As drafts go on and go and rewrites become more frequent then they do get easier. This is probably something that gets forgotten about by most when they’re plugging away at getting that first draft done. I’ve had a couple of smaller tweaks to the dialogue including taking out a whole section which still eluded to the insomnia angle.
It’s around this stage that I end up doing something I hate, namely a treatment which is needed as part of the pitch document before it goes in the website. I just always feel really awkward about blowing your own trumpet by trying to ‘sell’ your script. Also, it makes almost every single idea sound dull when you condense it down into a couple of paragraphs. For example…
‘A farm boy is chosen to save the galaxy’.
Just sounds a bit rubbish put like that doesn’t it?
So here’s the latest version of The Unlocked Project, speaking of the title I’m thinking of just cutting it down to ‘Unlocked’ when the script goes out.
INT/ BEDROOM/ DAY
A clean bedroom, white linen bedcovers are undisturbed, metal bed frame and headboard.
Beside the bed is a small, pump operated bottle of alcohol based hand cleanser.
Every door handle in the flat is covered in what look like shower caps.
There’s a table in one corner covered in a clear plastic sheet.
Standing by the sink is a man in his late 20’s. He cleans his hands under the running tap, soaping up to his elbows and in between his fingers. It’s almost surgical. He switches off the tap with his elbows.
He walks over to the curtained window, he pulls and a pair of surgical gloves before pulling the curtains apart. It’s a bright morning, sunlight fills the room.
A knock at the door,
TONY
(Shouting)
Come in Andrea!
Andrea opens the door and walks in.
She takes off her shoes and places them in a small plastic bag next to the door.
She behind to walk forwards.
Tony motions her stop.
He throws her the pack of alcohol rub.
She uses it on her hands.
ANDREA
It’s a lovely morning.
TONY
The answer is no.
ANDREA
You’re not even sure of the question
TONY
I knew it was going to be something like “Let’s try and take a walk outside today Tony”.
ANDREA
And you’re not
She takes a bottle of water out of the bag and places it on a table.
ANDREA
You really should try y’know.
TONY
Too much going on.
ANDREA
In here?
TONY
Out there. Cars, people, building, noise. Too much.
ANDREA
You have to get out sometime.
TONY
Not now though.
She takes out a small packet from the bag.
It rattles when she moves it.
ANDREA
(Pointing at the box)
Vitamins, new ones.
Tony picks up the box and looks at the back.
TONY
What was wrong with the old ones?
ANDREA
They don’t sell them any more.
TONY
Why not?
ANDREA
I don’t know, things just move on. Tony, you don’t go outside so how would you know? It’s the same as the other ones. Probably a different coloured packet.
Tony takes out one of the pills, shoves it in his mouth and then gulps some water.
Andrea reaches into the bag again.
She produces a small booklet of puzzles.
ANDREA
I bought you this as well.
She flips it towards Tony.
Tony completely misses it and it lands on the floor.
He picks it up.
TONY
Another one?
ANDREA
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', monospl bed frame and headboard.</r mind occupied on something else other than the window. Do some puzzles to pass the time.
TONY
You’re asking me to do Sudoku?
ANDREA
I’m asking you not to stare at a wall. Where’s the other one I gave you?
TONY
I finished it.
ANDREA
Where is it?
TONY
It’s over on the table, why?
ANDREA
Not much good having a completed puzzle book and plus…
TONY
Plus?
ANDREA
Recycling.
Tony throws the book towards Andrea who catches it and places it back in her pocket.
ANDREA
Right, I’m going to get moving. Anything else you need?
TONY
Not that I can think of.
ANDREA
Okay, call me if you need me.
Andrea exits the room, leaving Tony flicking through a puzzle book.
-
INT/ TONY’S BEDROOM/ NIGHT
Tony is in bed, not asleep, just resting.
There’s only the bare minimum of light.
He gets up, walks over to the window, pulls back the curtains.
He sees streets, city lights and cars moving.
He quickly closes the curtains again.
There is a knock at the door.
Tony looks shocked and stands perfectly still.
Another knock
Tony creeps towards the door, getting close to it.
TONY
Who’s there?
A male voice responds
VOICE
I’m here to say hi.
TONY
Well you’ve said it now.
VOICE
Open the door so I can say it properly.
TONY
Do you know what time this is?
