Pilot/ ‘Welcome to the Astro CIty’
Written by M. J. Cross
TEASER
ACT 1, SCENE 1 EXT:
RESIDENTIAL HOME - NIGHT
PULL
UP on a bright-blue TWO-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL HOME that sits on a slope of a hill.
The HOME and the other homes next to it are so colorful and closely stacked
together they seem to lean into each other like lego blocks. On top of the roof
is a roof ornament in the shape of an owl. On the wooden steps of the HOME, a
craved pumpkin glows.
OS
CHILDREN laugh.
All
the lights are on in the HOME. A DARK SILHOUETTE stands in one of the windows
on the second floor.
Act 1, SCENE 2: INT
HOME
Blood shot brown EYES dart wildly from left
and right presumably following the children’s voices below.
The
EYES keep moving behind a long wooden MASK with an elongated chin and puckered
mouth. It appears tribal, but has an alien quality to it. The holes for the
eyes are rimmed with flints of shiny metals. The EYES widen in shock.
A thin FIGURE behind the MASK begins to
dance away from the window as the sound of African drums beat through the HOME.
The FIGURE is wearing a black leotard and a colorful dashiki. As the FIGURE
tiptoes from ROOM TO ROOM, it moves in spastic and violent motion as if its
limbs are possessed. It waves a coffee mug around in its hand.
The
FIGURE dances through the DINING ROOM with a dimmed chandelier and a decorative
bowl on top of a white table cloth.
The
FIGURE dances through a LIVING ROOM filled with relics, trophies, plaques, black
and white pictures, and a long hanging MIRROR that takes up all of one wall.
Hanging from the other walls are more masks and pictures.
The
LIVING ROOM feels more like a museum.
As
the FIGURE dances, its hands graze by an URN on a mantle below the mirror.
As
the FIGURE moves to the next room, it abruptly stops dancing.
ACT 1, SCENE 3: INT
HOME - KITCHEN
The FIGURE stands at the threshold of the
kitchen.
From the MASK’S POV, there’s a tall man
standing in the kitchen with a white hood over his face and eyes staring back
out of its sockets.
FIGURE lifts off her MASK to reveal: MS
ANNETTA ‘NETTA’ BIRDSONG, a quirky, fast-talking single mother, late 30s with streaks
of white flecked in her dark hair. She dresses worldly due to her mixed upbringing
(African-American and Native-American heritage). She buries her traumatic past
with alcohol.
MAN:
What are you doing?
NETTA:
I could ask you the same thing, Josh. Why
do you look like you’re about to lynch me?
JOSHUA BIRDSONG, mid-teens, African-American
yanks off his hood.
JOSH:
C’mon Ma. I’m a ghost.
NETTA:
Are
you serious? What are they teaching you at that school? You look like a
Klansman. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Are you trying to give me a
heart attack?
JOSH:
But I’m clearly a ghost. (BEAT) So I scared
you?
NETTA (laughing):
I’ve
seen some shit in my day, but this takes the cake. Whatever happened to holes
in bed sheets?
JOSH:
You’d
kill me if I cut holes in the sheets.
NETTA:
Damn right!
BLACK TITLE CARD
APPEARS: ASTRO CITY, MA - HALLOWEEN NIGHT 1985
NETTA
dances over to the fridge and pulls out a glistening bottle from the freezer. She
pours a liberal amount into the mug that was in her hand. She hesitates, and
then pours some more.
JOSH:
What
are you doing with that mask?
NETTA:
Which
one? We all wear masks. Yours apparently is a Klansman.
JOSH:
I’m
a ghost, Ma.
NETTA suddenly jerks her head over her
shoulders. Her brown eyes dart left and right following something JOSH can’t
see.
NETTA:
Shush,
Sister. I don’t want to hear it tonight!
JOSH:
Ma?
Are you still with me? Can you hear me?
NETTA:
My
sister’s acting up.
JOSH:
I
don’t want to talk about your -
NETTA
holds up her hand to stop him in mid-word.
NETTA:
It’s
tea time.
She
cheers herself and takes a sip from her mug. She shivers and smiles. She
proceeds to pull down her MASK and resume dancing.
