Author: Jacob Andrew Bower

Mark is sat at his desk, tapping his fingers while Louise continues to write her book. Suddenly Anni comes in.

Anni: They are done.

Mark stands up.

Mark: Really?

Anni: Yeah just finished.

Mark quickly walks out of the room. Camera follows him as he walks down the hallway and walks into the meeting room. Elizabeth is sat reading while David paces the other side of the table.

Mark: How did it go?

David walks over to the Mark

David: it looks like a done deal kid.

Mark quickly shakes his hand

Mark: Great. What did they ask for?

Elizabeth: Andrew not to be in it.

Marks face drops.

Mark: But you talked him down right?

Elizabeth: We had to sell our souls though

David: But it will all be worth it when we get his money.

David suddenly looks around at Elizabeth.

David: Liz can you give me a minute.

Elizabeth stands up

Elizabeth: Sure, I need to work on leaking some points of this meeting. I will see you at home Mark.

Mark: Actually I need to go and see Andrew tonight, I will see you in the morning.

Elizabeth looks sad and nods and walks away.

David: Listen, I need you to hire another writer.

Mark: I’ve just met with Louise, I’ve only read some of her stuff but she seems like a bright kid.

David: You need someone else?

Mark: Why?

David: I’m promoting you.

Mark: What?

David: Executive producer.

Mark: what about Hugo?

David: Hugo is heading our editing team, I want you on the ground. Keeping an eye on Andrew and making sure this product is as close to your book as everyone will want it to be.

Mark: I get the choice of writer though?

David: If you insist

David suddenly looks down like he’s worried.

Mark: Are you okay, you don’t seem yourself?

David: Yeah *pause* no but it’s nothing, just the stress of the meeting.

Mark nods and goes to walk away but he turns quickly.

Mark: We got them.

David: yes we did.

Camera follows Mark as he goes back to his office. Louise has stopped writing.

Mark: Done

Louise: Yeah I think so, if I had more time I could make it better.

Mark grabs the script and skim reads it.

Mark: This is good, very good.

Louise: Thank you.

Louise stands up.

Mark: I’m going to read this but I think you have what it takes. Anni will ring you in the next couple of days.

Louise smiles and leaves. Anni walks in.

Anni: Was that one of those real I will ring her later or a fake one?

Mark: Real, she’s good. Can you do me a favour and pull up some fan fictions of my book?

Anni: Why?

Mark: I need someone who writes like me.

End scene

Back in the meeting. David is rubbing his eyes. Elizabeth is tapping at the notebook.

Elizabeth: So really your only concern is Andrew?

Mr Hartwell: He’s a risk to take on a project like this, especially in such a substantive role.

David: It was Mark’s choice and it got him along for the ride.

Mr Hartwell: Trust me, I understand loyalty but I’m sure there are other roles for him instead banking everything on a guy who nobody trusts or knows. We have a lot of very good actors in our network and if you’re worried about money, we will front the bill.

David: Money isn’t our concern. I’ve seen Andrew act out these scenes that Mark is writing. The pair of them, they are like to cogs in the machine. They understand eachother and the audience will pick up on that.

Elizabeth: How about this. We get Andrew on TV and in the papers. He does a full tell it all spread on everything that’s happened since Cooper Street. He’s extremely sorry for the hurt he’s caused but he’s turning his life around. Then he says how grateful he is to yourself for giving him this chance when no other network would.

David: Imagine it. Andrew has the charm, the wit and the talent to be an A lister and he will be forever grateful to you and so for that matter will Mark Wilson.

Mr Hartwell: If it wasn’t for the fact that I love the book and see money to be made, I would have laughed you out of the room but I need other assurances.

David: thirty percent merchandising.

Mr Hartwell: Seventy.

David: The property belongs to Mark’s estate, I only have so much I can offer. Let’s say forty.

Mr Hartwell: Sixty.

Elizabeth rights on a piece of paper and slides it over to David who nods.

David: Forty plus you keep ninety percent of advertisement money made during the show.

