Pilotman
An Apocalyptic Vision or Just a Child's Dream?
NYCMMM Screenwriting Competition
This script was originally written for the first round of the 2004 NYC Midnight Moviemaking Madness Screenwriting Contest.The genre for the competition was "Science Fiction," and the topic was "Earth's air supply is going to run out in three days." This time around, I decided to interpret the genre and topic more creatively than I had on the Superman movie. I had one week to write the script.
Creative Freedom
The advantage in this contest was that the competitors were not required to produce the screenplays they wrote. Not having to worry about the logistics of making the film, I was able to let my imagination run wild.
The opening sequence was my answer to the genre and topic, and I tried to use the rest of the script as a way of calling that vision of apocalypse into question. The result is an ambiguous psychological drama about the effects of divorce on a young child.
First-Round Winner
The script won the first round of the competition. In the second round, I had to write a script of equal length in just twenty-four hours. My entry, "The Eccentrics," was a runner-up in the final round. (You can read it here.)
The Short Story
The year after I wrote "Pilotman" as a script, I rewrote it as a short story. I've come to prefer the prose version as the true expression of what I was trying to get at with this story, but I still have a strong desire to see the opening sequence on film.
If we can raise some money and find a computer animation expert with an interest in fattening up his or her portfolio, Jonathan O'Beirne and I will produce "Pilotman" as a live-action short. (Any interested parties, please email me!)
(Download the script for "Pilotman" or go to the Model Homes page to read "Pilotman" as a short story.)
Pilotman
EXT. FUTURISTIC CITYSCAPE - DAY
As far as the eye can see, large blimp-like transport
spacecraft are tethered to the tops of gleaming chrome
skyscrapers. They are bright red, with metallic exoskeletons,
and they are shaped like pumpkin seeds.
Beneath the many spacecraft swarms a city in chaos.
EXT. CITY STREETS - SAME
HORDES of people fill the streets, all of them coursing
toward a large metallic terminal.
They have salvaged what they can from their former lives.
Some carry food, others pets, still others drag large boxes
and luggage behind them.
EXT. TERMINAL ENTRANCE - SAME
A seven-year-old BOY walks between his MOTHER and FATHER
toward the entrance of a large terminal. The terminal is
being overrun: in a scene of mass hysteria, whole families
try to press through the gates.
The boy's mother and father struggle to pull him along,
shouting to each other above the din of the crowd. Their
words are drowned out.
SPEAKER (V.O.)
(echoing and with static)
Ark 145 leaves from gate C-34 in three
minutes.
The speaker CRACKLES loudly.
SPEAKER (V.O.) (CONT'D)
...flare will hit in seven minutes.
Repeat, the flare will...
Another loud CRACKLE and the crowd surges in panic. The boy's
parents pull him forward.
MOTHER
(yelling hoarsely)
Don't worry, sweetheart! We'll make it!
We're gonna make it!
EXT. FUTURISTIC CITYSCAPE - SAME
Several of the blimp-like spacecraft cut their moorings and
begin rising into the air.
EXT. CITY STREETS - SAME
The crowd looks up into the skies after the red pumpkin
seeds.
An OLD MAN collapses. The large trunk he was lugging on his
back breaks open, dumping out on the street all his
belongings.
OLD MAN
They're leaving without us! My God, how
can... Come back!
More people notice the old man and look up at the craft
rising into the sky. Many react with screams of terror and
plaintive cries; others trudge forward through the mass with
renewed effort.
EXT. IN FRONT OF TERMINAL - SAME
The boy strains to keep up with his parents.
BOY'S P.O.V.
The boy's parents charge forward, practically dragging him.
Only the back of the father's head is visible.
SPEAKER (V.O.)
(broken with static)
...k 145 leav...ne minute...Last
transport...Ark 145...Gate...Flare to...
FATHER (O.S.)
(shouting urgently)
Goddammit, Damon! Come on!
INSERT - HANDS
We see the father's grip on the boy's hand begin to slip as
they are forcibly separated by the crowd.
MOTHER & FATHER (O.S.)
Damon!
FRONT OF TERMINAL
The boy is pushed away from his parents and quickly finds
himself lost in the crowd. He struggles to reach a lamppost
and climbs up on its base.
VIEW FROM LAMPPOST
He looks over a sea of heads but fails to find his parents.
FRONT OF TERMINAL
The boy gazes up the sleek metal sides of nearby skyscrapers,
amid which drift the many transport craft.
His upward turned eyes fill with tears as he clutches the
lamppost with all his might.
All around him the crowd begins to react to something above.
Clutching each other in terror, they scream and wail.
A strong wind sweeps up dust and trash. Then it begins
picking up people, trees, cars.
It becomes even stronger, sweeping everything off the ground.