JOSH
sighs and exits the room. The drumming finally stops and he returns into the
kitchen. NETTA pulls up her MASK.
NETTA:
Why’d
you do that? I was getting in touch with our ancestors.
JOSH:
I
don’t want the police to show up again.
NETTA:
I
rather them than my sister. She never has anything good to share with me. By
the way, she really hates what you’re wearing.
JOSH (sighs)
Yeah...I’m
gonna head out while I still have the chance.
NETTA:
Really?
Where you going?
JOSH:
I
told you about this already. I’m going to the party in the Heights.
NETTA:
Well
finally that school’s good for something. Start making friends in high places.
It’ll do you some good. Lemme grab my keys.
NETTA
starts chugging the contents of her tea mug.
JOSH:
It’s
alright. Drink your tea. I’ll take the bus.
NETTA:
But
the Heights’ is on the other side of the city. No sense in walking on a night
like tonight.
JOSH:
The weather's fine. I
can handle it. No worries.
NETTA
stops and looks him up and down.
NETTA:
I
have to agree with my sister. Can’t you come up with some other costume? Like
High school Graduate or Captain Magnum Com Laud?
JOSH:
No,
Ma. I’m a ghost, and tell your sister to get out of our lives. I’m tired of it.
All the visitors. Just tell them you can’t help them anymore.
NETTA (speaking over her shoulder):
He
said it not me.
NETTA
takes a long sip from her mug. She goes back to the freezer to pour herself
another drink.
JOSH:
We’ll
never be normal. You can put me in any school. I could walk anywhere in the
city. And they’ll always find out about you.
NETTA
frowns and sways as she puts down her mug. She cups JOSH’S face in her hands.
NETTA:
I
was baptized in blood. This is all I know. And you...you came from my uterus...
JOSH:
Ma,
that’s gross.
NETTA:
And
now you’re going off to parties without me? (beat) Put on your mask of normality
for as long as you like, for as long as your arms can carry it. You will still
be my son.
JOSH:
Thanks,
I guess. What are you doing tonight?
NETTA:
A
gentleman is taking me out for some tea and talk.
JOSH:
I
don’t care if he’s real or not real. Just remember no ‘cold tea’ after 11. That
was our deal. I’m serious Ma. I don’t want the cops here again. We’re already
bad enough.
NETTA:
Yes,
father.
JOSH:
I’ll
call you when I get to the party.
JOSH
turns to leave, but his mother pulls him back.
NETTA:
Bring
it back here, son. Let’s review this one more time.
JOSH:
God...Stop
babying me.
NETTA:
You’re
a smart boy, but brains and books won’t get you far in the streets. I raised
you well enough to know the rules of Astro City.
NETTA
and JOSHUA look each other knowingly in the eyes.
ACT 1, SCENE 4, EXT
ASTRO CITY – SAME NIGHT
JOSH
is briskly walking down a sidewalk with his hands stuffed in his pocket. His
white hood hangs out of his back pocket. He peers cautiously over his
shoulders.
The HOMES around him
are decorated with various Halloween directions. They look similar to NETTA’S
HOME but as JOSH crosses the street the HOMES turn into BRICK PROJECTS. The
court yards of the PROJECTS are very active with yelling and music. This is THE
BRICKS.
NETTA (VO):
Keep
to the sidewalks and stay close to the streetlights. Don’t take any short cuts,
and for god sake’s don’t take any of the alleys through The Bricks.
ACT 1 SCENE 5, INT: NETTA
HOME – KITCHEN – RETURN TO EARLIER THAT NIGHT
NETTA:
That’s nothing but trouble. Trust me. I’ve
heard stories about men getting knocked out and waking up with organs missing.
JOSH:
You’re making that up. That’s an urban
legend.
NETTA:
Am I? (beat) Is it?
INTERCUT: NETTA AND
JOSH
The scene INTERCUTS
between VOs of NETTA AND JOSH talking, JOSH walking through ASTRO CITY that
night
ACT 1, SCENE 6, EXT
ASTRO CITY – SAME NIGHT
As JOSH turns the corner, he spots a GROUP
OF BOYS of different race and sizes on an apartment stoop passing a bottle
around. A cloud of cigarette smoke rises from their lips. One of the THUGS,
whose standing, has a THREE-STAR PATTERNED TATTOO at the corner of his right
eye.
