Sample Script: HINGE: GODS AND MONSTERS PART 1

PAGE ONE:

A series of widescreen panels as we zoom in from the depths of space to a cafe bar in London.

PANEL 1:

A view of our galaxy in the void of intergalactic space.

CAPTION: THE UNIVERSE, SO I'M TOLD, IS BY DEFINITION INFINITE. AND WITHIN THAT MUST EXIST AN INFINITE NUMBER OF STARS AND PLANETS.

PANEL 2:

A side view of our solar system up to Jupiter (this need not be an entirely realistic interpretation, more symbolic).

CAPTION: AMONG THEM AN INFINITE NUMBER OF EARTHS, WITH EVERY POSSIBLE EVENT OCCURING NOT JUST ONCE BUT AN INFINITE NUMBER OF TIMES IN INFINITE VARIATION.

PANEL 3:

A spiral of multiple Earths fading away into the background, again not necessarily looking realistic.

CAPTION: WHERE A SWASTIKA FLIES ABOVE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, WHERE JFK SURVIVED AND WAS IMPEACHED, WHERE ENGLAND OCCASSIONALLY WINS THE WORLD CUP.

PANEL 4:

Zoom in on the outline of the UK.

CAPTION: YOU'VE GOT TO WONDER JUST HOW MUCH INFINITY ONE UNIVERSE CAN TAKE. I COULD EXPLAIN THE QUANTUM SINGULARITIES OR GRAVIMETRIC REASONANCES THAT SUPPORT THIS ‘THEORY'…

PANEL 5:

We zoom in to the south east of the UK, focusing on London.

CAPTION: EXPLAIN THE MECHANICS OF A WELL USED INTERDIMENSIONAL RIFT A MILE WIDE OVER THE ARTIC CIRCLE SINCE 1923. BUT YOU WOULDN'T CARE.

PANEL 6:

Birds eye view of London.

CAPTION: AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF YOU, BORED.

CAPTION2: AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF ME.

CAPTION3: WITH A GUN.

PANEL 7:

Zoom in further still to a road with a café bar. Taxis and people mill about as normal.

CAPTION: BLOWING SOMEONE'S HEAD APART.

CAPTION: IN ANOTHER WORLD, I MIGHT BE DISTURBED BY THIS.

PAGE TWO:

A load of square panels with different versions and views of Elliot Scott in a dishevelled suit, standing inside the café in front of Giles Harrison in civvies, indeed blowing his head apart at point blank range. Around them the customers turn to see what the noise is. The waitress spills a pot of tea. The two grandkids, both aged 6, are eating huge sundaes with their grandfather Harrison. The point of this page is to show the options open to Scott as the bullet is fired. He can miss, it might be empty, he might be pointing a banana at him. The amount of panels and views I'll leave up to you, although leave three or four plain black panels for the below:

TITLES AND CREDITS:

HINGE- THE OTHER TIGER

STORY BY BARRY RENSHAW (WITH THANKS TO SCOTT CLARINGOLD), ART BY NATHAN WEBB.

PAGE 3:

PANEL 1:

A clearer establishing shot of the scene. Harrison's head explodes like a melon smashed against concrete. The skull fragments and brain matter splatter out, but hang still in mid air, frozen. Bullet time. Through the entry and exit wounds, we see another man, Ben Floyd, ciggie in mouth looking through.

BEN: HAVE YOU DECIDED YET?

ELLIOT: DECIDED WHAT?

PANEL 2:

Everything is frozen besides Ben and Elliot. Ben walks over to the waitress. The full extent of the wound can be seen in all its gory detail.

BEN: IF YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM.

ELLIOT: THE BACK OF HIS HEAD IS MISSING, BEN. I'D SAY THAT'S FAIRLY CONCLUSIVE.

PANEL 3:

Ben waves his hand in front of the waitress where Scott stands, still arm outstretched, the smoke still frozen from the barrel, the air distortion ringlets still expanding, the bullet still on its journey out of the victims head. Scott looks at his victim with venom.

BEN: C'MON ELLIOT, MATE. YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT. YOU CAN JUST SLIP BACK A FEW SECONDS AND SHOOT HIM IN THE BOLLOCKS IF YOU WANTED TOO. I THOUGHT YOU WANTED HIM TO SUFFER?

ELLIOT: I DO.

PANEL 4:

Ben looks at Elliot with a raised eyebrow, and sucks deep on his ciggie.

BEN: A BULLET IN THE HEAD SEEMS A BIT QUICK FOR MY TASTE, BUT HEY, YOU'RE THE BOSS.

