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yldii
09-02-2004, 05:04 AM
What do you guys think.
funny is tough but I have to keep pluggin away.



FADE IN:



EXT. 16TH CENTURY CATHEDRAL, ENGLAND - MORNING

A bell sounds in the distance, growing louder as we sweep
across the medieval English countryside toward the
brilliantly adorned cathedral on the hill.

SUPER:
WESTSHIER ABBY

Crowds of parishioners gather in front of the Abby while more
make the trek up the road from the village below. Monks
scurry to the Abby from the huge open gates of the monastery
next-door.



INT. MONASTERY CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

WILLIAM, a young monk, stands in the dimly lit corridor
facing an open door.

WILLIAM
Brother Thomas, we're going to be
late for the ceremony.

THOMAS, the pudgy bright-eyed monk, emerges from the open
door joining William in the corridor.

THOMAS
(Calmly)
Patience brother.

William links arms with Thomas and hurries along the hallway
with Thomas in tow.

WILLIAM
Patience may be a virtue my friend,
but if you mess up the bishop's
arrival ceremony the Abbott will
have your head.



EXT. MONASTERY COURTYARD - CONTINUOUS

From above the courtyard we see William and Thomas exit the
monastery and head for the gates. Thomas is still tieing the
sash of his robe as William brushes the lint from Thomas'
shoulder.

As the two monks exit the gates we see Thomas' foot being
firmly planted into a big, wet, steaming pile of horse
manure. He slows to a hobble, trying to scrape it from his
foot. William grabs Thomas' arm again, pulling him along.

WILLIAM
Hurry Thomas.

THOMAS
But William.

WILLIAM
(frustrated)
What is it?

THOMAS
Poop William, I stepp....

WILLIAM
Well you should have went before we
left.

THOMAS
No, I don't have to, I mean, its
just that I ste....

Thomas is interrupted by a sharp yank on the arm as William
pulls him along toward the Abby.



EXT. WESTSHIER ABBY - CONTINUOUS

The ABBOTT stands with several monks in front of the
Cathedral greeting parishioners as they enter. A lavish
coach approaches.

ABBOTT
The bishop arrives my brothers so
show some reverence.

The coach pulls up and BISHOP OCLEARY emerges from it. The
monks stand with there heads bowed in respect.

ABBOTT
Ah, your eminence. It's a pleasure
to see you again.

The Bishop extends his hand and the Abbott bows and kisses
his ring.

BISHOP
The pleasure is mine good Abbott.

ABBOTT
Your too kind old friend.

The Abbott and his monks escort the Bishop through the crowd
of bowing onlookers.

ABBOTT
We've prepared a ceremony for your
arrival.

BISHOP
How very nice.

They make their way through the crowd and into the Abby.



INT. WESTSHIER ABBY - CONTINUOUS

A murmur fills the huge church, but subsides as the choir
starts to sing. The crowd fills the pews as we move down the
isle toward the alter.

Ornate sculptures of angels, cherubs and other religious
figures adorn the grand architecture of the Abby. Behind the
podium stands a large statue of a crucified Jesus, which
dominates the Alter. A huge banner welcoming the Bishop,
hangs from the vaulted ceiling, spanning the entire room. On
one side of the room, a three tiered balcony above the crowd
is filled with choirboys. On the other side is a large pipe
organ. On either side of the alter are archways, through
which we see assemblies of monks waiting in the alcoves.



INT. ALCOVE -

While not as highly decorated as the main hall, the
architecture in the alcove is still quite lovely. Polished
marble columns and arches which are open to the outside.

The monks are taking their positions in a single file line.
Thomas is about half way in the line of twenty some-odd
monks, with William standing just in front of him.

The monk in front of William sniffs a couple of times and
with a slight wrinkle of his nose, he turns to William and
shoots him a look of disgust. William shrugs his shoulders
as he also becomes aware of the odor.

WILLIAM
(whispering)
What? It wasn't me.

Thomas looks embarrassed and tries to be nonchalant. As we
cycle through toward the back of the line, each monk sniffs
and lifts his feet, checking to see if they had stepped in
something.



INT. ABBY -

As the choir end their song, the Abbott takes his place
behind the podium and clears his throat. The bishop stands
by his side.