The ROAR of the winds grows unbearably loud. The boy urgently
tries to open his eyes as wide as he can.
EXT. FUTURISTIC CITYSCAPE - SAME
Above the city, the blimp-like spacecraft tear away from
their moorings. Carried off by an upswell of air, they
scatter like rose petals across the sky.
EXT. OUTER SPACE - SAME
Silence.
From a great distance, we see Earth as it begins to pass
through an engulfing sun flare. The magnetic field of the
planet destroyed by the flare, the entire atmosphere sprays
off as though it had been merely a thick coating of dust.
We zoom closer to the planet to see thousands of the blimp
like spacecraft tossed into the blackness of space by the
escaping atmosphere.
Passing one of these spacecraft as it moves quickly beyond
the planet Mars toward the asteroid belt, we cruise out into
deep space.
For a moment, we turn back to see the entire solar system in
miniature. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and Earth seem like static
balls in the all-surrounding darkness.
A rectangle of light appears, dim against the blackness. It
starts to move slowly. Growing a bit brighter, it starts
moving faster.
We discern a small desk beyond the planets, and a bed where
the young boy is asleep.
What a moment ago had been the solar system is revealed to
be, in fact, merely a mobile hanging in the boy's bedroom.
The light through the window cast by a passing car completes
its scan of the room and disappears.
The boy, DAMON, awakes in a fright.
CUT TO:
INT. DINING ROOM - DAY
Damon sits at the dining room table of a present-day home. In
the corners of the room are several sealed moving boxes.
Behind Damon is an empty china closet; in front of him is a
birthday cake with eight candles. Nearby is an recently
unwrapped birthday present: a backyard rocket kit.
Five slightly older BOYS stand around the dining room with
Damon's mother waiting for Damon to blow out the candles.
Damon blows out his candles. Everyone CLAPS and CHEERS. The
mother leans over and kisses Damon.
MOTHER
Happy birthday, sweetheart.
The boys press forward to get some cake.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
All right, all right, guys. C'mon.
Birthday boy gets the first piece.
As the mother cuts the cake. Two of the boys, ADAM and ALEX,
drag the rocket kit off the table and turns to Damon.
ADAM
Are you gonna do it today?
ALEX
After cake! We'll go out back...
The mother pushes the boys aside and hands Damon a slice of
cake.
MOTHER
(slightly worried)
Maybe another day, huh? How about some
cake?
Damon suddenly grabs the rocket kit from the other boys and
runs upstairs with it. His mother watches after him with
concern.
Alex ignores Damon and wipes some icing off the cake with his
finger.
ALEX
What a chicken... Won't even go outside!
CUT TO:
INT. DAMON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
We see now that Damon's room is decorated entirely in a space
motif: his sheets are covered with little planets, his
bedside lampshade with moons, and so on. He also has a small
bookshelf full of astronomy books.
Damon sits cross-legged on his bed holding the toy rocket
(now assembled) that he received earlier. His mother sits
across from him on a small chair. She SIGHS and rubs her
temples.
MOTHER
Just...If you would tell me, Damon. I
just don't...I don't understand what it
is out there that you find so scary.
Damon sits in silence and stares at the rocket. His mother
looks away.
DAMON
(softly)
I had the dream again.
Not wanting him to see the tears welling in her eyes, the
mother does not look at him at first. She uses her sleeve to
wipe her eyes.
Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, she takes the rocket
from Damon and sets it on his bedside table. Then she kisses
his forehead.
MOTHER
You wanna stay in my room with me
tonight?
Damon hesitantly shakes his head.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
Sure?
He nods with a little more conviction. She hugs him and gives
him another kiss.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
It's gonna be better once we get in the
new place. I promise.
Damon starts to lay down to go to bed. The mother tucks him
in then heads to the door. She looks back at him before
flicking off the light.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
Good night, sweetheart...
She leaves the door open slightly.
Damon lies in bed with his eyes open. A thin sliver of light
falls across his face.
INT. KITCHEN - LATER
Damon's mother paces in the kitchen with a cordless phone
pressed to her ear.
MOTHER
(nearly shouting)
You son of a bitch! He won't even go
outside! It's like... God, it's like the
whole world is coming to an end for him
because of this. And you can't even call
him on his goddamn birthday!...Sorry's
not good enough. He needs to see--
She stops abruptly.
Damon stands in the doorway in his space pajamas, listening
to her.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTHER'S BEDROOM - LATER
Damon's mother lies asleep on her side. Damon faces the other
way, toward the doorway. The door is open all the way, and
the hallway light is on.
Damon opens his eyes and looks into the hallway. A man in a
pilot's uniform walks into the bedroom.
Damon sits up on one arm and looks at the PILOT quizzically.