ELLIOT: I STILL DON'T GET IT. HOW IT CAME TO THIS. I THOUGHT I COULD TRUST THE BASTARD…

BEN: WELL, THERE YOU GO.

PANEL 5:

Ben smirks. He starts to poke the mans brain with the ciggie.

BEN: PUT IT THIS WAY. SINCE YOU'VE LITERALLY GOT ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, OR AT LEAST TILL HALF THREE THIS AFTERNOON WHEN THE BOMB HITS, HAVE A THINK.

PANEL 6:

Ben fades into the Bleed.

BEN: I'LL BE NEXT DOOR IF YOU WANT US.

BEN (TAILESS BALLON): I'LL LEAVE YOU TO IT.

PANEL 7:

Close up of distraught Elliot Scott.

PAGE FOUR:

PANEL 1:

Establishing shot of the UC building, tall glass and steel skyscraper in the centre of London.

CAPTION: THE UCHRONIAN COMMISSION, LONDON OFFICE, EARTH PRIME. 9.45AM MONDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2002.

PANEL 2:

Inside the main conference room. Scott is given a crash course in alternate quantum mechanics. Sitting in a chair at a long curved desk with pen and paper, he watches the large screen as a prof reads out the current mission, while another prof stands to his side. The room is pitch black other than the light from the screen. A few other indiscernible figures sit at the table. Scott longs slightly younger and less haggard in this timeframe.

PROF: … POINT OF DIVERGENCE 1940. The British Expeditionary Force was captured at Dunkirk, and the Nazis invaded England in September OF THAT YEAR. THE ROYAL FAMILY RUN TO CANADA. CHURCHILL IS KILLED IN ACTION.

PANEL 2:

The image on the screen changes to a postcard view of Big Ben and a SS soldier outside it, looking very Aryan.

PROF: DESPITE CONTINUED RESISTANCE FROM THE NORTH OF THE COUNTRY, HITLER INSTALLS A PUPPET GOVERNMENT MADE UP OF FASCIST POLITICIANS AND COLLABORATORS, WHIlst DIVERTING THE WAR EFFORT TO THE RUSSIAN FRONT . BY 1946, RUSSIA AND GREATER GERMANIA SIGN PEACE TREATIES.

PANEL 3:

The scene changes, an aged Hitler and Kennedy Senior shake hands cordially with the twin flags behind them in a press conference.

PROF: SINCE 1965, AT THE END OF THE COLD WAR WITH AMERICA, TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WERE OPENED UP WITH CHANCELLOR HITLER AND PRESIDENT KENNEDY, AND SOON AFTER, WITH US.

PANEL 4:

Scott leans forward onto the desk, unbelieving what his eyes have seen.

ELLIOT: YOU'RE SAYING THAT FOR THE LAST FIFTY YEARS, WE'VE BEEN TRADING WITH ADOLF HITLER? WITH NAZIS? THE SAME NAZIS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONCENTRATION CAMPS, THE FINAL SOLUTION…

PROF: YES. YOUR POINT?

ELLIOT: YOU'VE GOT TO BE FUCKING JOKING.

PANEL 5:

Behind Scott Harrison (head intact) enters the room.

HARRISON: NOT AT ALL, MR SCOTT. THE TRADE TREATIES SAFEGUARD US. BUT THAT'S WHY WE HAVE AGENTS IN EVERY PARALLEL, INCLUDING THIS ONE. WE GET THEIR ADVANCED GENETIC TECHNOLOGY AND ASTRONAUTICS; THEY GET PENTIUM THREE COMPUTERS AND PLAYSTATIONS. YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY HIGH RANKING SS OFFICERS ARE INTO EMINEM.

PANEL 6:

Scott jumps up.

ELLIOT: I DON'T BELIEVE FOR A SECOND ALL THIS PARALLEL WORLD SHITE, HARRISON.

HARRISON: YOU'VE BEEN IN OUR EMPLOYMENT FOR THREE MONTHS. YOU'VE SEEN THE EVIDENCE WITH YOUR OWN EYES. THE NEWSREELS, THE ARTIFACTS, THE TECHNOLOGY…

ELLIOT: PHOTOGRAPHS CAN BE FAKED. FILMS CAN BE EDITED. YOU RUN A COMPUTER GAMES COMPANY. THAT'S A TEN-MINUTE JOB FOR YOU PEOPLE.

PANEL 7: Harrison smiles.

PAGE FIVE:

PANEL 1:

They leave the conference room.

HARRISON: FOLLOW ME.

ELLIOT: THIS HAD BETTER BE THE WAY OUT.

PANEL 2:

The two Profs look at each other in a worried fashion.

