BRING ME THE SUN pilot script! scenes 6-16

12 Sep, 2024

EXT. NYC - GREENWICH VILLAGE - DARK STREET - NIGHT

• Still raining. A MODEL T dimly lights its way down the dark street. The sidewalk shelters some wandering INDIVIDUALS and a few COUPLES here and there. Upon passing a BAR, their faces are shaped and defined by a warm light from the windows. Accompanying this light is the murmur of gossip and song.

• The door bursts open: a rowdy group of BOHEMIANS spill into the rain; no umbrellas, just laughter and babel.

• In the midst of this distruption, a couple from the street slips into the bar. We follow them.

INT. NYC - GREENWICH VILLAGE - BOHEMIAN BAR - CONTINUOUS

• We lose the couple in the crowd. To the right, the bar itself: populated by a DRUNK CHOIR singing an old Irish shanty. The middle: a merry mess of tables and chairs leading to a small stage in the back. The left: a uniform set of booths hugging the wall from front to back, all occupied.

• Three quarters of the way back tucked quietly in a U-shaped booth we find Adam and Eleanor drinking their sorrows away. He hides his face in his criss-crossed arms which rest upon the table. She gulps down some dark beer, wipes her lipstick stain off the glass, and watches the drunk choir.

ELEANOR
Are you going to join them, Mr. O'Sullivan?

ADAM
(muffled)
Please don't call me that.

ELEANOR
I do wish we would film stuff like this instead. Those plots of yours are so contrived. And our sets are a joke.

ADAM
The lights aren't bright enough.

ELEANOR
What? I can't hear you, babe.

• He throws his head upward, sways a little, and looks at her with half shut eyes and rosy cheeks.

ADAM
I've lost all my money, Eleanor.
(shrugs)
Nobody's content to watch pictures move anymore. The pictures need stupid stories to fill their stupid heads. If there's a film stock fast enough to capture this dim light well, hardly matters anymore.. Forget Edison and the Trust, I don't know how I'm gonna pay rent.

ELEANOR
The stories don't have to be stupid.

ADAM
They do if you want butts in seats.

ELEANOR
Adam O'Sullivan, I do believe you are a pessimist.

ADAM
Please don't call me that.

ELEANOR
Sorry -- and I think you think very little of the common man.

ADAM
El, you know me well.

• He drops his head back into his arms.

• Cheers from the choir: they've finished their shanty and are banging their pints on the bar. Soon enough one man starts singing another shanty and they all fall in.

• Eleanor gulps the last of her pint and looks around.

ELEANOR
Y'know, there'some really talented people here tonight.

• Adam mumbles again. Eleanor scoops her hand between his arms and forehead then pulls him up till his head rests lazily against the booth.

ADAM
I said "I'm aware."

ELEANOR
Ever regret your lack of approach?

ADAM
Only once I go to bed.

ELEANOR
It's nearing bedtime.

ADAM
I'm not tired.

ELEANOR
You're pretty insufferable tonight. Do you know that?

ADAM
That's my talent.

ELEANOR
In that case, I'm off to my date.

• She starts scooting the long way out of the booth.

ADAM
It's late.

ELEANOR
Nevertheless, she's waiting.

• She stands up.

ADAM
That broad I hired for the shoots?

ELEANOR
Yes, the thespian you could barely afford. She has a name, you know.

ADAM
What's her name?

• She starts to speak, stops, looks off in deep thought, then:

ELEANOR
I'm leaving. Go make some friends if you start feeling lonely.

• She grabs her umbrella.

ADAM
Ok, be safe.
(as she leaves)
If you get her name, let me know!

• He rolls lazily back and looks in no precise direction.

ADAM
What do I know?

EXT. SPACE - ABOVE EARTH - DAY/NIGHT

• Adam floats above Earth in the wreckage of his spaceship.

ADAM
I know I wasn't made to know THIS much. When did evolution get out of hand, Charles? At what point, in my quest to describe where I found the tasty berries in the jungle, was I allowed to know how to operate a camera? And what the hell is my problem anyway, Friedrich? Georges, you wonderful son of a bitch, hold my hand. I depend upon your outlook of life. Hold on a minute, who's that?

• We pan to more wreckage and find some men floating there: CHARLES DARWIN, FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, GEORGES MÉLIÈS, and a fourth one, TAYLOR, mid 30s, looking as disheveled and drunk as Adam. One would think these four men are dead -- that is until Taylor calmly opens his eyes.

TAYLOR
Adam?

ADAM
Taylor?

TAYLOR
Adam!! Adam, hi!

ADAM
Hey, Taylor!