The pilot approaches the bed and sits near Damon. They share
a look of understanding. Then the pilot leans down to whisper
something to Damon.
Damon nods and glances at his mother.
CUT TO:
INT. MOTHER'S BEDROOM - MORNING
Damon's mother awakes with a start. She looks around her room
and finds that Damon is gone. She rises from bed and walks to
her window.
VIEW FROM WINDOW
The mother looks out on a large suburban backyard. Outside
Damon stands in his pajamas. Fifty feet in front of him is
the wreck of a small single-engine plane, standing almost
perfectly upright on its nose.
CUT TO:
EXT. BACKYARD - DAY
A swarm of POLICEMEN and other OFFICIALS investigates the
wreckage of the airplane. One official stands to the side of
the rest talking on a mobile phone.
OFFICIAL
What about the FAA?...So the flight
wasn't...Wait, what? I can barely make
you out. Interference or something...
Through the cockpit window, we see the dead body of a man
strapped into the pilot's seat.
INT. KITCHEN - FOLLOW
Damon sits in a chair in the middle of the room. His mother
crouches in front of him, holding his hand.
MOTHER
Damon...Why'd you go out back?
Damon stares ahead blankly. His mother tilts her head to put
herself more in his line of sight.
MOTHER (CONT'D)
Yesterday you were afraid...Why did you
go out there today?
Damon seems to come to. He looks into his mother's eyes.
DAMON
He told me it would be all right...He
said...He said that if you can see
it...if you aren't afraid and you can
keep your eyes open...it won't be black
as sackcloth. It'll be bright--like a
rain of gold...And then it will be quiet.
MOTHER
(growing a little frantic)
Damon... Damon, what are you saying? Who
told you?
DAMON
The pilot man.
MOTHER
Who?
DAMON
The pilot man told me...
The mother looks out the glass door in the kitchen to the
backyard to the plane wreck.
DAMON (O.S.) (CONT'D)
He came to take care of us.
CUT TO:
INT. RECEPTION ROOM - DAY
Damon sits playing with his rocket in the reception area of a
child psychiatrist's office. Through the receptionist window,
a nurse watches him and yawns. We can hear the murmur of
voices from the next room.
INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - SAME
Damon's mother and a psychiatrist are in the middle of a
tense discussion. The mother looks like she hasn't slept
much, and her eyes are puffy and red.
PSYCHIATRIST
What about Damon's father?
MOTHER
I don't know...He's away till next
week...
(sobbing softly)
And I'm supposed to be moving tomorrow...
Jesus, I just don't know--
PSYCHIATRIST
Listen, listen. I know this is upsetting.
Especially with all that happened
yesterday morning. But believe me, when I
talked to Damon just now, what I heard
was just a little boy who's very upset
about his parents splitting up.
MOTHER
But he says he sees this man, and--
PSYCHIATRIST
I know, I know...He's told you about his
other dream, right?...Children often
confuse a vivid dream with real
experiences. I mean, this whole business
of a sun flare that--what's Damon say?
It's gonna break some magnetic field and
then something with the atmosphere? I
mean, this is a coping fantasy. You said
yourself how he reads all those books
about astronomy and--
MOTHER
I know, I know...I just...
PSYCHIATRIST
I'm not saying this isn't a problem. I'm
just saying it's one you can work with.
Your son is experiencing a great deal of
anxiety--that's normal. You just need to
continue to work through it with him.
MOTHER
And tomorrow?
PSYCHIATRIST
And tomorrow, you move...I might be able
to refer you to someone. But maybe in the
meantime you can talk to him about it a
little more...Help him to understand it's
gonna take time, but it'll be all right.
FADE TO BLACK.
INT. DAMON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Damon opens his eyes to find the pilot sitting on the edge of
his bed.
PILOT
It'll be all right, Damon.
DAMON
What about--
PILOT
Shh. I'll show you.
The pilot and takes Damon's hand. Together they walk out of
the bedroom.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE - MORNING
They walk outside. It's still dark out as they cross the
parking lot of the small suburban housing development, but
the sky is pink on the horizon.
EXT. DIRT ROAD - FOLLOW
The pilot leads Damon up a dirt work road behind the
development. It leads past several newly constructed house
frames and freshly dug basement.
EXT. HILL - FOLLOW
The pilot holds Damon's hand as they climb a slope to a
highway.
As they crest the hill, the landscape is dimly lit but the
cars on the highway still have their lights on as they stream
past.
Damon and the pilot stand on the hill and watch the sun rise.
From its side extends an enormous flare.
PILOT
That's the sun's arm, you see... And
it'll embrace us all. It's gonna be a
shower of golden light, Damon. And when
it's done, you won't hear a whisper.
A strong breeze picks up. Staring at the rising sun, Damon
opens his eyes as wide as he can.
THE END
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