Bookends

So here's the last chunk of AMONG US. I'm proud of how it came out. I guess in a few months we'll know what the rest of society thinks. Mark Polonia told me, "be prepared for bad reviews anyway."


SLOW DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WOODS -- MORNING
A bright orange sun comes up over the trees.
CUT TO:
EXT. CABIN -- MORNING
The camera's POV shows the debris from the night's reckoning, including the knife sticking out of the wall by the door.
BILLY (V.O.)
Ray and I went back the next morning. But there had been a rainstorm late the night before, and pretty much all the signs were washed away...blood, footprints...everything.
CUT TO:
INT. BOOKSTORE -- DAY
Billy is sitting at a small table by the window, drinking coffee.
CG: SIX MONTHS LATER
BILLY
A lot of people who have seen the footage think we faked the whole thing. That everybody in the film is an actor.
CUT TO:
INT. WAYNE'S HOME -- DAY
Wayne is sitting among his memorabilia.
WAYNE
I think that if anyone watched "Ninja Bigfoot" they wouldn't be making those accusations. Frankly, I think it's the most phenomenal footage recorded yet.
Wayne thinks.
WAYNE (CONT'D)
Of course, a lot of my role in the sighting was left on the cutting-room floor. When I hit the bigfoot with the rolling pin, for instance. Or when I comforted Jennifer Dempsey, when she was despairing. Sometimes the way a film is edited can really make a difference.
CUT TO:
INT. STUDIO -- NIGHT
Wayne is hosting a cable program on a neutral set, speaking with a flamboyant woman who is waving her arms dramatically.
WAYNE (V.O.)
But I can't complain about Billy D'Amato's work, because it led me to a job hosting a new cable show. We talk about all forms of the paranormal, and take phone calls from viewers wanting spiritual readings. Nothing is set in stone yet, but we may be a midseason replacement on a major network.
CUT TO:
INT. FILM SET -- DAY
Ray sits in the foreground while good-looking men in tighty-whities walk around camera equipment.
RAY
I will never work on a horror movie again. Not one freaking one. But I'm getting work. And let me tell you something. Everybody knows Barry Sonnenfeld started in porn. Francis Coppola and John Carpenter and a bunch of those 70s guys had a hand in it too, I think. All the way back, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, they all did pornos. That's where all of those fake names originated, Hugh G. Rection and all that. From the masters. But I'm not here to follow in any of those dude's footsteps...except Mr. Billy D'Amato. If I can have a career like his...I'll be all right.
(beat)
Well, Jerry needs a fluffer.
Ray gets up to leave.
CUT TO:
INT. BOOKSTORE -- DAY
Billy looks philosophical.
BILLY
But no matter what the critics say, I'm at peace with what we did. It's never about the critics anyway.
CUT TO:
INT. YOUTH CENTER -- DAY
Feature Billy showing some KIDS how to use a camcorder.
BILLY (V.O.)
I'm teaching a basic video class to some kids at the youth center. There are some pretty talented little Spielbergs down there. They even offered to host a film retrospective for me in the gym. Thing is, I don't really have anything to show kids.
CUT TO:
INT. BOOKSTORE -- CONTINUOUS
Billy leans back in his chair.
BILLY
So I'm thinking about making a kid's movie.
JENNIFER (O.S.)
What, "Bigfoot Jr.?"
Jennifer enters, smiling, and sits down next to Billy. They clasp hands.
BILLY
Hey, who knows? But, you know, when it's slow here at the shop, I think about things. Something's percolating in there.
JENNIFER
Oh-oh.
BILLY
Well, you know, I'm thinking a lot about...about family and things these days. Good thoughts.
Billy and Jennifer share a comfortable silence.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. WOODS -- DAY
Feature footage of the woods, the sun-dappled leaves, branches blowing in the wind.
WAYNE (V.O.)
Is there something...else...living among us? I'm convinced that there is. The evidence is overpowering.
BILLY (V.O.)
But, you know, if there is...I say live and let live. I'll go my way, you go yours...that's what I want, anyway. And I think that's what they would want too.
The camera tracks into the sky.
CREDITS
FADE OUT


Let me know what you think at johnoakdalton@hotmail.com.