PANEL 3:

They dart out after them.

PANEL 4:

Scott is letting his frustrations and concerns rip at Harrison as they continue down the corridor.

SCOTT: SO IT FINALLY ALL COMES OUT? IS THIS SOME FRONT FOR A RIGHT WING ACTION GROUP? USE GAMES TO BRAINWASH KIDS INTO THINKING BEING A NAZI IS A GOOD CAREER CHOICE?

HARRISON: SKEPTICAL. I LIKE THAT.

PANEL 5:

They come to a large door as he keys in the access code. The two Profs run after them.

HARRISON: THAT VERSION OF GREATER GERMANIA IS PARALLEL 1589, ELLIOT. AS ITS DESIGNATION INDICATES, THERE ARE MANY MORE WORLDS WHICH ARE JUST AS DISTASTEFUL. SOME EVEN MORE SO. THEY PROVIDE THE INSPIRATION FOR MANY OF OUR TOP SELLING GAMES. BUT YOU'LL GET USED TO IT.

PROF1: -ER, SIR? DOCTOR HARRISON?

PANEL 6:

View from in front of Scott as we see his reaction to what lies off panel. The Profs catch up with them.

ELLIOT: OH, I DOUBT THAT.

PROF 2: SIR, WE REALLY DON'T THINK MR SCOTT'S TRAINING IS COMPLETE YET…

PAGE SIX:

PANEL 1:

Large panel. Elliot stands in awe as Harrison walk down a gantry in a large chamber, all beyond state of the art, where computer screens and their operators dominate the walls, while a holographic display (much like the ones seen in STAR WARS or in JUDGE DREDD, in the council chambers) dominates the centre in a complex geometric pattern (see notes and ref). A group of people point to a highlighted point that has a string of numbers next to it. One of the men is dressed in ‘costume' as it were, for his mission to the Reich-world.

PROF 1: SIR, I REALLY MUST PROTEST. ITS ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF HIS COURSE. WE HAVEN'T TESTED HIM FOR TEMPORAL NARCOSIS YET-

HARRISON: I AM FULLY CONFIDENT IN MR SCOTT'S ABILITIES IN THIS MATTER, GENTLEMEN. THAT WILL BE ALL.

PANEL 2:

Harrison greets the costumed man, Adrian Frankes, 40's, tall, thin, blond, dressed in a black overcoat with grey suit and tie. Elliot has followed him down the stairs.

FRANKES: DOCTOR, COME TO WISH ME LUCK?

HARRISON: SLIGHT CHANGE OF PLAN, ADRIAN. YOU'LL BE TAKING AN OBSERVER ON THIS TRIP. SHOW HIM THE ROPES, AS IT WERE.

PANEL 3:

Frankes expression changes instantly from friendly respect to concern. Harrison walks to the display.

FRANKES: SIR WITH RESPECT, THIS MISSION HAS BEEN PLANNED FOR NEARLY A YEAR. WE ARE AT A DELICATE STAGE IN OUR NEGOTIATIONS.

HARRISON: EXACTLY. WHAT BETTER WAY TO INTRODUCE OUR NEWEST AGENT TO HIS FUTURE CAREER? I CAN THINK OF NO BETTER TEACHER.

FRANKES: BUT SIR, HAS HE BEEN BRIEFED? IS HE PREPARED FOR THE TRIP?

PANEL 4:

Harrison walks round the edge of the large display, admiring it. He smiles.

HARRISON: OH, HE IS QUITE PREPARED. BESIDES, HE HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO, ISN'T THAT SO, ELLIOT? CONSIDER IT ON THE JOB TRAINING.

PANEL 5:

Elliot shrugs his shoulders as Frankes looks at him accusingly.

ELLIOT: DON'T LOOK AT ME MATE. NO ONE MENTIONED THIS FOX MULDER SHITE.

FRANKES: HE MUST BE OUT OF HIS MIND.

PANEL 6:

Close up of Harrison, watching the hologram rotate.

HARRISON: THANK YOU, ADRIAN. I'LL TAKE THAT UNDER ADVISEMENT. MY HEARING HOWEVER IS FINE. YOUR PLANE LEAVES IN TWO HOURS FOR THE ARCTIC TRANSFER POINT, MR SCOTT. I'D SUGGEST DRESSING WARMLY, THEN COME SEE ME. BERLIN IS ALSO QUITE COLD THIS TIME OF YEAR.

PAGE SEVEN:

PANEL 1:

Harrison sits in his large, very modern office reading a report; a huge window behind him looks out from high over London. We see him from the doorway where Elliot stands in his overcoat.

HARRISON: GOOD, YOU'RE READY.

