH TAYLOR AND NOVA.
As they round the promontory, the tip of a strange rock formation comes into view. it appears to be jutting from the sea.

REACTION SHOT - TAYLOR

He reins in momentarily, baffled by what he sees. Then he rides on.

THE STRANGE FORMATION - AS SEEN BY TAYLOR

An immense column juts from the beach at a thirty-degree angle. We can now see that it is not rock, but metal. Green metallic tints show through its gray salt-stained surface. As we draw closer, the object takes on the appearance of a massive arm, its top shaped like a hand holding a torch.


REVERSE ANGLE - FAVORING TAYLOR

Frowning with consternation. His horse proceeds at a slow walk.

TRACKING WITH TAYLOR - WHAT HE SEES:

Near the base of the column, where the shore and water meet, are a row of metal spikes. From this angle they look like tank traps.

ANGLE DOWN ON TAYLOR. ZOOM IN.

We see Taylor through V-shaped spikes. The horse stops.

CLOSER - TAYLOR

Dumbfounded, he slides from his saddle, approaches the spikes. Nova dismounts and follows him. Taylor stands in the water looking up.

MID-SHOT TAYLOR

TAYLOR (dumbfounded)Oh, my God. I'm back! I'm home. All the time, it was...

Taylor falls to his knees, buries his head in his hands. He pounds the sand in impotent rage. Nova looks on sadly behind him. Feeling his pain but not understanding it.

TAYLOR: We did it. We finally really did it. You murderers! You blew it up!God damn you! God damn you all to hell!

Nova looks at him sadly. Looks up. Looks at what Taylor sees.

CAMERA SLOWLY DRAWS BACK AND UP to a HIGH ANGLE SHOT --
The camera discloses what Taylor has found. Half-buried in the sand and washed by the waves is the Statue of Liberty.

FADE OUT: THE END

ANGLE ON STATUE OF LIBERTY.

Dodge and Landon appear in the windows of the statue’s tiara. Astronauts that Taylor thought the Apes had killed.

LANDON: How’s it hanging, Taylor?

TAYLOR: Oh my God!

DODGE: Man, you say that a lot.

LANDON: Yeah, it's irritating.

TAYLOR: You're alive!

DODGE: You screwed the pooch, Taylor.

LANDON: Screwed the monkey, you mean.

They share a laugh.

DODGE: We gotcha buddy. Gotcha good.

TAYLOR: What .. what the hell is going on?

DR. ZAIUS appears, walking up the beach. Smiles. Removes his oranguatan mask. He’s fully human.


DR ZAIUS: Smile, Taylor. You’re on Candid Camera.