ABBOTT
Welcome, welcome all. Today we
have a special guest.

A small applause comes from the crowd.

ABBOTT (CONT'D)
Let us show him the true spirit of
hospitality, as we welcome him to
Westshier.

The crowd applauds louder. The Abbott motions to the
organist who then begins to play. The monks emerge from the
alcoves in single file, meeting in front of the alter and
continue up the isle two by two. As Thomas passes each pew,
the people in the first couple of seats closest to the isle
sniff and check the bottoms of their feet.

The monks make their way to the back of the crowd and around
to the balcony stairs. The choir exits the balcony from one
side, the monks file in from the other to take their place.
Thomas is standing on the center tier. The music ends.

ABBOTT
Dear friends, I now give you,
Bishop OCleary.

The Bishop steps up to the podium. The crowd is cheering.
Thomas is looking around and on the floor,as if he were
searching for something. He sees a ruler sticking out of a
small pack, which is tied to the sash of one of his fellow
monks. He reaches out and takes the ruler.

BISHOP (O.S.)
(loudly)
Thank you, thank you.

The cheers start to diminish.

BISHOP (CONT'D)
Thank you, I am quite pleased to be
here but, I have to admit that I am
a bit overwhelmed by your warm
welcome.

Another burst of applause.

The bishop's words fade into the background as we focus on
Thomas, who lifts his foot and tries to scrape the manure off
with the ruler. The ruler bends and then snaps back, with
enough force that it flings the smelly mess strait toward the
alter. The ruler also flies out of his hand and lands in
crowd below.

BISHOP
And furthermore I ha....

SPLAT! The Bishop is stopped mid-sentence when the side of
his face is plastered with a stinky horse crap surprise.

The crowd gasps and the Abbot becomes infuriated. He rushes
to the Bishop's assistance. A man in the crowd, TRAVIS
MCFAY, picks up the ruler which had landed at his feet. The
end still covered with poop.

ABBOTT
(harshly)
What is the meaning of this?

McFay holds up the ruler for all to see.

MCFAY
I believe this may help answer your
question sir.

ABBOTT
(to McFay)
How could you defile the Bishop so?

MCFAY
No, I just....

ABBOTT
Remove that man.

MCFAY
But....

Two burly parishioners grab the man and drag him out, kicking
and screaming.



EXT. ABBY -

McFay lands face down in the dirt. The burly men turn and
head back toward the Abby doors. McFay picks himself up,
brushes the dust from his clothes and shakes his fist at the
men.

MCFAY
You'll regret the day you crossed
paths with Travis McFay.

BURLY MAN #1
(sarcastic)
Oooh, I'm so scared.

BURLY MAN #2
Me to, maybe I should start
worrying right now.

The two men, laughing, went back inside the Abby.



INT. ABBY -

The Abbott hands a handkerchief to the bishop.

ABBOTT
My sincerest apologies your
eminence.

The murmur of the crowd is now more like dull roar.

Thomas sees that some of the manure has landed on the
shoulder of the monk in front of him. He pulls his
handkerchief from inside his robe and reaches out in an
attempt to wipe it away. Just then he loses his balance and
almost falls from the balcony, but manages to grab the
welcome banner that hangs from the ceiling. The look of
relief on Thomas' face turns to one of concern when he hears
a loud RIPPING sound. The banner gives out, Thomas topples
over the edge of the balcony, swinging toward the podium.

The bishop is just finishing wiping the mess from his face.
He pulls the handkerchief from his face, opens his eyes and
looks up. Fear takes over his expression as he see Thomas
swinging toward him. Thomas' face shares the same look of
fear.

BAM!!

CRASH!!

THUD!!

Thomas BARRELS into the Bishop and plows him to the floor.
The bishop lay on his back with Thomas straddling his waist.
The Abbott shakes his head in disappointment. William shakes
his head in disappointment. The statue of a crucified Jesus
shakes his head in disappointment.

An embarrassed Thomas smiles down at the flabbergasted
Bishop.

