Seafood Risotto
FADE IN:
INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT
A big round-table dinner party. People speak in turns at the podium. A GENTLEMAN#1 (40s) passes the bread basket to Peter.
Having got a piece of bread, Peter gets two packed butter cubes away from him.
PETER
Do you want one?
GENTLEMAN#1
No.
A pause.
We see PETER chatting with GENTLEMAN#2 (40s) and GENTLEMAN#3 (50s) as if they have struck a chord.
GENTLEMAN#2
(To Peter)
... He writes very well
...I'm just a girl, standing
in front of a boy, asking
him to love her...
GENTLEMAN#3
(To Peter)
Which film script is he talking
about?
PETER
Notting Hill. The quote is
sweetly romantic...
GENTLEMAN#2
(Emotional)
It reflects the Brits' worship
of celebrities!
PETER
But the story is too good to
be true.
GENTLEMAN#1
I like to see films in which
good guys do die. But
that's rare.
GENTLEMAN#3
Me too.
PETER (V.O.)
That's actually reality - like my
real stories. But the audience
pay to escape from that reality.
My challenge has been to
write tell-tale non-fiction in a
dramatic and persuasive way.
Peter surfs the web with his phone. We see he stops at a page highlighting: Notting Hill: "Budget US$42 million" and "Box Office US$364 million". He first passes it to Gentleman#1 and then Gentleman#2 to see. They look surprised.
PETER
That gives me the incentive
to write better screenplays.
They can be very valuable!
The waitress serves all with the same Lobster Bisque.
PETER
(To GENTLEMAN#1)
Have you seen the film:
Shoplifters?
GENTLEMAN#1
No.
Peter shows him a page on his phone screen.
GENTLEMAN#1
(Surprised)
Approval rating 98%?...
Have you seen The WIRE?
PETER
The WIRE? No.
Peter surfs the web and some images appear.
GENTLEMAN#1
The series is about the drug
scene through the eyes of the
police, dealers and addicts...
in the complex context...
schools, media and
bureaucracy...I want to re-watch
the episodes...
Peter gets his research result on the phone.
PETER
Approval rating 96% and...
60 TV episodes!
GENTLEMAN#1
Would you be committed to
watching it?
Peter hesitates, as Lamp Chop is being served to GENTLEMAN#1 and Seafood Risotto to him. He does not hesitate to take photos of their different main course though.
PETER
They both look good.
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
Lying in bed wearing earset with a pad in hand, Peter watches videos. We see: "The WIRE" appearing on the screen from time to time.
PETER
The shooting, editing, music
and punch lines are excellent.
I don't know how realistic is
the fiction. If not the drug
scenes, the language is
foreign to me...
FLASHBACK - MONTAGE
INT. COURT ROOM - DAY
A young MAN (20) is behind the dock. Peter appears at the bar, pleading before a JUDGE. A MAN (40s) looks on anxiously in the gallery.
PETER
...a university drop-out....
quantity of drug found
not much...father in court
to support...respectfully ask
bail be granted...
INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY
Peter talks to a submissive DRUG ADDICT (70s).
DRUG ADDICT
...I 'm suffering from cancer now
and would plead guilty to the
charge. But ask the judge not to
send me to the Drug Addition
Treatment Centre...I've been
there many many times...
INT. COURT ROOM - DAY
A MAN and a WOMAN (40s) are at the dock. Peter submits passionately before a LADY JUDGE at the bench.
LADY JUDGE
... dozens of drug-related
criminal records...the recent
ones are quite recent...I
sentence both of you to four-
month imprisonment.
Other assisting LEGAL PERSONNEL look surprised while the couple looks pleased. While the woman stares at Peter, the man eagerly waves thankfully to Peter before they are taken away.
END MONTAGE - BACK TO PRESENT
PETER (V.O.)
These crime stories are truly real to
me. I won't bother with realistic
fiction elsewhere. Even for romantic
comedies, I prefer those based
on true stories.
A beat.
PETER (Cont'd) (V,O,)
Customers want the same but
different good things. The main
course is good. You choose
Lamp Chop and I prefer Seafood
Risotto!
FADE OUT. The End