• By now, these two drunks are grinning like idiots and waving wildly at each other. Just there, in space.

TAYLOR
Get over here!

ADAM
I can't move!

TAYLOR
(starts swimming)
That's alright! I'm coming!

ADAM
Okayyyy!

INT. GREENWICH VILLAGE - BOHEMIAN BAR - LATER

• Taylor, having moved to the booth, sits against Adam. On the table, two waters. They quietly watch a COWBOY sing and play guitar upon the stage to a long, curly haired and slowly sobering crowd of ARTISTS, THESPIANS, MUSICIANS, ACTIVISTS, a SCIENTIST or two, and even some FILMMAKER.

• The cowboy concludes his gun ballad, the crowd erupts into cheers, and as they're clapping:

TAYLOR
Say, O'Sullivan, how's your film coming along?

ADAM
Please don't call me that.

TAYLOR
Huh?

• Our attention is taken back to the stage as the MC (the elder of the two bartenders hops next to the cowboy.

MC
Let's have another round of applause here for the cowboy!

• Applause.

TAYLOR
I'm confused! Your name's O'Sullivan, is it not?

ADAM
Not anymore.

• The MC quickly simmers the crowd with a wave.

MC
Now I ask every week and I'm gonna ask agin, though I expect the same answer: what's your name, partner?

COWBOY
Shoot. Reckon I don't have one at the moment.

MC
Right. Cowboy, everyone!

• A final applause. Cowboy hands over the guitar, steps off the stage, and makes his way back to his seat.

TAYLOR
So what, you're not Irish anymore?

ADAM
It's bad for business. I go by Smith now. Anyway, how's about your double reel? Finished?

TAYLOR
Wait, like uhh.. Wealth of Nations?

MC
Well, folks, if anyone else feels like strumming this ol' lute you know where to find me.

• He returns the dusty parlor guitar to the corner and heads back to the bar. In the foreground, Cowboy walks by.

TAYLOR
Hey, Cowboy! Sit with us for a sec!

COWBOY
(sitting down)
Ok. How you holding up anyhow, Taylor?

TAYLOR
Fine, fine! That was a hell of a ballad, by the way.

COWBOY
Gee, thanks.

TAYLOR
Now, Cowboy: what do we think about Adam O'Sullivan?

COWBOY
We lose Mr. O'Sullivan!

TAYLOR
How 'bout Adam Smith?

COWBOY
Hate 'em.

TAYLOR
No no, the filmmaker.

COWBOY
Don't know 'em, don't trust 'em.

TAYLOR
Then let me introduce you to New York's hidden gem and the pettiest thorn in Edison's side: Adam Smith.

COWBOY
How do you do, Mr. Smith, but where's Mr. O'Sullivan?

ADAM
Heart attack.

COWBOY
Shoot, ok. Well, you seem like a decent fellow, anyhow.

ADAM
Taylor's being generous. He's hyping himself, if anything.

TAYLOR
Anyhow, anything, any-whatever.

ADAM
Well, he's not a HIDDEN gem for much longer, but he is THE thorn. This man just shot a double reel!

COWBOY
And just what in tarnation is that?

ADAM
Twice the runtime of a single.

TAYLOR
Let's back up, Adam. Do you know what a reel is, Cowboy?

COWBOY
Not in the slightest, friend.

ADAM
How about a roll of film?

COWBOY
Sure. Once met a fella who photographed the war on Spain. He showed me how to work a camera after we had a fair bit of tequila. Good night, that was.

TAYLOR
Rolls are like.. little reels: they got about two dozen photos. Reels capture hundreds of photos that, played back in rapid succession, creates the ILLUSION of motion. 12, 16, sometimes 18 frames per second, frames meaning photos, requires a lot of footage -- meaning how many feet long the reel is if you were to unroll the whole thing and lay it flat on the floor.

• Cowboy's eyes drift away from this conversation/lecture.

COWBOY
Alrighty, and why would I do that?

TAYLOR
For cutting, maybe.

ADAM
This is all to say a reel is 1,000 feet. Taylor shot TWO for one story. A double reel.

COWBOY
And when is the premiere for this 2,000 foot long marvel?

TAYLOR
A few weeks from now, in CHICAGO.

• Cowboy swings around.

COWBOY
Chicago!?

ADAM
Chicago!? Since when?

TAYLOR
Well, this is a very recent development between me and my distributor. You should go, Cowboy.

COWBOY
Gonna have to decline, friend. I got residency at the cafe down the street. It'd be foolish of me to leave the village before the money dries up. Heck, what's wrong with New York, anyhow?

TAYLOR AND ADAM
Thomas Edison.