THOMAS
I trust you had a pleasant trip?

maestrowork
09-02-2004, 08:02 AM
It's pretty good -- reads like a broad, physical comedy. But some of the actions read too much prose-like. You need to flesh them out and show precisely what is to be shown on screen. For example:



The bishop is just finishing wiping the mess from his face.
He pulls the handkerchief from his face, opens his eyes and
looks up. Fear takes over his expression as he see Thomas
swinging toward him. Thomas' face shares the same look of
fear.

BAM!!

CRASH!!

THUD!!

First of all, BAM, CRASH, THUD are sound effects. Second, show us how Thomas lands and how he crashes into the Bishop, etc. We need to see it in the script.

EggMcGuffin
09-02-2004, 08:45 AM
wow how do you get your script pages to show up like script pages? :wha

moviemaestro
09-02-2004, 09:53 AM
Pretty good all around. However, you might want to be a little clearer about the Jesus statue at the end. Does the statue come to life and shake its head? And watch some of the typos, your to and too's. Keep it up,

movie maestro

writerscut
09-02-2004, 09:59 AM
I have the same question as Egg McMuffin...

NikeeGoddess
09-02-2004, 10:17 AM
This is a keystroke by keystroke method of getting your script pages here in the proper format.


1. In your scriptwriting program, Select "File".
2. Select "Save as"
3. On the bottom of the "Save as" window, click on the pulldown for the "Save type as" box.
4. Select "HTML document.
5. Click on "Save" button.
6. Open an Internet Explorer (or other browser) page.
7. Click on "File" on the page's upper left corner.
8. Click on "Open"
9. Click on "Browse" button.
10. Go find your file and double click on it.
11. Your script should now be displayed in the IE window. (It may come up with an option to chop the file up into to pieces at some point here, just say "no". You are going to cut and paste the section you want anyway.)
12. Highlight the portion of the script you want to post.
13. Right click on the selected script segment.
14. Select "Copy"
15. Go to Done Deal, find the Script Pages forum and click on "New Topic" icon.
16. Right click on the blank posting window.
17. Select "Paste"
18. Your segment of script should be there. The next step is critical to the format.
19. Prior to your script, place the word 'code' in brackets []. After the end of the script place '/code' in brackets []. It will look like this, [ code] and [ /code], except there will not be a space after the opening bracket on each one.
20. Prior to the first code bracket, if desired, type in an introduction to your little jewel. I'd also select and copy your entire post to your clipboard just in case it gets lost when you click on "Add Reply".

NikeeGoddess
09-02-2004, 10:21 AM
The bishop is just finishing wiping the mess from his face. He pulls the handkerchief from his face, opens his eyes and looks up. Fear takes over his expression as he see Thomas swinging toward him. Thomas' face shares the same look of fear.

taking the maestro's example of too prose like. here's how i might write this.... althou it is just a matter of style:

The Bishop wipes his face. Shite smeared on the hanky.

He and Thomas exchange a look right before Thomas SLAMS into him. They drop and roll, entangling themselves in the banner. ......

yldii
09-02-2004, 10:27 AM
Thanks for the input and great advice.

Egg. here is a link to a tutorial on done deal posting without losing format.
posting with format (http://p068.ezboard.com/fdonedealfrm32.showMessage?topicID=430.topic)
It works on any EZboard forum.

Thanks again...........
................Yldii.......

yldii
09-02-2004, 10:29 AM
NikeeGoddess beat me to it.

maestrowork
09-02-2004, 08:13 PM
Yup. "Code" is the key. You don't have to type in code /code yourself. Just select the text and hit the "code" button on the left of your text box...


like this

writerscut
09-03-2004, 06:10 AM
Wow, thanks a lot...

EggMcGuffin
09-03-2004, 07:15 AM
coolness!!!! thanks you peeps. :party

yldii
09-06-2004, 10:03 PM
Changed a couple of things.
Is it any better?





FADE IN:

EXT. 16TH CENTURY CATHEDRAL - MORNING

A bell sounds in the distance, growing louder as we sweep
across the medieval countryside toward the
brilliantly adorned cathedral on the hill.

SUPER:
WESTSHIER ABBY

Crowds of parishioners gather in front of the Abby while more
make the trek up the road from the village below. Monks
scurry to the Abby from the huge open gates of the monastery
next-door.



