GENIUS (short)15-30 min
Written By: Justin Stanley
Concept: A young mathematician suffers from his peer’s abuse, the fear of unnatural and tries to overcome several mental differences.
Int: opening
(have beautiful mind theme audit intro)
ext: theorist scene (THS)
(after opening credits, the BM TRACK still roles while the camera peers through a set of blinds into a room showing a young man writing equations all over the walls, comtemplating to him self then the camera UPC shot on his eyes and pans to his lips as he says)
Josh
If only… I could rearange the principles of relations….while the graviton is divided by the-please lord if your up their…
(camera cuts to)
Ext: Tree scene
(truck shoots by revealing a bench by a tree<500 w pointed towards tree to accent the mood> the camera gets closer to reveal its josh sitting on one side on the other a young man.)
Josh
(josh looks over at the young mans eyes then at his hands there shaking, with a book in them “the catcher in the rye”)
Are you cold?
Young man
Excuse me?
Josh
Your shaking…I was wondering-
Young man
-Oh know I have a shaking palsy-
Josh
Like Parkinson’s or something?
Young man
Oh god no, it’s a family gene
Josh
Ah I see an inheritance with out reward, sounds like my luck…
Young man
Im sorry what was your name?
Josh
Josh….Josh Adams, you are?
Young man
Charles Danner… you can call me Charlie-I live down the road, you?
Josh
I live around…You go to school?
Charles
No… never had the chance-you?
Josh
No I prefer to indulge my self in my own studies,
I think school fills your mind with society more so than knowledge…
Charles
Well-My mother’s sick and my father died-
so I have to stay home to take care of my little brother shane.
Josh
(whispering under his breath)
Distress in its purest form.
Charles
Huh?
Josh
I could teach you…?
Charles
Teach me what?
Josh
You know mathematics, science, and English, whatta’ ya say?
You won’t have to go to school, I’ll educate you,
Charles
Well that would be great!
Josh
Great!!!-we start tomorrow- 1 o’clock sharp!
(josh runs of to his house, then charles calls out-)
Charles
But wait were do you live?
Josh
Turnberry street youll find it, don’t worry!!!
Ext: LIFE
(ext: THS cuts to- Josh and charles walking in feild)
(extLFE opens= shoot of a shoe kicking a can on the ground and the dirt flying up, camera pans upward while you hear josh and charles.)
Josh
Thanks for comin’ charlie, this means allot-
Charles
Hey no problem, I should be thanking you,
You didn’t have to do this-
Josh
-well I couldn’t stand to see some one suffer. life was treating you unfair
and you need a chance to learn like everyone
-else it just isnt right-
Charles
-you know they say life is one thing after another,
it isnt true-life is just one thing over and over you know?
Josh
Yea I know…its like this hear tire
(josh points to bike tire on the ground-)
It keeps spinning and rolling and getting older
And becoming aged but then when it gets the best of you
You sitting in a field rusted and dead.
It just aint right, I tell you…
I mean yetserday I was just josh-today im still josh-and tommorow
I still probably be josh (sigh) I cant get over it.
Charles
I understand, I guess we just have to look
Back on what we do have…
(they both smile)
Ext: HOMESCHOOL
(Cuts in from extLFE; josh and charles are in josh’s room about to school)
(ext HSC Josh opens door and shows him his room)
<Door Opens>
Josh
Welcome to my study room, were I have sacrificed my
Brain with the knowldege printed within these books
Charles
(whipering and getting louder)
Holy…you must be some kind of genius or something…
Josh
Genius, no…just overuled by the circumstances of life.
Charles
You know there are other things in life
Than mathematics.
Josh
Yes indeed….but what do they bring you? 5 minutes of
Empty joy, the sufferings of a beaten man? Theres
Nothing but prinicples in my book.
Charles
-Principles? How about life? Just live it to the fullest!
Josh
But how do you know what the fullest is? You
Can allways go farther…
Charles
Well don’t you care what people think of you? They’ll laugh at
You when they find out you study your days away!
Yes of course a genius but a laughed at genius!!!
Josh
But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at
does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses.
They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they
laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.