VOICE
Yes, I have a watch.
Tony still pauses.
VOICE
Open the door.
Tony opens the door very slowly.
On the other side is a man wearing dark trouser, a shirt and tie. He wanders straight into the room, pushing past Tony.
VOICE
(Offering handshake)
The name’s Michael.
TONY
(Refusing handshake)
Tony
Michael puts his hand down.
TONY
I’m really sorry, it’s just that I have a thing about…
MICHAEL
About?
TONY
You’ve just come from outside.
MICHAEL
Yes.
TONY
Outside there.
MICHAEL
Yes.
Tony hands him the hand sanitizer.
TONY
Would you mind?
MICHAEL
I haven’t been handling raw sewage or anything y’know.
TONY
Doesn’t have to be that, just anything.
MICHAEL
Ah, it’s like that.
Michael uses the gel on his hands.
TONY
It’s 3am by the way.
MICHAEL
Were you asleep?
TONY
Well, not really.
MICHAEL
I knew that.
TONY
You seem to know a lot.
MICHAEL
I’ve been living opposite for the last few weeks and I started thinking about you.
TONY
Me?
MICHAEL
You never leave the house, you only get one visitor.
TONY
I’m just not that social.
MICHAEL
And that one visitor is a woman. She’s either your Mum who keeps up a good skincare regime or a hooker.
TONY
Excuse me?
MICHAEL
Well which is it?
TONY
Have you just come round here to offend me?
MICHAEL
No, this is a social visit. I am visiting you, I am greeting you in the warmest possible circumstances.
TONY
At 3am.
MICHAEL
At 3am.
TONY
The time means nothing to you does it?
MICHAEL
Does it mean anything to you? You’re never outside to enjoy daylight.
Michael picks up the box of pills.
MICHAEL
What are these?
TONY
My pills.
MICHAEL
It’s nothing contagious is it? Are you in quarantine?
TONY
No, just vitamins.
MICHAEL
Why?
TONY
Because I’m not exactly walking in sunshine right now.
MICHAEL
You don’t need these, seriously stop taking them. Just eat some food or something y’know.
TONY
Thanks for the great advice, shouldn’t you be going?
MICHAEL
Let me show you something.
TONY
What?
MICHAEL
Just follow me.
Michael moves towards the door.
He stands in the doorway gesturing to Tony
Tony eventually follows him.
They walks down the corridor together.
MICHAEL
Just so you know I live right over there.
He points towards a door.
TONY
Great, fantastic.
MICHAEL
Any time you need somebody to talk to, a shoulder, anything you come round right?
TONY
Why are you doing this?
MICHAEL
Doing what, reaching out to a friend?
TONY
I’m not your friend.
MICHAEL
I’m hurt, really hurt. You might not be now but you’ll soon be. Consider something for me?
TONY
What?
Michael opens the door to his flat.
MICHAEL
When was the last time you made it as far as the lifts?
Michael closes the door behind him leaving Tony in the corridor alone.
Tony stands looking around, shocked amazement.
He runs back to his own door, shutting it behind him.
Almost automatically he runs to the bathroom and starts to scrub his hands and arms with a nail brush.
-
INT/ TONY’S FLAT/ DAY
Andrea and Tony sit drinking coffee.
ANDREA
You left your flat?
TONY
Yeah, there was this guy here.
ANDREA
Who?
TONY
Called himself Michael, lives down the hall apparently.
ANDREA
And he visited you when?
TONY
3am.
ANDREA
Who visits people at 3am?
TONY
He does it would seem.
ANDREA
Why did you open the door anyway?
TONY
I thought I was dreaming it.
ANDREA
And you had to open it to make sure.
TONY
Pretty much. He showed me where he lives.
ANDREA
What do you mean ‘showed you’?
TONY
We were out in the hall.
ANDREA
So you can make it out there then?
TONY
Don’t get too carried away.
ANDREA
Well ignore him, I don’t think anybody should be coming into other people’s homes when they might just be asleep.
TONY
I think he was just one of these crazy guys.
ANDREA
Thin line between crazy and idiot. Where does he live?
TONY
Out the door, turn right, last one before the lifts.
ANDREA
If he knocks again let me know, I’ll be knocking on his door when he’s trying to sleep, see how he likes that.
TONY
He sounds like he’d enjoy the company.