COWBOY
Ah. Seems I've reached a sore point. What's the old inventor up to these days?

TAYLOR
He dried the money up, so to speak.

ADAM
Made a Trust. A FILM MONOPOLY. And he doesn't invent shit, he's a God damn parasite!

TAYLOR
(hand on Adam's shoulder)
Adam likes the Lumière bros, Méliès -- all that French stuff.
(slaps hands on table)
Here's the gist: 'bout a year and a half ago, Edison and some other Goliaths took their 16 patents in film tech and formed the Motion Pictures Patents Company. Now they nickel and dime anyone who wants to use their equipment, which happens to be the best in the business.

• Suddenly he stops for a big gulp of water. Cowboy waits patiently. Adam sits there in a daze.

TAYLOR
Everyone needs a license now. Exhibitors, they need 'em to rent THOSE films or operate THOSE projectors. And starting just a couple weeks ago, all "licensed" distributors now sink into the whirlpool known as the General Film Company.

COWBOY
Mm. And how about you filummakers?

TAYLOR
Without their equipment, even our liveliest productions look low budget. We can't even use Kodak film without a license -- legally, I should say.

COWBOY
Shoot, partner, you telling me you can just get all this fancy shmancy tech under the table?

TAYLOR
Sure, but there are consequences.

COWBOY
For example?

ADAM
Dumbass goons'll smash everything and your actors.

TAYLOR
Which has yet to happen to me, thankfully, but that is only one severity of which are many.

COWBOY
Right. And what's this whole gang called again?

TAYLOR
The Motion Pictures Patents Company. MPPC.

ADAM
Most of us call it the Trust.

COWBOY
Well, this is an overwhelming amount of uh.. legality, to digest. If I found myself in the belly of a behemoth -- such as your movie making -- I'd cut my way out before I end up in the loo. Anywho, how's about a round on me?

• Adam, who's currently leaning over his little water and sipping the rim of the glass hands free, lets out a sigh.

TAYLOR
We got cut off.

COWBOY
That explains a lot. Ok then.

• Cowboy slips out of the booth. They watch him disappear towards the bar.

TAYLOR
Do you think we're bothering him?

ADAM
Shyoot, partner. Giddy-up! Suey!

EXT. NYC - GREENWICH VILLAGE - DARK STREET - LATER

• No more rain. Quiet.

• Adam and Taylor sway this way and that, wandering down the sidewalk into some unknown direction.

ADAM
So yeah, I was wondering--.

• He slips and, quite pathetically, falls on his back into a small puddle. But rather than continue to mope like he has been all day and night, he starts to laugh.

• Taylor, firstly looks around to see if anyone noticed.

• Across the street a double date watches: the women giggle, the men glare. Adam's in a fit of laughter. Taylor blushes.

TAYLOR
Adam, come on, get up.

• Adam shoots both arms up, but over Taylor' shoulder he sees ORION'S BELT emerge from the clouds. He falls into a daze.

TAYLOR
Adam!

ADAM
Whaa? Whooo?

TAYLOR
(helping him up)
You had a question?

ADAM
Oh, yeah
(giggles)
Why Chicago?

• Taylor looks over his shoulder where the couples were standing, but they've disappeared. He gently pulls at Adam's elbow to keep walking.

TAYLOR
To escape Edison.

ADAM
Wha, think they can't mail lawsuits?

TAYLOR
Mr. Smith, our continued existence as shady filmmakers suggests to me that the Trust already have their hands tied down right here in New York. It follows, then, that to increase the distance is to increase our freedom. Perhaps I arrive and they still have a strong hold over the Law -- ok. I'll further increase the distance. Do you understand where this is going? This shady industry?

ADAM
Yeah! Uhh.. n-no.

TAYLOR
To California.

ADAM
Cal.. Calfornia?

TAYLOR
Cheap land, cheap labor. We could spend less and make more.

ADAM
Movies? Or money.

TAYLOR
YES, and let me ask you this: have your shoots ever been afflicted by the weather? Slippery, sudden rain?

• Adam stops and looks Taylor as if he's become a psychic.

ADAM
Yeah?

TAYLOR
It does not rain there.

ADAM
(laughs)
No, man, that's a cliche.

TAYLOR
It is not. Listen, a few months ago D.W. Griffith shot a movie in Los Angeles. The sun shined every day. In January!

• Adam sits on a wet, white, and blue fire hydrant.

ADAM
Griff works for the Trust.

TAYLOR
Look, they only sent out a small crew. We're talking about a whole industry as far away from the Trust as anyone can get in the Union -- unless we were to follow the miners into Alaska, forgetting California's got sunshine AND diverse landscapes. Adam, I could capture the Alps in the Sierra. Keep that in mind and just remember: Méliès works for the Trust too.

