Hi All,
Due to outages from Hurricane Sandy, we will not be able to bring you THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN/Part 3. We will be back on Monday Nov. 5th.
Best
Patricia & Heywood
Monthly Archive for October, 2012
THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN
by
Jeanne Rosenberg
Part 2
INT. ROOMING HOUSE LATER THAT NIGHT
Natty sits cross legged on the lower edge of a bunk bed in a sad and tired room. Magazine pictures of flagpole sitters and marathon dancers and President Roosevelt are taped to the torn and faded wall paper. There are cracks in the paint on the ceiling and a yellow stain where the water line has leaked into the wall. There’s a broken chair in the corner and a sorry old dresser with the knobs missing.
Sol dabs a wet towel delicately at the swollen places on Natty’s face. She winces and grimaces but fights back the tears.
SOL
Want to talk about it?
Natty shrugs and stares down at the floor. He nods and leans back to examine her scrapes.
SOL
I think you’ll live.
He carries the towel to the sink and rinses it. The water pipes MOAN.
NATTY
Dad?…What’s a Commie?
SOL
Is that what you were fighting
about?
NATTY
Frankie says you’ll go to Russia
because you’re a Commie. Are you?
SOL
Going to Russia?
NATTY
You know what I mean. Are you?
Sol smiles.
SOL
When your Mom was a girl, she
marched the streets to get
the vote. She used to say a
person person wasn’t any good
at all if they wouldn’t stand
up for what they believed.
I’m no Red. I believe in
America. I’m just standing up
for it.
NATTY
You rea11y miss her, huh?
SOL
Becky? Yeah. Don’t you?
NATTY
I guess
SOL
She was a lot like you. Nothing
could get her down.
NATTY
Things would be different if she
was still here, huh?
SOL
Maybe.
NATTY
Are you sorry you got stuck with
me?
Sol looks at Natty, realizing nothing could be farther from the truth. She’s the only thing that keeps him going. He teases her.
SOL
Sorriest thing that ever
happened.
NATTY
Hey…
He tousles the top of her head jokingly and they laugh together, enjoying each other, until Natty remembers the right cross Frankie landed under her eye and she winces from the soreness. Sol continues laughing.
SOL
Next time don’t drop your left.
Natty nods and tries a smaller, less painful grin.
SOL
Did you practice?
NATTY
Come on Dad. I don’t have to…
SOL
Sure you do. Otherwise you’ll
feel real stupid when we have
picket fence and a cocker
spaniel that can play circles
around you.
Natty rolls her eyes in disbelief.
SOL
Now go on. And no back talk.
NATTY
Yes sir.
Natty climbs up to the top bunk and flops open a tattered piano book. Reluctantly she begins to move her fingers across the keyboard printed on the page, imitating a person practicing their scales.
Sol crawls into his own bunk on the bottom, reaches under the bed and pulls out his box of important papers. He searches under the documents and letters for his money stash…all 2 dollars and 15 cents of it.
He anxiously turns the money over in his hand, worry filling his face.
Natty stops her silent practicing and spies down on Sol. Without lifting his eyes, Sol catches her.
SOL
Keep practicing, young lady.
Natty’s rolls her eyes again and returns to her piano book, a smile on her face. You can just never put one over on Sol.
INT. ROOMING HOUSE LOBBY MORNING
Sol and Natty walk down the stairs of the St. Ritz Rooming House. The St. Ritz is a place of faded glory come on hard times. The walls are dark from years of neglect and the carpeting threadbare. There’s not much left of what it used to be.
SALLY WAND sits behind the reception desk and greets them as approach.
SALLY
Morning Sol
SOL
Sally.
Sally runs the place, more or less. Mostly she reads greasy magazines, listens to her radio and remembers the good old days. She’s a lot like the St. Ritz actually, a former beauty come on hard times, suffering from personal abuse and years of neglect.
She ritualistically hands Sol the classified section of the newspaper as he walks by the desk. He reads through it as he and Natty cross the lobby.
Sally calls after him.
SALLY
Hey Sol. Did ya hear about the
golfer? It come on the radio.
Lightning struck his metal
shoes. Killed him. Shocking,
huh?
Sally’s LAUGH comes up like a roar out of nowhere and seems to shake the walls. She repeats the punchline to herself and laughs even harder.
