{"id":610,"date":"2009-03-01T19:55:18","date_gmt":"2009-03-02T02:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wwwold.sketchwar.org\/?p=610"},"modified":"2009-03-01T19:55:18","modified_gmt":"2009-03-02T02:55:18","slug":"wouldnt-it-be-better-if","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/?p=610","title":{"rendered":"Wouldn&#8217;t It Be Better If&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was happy to see this week&#8217;s topic, because we actually discussed this during the election&#8230;and I&#8217;ve been hoping to find a way to get it out of my system&#8230;.I bring you&#8230;and alternative to biparisan crapplola!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wouldn&#8217;t It Be Better If?<\/strong><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"fountain\">\n<p class=\"sceneheader\">INT. STUDIO &#8211; NIGHT<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">SEYMOUR &#8211; late forties, wearing a long sleeved T-shirt and jeans, sneers at the stage. Beside him SELENA, late forties, still pretty in a rumpled, confused way, waves at the camera, and MIKEY &#8211; forties, grinning and heavyset, wearing brightly colored clothing, sits and grins inanely. One the stage, BRYAN OCEANCREST &#8211; late thirties, well-groomed and charismatic waves a microphone at a packed house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">And here are your judges. Cynical, curmudgeon from across the big puddle, proponent of bad clothing and himself, SEYMOUR TROWEL.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">SEYMOUR tries a smile that fails and waves his fingers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">SELENA ACHMED, recording star, dog lover, and prime supporter of half a dozen brands of alcoholic magic.<\/p>\n<p>SELENA smiles brightly and does an impropmtu dance, hands waving over her head.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">And MIKEY HACKSON &#8211; producer, star-maker, DOGG lover.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">MIKEY woofs like a dog and gives BRYAN a peace symbol.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Tonight, on this stage, we&#8217;ll be making history. Last night you heard them, and tonight&#46;&#46;&#46;America has voted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">MUSIC rises from (O.S.) the lights whirl around BRYAN as he turns to gesture at the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Here they are, your top four contestants. They come from all walks of life, rich, poor, intelligent, and not so much. They represent your hopes and dreams, and they share a single dream. They want to lead you, and all the free world. Tonight we&#8217;ll decide. THIS&#46;&#46;&#46;is PRESIDENTIAL IDOL!<\/p>\n<p class=\"transition\">CUT TO:<\/p>\n<p class=\"sceneheader\">INT STAGE &#8211; CONTINUOUS<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">FOUR STOOLS rise from the floor of the stage. Three of them are filled. BRYAN stares at them for a moment. In one STAN BALDMAN &#8211; forties, shaved head and clutching a briefcase. The second holds YVONNE TRUMPSTEIN &#8211; late thirties, slender,beautiful and shimmering with designer sequins and diamonds. The third stool is filled by a BRADLEY WEBSTER &#8211; mid 30s, Long hair and thick glasses. He wears a GO GREEN T-shirt. The last stool is empty. From (O.S.) a man in a suit with a headset on steps onto the stage. He leans in, whispers something to Bryan, hands him a note and steps back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Well now, here&#8217;s a bit of sad news for IDOL fans out there. Candidate DENISE RODMAN DENTON has been disqualified. She didn&#8217;t fully disclose the nature of her relationship to former world leader BILLY BOB CARTIER &#8211; seems it&#8217;s actually RODMAN-DENTON-CARTIER. And so&#46;&#46;&#46;we&#8217;re down to three. Without further ado. STAN BALDMAN, center stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">STAN slips off his stool and stumbles to the middle of the stage, still clutching his briefcase. He stops in the spotlight beside BRYAN.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Last night, you said, &#8220;The country is in economic crisis. I&#8217;ve paid my taxes all my life, balanced my checkbook, and run a successful accounting firm. I can balance the budget, and I have NEVER slept with an intern.&#8221; SEYMOUR said, you&#8217;re a naive little puppy dog with no concept of &#8220;big&#8221; business. SELENA didn&#8217;t like your suit. MIKEY thought you were &#8220;Old skool in da house, dogg.&#8221; America has voted. (O.S. drums roll) And I&#8217;m sorry to say, you will not be one of our top two..<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">STAN shuffles his feet and glances at the floor. Then he looks up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">STAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Should I do my speech again? I mean, do they want to hear that fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">That&#8217;s okay man. Really. It&#8217;s got to be a thrill to make it this far.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">STAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">I&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Well said&#46;&#46;&#46;please have a seat. YVONNE, BRADLEY, come on down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">YVONNE flounces off her stool and dances her way to center stage where she attempts to hip bump RYAN &#8211; who sidesteps and nearly sends her flying. BRADLEY steps onto the stage, running his hand back through his hair and staring up into the lights as if fascinated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">YVONNE &#8211; you told everyone you&#8217;d throw extravagant parties, sleep with any foreign leader who gave you a hard time, and paint the White House PINK for change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">YVONNE preens and vogues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">BRADLEY &#8211; your platform is based on the legalization of marijuana, socialized medicine, and free trade with several totalitarian states. You promised to change the national anthem to SMOKE ON THE WATER.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">BRADLEY grins, gives a peace sign to the audience and holds up a small red book. He pulls round Lennon sunglasses from his breast pocket and slips them on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">America&#46;&#46;&#46;has voted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">BRADLEY and YVONNE turn to smile and wave into the cameras. Both are already celebrating their assumed victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">After nearly 20,000,000 votes, the verdict is in&#46;&#46;&#46;and our new PRESIDENTIAL IDOL IS&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">SEYMOUR<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Just get on with it, will you?<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">The new leader of the free world is&#46;&#46;&#46; SEYMOUR TROWEL!<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">BRADLEY and YVONNE turn to stare at BRYAN, who shrugs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"character\">BRYAN (CONT&#8217;D)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dialogue\">Let&#8217;s face it. You two are morons, and the one thing certain about this show is&#46;&#46;&#46;they only watch for SEYMOUR.<\/p>\n<p class=\"action\">The National Anthem begins playing, and BRADLEY and YVONNE are escorted off stage. News photographers and reporters swarm the stage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"transition\">FADE TO BLACK:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was happy to see this week&#8217;s topic, because we actually discussed this during the election&#8230;and I&#8217;ve been hoping to find a way to get it out of my system&#8230;.I bring you&#8230;and alternative to biparisan crapplola! Wouldn&#8217;t It Be Better If?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sketches","tag-game-show"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610","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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sketchwar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}