Take One (Jul 15, 1979)

specific place. “Given a choice in 1972 of being drafted or enlisting, I chose the latter and was sent to Korea. There I met my wife, Soon-ok, and married her. We have a five-year-old daughter, Yang-mi. “Discharged in 1978, I came to Los Angeles intending to go to USC. When I got work at Filmation Studios working on animated Saturday morning programs I decided the practical experience (and the money—let's be honest about this) was more valuable than formal classes. Temporarily I've abandoned my college plans—but I constantly read a wide variety of books and magazines to keep abreast of the world and broaden my knowledge. “My life goal, God willing, is to be the best filmmaker I possibly can. I enjoy writing but would also like to direct my own scripts.” Seren Scene No. 19 By James A. Murray NOTE: In order to make scene 20 more powerful, I would suggest eliminating the scene in which Dirty Tricks calls Kate and pretends to be the reporter asking her to meet him with the tapes. That way, both the viewers and Jon will discover at the same moment that Dirty Tricks has Kate in his clutches. It will also make scene 19 more powerful (as written here) since the audience will probably by sympathizing with Kate in her slight annoyance with Jon’s paranoia. INT. JON’S KITCHEN — NIGHT A hand opens the refrigerator door, takes out a beer and closes the door. A hand opens the refrigerator door, takes out a beer and closes the door. A hand opens the refrigerator door, takes out a beer and closes the door. On the counter, each of the 3 beer cans is opened, one at a time. Then, each is poured into a glass. As the CAMERA WIDENS, we see that JON, armed with a shoulder-strapped recorder and microphone, is recreating his sound effects collection. On a notepad he scribbles down each effect as he records it. INT. JON’S LIVING ROOM — NIGHT JON enters from the kitchen with his microphone and recorder. After scribbling on his notepad, he glances around to see what needs recording. At the front door, he pauses, then (from the inside) knocks on the door. Pauses and then bangs on the door. He scribbles on his notepad. It’s not easy wearing the recorder, riding the levels, juggling the microphone, the pencil and the pad and creating the sound effects at the same time. The awkwardness provides a bit of visual comedy to lower our defenses. Jon takes off the chain, undoes the bolt, opens the door, pauses, closes the door, fastens the bolt, and puts on the chain. Again, he takes off the chain, undoes the bolt, opens the door, pauses, slams the door, fastens the bolt and puts on the chain. A third time, he takes off the chain, undoes the bolt, opens the door, and... suddenly, he’s facing the cold, icy stare of a vicious-looking MAN of the same body shape and size as “Dirty Tricks.” SCENES FROM A MOVIE Only after recovering from our initial shock do we realize that this is not “Dirty Tricks” in the dimly-lit hallway, but only a haggard and annoyed neighbor from across the hall, garbed in pajamas and bathrobe. JON (gasps) ORl!!!... (recovering, apologetically) Oh... uh... I suppose it’s probably, ...I mean, well, it’s probably rather late...? No response. ...[ mean, it’s probably past your bedtime... or maybe everybody's bedtime. No response. ...Or, uhm, I mean I'm just judging by the way you're dressed and all... I didn’t realize it was so late... you see, I’ve been working... No response. (suddenly remembering) Ohl!!! Could I offer you a beer? No response. (a change of tone, mock professionalism as he carefully examines the door) Well, it seems to be fixed now... shouldn’t be causing any more trouble. No response. ...Well, thanks for stopping over, and I do appreciate your concern and your help. Good night. Jon smiles weakly. Then, slowly, cautiously, and with a great deal of precision, he closes the door without the slightest sound. After closing the door, Jon turns around, leans against the door, and sighs. Then, remembering the recorder, he looks down, turns it off, and begins to scribble on his notepad as he walks across the room. The CAMERA LINGERS on the unbolted, unchained door. INT. JON’S BEDROOM — NIGHT JON enters from the living room with recorder, microphone, pad and pencil. He glances at the digital clock (10:17). Concerned, he glances at the telephone, then back to the clock. He bites his lip and frowns. Then, shrugging off his concern, he adds the word “Shower” to his list of “Household Effects, Tape No. 7” and puts the pad and pencil down on the nightstand before heading towards the bathroom. INT. JON’S BATHROOM — NIGHT JON enters from the bedroom, places the recorder and microphone on a folded towel on the tank of the toilet, pushes the record button and flushes the toilet for effect. While the toilet tank refills, he quickly undresses, turns on the shower, and gets in. Although the CAMERA STAYS WITH THE RECORDER, from this particular vantage point, we can look through the bedroom, and into the living room to catch a glimpse of part of the front door. Then, for an incredibly long time, we are forced to watch what little we can see of the front door, and wait. The SHOWER SOUNDS mask all other sounds. Finally... the front door opens and closes. We wait. We wait. Jon turns off the shower, gets out, and once again flushes the toilet for effect. He dries off. He puts on his robe. He begins to towel-dry his hair, his back to the door. He picks up the microphone and recorder with one hand and heads into the bedroom. INT. JON’S BEDROOM — NIGHT As he crosses the room with recorder and microphone in one hand, JON towel-dries his hair with the other. The towel obscures his vision. He puts the recorder and mike on the bedside nightstand and sits down on the side of the bed, his back to the livingroom door. Then, just as he seems to be through drying his hair, he reaches over and turns off the recorder. The moment he does so... KATE'’S VOICE Jon...? Startled, Jon jumps up and jerks his head towards the doorway where KATE stands. KATE Oh, I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. JON (recovering) No. That's O.K. KATE Well I knocked and there was no answer. And when I started to knock again, this awful man across the hall stuck his head out... JON (smiles) It's O.K., I'm glad you came in. KATE (taking off her coat) Anyway, the door was open and... Jon steps over and gives her a light kiss on the cheek. JON Really, it’s O.K. Listen, would you like a beer? He continues to dry his hair. KATE Oh, no thanks. JON Are you sure? I've got plenty. KATE No. Besides, we've got to go meet the guy from the Times, and it’s probably best if we don’t have beer on our brea... JON (interrupting) Carlson? KATE Yeah. Carlson. He called almost an hour ago. Wants one of us to bring him the film and the tape. JON (concerned) Are you sure it was Carlson? KATE What do you mean? JON Well, he was supposed to call me back. KATE Yeah. He tried and your line was busy. I couldn't get you either. Finally, I checked with the operator. Kate picks up the phone and listens, then holds it out to Jon. See...? There’s something wrong with it. Jon listens but is still worried. Puzzled, he bites his lip. Kate slowly hangs up the phone. Jon TAKE ONE 17