The Study of Leonard Hughes
5.28.2005
"IL DIRITTO UOMO"
(THE STRAIGHT MAN)
By
Joshua J. Provost
Fade In:
EXT. ITALIAN CITY – LATE AFTERNOON
A charming Italian city is bathed in golden light as the sun descends towards the horizon. The old world and the new reside in harmony.
EXT. OUTDOOR café – LATE AFTERNOON
The café patio is surrounded by vines meandering through lattice work. The lush growth and striped awning reduce the hustle and bustle of the city to a dull rumble. Golden light cuts through the lattice, casting long crossed shadows of lattice mixed with dancing wistful shadows of vines swaying in the gentle afternoon wind.
In a shaded corner, a lone man lounges peacefully, hands clasped on his stomach, resting his eyes, teetering on the edge of sleep. PIERRO, age 62, is dressed in the finest ivory suit and matching fedora. A crimson handkerchief adorns his breast pocket; an exquisitely maintained moustache graces his upper lip.
A WAITER, clad in black and white, stands attentively by the door. A tall, slender man enters the café. LEONARDO, age 35, wears a dark blue suit, impeccable pressed, lacking even a single wrinkle.
Leonardo chooses the seat opposite Pierro, more directly exposed to the dimming sunlight that chases low across the patio. As Leonardo sits, the chair scrapes against the brick surface, awakening Pierro. Righting himself, he smiles at the sight of the younger man.
PIERRO
Leonardo, e voi. Buon giorno. Buon giorno. (Leonardo, it's you. Good day. Good day)
Leonardo is respectfully amiable, yet staid. His demeanor is no match for the gregariousness of old man, who seeks to accommodate the new arrival.
PIERRO (TO WAITER)
Espresso. Due espressos. (Espresso. Two espressos.)
Pleasantries completed, Leonardo crosses his legs and allows his thoughts to drift. He appears to study his surroundings, as though counting the checks of the tablecloth, or the wooden slats of the lattice, yet his thoughts are far removed from this place.
He is brought back to reality when the waiter arrives at the table and sets the concentrated coffee beverage down, first before Pierro, then before Leonardo. Pierro slides a BROWN FOLDER across and descends to seriousness of his companion. It sits untouched in the center of the table.
PIERRO
Se non potete raggiungere un uomo, raggiungere suo famiglia. (If you cannot reach a man, reach his family.)
Indeed, Pierro betrays his capacity for great congeniality, and for utter ruthlessness. He retrieves a PLAIN BROWN ENVELOPE from his inner suit pocket and places it atop the folder. Leonardo gazes intently at Pierro before pulling the folder and envelope closer to him. He nonchalantly tucks the envelope in his inner suit pocket, briefly revealing a holstered handgun. He remains silent.
Leonardo reaches for the espresso. His large hands dwarf the tiny cup. He sips and turns his attention to the lattice work once again.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
My parents named me after Leonardo da Vinci. Like da Vinci, I often practice my art at the bidding of others.
FADE TO:
INT. CAR – NIGHT
Leonardo is behind the wheel of a stylish, yet not flashy EUROPEAN CAR. It cannot be determined if he is intently focused on the road, or utterly unaware he is operating a motor vehicle.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
Each contract I accept is an opportunity to apply the principles of fine art. Light. Color. Form. Texture. Detail. The execution of each contract is influenced by all of these things.
Leonardo shifts his attention to the butter cream leather passenger seat. On it sits the BROWN FOLDER. As he drives, he flips open the front cover to reveal a BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH paperclipped to a dozen or so other documents. The photograph is of a radiant young woman, with dark, curly hair. She is smiling.
Leonardo closes the folder and turns back to the road. He is empty.
FADE TO:
INT. HOTEL ROOM – NIGHT
Leonardo sits alone at a desk in his near-dark hotel room. His clothing has been pared down to a simple ribbed tank-style undershirt, a tan leather double-holster, and his suit pants. Moonlight trickles through a sheer window covering, but it is a dim lamp that illuminates the materials laid before him on the desk.
Leonardo shuffles the documents before him, moving around the maps, blueprints, and reports as though assembling a puzzle. All things having been arranged to his satisfaction, he pauses to look at the totality of his work. It is then that he notices an edge of the PHOTOGRAPH protruding from behind a street map.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
When Medici contracted da Vinci to paint the Mona Lisa, da Vinci imparted subtle beauty and grace to an ordinary woman.
Leonardo draws the photograph to the center of the desk and observes it intently, as though he expects the young girl to guide his next step. He traces the playful curls of her hair and the graceful line of her neck.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
My contract involves a woman who already has all of these things. A masterpiece is not something to trifle with.
CUT TO:
Leonardo is in the bathroom standing before the mirror. BARBASOL shaving cream covers most of his face as he shaves.
CUT TO:
Leonardo sits on the edge of his bed, cleaning his guns. He slams a clip into the gun, and tests the action.
CUT TO:
Leonardo is again in the bathroom standing before the mirror. He has put on a clean shirt. With great care and precision, he attends to his necktie.