Charles
Yea, I guess well-
Josh
-well we should probably get started
Charles
Yea
(bm music starts playing and collage of studying appears)
Ext: The Greatest
(josh meets a theorist and talks to him)
<opens looking from the back of two people walking, then as camera gets closer you hear their convo; pov shoots start>
Wilmur Buttle
Your theorie binary concept is outstanding but questionable-
Josh
Questionable there is no question!-the gravitational pull
of the earths rotation is unique element!
Wilmur buttle
Yes but it doesn’t follow previous
Theory-therefor it could be in doubt
Josh
And your telling me when edison said he was going to build an electric light no one doubted him? Or that everyone believed that the car would revlutionize modern man?
Wilmur buttle
Son…I’ll tell you what keep working on this theory and some day you
May be the greatest man who ever lived.
Shot Fades
Ext: The Chase
Shot opens with three kids chasing josh on their bikes yelling at him hes running for his life.
Mikey
Come here you nerd!
Joe
You little loser!
Tom
Haha well kill you, you little bastard…
They all through their bikes down as they get closer and they jump josh as hes screaming-make shot semi slow with sad music while his voice rings out.
Ext: phone call
Camera is and extreme closeup of telephone and then a hand comes in to pick up the phone, the camera pans with the phone to a persons face that is shadowed out its-josh- then he starts to talk on the phone
Ring---ring---ring---ring
Hello-
Hello mrs danner is charlie their?
(coughing)
Yes, hold on sweetie
(charlie)
Hello-
Hey charlie man do you think you can meet me at the bricks? And uh bring some beer…?
-you ok josh?
-kinda just get a pack and meet me at the bricks k’?
-ya shure man…no problem
-oh and bring your bag…cya
(josh slams the phone down looks up and then takes of running scene cuts)
Ext: The bricks
The shot is cut to a boy running through grass fields and the sun is downing beutifully behind him-hes frantically running then he stops and camera goes to his pov- there is a little opening sorunded by trees (like a camp spot it the woods) its there secret spot the bricks. Charlie sees Josh sitting their his backs to the tree hes reading “of mice and men” he walks over to him to look at the book and pov shows the title of mice and men then he says
Charlie
I couldn’t get the strong stuff so I got the light-you ok?
Josh lowers the book and then charlies pov- charlie sees his face all brused with a black eye…
Josh
(hysterically laughing at him self til’ he starts crying)
Yea its nothing to big….
Charlie
Holy high hel-Who Did that to you?
Josh
(putting his fingers in quatations)
Mikeys little kid Gang…
Charlie
Get out…? Man I told you-man ugh they think they rule this place! I swear someday-
Josh
(hysterical/crying still)
Someday Charlie? Someday-there wont ever be a day! Well never beat mikey
Well never be cool-and well never accomplish what we want- were loser’s we deserve to get our as$es kicked.
Charlie
Man come on- one little thing cant stop your whole life!
Josh
Don’t you get it man?-it’s the little things that mean most!
Ha-and you no whats funny I saw Wilmur Buttle today the local “SCIENCE GOD!”
He said I was the next great thing-like im some allmighty freak kid or somethin’
-Josh gets up and looks at the night sky- hes crying full on now-
Josh (looking into the sky screaming)
He said “I” would be great-great my as$ im nothing- god doesn’t want me, im a waste
Im nothing-so thank you mister wilmur-“come on down kids see the freak kid who gets his
As$ kicked by some local school boys and crys about it at night-YEA THAT’S ME AND JESUS DON’T WANT
ME FOR A SUNBEAM Charlie!!!
Charlie
(charlie hysterically crying now to)
man its allright-its just one thing!!
Josh
Ya ICE it up “bro” its all good- it isnt like you don’t have problems of your own
It isnt like your on your own aswell-not sayings its bad that your about as smart
As mikey….!
Charlie
You know what- your right, what are we thinkin’? were phonies!
This is us to kids at the bricks cryin to ourselves because we both no were arnt goin any where… but
You no what man’? I am goin somewhere someday -(hes points to the sky) someday im goin’ up there like bud aldron.
Josh
I hope so.. I hope someone gets to feel life….
(Shot fades)
Ext: medicine cabinet
Shot= hand on a door knob turning it and then you see they’re feet walking slowly down a hallways in a dark room then you see the back of the figure go to shower and open the door then ext. close-up on the hand turning shower knob-camera cuts to a view of shower with steam fusing over the door the camera cuts to shower head pov and you see josh screaming in there crying and then he cuts his rist and the shot fades…
The end.