ADAM
Ok, ok. But Taylor, say the goons still find you--.

TAYLOR
Baja.

ADAM
Huh?

TAYLOR
Hide in Baja.

• Suddenly the clouds part and a silver light lands on Adam's face. He looks up: it's the FULL MOON, hanging above Taylor's right shoulder. Adam falls into another daze.

TAYLOR (O.C.)
It's foolproof, really. I'd be in a smaller talent pool with a real chance at making a name for myself.

ADAM
I can't wait to tell Eleanor about this tomorrow.

TAYLOR (O.C.)
Oh forget her, Adam. No sense in having a woman hold you back from wonderland. If you want to go, go.

EXT. THE MOON - ROCKY LANDSCAPE - DAY

• Adam looks up at the night shrouded EARTH.

• The landscape looks like Méliès' interpretation in A Trip to the Moon. Quite unlike our modern understanding.

• Just like in Méliès' film, some humanoid looking ALIENS jump out from behind rock walls.

• Adam jumps back, startled, and gets another look at them: they don't look wholly alien, but more like men dressed up in contemprary alien costumes one might see on film.

• Only upon further inspection, as they slowly creep up, does Adam notice their faces: half of them look like Méliès, the other exactly like himself.

• Adam steps back, back. Now his back is against a wall.

• The aliens close in.

• For some reason, Adam reaches into his pocket. He looks down and pulls out a big round PEARL.

• Just as the aliens pounce, he throws the pearl on the ground beneath him and in a puff of smoke, he disappears.

• The aliens look around wildly. Adam reappears just a couple feet behind them and runs in the opposite direction. They notice and make chase.

INT. NYC - SAN JUAN HILL - AUNT'S APT - KABILI'S ROOM - LATER

• Kabili seems to be struggling through a nightmare. His faces twitches, his breath shakes, his shoulders tense. He gasps awake!... then gathers his breath.

• Same old ceiling, same old raggedy mattress. He begins to calm down. he shuts his eyes... then:

ADAM (O.C)
Hey.

• Kabili jolts up.

• Just there at the end of the bed sits the drunkard himself. Behind him, an open window to the fire escape.

ADAM
Sorry I called you an idiot.

KABILI
(backs up to headboard)
It's.. alright.

ADAM
Really?

KABILI
Sure.

• Adam nods. He looks around the room and doesn't see much: A BALL CAP by the door and a couple BASEBALL CARDS on top of the dresser, as well as an OPEN LETTER and some blank paper next to it; one or two stamps of Lady Liberty.

ADAM
Say uh, wanna go on an adventure?

KABILI
When?

ADAM
Well, now.

EXT. NYC - THE BRONX - EDISON STUDIOS - LATER

• We're across the street from a large, three-story BRICK BUILDING, which towers over the sidewalk and connects to a huge GLASS STRUCTURE stretching back and to the right. On top of the brickwork: EDISON STUDIO. EDISON.

• We also see Kabili, who's awkwardly lifting Adam up to one of the windows (one high up and without metal bars). Adam opens it and begins to crawl through -- Kabili slips: luckily he catches the wet sidewalk with his hands, but the window falls on Adam's grasping arms. Kabili hops up and resumes lifting the drunk, who then reopens the window and sneaks in without delay (though not exactly exuding elegant gymnastics).

• We hear a THUD, followed by a scramble then a walking.

• And now we're next to Kabili. He quickly looks left, right, and everywhere else as if he were being watched.

INDISTINCT VOICE (O.C)
Psst!

• It came somewhere from his right. He walks down to the back end of the building, passing a large LOADING BAY.

• He doesn't notice, but there's a DARK FIGURE standing at the top of the loading bay stairs...

DARK FIGURE/ADAM
Boo! Heheh.

• Kabili nearly jumps out of his skin. Upon recognizing Adam he begins to calm down, bu then Adam gestures an invitation, sweeping his hand through the door and pointing inside.

KABILI
Adam -- Sir, I can't go in there.

ADAM
Hey, is that you talking or your aunt?

KABILI
Me. Hundred percent.

ADAM
But I need your help! Kabiliii!!!

KABILI
Shhh! Shh! Shh! Sh!

ADAM
Ok ok... haha. Get up here.

KABILI
What are we even doing here?

ADAM
Look, I'm leaving town and--

KABILI
Leaving!?

ADAM
--yess, and you're coming with me. Just need to grab something real quick.

• ...

KABILI
Um... ok.
(walking up stairs)
We are alone, yes?

ADAM
We can talk philosophical conundrums later, Bill. Come on.