THUG notices JOSH.
THUG:
Ayo, blood? Lemme talk to you for a minute.
JOSH
tenses up only briefly and plays like he’s distracted by looking everywhere
else but at the THUG
NETTA (VO):
If
you’re walking through any part of C-Bricks, avoid the Crocs. When you see them
on one side of the street, you cross to the other. You pay them no mind. Ya
hear me?
JOSH (VO):
Yeah, yeah I got it.
JOSH proceeds to walk-sprint to the other
side of C-Bricks. THUG starts to follow. Some of the other BOYS join him.
THUG:
Ayo, kid, I’m talking to you. Where you
from?
JOSH
starts to run.
INT: NETTA HOME –
KITCHEN – RETURN TO EARLIER THAT NIGHT
NETTA:
The quickest way to the Heights anyway is
the Metro. Don’t be an Olympian and run your way there. Just take the damn bus.
Don’t bother with the train. There are monster crocodiles down there the size
of bears I heard. You got money?
JOSH:
Of course.
EXT ASTRO CITY –
SAME NIGHT – BUS PASSENGER SHELTER
A
BUS is pulling away from the shelter, and JOSH is running away from the THUGS
behind them.
THUGS (O.S.)
Stop
kid! We’re gonna kick your ass!
JOSH
catches up to the bus and beats the side of it, until the bus slows down and
stops.
INT ASTRO CITY (AC) METRO
BUS – SAME
JOSH
dashes onto the bus, dropping change into the meter, and collapses into the
seat. He is out of breath and closes his eyes.
Just
at his head, THREE EGGS hit his window. It sounds like gun fire, one after the
other like they were projected from a gun.
JOSH
jumps out of his seat and run OS as THE EGGS and BITS OF THEIR SHATTER WHITE
SHELLS ooze down the window.
JOSH
sit on another part of the bus next to AN ELDERLY BAGLADY, 60s, stout,
bespectacled, and dressed in heavy furs, her hair appears more like an unkempt
afro and nest. Her glasses appear as thick as glass bottles and make her eyes
larger than they are. At her side is a cart of shimmering cans.
She
smiles at JOSH. He smiles back shakily.
JOSH (V.O.):
I’ll be alright once I get to the Heights.
INT NETTA HOME –
KITCHEN – RETURN TO EARLIER THAT NIGHT
NETTA is looking at her son as if he got
three heads. Her tea mug is inches from her lips.
INT AC METRO BUS –
SAME NIGHT -
O.S
BUS hisses to a stop and sound of doors swing open.
The
BUS DRIVER is looking at someone strangely as if they got three heads.
JOSH
is walking down the aisle with his white pillow case on. Before he steps off,
he turns to the DRIVER
JOSH:
I’m
a ghost.
BUS
DRIVER nods slowly.
ELDERY
BAGLADY looks on concerned, batting her incredibly large eyes steadily.
EXT AC – SAME NIGHT
– THE HEIGHTS
Bus pulls away OS and reveals JOSH standing
at a bus shelter in front of the HEIGHTS. The HEIGHTS is a bright area with
glass window store fronts and towers as tall as skyscrapers in the background.
Think Newbury Street and RODEO DRIVE. Various voices, music and laughter.
NETTA (V.O.):
When you get there, mind your Ps and Qs.
Don’t linger around or leer through any of those windows for too long. Don’t
run either. The Police aren’t there to protect you. They’re there to protect
them.
EXT AC – SAME NIGHT
– THE HEIGHTS SIDEWALK
JOSH stops at a scene of blue-and-white
flashing lights. From his POV, a police car has pulled over a DARK TINTED,
BLACK TWON CAR.
Two POLICE OFFICERS step out of the police
car armed with flashlights. The beams scan the exterior of the TOWN CAR
quickly.
One of the OFFICERS stops and swings his
beam of light at JOSH. JOSH’S visions is washed in light and he can only make
out the OFFICER’S silhouette
JOSH
uses his arms to cover his eyes and quickly turns in the other direction.
