Summer Dress

By Alan Walter

Jun 24, 2014, 3:55:50 PM

Benjamin Reece, ben@thedeltree.com & Alan Walter, awalter@ihhotel.com

(CONT'D)

FADE IN:

EST INT. ROOM W/TYPEWRITER - DAY

WIDE SHOT- ALAN, sitting down at desk, at typewriter...

ALAN (V.O.)(soft but clearly)

There's a line in a movie--I can't recall its name--about a man who realizes he's fallen out of love.

CLOSE UP - Typed out on typewriter

ALAN (V.O.)The narrator of the story says, "And because he wanted to be in love, he decided to act like a man in love."

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM - DAY

MEDIUM SHOT- Cut in linens being spread out, flowing

ALAN (V.O.)This to me is a great description of how rituals work.

CUT TO:

INT./EXT. CAR - DAY

MEDIUM SHOT- CHER smelling a sweet olive

ALAN (V.O.)Strange and amazing how a specific set of actions can restore meaning to our lives when the ordinary course of things is not quite enough.

MEDIUM SHOT- Hair flowing out the side ALAN’s car, leaning out, smiling

!!

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ALAN (V.O.)Once upon a time the queen of my nights was a redheaded sculptress from Ocean Springs named Cher Fox, who wielded a blowtorch like Picasso held a brush

WIDE SHOT- CHER pulls up in car

ALAN (V.O.)We met when she drove up next to me, tresses like flames from an F-15 afterburner, in a jet black '71 Barracuda with Cragar rims: done and done.

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM - DAY

WIDE SHOT- from behind, again, face not shown

ALAN (V.O.)The day came when we were in need of a reheat, and It dawned on me I hadn't asked Cher on a proper date in a while.

CUT TO:

INT./EXT. CAR - DAY

CLOSE UP- Keys in ignition

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM - DAY

CLOSE UP/CRANE DOWN-

She slips on dress slowly-closeup- crane down thigh,

ALAN (V.O.)I told her to put something nice on and I'd take her out on the town.

CLOSE UP- Sweat down her temple

ALAN (V.O.)So on a hot summer night in July with every window down and a quarter moon in the corner of my windshield

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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(CONT'D)

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CUT TO:

INT./EXT. CAR - DAY

TWO SHOT, FROM BEHIND- Map is held up

ALAN (V.O.)I proudly showed her a map I'd marked with about a dozen X's--every Circle K convenience store for miles.

WIDE SHOT- with woman in foreground, concealing allan, dim lit gas station, (reference in the movie “prisoners” 25mm from 40 feet out, low)

ALAN (V.O.)We hit them all, trying on visor caps and sunglasses, critiquing koozies and buying "best of so-and-so cassettes.

MEDIUM SHOT- Woman laughing, smiling, finally enchanted, directly at camera 50mm, wide aperture

ALAN (V.O.)We laughed a lot that night and the kisses flew like sparks from the curb feelers on a '79 Towncar trying to beat closing time at the drive thru.

AERIAL SHOT- Car moving through swamplands

ALAN (V.O.)Cher and I used to drive west in the Bonneville across the river on backroads looking for a break in the sugarcane where we could pull off and park.

WIDE SHOT- Looking, talking, dusk silhouette

ALAN (V.O.)We'd sit on the hood looking at the refineries in the distance that, hauntingly, resemble cities on fire.

MEDIUM SHOT- Flickers of orange light dancing on Cher’s darkened cheek

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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(CONT'D)

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ALAN (V.O.)One of these summer nights sitting there with her on the hood, both of us quiet, our eyes on a horizon of flames, we both knew our story was about to end.

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM W/ TYPEWRITER - DAY

MEDIUM SHOT- Back to typewriter room, side shot, not reveling face, focusing on keyboard 35mm

ALAN (V.O.)Cher's not around, and the Barracuda, her incredible collection of vintage dresses and most of the beautiful art she ever made, was swept into the Gulf when the Storm came.