INT. MONASTERY CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS

WILLIAM, a young monk, stands in the dimly lit corridor
facing an open door.

WILLIAM
Brother Thomas, we're going to be
late for the ceremony.

THOMAS, the pudgy bright-eyed monk, emerges from the open
door, joining William in the corridor.

THOMAS
(Calmly)
Patience brother.

William links arms with Thomas and hurries along the hallway
with Thomas in tow.

WILLIAM
Patience may be a virtue my friend,
but if you mess up the bishop's
arrival ceremony the Abbott will
have your head.



EXT. MONASTERY COURTYARD - CONTINUOUS

From above the courtyard we see William and Thomas exit the
monastery and head for the gates. Thomas is still tying the
sash of his robe as William brushes the lint from Thomas'
shoulder.

As the two monks exit the gates we see Thomas' foot being
firmly planted into a big, wet, steaming pile of horse
manure. He slows to a hobble, trying to scrape it from his
foot. William grabs Thomas' arm again, pulling him along.

WILLIAM
Hurry Thomas.

THOMAS
But William.

WILLIAM
(frustrated)
What is it?

THOMAS
Poop William, I stepp....

WILLIAM
Well you should have went before we
left.

THOMAS
No, I don't have to, I mean, its
just that I ste....

Thomas is interrupted by a sharp yank on the arm as William
pulls him along toward the Abby.



EXT. WESTSHIER ABBY - CONTINUOUS

The ABBOTT stands with several monks in front of the
Cathedral greeting parishioners as they enter. A lavish
coach approaches.

ABBOTT
The bishop arrives my brothers so
show some reverence.

The coach pulls up and BISHOP OCLEARY emerges from it. The
monks stand with there heads bowed in respect.

ABBOTT
Ah, your eminence. It's a pleasure
to see you again.

The Bishop extends his hand and the Abbott bows and kisses
his ring.

BISHOP
The pleasure is mine good Abbott.

ABBOTT
Your too kind old friend.

The Abbott and his monks escort the Bishop through the crowd
of bowing onlookers.

ABBOTT
We've prepared a ceremony for your
arrival.

BISHOP
How very nice.

They make their way through the crowd and into the Abby.



INT. WESTSHIER ABBY - CONTINUOUS

A murmur fills the huge church, but subsides as the choir
starts to sing. The crowd fills the pews as we move down the
isle toward the alter.

Ornate sculptures of angels, cherubs and other religious
figures adorn the grand architecture of the Abby. Behind the
podium stands a large statue of a crucified Jesus, which
dominates the Alter. A huge banner welcoming the Bishop,
hangs from the vaulted ceiling, spanning the entire room. On
one side of the room, a three tiered balcony above the crowd
is filled with choirboys. On the other side is a large pipe
organ. On either side of the alter are archways, through
which we see assemblies of monks waiting in the alcoves.



INT. ALCOVE -

While not as highly decorated as the main hall, the
architecture in the alcove is still quite lovely. Polished
marble columns and arches which are open to the outside.

The monks are taking their positions in a single file line.
Thomas is about half way in the line of twenty some-odd
monks, with William standing just in front of him.

The monk in front of William sniffs a couple of times and
with a slight wrinkle of his nose, he turns to William and
shoots him a look of disgust. William shrugs his shoulders
as he also becomes aware of the odor.

WILLIAM
(whispering)
What? It wasn't me.

Thomas looks embarrassed and tries to be nonchalant. As we
cycle through toward the back of the line, each monk sniffs
and lifts his feet, checking to see if they had stepped in
something.



INT. ABBY -

As the choir ends their song, the Abbott takes his place
behind the podium and clears his throat. The bishop stands
by his side.

ABBOTT
Welcome, welcome all. Today we
have a special guest.

A small applause comes from the crowd.

ABBOTT (CONT'D)
Let us show him the true spirit of
hospitality, as we welcome him to
Westshier.

The crowd applauds louder. The Abbott motions to the
organist who then begins to play. The monks emerge from the
alcoves in single file, meeting in front of the alter and
continue up the isle two by two. As Thomas passes each pew,
the people in the first couple of seats closest to the isle
sniff and check the bottoms of their feet.

