Screenplay ideas and creative development

Screenplay Ideas

A Walk in the Country

The scene is set in a small, New England town. It is Halloween Eve, the leaves have turned a wonderful golden orange, there is a crisp chill in the air, and the town is abuzz with plans for the evening. We see the veneer behind the town, though: a dishonest bank teller, a teacher planning to abduct one of the children, neighbors fighting with one another, husbands and wives arguing. The local Rotary Club is hosting a Halloween Party for the children of the area, complete with games, old-fashioned horror movies, and a Best Costume Contest. During the festivities, two "children" arrive with silvery costumes that almost shimmer in the light. Their "masks" are oval, with large, almond shaped eyes and a small nose, no mouth. The two seem to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. As the evening progresses, seemingly magical things begin to happen: people who have disliked each other for generations are suddenly friendly, the Kool-Aid punch never tasted so good, and parents are encouraging their children to eat more candy. Of course, the two silver costumes win the contest, but as the Mayor, and also President of the Rotary Club, turns to give them their prize, they suddenly disappear. Oddly, all of the animosity and anger we saw in the opening is now gone, and oddly, no one in the town can remember just why they were so angry. The next morning, on the way to school, a group of children cut through the woods taking a shortcut; oddly, the see a piece of silver cloth that had been snagged on a tree. Moving further, they see that there are some oddly shaped burn marks in the field near the tree.

Puzzled, they get to school and seek answers to the puzzle. However, the find no one can really remember seeing the two silver costumed children before or after the Halloween Party. Instead, their teacher tells them that "sometimes we are given a gift." Sometimes, others unlike ourselves arrive to show us just what it means to be human.

Part 2 -- the location is a small Midwestern town, very traditional with single-family homes, white picket fences, children playing and a real, honest to goodness downtown; complete with small shops: a grocers, barber shop, clothing store, drug store, movie theater, diner and soda fountain, shoe store, hardware store, and library. The scene is idyllic, something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Oddly, though, as the camera moves through the town, we get the odd feeling that everything is just too perfect, too stereotypically "White," and too "nice."

In the town now comes a station wagon with a family inside. The license plates say "New York," so we know these people are not from the area. The car pulls up to the gas station, and the attendant rushes out to help. The window rolls down, and we see that the driver of the car is an African-American man. With him are his wife and two children, also Africa-American, and their Golden Labrador, Rocky. The first words out of the attendant's mouth are, "Hi folks, just passin' through?" The driver, about 6'2, 220 pounds, broad shoulders and a winning smile says, "No, I'm Cal Jackson, the new Sherriff."

The story becomes more complicated as Sherriff Jackson begins his duties. We see his wife, Janelle, trying to get the new house in order as his children arrive at their new school. Scenes are juxtaposed between various members of the town "talking" about the new Sherriff and his family. We learn that there are no African-Americans in this town, and most of the townsfolk have never interacted with people of color. The result is a story of wry humor that tells the story of how one family teaches and entire town to learn tolerance, love, understanding, and acceptance. Through these trials, the Jackson family also learns their own brand of tolerance and acceptance, and how to be proud of their own heritage while embracing new ideas.

Part 3 -- the year is 1946, the place is Seattle, Washington. The setting is a High School locker room in which several boys are changing into baseball uniforms in preparation for a game. The room is filled with banter and joking. The camera focuses briefly on different groups, chatting, making comments about the game, and the group of all-White boys talking about their sports prowess. The door opens, and the coach walks in, followed by a young man with dark hair. The coach calls out, "Boys, I want you to meet your new teammate, Yoshiko. Yoshiko was just relocated to Seattle, and has been playing ball since he was three. I want you to be sure to welcome him and show him every courtesy."

Of course, the boys are aghast that so soon after the War ended they have to put up with a "Jap." The begin to shun Yoshiko, only being civil when the coach is around, but never allowing him to join their groups in school, or their extra-curricular activities. Yoshiko is obviously distraught, and keeps trying to make overtures to "become one of the guys." All this is to no avail, and Yoshiko feels alienated and distanced from his traditional parents and his new school.

One particularly tense afternoon after practice, Yoshiko is very distraught. He simply walked into the Soda Shop, ordered, and then tried to sit down with his teammates. Instead of saying anything, the team simply got up and left, leaving Yoshko alone at the table. Suddenly, someone sits down next to him -- a rather odd looking boy with thick black glasses, braces on his legs, and an odd tilt to his head. The boy introduces himself as Sammy, and tells Yoshiko that he has something called Multiple Sclerosis, which makes it hard for him to walk, breathe and communicate. Sammy tells Yoshiko that the kids in the school do not like him much either, but his grandfather told him that it is the special ones that are outside the crowd.