ANDREA
Have you taken your pill today?
TONY
Not yet, I’ll take it soon.
ANDREA
You’d better, you’ll look even worse if you don’t.
TONY
Thanks for the uplift in confidence.
Andrea gathers her things.
ANDREA
That’s what I’m here for.
She leaves the room.
-
INT/ TONY’S ROOM/ NIGHT
Tony sits alone.
A knock at the door.
Tony goes straight over and opens it.
Michael wanders in again.
TONY
My friend isn’t happy with you
MICHAEL
Who? Your sister?
TONY
She’s not my sister.
MICHAEL
Then it’s okay for me to fancy her a little bit then.
TONY
You’re not here at your usual hour?
MICHAEL
I can go and come back if you want to?
TONY
No, it’s okay.
Michael looks on the table.
MICHAEL
38.
TONY
Sorry?
MICHAEL
38 pills left in that packet.
TONY
Really?
MICHAEL
38 yesterday too, you didn’t take one today did you.
TONY
I forgot.
MICHAEL
And yet you live, amazing isn’t it?
TONY
If you say so.
Michael tilts his ear towards the ground.
MICHAEL
Did you hear that?
TONY
(looking confused)
What?
MICHAEL
(points at the wall)
That!
There is no obvious noise.
TONY
No, there’s nothing.
MICHAEL
When I was a kid I always had a thing for being able to pick up high frequency sounds. You have this high pitched buzz coming from your wall.
TONY
Stop being a fool.
MICHAEL
Look I’m trying to help you here, no wonder you’re not sleeping if this is all your hearing. You might not be hearing it but I’m pretty sure your brain will be.
TONY
How is that even possible?
MICHAEL
Get me a spoon or something.
TONY
Why?
MICHAEL
Just do it!
Tony searches around for an implement.
He finds a fork.
TONY
I’ve only got this.
Michael snatches it.
MICHAEL
It’ll do nicely.
TONY
What are you…
Michael starts jabbing part of the wall next to window.
TONY
(Shocked)
No, no ,no. You’re getting dust everywhere.
MICHAEL
It’ll just be a small hole, something’s making this noise.
TONY
I’m asking you to stop doing that please.
MICHAEL
It’s minor, a bit of plaster after this and you’ll be fine.
Michael continues jabbing the wall.
Plaster begins to fall down to the floor, gathering in a pile on the floor.
Tony is visibly cowering at this sight.
TONY
I’m going to ask you once more to stop doing that.
MICHAEL
What’s the problem? Am I wrecking your little nest here? Your perfect little room?
TONY
Actually, yes.
MICHAEL
So at no point do you want to know what this noise is?
Tony looks utterly freaked out by all this.
Suddenly Michael stops.
There’s a moment of silence
MICHAEL
There it is, I’m done now anyway.
TONY
There’s what?
MICHAEL
I give you the route of the problem.
TONY
Your problem.
MICHAEL
That’s in your flat, you perfect little, germ free flat.
Tony kneels down beside Michael.
Both stare at the wall.
There’s a thick cable running through it.
It connects to a socket.
TONY
You’ve come into my house and ruined a wall purely to reveal an electrical wire.
MICHAEL
It’s still buzzing.
TONY
Because it’s electric.
MICHAEL
What cable do you know in a house that’s this thick?
TONY
I don’t know, how fat is electricity Michael?
MICHAEL
That’s not the point.
He digs some more.
Tony pulls Michael away from the door.
TONY
That’s enough, stop this now.
MICHAEL
Okay fine but I’m coming back tomorrow and we’re finding out what that is.
TONY
It’s a cable, mystery over.
MICHAEL
That’s no cable.
Michael walks over to the sink and starts to clean the utensil.
MICHAEL
Move the bin over it or something.
TONY
Why?
MICHAEL
Because we don’t want your friend knowing do we?
TONY
Did you not want to think about that beforehand?
MICHAEL
Not when the buzzing was around.
TONY
Was?
MICHAEL
Well, not really, it’s still here. You seriously can’t hear that?
TONY
No.
MICHAEL
Must be some kind of frequency buffering or something.
TONY
Frequency what?
MICHAEL
Never mind, just put the bin over it and we’ll be done until tomorrow.
Michael walks towards the door and opens it.
MICHAEL
Remember, if you need anything then just knock. I’ll be back later.