Mr Hartwell smiles.

Mr Hartwell: I will get the lawyers to work out an agreement.

End scene

Mark is pacing around the office.

Mark: I should be in there.

Anni: They have it sorted.

Mark: I should be in there.

Anni: would you sit down

Mark: I can’t sit down. Right now, in the room just across the hall, our future is being decided and I can’t be there because I am taking interviews.

Anni: Actually you are walking around the office pacing.

Mark slumps into his chair.

Mark: Don’t you reckon I could find an excuse to sneak in there?

Anni: I think David would actually kill you.

Mark: You do it.

Anni looks shocked

Anni: I can’t go in there.

Mark: Why not?

Anni: Because I’m just your assistant.

Mark: Exactly, go in there and tell them I need to speak to them about something and then when you are in there, get a look at their notebooks.

Anni: You really are not very clever.

There is a timid knock at the door where Louise is stood.

Louise: Hi I’m looking for Mark Wilson.

Anni stands up

Anni: I’m going to get some water.

Mark stands up.

Mark: You are Louise right, after an assistant writing role?

Louise: That’s right.

Mark: Have you worked on anything before?

Louise: Only things at university.

Mark: Okay. Listen I’m having a bit of mental episode and I think if I start interviewing you I may ask you do something completely stupid and walk into a private meeting with a very large network Mr Hartwell to get the job so why don’t we focus on the writing.

Louise: Sounds good.

Mark offers her a seat and she gingerly takes it. He then chucks a notebook in front of her and offers her a piece of paper.

Mark: This scene leads up to a conflict, I need you to write me a script with no fewer than forty character interactions and you need to slowly ramp up the tension, when your done I will read it.

Louise: I don’t have a pen

Mark hands her a pen
Louise: This is a nice pen.

Mark: it was given to me by the Royal poet laureate

Louise: There are bite marks in it

Mark: ignore that

Anni walks back in with some bottles of water.

Mark: Well?

Anni: What?

Mark: I thought you were going to sneak into the meeting.

Anni: I went to get water,

Mark: I NEED INFORMATION!

He looks timidly at Louise

Mark: Sorry.                                                      

End scene

David and Elizabeth are in a meeting with a network Mr Hartwell, who is sat across the table from him.

Elizabeth: I’m telling you now it’s a dream sell.

David: We can have the pilot filmed in a few months. Leak out a few reals.

Elizabeth: And we can give you full press coverage. Let you run the table on trailers.

Mr Hartwell taps at the table and looks between them

Mr Hartwell: I can’t say I’m not intrigued, I am a big fan of the book and it has been dying for an adaptation.

David: And what a better adaptation than having the author himself working on it. I can tell you now, the feeling behind the project it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before.

Mr Hartwell: You have to understand my concerns though.

David: We understand them

Elizabeth looks around then pulls her attention back onto the Mr Hartwell.

Elizabeth: Actually I don’t. This is a once in a lifetime show. You’ve got Mark Wilson working on adapting his bestselling novel. That alone buys you huge viewing figures.

Mr Hartwell: But it won’t be Mark they will be seeing on their TV’s

David: We’ve seen Mark act, trust me you don’t want to see that.

Elizabeth: Forget about Mark for a second. Don’t believe everything you read in the paper, I’ve worked on a fair few shows and I’ve never seen a Director better than David here, and the production team are incredible.

Mr Hartwell: I appreciate that. I just need to make sure that my concerns are properly expressed.

David: Then list them and we will see what we can do.

End scene

Camera fades into Mark’s apartment he is on his laptop. Elizabeth walks in with a glass of wine.

Elizabeth: Is there any point me being here if you are going to be working all night

Mark sighs.

Mark: I thought you were watching the soaps on TV?

Elizabeth: Mark its ten o’clock

Mark looks at his watch in amazement. He quickly shuts the laptop.

Mark: Is it. I don’t know where the time goes.

He spins around to face Elizabeth

Elizabeth: Are you coming to watch something with me then?