The monks make their way to the back of the crowd and around
to the balcony stairs. The choir exits the balcony from one
side, the monks file in from the other to take their place.
Thomas is standing on the center tier. The music ends.

ABBOTT
Dear friends, I now give you,
Bishop OCleary.

The Bishop steps up to the podium. The crowd is cheering.
Thomas is looking around and on the floor,as if he were
searching for something. He sees a ruler sticking out of a
small pack, which is tied to the sash of one of his fellow
monks. He reaches out and takes the ruler.

BISHOP (O.S.)
(loudly)
Thank you, thank you.

The cheers start to diminish.

BISHOP (CONT'D)
Thank you, I am quite pleased to be
here but, I have to admit that I am
a bit overwhelmed by your warm
welcome.

Another burst of applause.

The bishop's words fade into the background as we focus on
Thomas, who lifts his foot and tries to scrape the manure off
with the ruler. The ruler bends and then snaps back, with
enough force that it flings the smelly mess strait toward the
alter. The ruler also flies out of his hand and lands in the
crowd below.

BISHOP
And furthermore I ha....

SPLAT! The Bishop is stopped mid-sentence when the side of
his face is plastered with a stinky horse crap surprise.

The crowd gasps and the Abbot becomes infuriated. He rushes
to the Bishop's assistance. A man in the crowd, TRAVIS
MCFAY, picks up the ruler which had landed at his feet. The
end still covered with poop.

ABBOTT
(harshly)
What is the meaning of this?

McFay holds up the ruler for all to see.

MCFAY
I believe this may help answer your
question sir.

ABBOTT
(to McFay)
How could you defile the Bishop so?

MCFAY
No, I just....

ABBOTT
Remove that man.

MCFAY
But....

Two burly parishioners grab the man and drag him out, kicking
and screaming.



EXT. ABBY -

McFay lands face down in the dirt. The burly men turn and
head back toward the Abby doors. McFay picks himself up,
brushes the dust from his clothes and shakes his fist at the
men.

MCFAY
You'll regret the day you crossed
paths with Travis McFay.

BURLY MAN #1
(sarcastic)
Oooh, I'm so scared.

BURLY MAN #2
Me to, maybe I should start
worrying right now.

The two men, laughing, went back inside the Abby.



INT. ABBY -

The Abbott hands the bishop a handkerchief.

ABBOTT
My sincerest apologies your
eminence.

The murmur of the crowd is now more like a dull roar.

Thomas sees that some of the manure has landed on the
shoulder of the monk in front of him. He pulls his own
handkerchief from inside his robe and reaches out in an
attempt to wipe it away. Just then he loses his balance and
almost falls from the balcony, but manages to grab the
welcome banner that hangs from the ceiling. The look of
relief on Thomas' face turns to one of concern when he hears
a loud RIPPING sound. The banner gives out, Thomas topples
over the edge of the balcony, swinging toward the podium.

As the bishop removes the now soiled hanky from his face, his
eyes are met with the sight of Thomas swinging toward him.
Thomas and the Bishop exchange a mutual look of distress.

BAM!!

Thomas BARRELS into the Bishop.

CRASH!!

The podium is flattened, they tumble to the floor with a huge
THUD.

The bishop lay on his back with Thomas straddling his waist.
The Abbott shakes his head in disappointment. William shakes
his head in disappointment. Even the crucified statue of
Jesus shakes his head in disappointment.

An embarrassed Thomas smiles down at the flabbergasted
Bishop.

THOMAS
I trust you had a pleasant trip?

Writer1
09-07-2004, 12:25 AM
It's pretty well written and an improvement over the previous pages.

This scene looks like it could be funny. The problem is that it's five pages of bathroom humor.

Sure, you intro the characters and the setting, but where do you go from here? Is this only gonna be about those slapstick Monks? What is this story about? And do you have enough humor to keep us laughing for two hours?

yldii
09-07-2004, 02:06 AM
Here is a little more to give you an idea where I'm going.
(from where I left off)

INT. ABBOT'S OFFICE - AFTERNOON

A modest room with a bookshelf, desk and some chairs. The
Bishop and Abbott are in a somewhat heated discussion. The
Abbott sits nervously at his desk while the Bishop paces the
room.