ELLIOT: THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

HARRISON: AS RIDICULOUS AS THREE MONTHS AGO WHEN YOU COULD BARELY STAND? WHEN YOU KEPT THROWING UP EVERYTIME YOU SAW A DOZEN DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SAME OBJECT SIMULTANEOUSLY?

PANEL 2:

Elliot walks towards him as Harrison stands.

ELLIOT: NOT QUITE. THE DRUGS STOP THAT. BUT I STILL DON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME.

HARRISON: WHICH PART?

ELLIOT: I'M NOT A BIG SCI-FI FAN, HARRISON. I DON'T GET THIS ALTERNATE UNIVERSE BOLLOCKS.

PANEL 3

Harrison meets him and puts his hands reassuringly on his shoulders.

HARRISON: WELL, THAT IS A SHAME. BUT WHAT CAN I DO TO CONVINCE YOU OF YOUR TALENTS WHEN YOU WON'T EVEN BELIEVE YOUR OWN EYES? WHEN YOU WON'T ACCEPT THE SCIENTIFIC REALITY THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVED TO YOU?

PANEL 4:

Harrison turns away from him, disappointed.

HARRISON: THE PARALLEL WE CALL ‘REICH-WORLD' WILL BE A RUDE AWAKENING FOR YOU ELLIOT, MAKE NO MISTAKE OF THAT. BUT YOU WILL SEE AND HEAR AND FEEL THE HORROR AROUND YOU. YOU WILL NOT DOUBT IT. THE U.C. HAS EXISTED FOR OVER 75 YEARS SPECIFICALLY TO KEEP THAT TYPE OF HORROR CONTAINED, AND AWAY FROM OUR WORLD.

HARRISON2: YOU WILL NOT DOUBT IT. YOU WILL NOT DOUBT WHAT THIS AGENCY MUST DO TO PROTECT OUR REALITY.

PANEL 5:

Harrison looks back, serious.

HARRISON: WHEN YOU TRAVEL THROUGH THAT RIFT IN THE ARCTIC, YOU WILL FINALLY BELIEVE WHAT YOUR EYES WILL TELL YOU. THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE… IS MADNESS.

PANEL 6:

Elliot looks down.

HARRISON: AND WE'VE ALREADY BEEN THERE, HAVEN'T WE?

PAGE EIGHT:

PANEL 1:

Close up of Elliot, wrapped up warm in a coat, and sound asleep.

FRANKES (O.P.) SCOTT! WAKE UP!

PANEL 2:

A hand roughly shakes Elliot awake.

FRANKES: SCHWUND! WAKE UP! WE'RE DESCENDING!

ELLIOT: ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT I'M AWAKE, JESUS.

PANEL 3:

Establishing shot, inside a small private jet. Frankes takes his seat again opposite Elliot. They are both in costume, their hats lie on the table between them.

FRANKES: NEVER KNOWN ANYONE TO SLEEP THROUGH A QUANTUM SHIFT BEFORE. MOST FIRST TIMERS ARE CHUCKING UP THEIR INSTESTINES RIGHT ABOUT NOW, EVEN WHEN THEY'RE PUMPED FULL OF DRUGS.

ELLIOT: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

PANEL 4:

Frankes plays with his hat as a smirk creeps across his face.

FRANKES: THIS IS MY SEVENTH TRIP AND I STILL PUKE. ONE MORE THEN I'M DONE, BEFORE THE NARCOSIS KICKS IN. NO MORE. MAYBE THE OLD BOY WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU. WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE, AGENT ELLIOT SCOTT.

ELLIOT: WHAT? WE'RE NOT IN AT THE NORTH POLE ANYMORE?

FRANKES: LOOK AT YOUR COLLAR, YOUNG AGENT.

PANEL 5:

Scott looks at it. A small Nazi party pin, a black swastika encircled by two thin bands.

FRANKES: THAT'S YOUR PASSPORT NOW. LOOK OUTSIDE.

FRANKES (JOINED): WHAT WAS IT HARRISON SAID TO ME ON MY FIRST MISSION?

PANEL 6:

Elliot looks out the window. Shock plays across his face.

FRANKES: “WELCOME TO A WORLD OF GODS AND MONSTERS”.

ELLIOT: I'M GONNA WAKE UP ANY MINUTE. HONEST.

PAGE NINE:

Splash page. The small private jet, white but marked with a swastika on its tail and registry numbers underneath, veers down to the capital of Greater Germania. Berlin in all its empty, neo-classical glory.

ELLIOT: ANY MINUTE NOW…

CAPTION: TO BE CONTINUED.