FADE TO:
INT. CAR – NIGHT
Leonardo is again behind the wheel of the car. He looks intently at the road.
FADE TO:
INT. GROCERY STORE – NIGHT
From Leonardo's POV, we see the quaint, family-run grocery store. At the counter, the ATTENDANT looks bored, and looks up only occasionally to watch the stores only two customers, a MOTHER and her YOUNG SON.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
Da Vinci did not limit himself to paintings. He was a master of many forms. Sculpture. Science. Invention.
With great focus, Leonardo makes his way towards a door on the back wall of the store. With his left hand, he wrests the gun from its holster on his right side.
The Mother gasps at the sight of the weapon and grabs her son. She is struck with fear. Without hesitation, Leonardo brings his right index finger to his lips, insistent on silence. The Mother is assured and calmed by Leonardo's cool confidence.
LEONARDO (V.O.)
If I were free of contracts, I could practice my art in any form that I desired.
Approaching the door, Leonardo pulls the second gun from its holster. He kicks open the door.
CUT TO:
INT. STORE ROOM – NIGHT
The store room is dark except for a single bright light hanging in the center of the room. Pierro and his THREE SONS are startled by the disruption, and turn from their game of DOMINOS to see Leonardo with firearms drawn.
LEONARDO
Scuzi. (Excuse me.)
Pierro scrambles backwards, disturbing the table and dominos. His sons reach for their weapons. The surprise appearance has left them helpless. Without a hint of hesitation Leonardo artfully fires four quick shots. It is all that is required to kill all four men, who flail in a haze of flying dominos. They all fall to the ground as dominos bounce all around them.
SCREEN BLACK
THE END
- posted by Joshua Provost @ 11:44 PM 0 comments
5.03.2005
By Brock H. Brown
FADE IN,
EXT. DESERT – DAY
A hot, scorching desert: we pan up to see an UNKNOWN GUNFIGHTER running towards us. He holds his GUN out, constantly turning around as if someone were following him.
Finally, he trips up. Harshly, he lands on the ground. Hacking and wheezing, the GUNFIGHTER laughs silently to himself and looks up. Only now does he see buildings before him – a town!
EXT. TOWN – DAY
Inside, the town is deserted. The HOWLING of the wind gently whistles through the streets, seemingly underscoring the lack of human presence. The GUNFIGHTER strolls cautiously among the ruins.
INT. BARBER SHOP – DAY
He looks inside and finds no one.
INT. BLACKSMITH – DAY
The bellows are silent and the fire gently burns.
INT. BAKERY – DAY
Inside, gray ash and deteriorating brickwork is all that remains.
EXT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE – DAY
Finally, the GUNFIGHTER approaches the Sheriff’s office. With a deep breath he enters…
INT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE – DAY
…And surprisingly finds another man lounging at the Sheriff’s desk, enjoying a drink.
Howdy.
GUNFIGHTER
Hello. Where is everyone?
The Mystery Man smiles at this question.
Ain’t you ever heard the tale of this
here town?
The Gunfighter’s silence indicates that clearly, he hasn’t.
Weeeeelll…pull yourself up a chair and
share a drink with me. It all began ‘bout
a year ago. Folks round these parts were
being hassled. Hassled by a gang of bandits.
(BEAT)
These banditos, they were a cruel bunch.
Took the town supplies, raided the local
businesses, and took advantage the local
barmaids. They were nasty. Aaaaaaan…one
day, they got gutsy. One day they went
and blew the head off the blacksmith’s son.
Then they went and hung the Baker and his
wife, demanding that the town double their
supply requests from the other towns so the
bandits could have even more on their next
visit.
(BEAT)
The townsfolk came to their Sheriff…a real
stupid man – and asked for protection. He
was a cowardly man though, this Sheriff,
and he was hurt by the plight of the people.
The bandits and their cruelty taught him a
lesson though. He waited, waited for days.
Waited for the ruckus to quiet down. And
then –
BEGIN FLASHBACK
INT. BARBER SHOP – DAY
A shadowy figure stands at the door, aiming a gun.
INT. BLACKSMITH – DAY
In the blacksmith’s place, the shadowy figure emerges among the bellows with a gun in hand.
INT. METAL SHOP – DAY
The shadowy figure stalks among the equipment.
He killed everyone in this town.
END FLASHBACK
Why?
The Mystery Man smiles glumly and pours another round.
A town’s easier to protect dead then
alive. He just went ahead and cut off
the one resource the bandits needed to
get their supplies – a terrorized people.
The bandits were sickened. They left
and never returned.
The GUNFIGHTER leans in.
And the Sheriff? What of him?
The Mystery Man smiles and kicks up his feet on the table. We see the shinning STAR BADGE of the sheriff on his shirt.
BEGIN FLASHBACK
INT. BLACKSMITH – DAY
We pan up and see the Mystery Man holding the gun. He wrinkles his nose and pulls the hammer of the gun back.
He lived.
FADE OUT,
- posted by Brock @ 9:31 PM 1 comments