CLOSE UP- finger typing, the ring

ALAN (V.O.)But I still wear a ring she made from a long-exposure photo she took of these glowing refineries.

EXTREME C/U- The photo, slow pan in, gets submerged in water

ALAN (V.O.)There is a red strip across the bottom of the ring--those were taillights flying by.

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM - DAY

WIDE SHOT- There is a fan spinning

ALAN (V.O.)So you're discussing the seasons with a resident of New Orleans; the conversation bounces along merrily and then you get to...summer.

CLOSEUP- Seersucker, white linen in the room

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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(CONT'D)

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ALAN (V.O.)Not that summer's dreaded--just met with a certain ambivalence: celebrated and suffered, mother of maypoles and monsters, music on the water and mad hurricanes out of the blue.

MACRO- Shot of ice the cocktail, sweating

ALAN (V.O.)Whether it's the heat or the humidity, by the 33rd of August summer is the houseguest who came for a week or two and just won't leave town.

CLOSE UP- Hand picks up cocktail

WIDE SHOT- Push shot into house

ALAN (V.O.) (V.O.)Summer Dress, historically, was the things one did to ready home and person for the season,

C/U LOW- rug rolled up

ALAN (V.O.) (V.O.)Heavy rugs were rolled up, curtains came down,

MACRO- The switch

ALAN (V.O.)ceiling fans reversed direction,

WIDE SLOW MOTION- linens flowing

ALAN (V.O.)massive upholstery shed hundreds of pounds magically by the addition of slipcovers, and seersucker appeared as if by genetic guidance.

PUSH TO/WIDE- ALAN making a drink

ALAN (V.O.)A cocktail recipe tailored to Summer Dress would require equal parts memory and desire.

MACRO/QUICK- the whisky being pulled out, poured

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ALAN (V.O.)I ran into a French whiskey that was truly out of the box, aged in cognac barrels (of course)

C/U SLOW MOTION- CHER's face/lips here, maybe on the whisky, slow motion

ALAN (V.O.)seductively feminine and light, sweet and expressive, called (of course) Brenne.

CUT TO:

INT./EXT CAR - DAY

C/U- Back to a blooming sweet olive, maybe integrate CHER here again

ALAN (V.O.)From Ligustrum which blooms fitfully along our avenues through the summer, especially after hard rain, I made an aromatic infusion.

MACRO- Bamboo cut, fast, rolled out on table, macro shot

ALAN (V.O.)And from bamboo, that despised yet handsome predator of backyard real-estate, an ethereal, concentrated tea.

MACRO- Bees, quick, Honey pouring

ALAN (V.O.)Finally, I added Marrero beekeeper Gina Lanier's stunning honey--the memory-driven, winter version--to sweeten the deal. I aimed both high and low, for a drink that might show up post-dinner among affectionate neighbors, perhaps drive the conversation to another level.

CUT TO:

INT. ROOM - DAY

WIDE SHOT- ALAN's “prep space”, setting space

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ALAN (V.O.)Cocktails are rituals in themselves, grace notes on the symphony of life, birth, and death.

MEDIUM SHOT- A woman sits down

ALAN (V.O.)Here in New Orleans they surface like buoys where currents run the deepest.

MEDIUM SHOT- ALAN finishes the cocktail, pouring last into cup

ALAN (V.O.)The intention matters way more than what's held in the hand; the night we went Circle K'ing,

WIDE SHOT- Follow shot of the drink, towards the woman

ALAN (V.O.)Cher and I toasted with His 'n' Her Gatorades, and the ceremony was just as binding as if twin Sazeracs were present. But cocktails traffic in essences and speak of things that are not otherwise expressed in a toast--a tall order for Gatorade.

MEDIUM TO CLOSE UP- As toast comes near, right as contact is made...

CUT TO:

INT./EXT CAR - DAY

WIDE SHOT- Gatorade toast between ALAN/CHER

ALAN (V.O.)Looking back, Cher and I shoulda gave up our lowdown ways--and headed for the chapel.

FADE TO:

THE END

!!!!!!!

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