Here’s my take on the “Birthdays” edition of Sketchwar.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FADE IN:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
EXT. WAREHOUSE DOOR – DAY<\/p>\n
ROD (a cop out of an 80s action movie) runs up to the open front door of a warehouse, gun drawn, intense.<\/p>\n
He radios in.<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
I’m at the warehouse.<\/p>\n
RADIO (V.O.)<\/p>\n
Goddammit, Sergeant, wait for backup!<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
There’s no time! As soon as Jake gets here, we’re going in alone.<\/p>\n
JAKE (O.S.)<\/p>\n
Already here, partner. How are we doing this?<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
We’re going straight through the front do--<\/p>\n
Rod turns to see --<\/p>\n
JAKE, another cop, though a bit less fit and fashionable.<\/p>\n
Jake wears a shiny, colorful PARTY HAT.<\/p>\n
Rod stops short.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
It’s my birthday.<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
What?<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Ergo, I get to wear my special party hat.<\/p>\n
Jake enters the warehouse, gun drawn.<\/p>\n
Rod follows.<\/p>\n
INT. WAREHOUSE HALLWAY – CONTINUOUS<\/p>\n
Rod and Jake advance down a hall towards a doorway.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Did you even remember it’s my birthday?<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
Okay, I’ll go across the main floor. You cover me.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
No, I get to make the approach --<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
Jake --<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Look, when it’s your special day, you can do what you want. Nobody’s even sung me “Happy Birthday” today!<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
(singing)<\/p>\n
Happy birth-<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Oh, it’s not the same when you’re forced to, Rod.<\/p>\n
Jake darts out through the doorway.<\/p>\n
Rod scampers into place and covers him.<\/p>\n
INT. WAREHOUSE DOORWAY – LATER<\/p>\n
Jake approaches a doorway.<\/p>\n
We can hear a voice inside --<\/p>\n
CRIME BOSS (O.S.)<\/p>\n
And the mayor has only five minutes to deliver the ransom. After that? You all die!<\/p>\n
He continues to AD LIB in the background as Rod catches up.<\/p>\n
They converse quietly.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
I’m serious. No singing. No party.<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
Jake --<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
No presents.<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
Okay, I’ll get you something.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Would have killed you to knit me a glock cozy?<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
Let’s just bust in there and catch the bad guys.<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Oh. Oh, wait. I get it.<\/p>\n
(stage whisper)<\/p>\n
It’s a surprise party, isn’t it?<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
What?<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Okay, criminals! Here I come!<\/p>\n
CRIME BOSS (O.S.)<\/p>\n
What the --<\/p>\n
Jake kicks down the door, revealing --<\/p>\n
INT. HOSTAGE ROOM – CONTINUOUS<\/p>\n
A bunch of LOWLIFES, including the CRIME BOSS, stand guard over a few bound and gagged HOSTAGES.<\/p>\n
Jake and Rod burst in, guns drawn.<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
EVERYBODY FREEZE!<\/p>\n
JAKE<\/p>\n
Aw.<\/p>\n
One LOWLIFE WITH A PARTY HAT pokes his head up.<\/p>\n
LOWLIFE WITH A PARTY HAT<\/p>\n
I can go, right?<\/p>\n
ROD<\/p>\n
What?<\/p>\n
Jake nods.<\/p>\n
The lowlife with a party hat exits through a side door.<\/p>\n
The crime boss grudgingly starts singing “Happy Birthday.”<\/p>\n
FADE OUT.<\/p>\n
Over black, the singing continues.<\/p>\n
The other lowlifes grudgingly start singing along.<\/p>\n
JAKE (V. O.)<\/p>\n
Aw, thanks, guys! Let’s go to jail!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Peter’s take on the “Birthdays” edition of Sketchwar: “Party Hat”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[245],"class_list":["post-1623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sketches","tag-birthdays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1623"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1625,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623\/revisions\/1625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}