• Kabili steps through the doorway. They're in.

INT. NYC - THE BRONX - EDISON STUDIOS - MOMENTS LATER

• They find themselves shrouded inside the enormous glass structure: the MOON shines down and a dim, yellow STREET LAMP bleeds through a couple windows at the far end. These are the only lights currently upon Thomas' EDISON STUDIO.

• Three-wall sets line up from one end to the other, looking like a hollowed row of teeth filled with contemporary interior decorations.

• Kabili looks around wildly with paranoid wonder. (Fair chance he never knew film production could be this complex.)

• Adam doesn't look as impressed, but his eyes still wander.

• Kabili looks up at the full moon. Now he's looking at the camera-less TRIPODS, each positioned in front of each set.

• What he doesn't see behind him: Adam stumbling onto a set -- that is, until Adam bumps loudly into a coffee table.

• Kabili stops. He slowly turns around and finds Adam yanking something off of a dress for MANNEQUIN.

KABILI
(whisper shout)
What are you doing!?

• Kabili runs up, stopping between the tripod and set. By this point, Adam is sloppily folding the outfit.

ADAM
WE. Don't lose focus. Hold, please.

• Adam tosses a DRESS to Kabili, which he hardly catches.

ADAM (O.C.)
WE are sending a message, Billilly. You and me. Hell if I know what we're saying, but... um.. Where is uhhh... Ah! Here we are.

• Kabili hardly listens. Actually, he's focused on the dress: a bit out of style, more representative of the 1880s than 1910, but even under the pale moon do the colors pop out beautifully. He runs his fingers along the intricate stitching, brings the dress to his chest, and looks up:

• About 15 feet away, the second to last tripod still holds a CAMERA, and already Adam is wrestling with it: tucked under his armpit, trying to unscrew the tripod.

ADAM
Gimme a hand. C'mon!

• Kabili carefully places the dress on a FOLDING CHAIR and hurries over. 30 seconds ago he would've refused. Now?

ADAM
Grab it here. And bring that bottom leg in. Alright, now, left loosey. I said lefty!

KABILI
(whispering, yelling, unscrewing the tripod)
This IS my left, man!

ADAM
Well, just take it easy. Let's not strip the screwy bits. Heh heh.

• Turns out Adam was leaning way: the tripod separates and he, with the camera, stumbles a couple steps back into a PROP CHAIR with enough velocity to timber and continue rolling.

• BANG! He's put a HOLE in the back set wall with his head. Silence.

• Two hands turn to life and left the camera high up: no dents or scratches. The same cannot be said for Adam, who scoots his way out of his hole. Kabili, still holding the tripod, helps him up to his feet.

KABILI
You alright?

• Adam examines the camera.

ADAM
There's no film in here. We need film.

KABILI
Naw, we need to leave.

ADAM
Billy, if there were a guard here don't you think they'd've found us?

• Click. A shaky FLASHLIGHT exposes the two thieves (and the hole in the wall).

• On the other end of the light an OLD SECURITY GUARD rubs his eyes (presumably having just woken up due to Adam's tumble).

• For a moment they all just stare at each other, dumbfounded.

ADAM
RUN, SOCRATES!

• Chaos breaks loose: Adam and Kabili trip over a DESK, a CHEST, a TABLE, several CHAIRS and sprint past the old man, who really doesn't do anything to stop them -- he does, however, continue to point the light at them, which inadvertently helps them escape.

• On the way out, Kabili grabs the dress.

EXT. THE MOON - FUNGAL FOREST - DAY

• Adam is alone, running like mad and weaving through thick, bright MUSHROOMS, which stand above him like trees.

• He turns around: the "trunks" in this forest are too thick to see much at all, but he can hear aliens in pursuit.

• He faces forward and stops, finding himself in a circular MARSHY MEADOW.

• Laughing in front of him stands The THOMAS EDISON, looking less like we might recognize in pictures and more like in newspaper illustrations: enormously fat, round, dressed like a money bag, and generally looking grotesque from skin texture to how he holds his face -- just there, laughing menacingly, towering at around 20 feet.

• Adam looks right: a SLINGSHOT big enough to launch a human. He hops in and aims between the villain's cash-pupil eyes.

• He shuts his eyes and FLING!

• After too long a time he wakes, looks around and sees only space. Looking down he sees the moon drifting further and further away, Edison an ant.

INT. NYC - SUBWAY - LATER

• A grizzled HOBO snores away at the other end of the car.

• Adam and Kabili sit together quietly taking in the loud hums, chugs, and bumps of the late night metro.

• In their laps: the camera, the tripod, the dress.