Mark: yeah I just need to

Elizabeth: need to?

Mark: There is just one more thing.

Elizabeth: Your pissed at me?

Mark: No I’m not.

Elizabeth: Yes you are, you only ever act this distant when you are angry with me. I can’t believe it.

Mark: I wish you would get off my back about this scene.

Elizabeth: I thought we decided that we will leave work at work.

Mark grabs his laptop.

Mark: This is my work, look around you, all of this is my work.

Elizabeth: Then take a break and forget about it.

Mark: Why don’t you ever back me up? It seems like every time I make a decision; I have to go twelve rounds with you. I’m your boss.

Mark stops and looks down. Elizabeth wipes away a tear.

Elizabeth: And there I was, thinking I was your girlfriend.

Mark: I’m sorry, we shouldn’t do this now.

Elizabeth: No, I think we should. I argue with you Mark because you’re an amateur playing at being pro. You think you know everything and as soon as anyone else tells you otherwise you get defensive and threaten to quit. Does all this mean so little to you?

Mark: This means everything to me.

Elizabeth: Then start acting like it and for god sake act like I mean something to you as well.

Mark: Liz?

Elizabeth: leave it Mark, I’m tired I’m going up to bed.

Elizabeth walks off camera. Mark turns around slowly and opens his laptop. Slight pause as he looks at the screen. Suddenly he shuts it again and walks towards the bedroom, the camera follows him Elizabeth is in the bathroom running the tap. Mark walks in muted conversation and then they hug. Camera fades. End scene

David is at home on the phone.

David: No listen, we need to push forward *Pause* I don’t care how much it costs I’m not filming every scene inside a studio. *Pause* Listen just get the scouts out there.

David hangs up. A voice shouts from the kitchen in a raspy voice.

Abi: What was that about?

David: Hugo is worried about scouting locations. He’s afraid we won’t be able to afford multiple real-life sets.

Abi: if you film everything in a studio, everyone will be able to tell.

David: I know that, and you know that, even Hugo knows that but he is so worried about money.

Abi appears in the doorway.

Abi: Any luck with a network?

David: me and Elizabeth are sweetening the deal tomorrow.

Abi: You will get it sorted.

Abi disappears. David begins writing suddenly he can hear coughing coming from the kitchen. He stands up and runs into the kitchen. Abi is bent over the sink coughing profusely David quickly runs her a glass of water.

David: That’s its Abi.

Abi: *Gasping* I’m fine.

David: You are not fine, look at you. This isn’t a cold Abi. I’m booking you in for an appointment and I’m taking you myself.

Abi shakes her head.

Abi: No. You have your meeting tomorrow.

David: It can wait.

Abi: No, it can’t. I will make the appointment just to prove to you that it is just a cold.

David looks unsure.

David: Okay then. Let’s get you into bed, the dishes can wait.

End scene

Camera follows Mark as he walks upstairs and goes into David’s office . Elizabeth and David are waiting for him. David looks hard at Mark.

David: You look terrible.

Mark points at Elizabeth.

Mark: She keeps me up at night.

Elizabeth smiles.

David: That’s something I don’t need to know. But seriously kid, are you sleeping?

Elizabeth shakes her head.

Mark: Only when I get finished.

David: Maybe I should soften up your schedule.

Mark sits down.

Mark: We don’t have anyone else to do the work.

David: A discussion for another day I guess.

Mark: what’s the discussion for today?

Elizabeth: You are not going to like it.

Mark smiles coyly at her

Mark: If the press are involved then you’re probably right.

Awkward silence follows.

Mark: Someone start.

Elizabeth: We need to talk about the school scene.

Mark: this again?

David: She’s sold me

Elizabeth: We really need to consider altering it.

Mark: We alter it and we lose half our audience.

Elizabeth: I hardly believe that.

David puts his hand up.

David: Can it be done?

Mark: I’ve finished the scene and if I’m honest it’s the only one I’m truly happy with.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes.

Mark: If I’m going to change it, there should be a valid reason why.

