INT. JAMES' HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
James cries intensely on his bed. He takes out his phone and makes a call... It RINGS once before being sent to voicemail.
KEVIN (V.O) - It's me, Kevin. Yes, the Kevin. Leave a message.
He hangs up and THROWS his body onto the bed. He makes another call. The phone's RINGS are accompanied by James' cries. Then a voicemail begins...
PERRY (V.O) - Welcome to the Ritter residence. Sorry, we --
James CHUCKS his phone across the room.
BLACK
A light-red hue fills the border of the SCREEN.
PRE-LAP: The sound of James opening a drawer followed by a THUD -- it's something heavy and metal.
PRE-LAP: The sound of James snorting a line of coke.
BACK TO SCENE
Where there's a REVOLVER on James' nightstand. With some coke on his nose, James takes out FIVE BULLETS from the drawer and loads the chamber.
James shakes as he pops the chamber into place. He sits back down and puts the gun into his mouth. He's now SOBBING.
He slowly pulls the trigger back... Then RING -- James' phone lights up across the room on the floor. James ignores this. He closes his eyes and then... CLICK. He pulls the trigger, but nothing happened. James is now hysterical.
He pulls himself together, enough to put his finger back on the trigger. James slightly pulls it back.
James contemplates his next move... He ultimately THROWS the gun on the floor. There's a moment of relief for James. He falls to his knees from all his emotions.
RING -- another call. James crawls to his phone and answers.
ANTHONY (V.O) - James! Guess what?!
James covers his mouth, trying to mute his hysteria.
ANTHONY (V.O) - Coby over at Verinton called and said he'd love to have you on for his next project.
(beat)
James? Did you hear me?!
James holds the phone away and composes himself.
JAMES - Yeah... That's great.
ANTHONY - I know! He said it would be good press.
(and)
I told you not to lose hope! This city has its ways of keeping you around.
James doesn't know what to say, feel, or think. He drops his phone. His body shakes as he breaks down in tears. He puts his hands over his face... It's unclear if he's crying tears of joy, or tears of hopelessness.
BLACK
A DIM RED LIGHT shines, revealing SILHOUETTED PEOPLE as far as the eye can see. They all look up to SOMEONE or SOMETHING.
The light is slightly more intense than before. This time, we're able to fully see Everyone.
The first and centered person is James. To his immediate surroundings are Anthony, Noah, Corey, Kevin, Edith, and Perry. All the other people are anyone and everyone James has encountered throughout the story.
EVERYONE - We are brought in front of you today, under our devotion to LA.
THE END
YOU ARE READING
LA Monster (Screenplay)
General FictionAfter visiting Los Angeles for just four days, I knew I had seen enough to write -- what I believe -- is an eerily accurate depiction of what this place means to a lot of people. LA Monster is a screenplay about an aspiring actor that moves to Los...