TONY
Thank you for just turning up to wreck the place.
MICHAEL
You’re welcome.
Michael closes the door behind him.
Tony walks over to his bed and sits on the end of it.
-
INT/TONY’S FLAT/DAY
Tony is fast asleep on his bed.
He awakes slowly, getting to a vertical basis.
He walks over to the window and pulls the curtains back.
Light streams into the room.
Tony smiles.
He looks down at the bin in the corner, covering where the hole would be.
He walks over and moves the bin.
The hole is still there.
Tony suddenly looks very concerned.
He quickly places the bin back.
The door suddenly flings open.
Michael runs in.
He is clutching a large, plastic toolbox.
He places it down on the floor before shutting the door behind him.
It seems like he’s ran down the corridor.
MICHAEL
Does she know?
TONY
Who?
MICHAEL
Your friend.
TONY
Andrea?
MICHAEL
Is Andrea your friend?
TONY
Yes
MICHAEL
Then her then, does she know?
TONY
I haven’t seen her, I was asleep.
MICHAEL
You were asleep? Like a normal human. This is progress. Can you hear that sound yet?
TONY
I’m still hearing nothing.
MICHAEL
Truly? Well I’ve brought something.
He reaches into his tool kit and brings out a stethoscope.
He puts it in his ears and holds the other end to the wall.
MICHAEL
Certainly buzzing.
TONY
I seriously thought I’d dreamt this.
MICHAEL
No, you were awake, now let’s get digging.
Michael brings out a chisel and starts to hack at the wall.
He suddenly stops.
MICHAEL
You’re not freaking out.
TONY
No, I’m not.
MICHAEL
Definite progress.
Michael hacks away more carefully this time.
A whole piece of plaster falls off revealing a switch.
MICHAEL
I’m flicking it.
TONY
You don’t even know what it is.
MICHAEL
That’s why I’m flicking it
Michael flicks the switch.
The light that filled the room from the window suddenly stops.
The window is filled with static.
The words ‘No video feed’ move across the screen.
TONY
What the hell have you done?
MICHAEL
What was that? When was your window a TV screen?
TONY
It wasn’t.
MICHAEL
Well that’s not what I’m seeing now.
TONY
There were people, cars, lights, everything.
MICHAEL
Not any more. What else in this place is fake?
TONY
Nothing, it’s been here for as long as I have.
MICHAEL
That doesn’t make it real though does it. I knew I could hear something.
Michael starts to frantically look around the flat.
MICHAEL
Reckon we could take the screen out of there?
TONY
For what?
MICHAEL
Because there must be something beyond that.
TONY
I’m not helping you any further. You’ve torn apart enough.
MICHAEL
Scrap that idea, I’m going to mine.
TONY
Oh so now you’re running away?
MICHAEL
All these flats are the same, I want to check my window.
Michael goes storming off through the front door.
Tony flicks the switch again
The light comes back and fill the room.
The screen displays the street outside again.
Tony stares in wonder.
He then runs out of the flat.
-
INT/ CORRIDOR/ DAY
Tony goes running down the corridor towards Michael’s door.
He knocks first.
TONY
Michael?
There is no answer.
Tony cautiously opens the door.
He is faced with a bare brick wall
Tony looks horrified.
He moves across the corridor to the door opposite Michael’s flat.
He opens this as well.
Again, a brick wall.
A door at the end of the corridor opens and Andrea stands in it.
ANDREA
Tony?
Tony doesn’t say a word.
ANDREA
I know this seems strange.
TONY
You could say that.
ANDREA
You didn’t take the pills did you?
TONY
Got told not to.
ANDREA
You don’t remember much about coming here do you?
TONY
Coming here?
ANDREA
We picked you.
TONY
Who’s we?
ANDREA
You were needed for research.
TONY
You’re trying to say I’m some kind of lab rat?
ANDREA
You’re hardly a rat Tony. We just needed to know.
TONY
Know what?
ANDREA
Can we convince somebody to fear anything? Could we keep somebody locked into one building without any physical restraints?
TONY
Get me out of here.
ANDREA
That wouldn’t be a good idea.
Tony starts to stride down the corridor.
He breaks into a run
Straight past Andrea.
He ends up running straight into a field
Green grass and sunlight.
Tweeting birds.
THE END