Elizabeth: Because when it was in your book and that guy got killed in the store. Not that it was your fault.

Mark: Sounds like you’re saying it is.

David: hear her out.

Elizabeth: We don’t need a PR disaster. Let’s be honest we could be one day away from that with the actor you chose to cast. When details of the pilot leak, which you will want me to start doing soon, any wise news director will find footage from that day and run it all week long.

Mark: I’m sure they are done with that.

Elizabeth: You are a beloved genius. The press will never be done with trying to tear you down.

David: I’m not sure we want this negative press.

Mark: We need to ride it. Any negative press we get will be outweighed by the positive ones. If I stay on this project, then the scene stays.

David and Elizabeth look at eachother.

Elizabeth: If you have a press officer you should listen to them.

Mark: A press officer should be helping the show, not hindering it.

Elizabeth: Trust me that’s what I’m trying to do.

Mark: David listen. This show needs that scene. The people who want to see the show won’t care and those that don’t already hate it without us giving them a reason.

David nods.

David: You know your art.

Mark: Are we done?

He looks sadly at Elizabeth who turns her gaze away from him.

David: For now.

Mark: Great.

Mark stands up and leaves the room.
Elizabeth: That was a mistake.

David: I hope I’m not stepping onto anything personal?

Elizabeth: You’re not.

David: He is your boyfriend.

Elizabeth: Doesn’t mean I can get through to him. David trust me when I say this scene will cause trouble. I was paid to write about things just like this. Mark might pretend he’s shrugged all that stuff off from his first novel, but I think that might be the reason behind his stubbornness.

David: We will keep on him.

Elizabeth: good.David: Go take a break, I can tell you are pissed at him best not to take that home.

Elizabeth: Thank you.

Scene ends.

Mark is sat at his desk looking at his screen, with Hugo.

Mark: So we are happy about mixing in some humour?

Hugo: it’s a dark series, we need to add some levity

Mark: Perfect.

Anni walks in.

Anni: sorry but Sophie just sent a message over. David wants to talk to everyone in the atrium and Andrew is here.

Mark stands up.

Mark: Excellent. Hugo I will bring Andrew up with us.

scene changes, Andrew is stood in the main entrance looking around. Mark comes running down the hall.

Mark: Hey

They shake hands

Andrew: Nice offices

Mark: Yeah, not that you are going to see much of it, apart from maybe a few of the conference rooms for script reading.

Andrew: Right.

Beth walks passed Mark quickly points at her.

Mark: Beth.

Beth starts walking over and smiles at Andrew.

Mark: Andrew this is Beth, she’s going to be handling the casting.

Andrew: yeah we’ve worked together before

Beth: I started off on cooper street as well.

Mark: I did not know that

Beth: Actually Andrew, I have a list in my office of a few of our casting prospects, would you like to have a look?

Andrew: yeah sure, anything I can do to help

Beth walks off

Andrew: So going to give me the tour?

Mark: No time, David’s coming down to give us all a pep rally I think. Down here is the press area, you are going to want to avoid that. Upstairs is my office and the floor above that is where the producers meet.

From off screen.

Elizabeth: Mark, I need a statement.

Elizabeth appears but stops as she spots Andrew.

Elizabeth: Mr Johnson

Mark: This is Elizabeth, she’s heading our press office.

Andrew: Elizabeth, you wrote the article about me getting arrested?

Elizabeth looks mortified

Elizabeth: I’m sorry.

Andrew: Its fine you were doing your job.

Elizabeth: If you want we can spend an hour today, work out a statement and interview about how excited you are to work for the show.

Andrew: Sounds good.

Elizabeth turns back to Mark.

Elizabeth: I’m going to need that statement?

Mark: Yeah, Anni has it.

Elizabeth: You didn’t upset anyone in it did you?

Mark: Me never.

Elizabeth: I will see her after this. Any idea what David is going to say?

Mark: I’m sure it will be folksy wisdom.

Andrew: So you didn’t write his speech for him?

