breakinglight11 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
breakinglight11) wrote2020-09-09 10:38 pm
breakinglight11) wrote2020-09-09 10:38 pm
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Dream Machine scene snippet — “Hello, 1989”
Editing the script for Dream Machine episode 4, for rehearsal with my lovely cast this weekend. I’m currently waiting for Bernie to do his pass on it, and in the meantime, it makes me want to noodle on other ideas I have for it. (I’ve always been a productive procrastinator, and it’s easier than working on things with closer deadlines.)
An idea I had for a later episode is for an old friend of Ryan’s to come back, someone who was a colleague in his feature film power player days. The idea would be to sort of tempt Ryan back to the person he used to be with the promise of getting back his old status as a high-level producer. But that person wasn’t all that decent, and he’s kind of got to get smacked in the face by that to keep from falling back into old bad habits.
I have this terrible habit of spoiling climactic or high-emotion moments of scripts yet to be written by posting them here. But I tend to find them to be the parts of the story that spring easiest to my mind, so they’re easiest for me to figure out and draft before I have all the nuts and bolts worked out.
It’s also tough for me to write stuff that’s... coarse. I tend to get squeamish, back off, and take the teeth out of it. I need to push myself in that direction every now and then to get over the embarrassment when it’s the right direction to take a piece.
This is the second joke I’ve stolen from Fosse/Verdon for a scene in Dream Machine. Will probably replace it later. But I have no idea why that became such a reference point for this project.
If you'd like to check out the episodes of Dream Machine so far, you can find them as follows:
1.01 - "The Show Must Go Off"
1.02 - "Requiem For a Dreamer"
1.03 - "Change or Die"
“Hello, 1989”
From Dream Machine:
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
RYAN DRESDEN, head of programming at Dream Machine, early fifties
CORY BENTLEY, a former colleague in film production, late forties
Los Angeles, 2020
~~~
INT. CLUB ULTRAMARINE - NIGHT
CORY: ...so the hooker says to him, “I gotta be across town in twenty minutes! You ever heard of a doctor with just one patient?”
Ryan and Cory bend over their corner table laughing.
RYAN: Holy shit, Cory, thank God you showed up.
CORY: No kidding, dude. Sounds like you haven’t had any fun in forever.
RYAN: Pretty much. But you know I’m really ready to work. Do you really think you can get me back in with Chatham?
CORY: Yeah, yeah, no problem.
RYAN: So you’ll talk to him for me?
CORY: Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of you. But enough business for tonight, okay? It’s been forever since we partied together.
From his sleeve Cory produces a vial of white powder. Ryan tenses as Cory pops it open and rubs a touch around his gum line.
RYAN: The hell?
CORY: I got a new guy. My old one was cutting it with confectioner’s sugar. Made my dentist crazy.
He taps a line on the table and bends his head to snort it.
CORY: God damn.
RYAN: Hello, 1989.
CORY: Bet your dick hasn’t been that hard since.
RYAN: I don’t remember that helping.
CORY: Heh. From what I hear, you don’t remember much.
RYAN: Really, man? You’re doing this?
CORY: Aw, chill. You used to have a sense of humor.
RYAN: Not that. You had to bring coke?
CORY: What do you care? I thought you got straight.
RYAN: Yeah. I did.
CORY: Then don’t do any. Shit’s expensive.
RYAN: Cory, it took me... I can’t handle it.
CORY: Come on. This is the industry. You think you can avoid this?
RYAN: No—
CORY: You think you can kill everybody’s buzz and they’re still going to want to work with you?
RYAN: Not everybody. Just friends.
CORY: Be cool, why don’t you? You need me.
RYAN: You know what? I think I gotta go.
CORY: For Christ’s sake, if this is what you’re like now, I think I liked you better before.
RYAN: Don’t let me get in your way. See you, Cory.
Ryan stands and leaves him at the table.
An idea I had for a later episode is for an old friend of Ryan’s to come back, someone who was a colleague in his feature film power player days. The idea would be to sort of tempt Ryan back to the person he used to be with the promise of getting back his old status as a high-level producer. But that person wasn’t all that decent, and he’s kind of got to get smacked in the face by that to keep from falling back into old bad habits.
I have this terrible habit of spoiling climactic or high-emotion moments of scripts yet to be written by posting them here. But I tend to find them to be the parts of the story that spring easiest to my mind, so they’re easiest for me to figure out and draft before I have all the nuts and bolts worked out.
It’s also tough for me to write stuff that’s... coarse. I tend to get squeamish, back off, and take the teeth out of it. I need to push myself in that direction every now and then to get over the embarrassment when it’s the right direction to take a piece.
This is the second joke I’ve stolen from Fosse/Verdon for a scene in Dream Machine. Will probably replace it later. But I have no idea why that became such a reference point for this project.
If you'd like to check out the episodes of Dream Machine so far, you can find them as follows:
1.01 - "The Show Must Go Off"
1.02 - "Requiem For a Dreamer"
1.03 - "Change or Die"
“Hello, 1989”
From Dream Machine:
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~
RYAN DRESDEN, head of programming at Dream Machine, early fifties
CORY BENTLEY, a former colleague in film production, late forties
Los Angeles, 2020
~~~
INT. CLUB ULTRAMARINE - NIGHT
CORY: ...so the hooker says to him, “I gotta be across town in twenty minutes! You ever heard of a doctor with just one patient?”
Ryan and Cory bend over their corner table laughing.
RYAN: Holy shit, Cory, thank God you showed up.
CORY: No kidding, dude. Sounds like you haven’t had any fun in forever.
RYAN: Pretty much. But you know I’m really ready to work. Do you really think you can get me back in with Chatham?
CORY: Yeah, yeah, no problem.
RYAN: So you’ll talk to him for me?
CORY: Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of you. But enough business for tonight, okay? It’s been forever since we partied together.
From his sleeve Cory produces a vial of white powder. Ryan tenses as Cory pops it open and rubs a touch around his gum line.
RYAN: The hell?
CORY: I got a new guy. My old one was cutting it with confectioner’s sugar. Made my dentist crazy.
He taps a line on the table and bends his head to snort it.
CORY: God damn.
RYAN: Hello, 1989.
CORY: Bet your dick hasn’t been that hard since.
RYAN: I don’t remember that helping.
CORY: Heh. From what I hear, you don’t remember much.
RYAN: Really, man? You’re doing this?
CORY: Aw, chill. You used to have a sense of humor.
RYAN: Not that. You had to bring coke?
CORY: What do you care? I thought you got straight.
RYAN: Yeah. I did.
CORY: Then don’t do any. Shit’s expensive.
RYAN: Cory, it took me... I can’t handle it.
CORY: Come on. This is the industry. You think you can avoid this?
RYAN: No—
CORY: You think you can kill everybody’s buzz and they’re still going to want to work with you?
RYAN: Not everybody. Just friends.
CORY: Be cool, why don’t you? You need me.
RYAN: You know what? I think I gotta go.
CORY: For Christ’s sake, if this is what you’re like now, I think I liked you better before.
RYAN: Don’t let me get in your way. See you, Cory.
Ryan stands and leaves him at the table.