INT NETTA HOME –
KITCHEN – RETURN TO EARLIER THAT NIGHT
NETTA:
This
is too much. I’m giving you a ride.
JOSH:
NO,
Ma! It’s alright. I’m a big kid now. I got this.
NETTA pauses and then smiles. She is very
sincere and sober at this point.
NETTA:
Have
fun. Call me as soon as you get there. As SOON as you get there.
ACT 1, SCENE 7 EXT
AC – SAME NIGHT – THE HEIGHTS STREETS
JOSH (VO):
I
will.
JOSH is alone
walking the middle of the street in the HEIGHTS. The stores have gone dark. One
street lights seems to work. And the TOWERS stand like silent giants. All has
gone silent, except for
JOSH’S SNIFFLING.
He wipes tears from
his face with his balled up ghost sheet.
His back is
illuminated by beams of flashing lights that blink at him twice.
He turns around.
His POV a dark
tinted, black town car hums silently parked in the street. It HIGHBEAMS look
like cat eyes. Its grill looks like teeth. This is a DEATH CAR.
JOSH:
Leave
me the fuck alone!
The DEATH CAR
flashes him again.
JOSH:
I’m not playing anymore!
The CAR strikes JOSH
full on with it highbeams.
JOSH flinches back.
INT NETTA HOME –
LIVING ROOM –
NETTA has resumed
playing her tribal music.
INTERCUT: NETTA AND
JOSH
The scene INTERCUTS
between JOSH running for his life and NETTA dancing through the house in her
MASK.
The DEATH CAR’s
engines rev forward at JOSH. Gravel POPS underneath the tires.
NETTA is drinking
and dancing. She is crying and then talking to herself. She keeps pouring
herself a drink.
JOSH is running down
the street, a look of horror on his face. From various quiet and dark parts of
the Heights you can hear the echoes of his cries go unanswered.
JOSH:
HELP!
SOMEONE!
THE DEATH CAR is
right behind him.
JOSH runs up on the
sidewalk and tries opening a store door. It’s locked.
The CAR waits from
him at the curb.
‘DING. DING. DING.’
The indicator of the
car announces that the driver has opened the door.
JOSH breaks into a
run again.
JOSH:
HELP!
The CAR speeds up.
NETTA puts on her
MASK and dances in front of her mirror.
EXT AC – SAME NIGHT
– THE HEIGHTS STREETS
JOSH is sweaty and
dusty, crying. He is limping, but still running. His feet drag behind him as if
he has walked for miles.
JOSH (voice hoarse):
Please.
Stop.
The DEATH CAR is
behind him stalking him slowly, but enough speed that if JOSH stops moving, he
will be crushed.
JOSH:
Mom...
INT NETTA HOME –
LIVING ROOM –
OS Doors open and
close.
NETTA has stopped
dancing and looks at her masked reflection in the mirror.
OS Shoes scrape and
kick gravel.
NETTA lift her mask
and watches mesmerized at what is playing in the reflection OS.
OS Laughter as taunting
as a hyena.
Single GUNSHOT!
Echoes through the house.
NETTA screams and
loses control of her tea mug. It shatters OS.
NETTA keeps screaming
as the CAMERA slowly PANS to the area of the mirror she is screaming at. It
feels endless and stretches on and on. She briefly runs back into the screen,
but stops with her hand covering her mouth, trembling and still screaming.
Another GUNSHOT!
NETTA falls back in
horror.
In the reflection,
JOSH is standing in the room with his pillow case hood on and a hole between
his eyes. HIS EYES are bloodshot and angry. The hood is so soaked with blood
the imprint of JOSH’S nose and mouth are like a Rorschach Test. Blood is
dripping off the pillow case and onto his shirt.
NETTA SCREAMS
through a
CUT TO BLACK.
END TEASER.
The major plots of the show will answer who killed Josh? And what forces are working to destroy the city? And the wonderful and miraculous things that can happen when we live in a salad-bowl society. The show will tackle some powerful themes and like most hit shows nowadays it features music and dancing all paramount parts of any ethnic/urban expression. Hit me up for more.