Mark: I offered but you know, he wants to do it himself.

Elizabeth shakes her head and walks off camera
Andrew: She’s cute.

Mark: Eyes off superstar.

Beth returns.

Beth: There you go.

Andrew: Cheers, I will have a look later

Mark: Here we go.

Entrance begins to fill with people. David stands on one of the steps. Camera will flick between characters as David speaks.

David: Well here we all are. For some of us this has been a long time coming, for others it is just your first day but we are all here for a common purpose, to create something brilliant that will enhance the lives of so many people, no more than those who work here. Those who have made mistakes or have felt lost or who have something more to give to the world. Today the works starts so, time to get to it.

Round of applause.

Mark: he should have let me write it.

Andrew: It lacked a little flair

Beth: Guess he’s a director for a reason.

They laugh and walk off together.

End scene

David is stood in his new office, when Sophie walks in.

Sophie: Is there anything else you need?

David: Yeah, can you let me know when Mark gets here.

Sophie: Will do.

Sophie goes to leave but stops as David speaks.

David: What else do I have today?

Sophie checks over her notes.

Sophie: Staff meeting at nine and then you are interviewing staff for the rest of the day.

David: I want time to sit down with Mark.

Sophie: You know that’s something you should probably tell me yesterday.

David: Will there be time?

Sophie: because I always plan your schedule for the next day.

David: You just want to control me.

Sophie: that is kind of my job.

David: And?

Sophie: I will find time.

Sophie leaves, she is followed in by Beth and Hugo.
David: Beth will you sit in with me during these interviews, I want to make sure I have another person to suffer with me.

Beth: No worries.

David: Hugo, Mark is going to be here later, I want you two to work together for the day, see if we can get the message synced.

Hugo: No problem, it will be a pleasure.

David: You ever spent five minutes with a genius? I’m telling you, it won’t be.

Sophie re-enters.

Sophie: Mark is here.

David: Excellent, tell Anni that I want to see him in here for a staff meeting.

Scene changes to Mark walking into the building. He looks around and then heads up the stairs into his office. Anni is waiting for him.
Mark: Now this is more like it Anni.

Mark grabs some sheets of paper and checks out his computer.

Mark: No more working out of my small apartment. Now I have a real office.

Anni: but I don’t

Mark: Why do you need an office?

Anni: The office next to yours is free.

Mark: That’s an office for screen writers

Anni: We don’t have any screen writers

Mark: Then someone else will use it.

Anni: I think I should have it

Mark rolls his eyes.

Mark: What do I have?

Anni: David wants to see you.

Mark: Okay brilliant, I need you to get me some research pieces on modern day military fire arms.

Anni: You got it.

Mark walks out of the office then quickly comes back in.

Mark: Where is David’s office?

Anni: The next floor up.

Mark: Thanks.

Camera follows Mark as he walks up the stairs towards David’s office.

Sophie: Hi Mark

Mark: Hi

Mark looks confused.

Sophie: I’m Sophie, David’s assistant.

Mark: Great. pleasure to meet you, do I just?

Mark points at the door.

Sophie: Just go in.

Mark walks into the office. David stops his conversation.

David: Hey kid.

Mark: I like your office, I mean this whole place is really nice.

Hugo walks towards Mark
Hugo: We are going to make some art with it

Mark: You must be Hugo

Hugo nods. Mark and Hugo shake hands.

Beth comes forward

David: This is Beth Powell she will be handling casting

Mark: Pleasure

Mark and Beth shake hands. Then Sarah comes closer.

David: Sarah here is our set designer, she’s going to be working out of the studio.

Sarah: I can’t wait to work with youMark: And you.

David points towards the large table.

David: Shall we?

They all go to sit down.

David: Mark, what are you working on today?

Mark: I’ve got two scenes to work through. Andrew is coming in later so I’m going to work some lines with him.

David: Show him around then work with Hugo, we need to sort out the tone of the show

Mark: You got it.

David: Okay what’s next?

End scene