The Short Script
Title: Mission Interview
The Idea: 28 year old Clarrissa wants a change of career to be closer to her fiancé. She applies to a major bank in New York City, and gets an interview. Swapping her army uniform for a professional looking pencil skirt and blouse, she should feel daunted by entering a stereotypical ‘mans world’ but with her ex military, ballsy attitude she just feels daunted by the skirt. On the day of her interview, Clarrissa unwillingly pulls on the professional and uncomfortable outfit, and makes her way to New York’s financial district; Wall Street. But unbeknown to her she faces a challenge that is a little more familiar to her than she would expect. Whilst in her interview Clarrissa hears gun shots and commotion outside the office that she and the employer are in. They soon discover that the bank is being help up and a robbery is taking place.
Character: Female, American, career driven, professional, ballsy, no nonsense, ex military, but wants a fresh career change in banking. Name- Clarrissa.
Structure:
First scene will be Clarrissa in her bedroom, there is a shot of a photograph of her in her army uniform on location, and then we see her putting on her new office type outfit and applying lipstick. (Max scene length 30 seconds)
The next scene would be her walking through New York, she could trip on her heels or be hitching up her skirt to show she is uncomfortable, and then she walks up the stairs to the bank in which she has an interview (Max 30 seconds)
Next scene would be 2 men in a van in an ally wearing balaclavas, holding empty sacks and guns, there should be some dialogue between them about what they are about to do. This would be the hook and the problem (TP1). (30 seconds)
Then cut to Clarrissa shaking hands with a suited man and following him into his office. (Max 10 seconds)
Sitting at the desk with her interviewer he asks her typical interview questions and she explains why she wants this job in a New York bank, coming from something so different. (20 seconds)
Then Clarrissa and bank manager hear gunshot and screaming. They hear a man saying “this is a holdup”. Clarrissa in her nature, says something like “oh god damn it, why today, stupid dumbass f***s” and she goes into the main part of the bank. (20 seconds)
Next scene the men have hold of an innocent woman and they are holding a gun to her head, they tell cashier to hand over the money or they will kill her. The woman is hysterical and is begging for them to let her go, one says “b**** will you shut up”
Next, Clarrissa confronts the men and tells them to let the woman go. The men are amused by Clarrissa’s confrontation and laugh her off. (30 seconds)
TP2– The woman that the men have held captive exclaims that she is going into labour. (10 seconds)
Point of no return: Clarrissa pulls off her high heels and earrings. (5-10seconds)
The next scene shows Clarrissa holding up the heel of her shoe to one of the men and repeats “let her go”. She then fights the one not holding the woman of them off and knocks him out. She again tells man 2 to let the woman go, he then turns the gun on her and the other woman drops to the floor. (30-40 seconds)
The man holding the gun gets Clarissa backed up against a wall and pushes the gun to her head, there is a lot of struggling, a close up of his finger on the trigger going further down, it looks as though she is about to die, but in the last second she kicks him in his private area and the gun shot goes off into the air. She wrestles the gun from him and then holds him captive on the floor. (Final Climax, 1 minute)
Breathing space
She then gives the gun to a very timid, skinny geeky little man and tells him to make sure he doesn’t move. This would be a comedic element to it, as this little geeky man has been given some power and he would say something like “yeah that’s right man, you stay there” but would be shaking still. (20 seconds)
The next scene would be of Clarrissa going to the aid of the woman in labour; she would also call the police and an ambulance for the woman.
The woman tells Clarrissa that it is too late for hospital and that the baby is coming now, so Clarrissa has to help her give birth.
The next scene would cut to Clarrissa holding the baby (actually showing the birth is unnecessary) she would be emotional and smiling. (20 seconds)
The experience of childbirth creates a huge effect on Clarrissa and is completing contrasting to the earlier scenes. Clarrissa seems softened and lightened by the experience. She has come on a journey from scary military woman, to prospective professional career woman, back to manly type behaviour and then by the end she has embraced the joys of womanhood.
Theme: Being a woman in a mans world.