BISHOP
But from what I hear its not the
first time.

ABBOTT
(coyly)
No, no its not.

BISHOP
Something has got to be done about it.

ABBOTT
What do you want me to do?

BISHOP
That, I leave up to you.

The Bishop goes to the door and opens it.

ABBOTT
I'll see to it your eminence.

BISHOP
I trust your judgment.

The Bishop departs and closes the door behind him, leaving
the worried Abbott alone.

ABBOTT
(to himself)
My judgment.
(sarcastic)
Great.



INT. THOMAS' ROOM, MONASTERY - MORNING

A very plain cell with stone block walls. The furnishings
consist only of a small desk, a trunk and an uncomfortable
looking bunk.

Thomas is packing his belongings into a knapsack with one
shoulder strap. William is there, he is upset.

WILLIAM
MEANING OF LIFE? That's
ridiculous.

THOMAS
How so?

WILLIAM
They're just trying to get rid of
you. Can't you see that?

THOMAS
(calm)
Nonsense. The Abbott said the
Bishop picked me personally. Do
you really think he would send me
on this mission were I not
qualified?

WILLIAM
And just how long are you supposed
to search for th-this, meaning of
life.

THOMAS
Until I find it.



EXT. MONASTERY GATES - A FEW MINUTES LATER

The Abbott, Thomas and William are outside the gates. Thomas
has his pack on his back and is ready for his noble journey.

ABBOTT
William will escort you to the end
of the village, but from there
you're on your own.

The two monks head out for the village. Thomas turns and
waves.

THOMAS
Don't worry Abbott, I won't let you
down.

ABBOTT
(under his breath)
Now, that would be a first wouldn't
it?

As Thomas turns back around he trips over his own feet,
falling flat on his face.

The Abbott shakes his head and sighs.



EXT. WESTSHIER VILLAGE - NOON

.......Yldii.........

moviemaestro
09-07-2004, 11:55 AM
Ah, so that's where we're going. Kind of reminds me of Bug's Life for some reason, but I think it works, I feel like I want to read more. Kudos too on moving right along, we're already at the beginning of Act II.

BUT, but, this almost feels too fast. We go right from the Abbot's conversation with the Bishop to Thomas leaving. I feel like we need something to get that transition to work, because it's an important one, it sets up the story. As it is it seems kinda jumpy, like we've missed something.

It usually helps to make a question appear at the end of each scene, something that opens a mystery without solving it, that makes the audience ask a question in their mind. I have found this to be a, if not, THE secret of what makes a script a true page-turner, one where it seems to just flow effortlessly from scene to scene. Lemme explain.

I can't think of any real movie examples of this right now except for the end of The Two Towers. I know that's like transitioning between two movies and not two scenes, but its a very similar effect. At the end, if you recall, Smigel decides he's going to kill the hobbits. For a while he ponders where how he'll off those fat stupid hobbits. Then an idea pops into his head, "Her! I'll take them to her!" And that's the end of the movie. Right away the audience (assuming they haven't read the books) are asking a question. Who is this "her?" Why does Smigel want her to kill them? How does Smigel know this person/thing? Makes you want to find out by watching the next scene of the saga. If anyone has any better examples of this, please feel free to post them, because I know they're out there.

Anyway, put this concept in your script, at the end of the Abbot/Bishop conference. It would look something like this.
BISHOP
I trust your judgment.

The Bishop departs and closes the door behind him, leaving the worried Abbott alone.

ABBOTT
(to himself)
My judgment.
(sarcastic)
Great.

The Abbot's eyes light up as a thought flashes through his head.

ABBOTT
The meaning of life!

INT. THOMAS ROOM

WILLIAM
The meaning of life? That's ridiculous!



Or something like that. To me, it seems to flow a lot better, not only because you have that opportunity to match the scenes together but you also set up a question at the end of the conference scene. The audience is asking, "What is the Abbott's great idea? What does it have to do with the meaning of life?" This makes them (or the scriptreader) WANT to turn the page. Everyone hates unanswered questions. But everyone likes to be involved with a story. The more you involve the audience, make them guess, ask questions, think of possibilities, the more they will thank you for it.

Keep it up, you've got a great start here. Good luck,

movie maestro