SALLY
Shocking…
Natty stares at Sally and grimaces. Sally catches Natty’s look of contempt, and her smile falls.
SALLY
Hey Sol, shouldn’t that kid be
in school?
SOL
It’s summertime Sally. No
school in summer.
SALLY
0h yeah. . .
Sol finishes the classifieds and drops the newspaper on the front table, the same as he does every day, then pushes through the door, Natty right behind him.
Sally watches them go and repeats the punch line of her joke, laughing again, amused at herself.
END PART 2
Monday, 11/29/ Part 3
A script analysis of her favorite childhood novel – written as a USC class assignment – led Jeanne Rosenberg to her first Hollywood writing assignment on The Black Stallion. Switching from documentary filmmaker to narrative screenwriter, Jeanne studied her craft while working as a script supervisor on numerous films before completing her first original screenplay, The Journey of Natty Gann. She has been writing as well as producing and directing ever since. In addition, Jeanne has taught graduate screenwriting at USC and National University.
THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN
by
Jeanne Rosenberg
CHICAGO 1935
INT MEETING HALL NIGHT
The meeting ha11 is over-filled 200 unemployed, blue-collar W0RKERS. Their angry SH0UTS bounce off the bare walls and reverberate through the room.
The MODERATOR BANGS a wooden gavel to restore order.
MODERATOR
Alright ! Alright ! Shut up for
a second, will ya? Sit down
Tommy!
There’s no response from the unruly crowd.. The moderator tracks the room with his eyes.
A door opens in back and the moderator’s face shows a slimmer of hope as he sees the new arrival. He calls out, pleadingly.
MODERATOR
Hey Sol! Sol! Get up here.
There’s a MURMUR from the crowd. Heads turn. They follow the Moderator’ gaze to SOL GANN, a rugged, square-built man with a tough exterior and an intense, calm manner.
Sol’s 13 year old daughter, NATTY GANN, gives him a shove from behind and launches him toward the podium. She beams with pride as she watches the crowd make way for him. She thinks he’s about the most handsome man in the world, better even than any of those movie stars. She even dresses like him in worn trousers, leather jacket and an old cap with a bill that she pinches between her fingers from time to time just like he does.
Natty is obviously a tom-boy…a street-urchin with a charming sparkle .
As Sol takes his place at the front, the room begins to quiet. He searches the faces of his fellow workers.
SOL
I talked to them. But there’s
nothing I can say you don’t
already know. They’ll pay 30
cents for day work. No more.
WORKER 1
30 cents won’t even pay the
rent!
WORKER 2
We ought to hang the bastards.
The crowd AGREES ANGRILY.
SOL
That won’t feed your kids.
Sol tracks the room with his eyes, probing the faces of his fel1ow workers. His stare slowly quiets them.
SOL
Times are hard, sure. But you
Can’t let it eat up your
insides.You’re honest people,
hard working. Stay proud of it.
Don’t let them beat you down,
make you give up being who you
are, make you feel small.
They’re trying to tell us we’re
not worth much, but that ain’t
true .
Natty begins to fidget. Adult talk gets pretty boring after a while even if it is So1 doing the talking. She signals to a friend.
NATTY
Pssst…Hey Louie…Pssst.
LOUIE, a boy Natty’s age, turns. Natty motions him to follow her. She signals to another boy, FRANKIE. The boys slip quietly from their places and follow her through the hall to the men’s room.
INT MEN’S ROOM NIGHT
Natty, Frankie and Louie crowd into one of the stalls and throw the latch on the door.
FRANKIE
Got it?
NATTY
Sure I got it.
FRANKIE
Let’s see.
Natty reaches deep in her pocket and proudly retrieves a crumpled cigarette butt.
LOUIE
Hey she got it.
NATTY
I said I would. (to Frankie) You
got the matches?
Frankie looks suddenly sheepish. He searches through all his pockets then shrugs.
FRANKIE
I forgot.
Natty flashes him a look of utter contempt.
NATTY
Figures.
Natty pushes deep into her own pocket and triumphantly pulls out a box of matches. She lights the cigarette and coughs as she inhales. She passes the butt to Louie who takes a puff and passes it to Frankie.
They turn slightly green around the edges as the cigarette passes between them again.
The outer bathroom door opens and they hear approaching FOOTSTEPS. Louie whispers to Natty who whispers back loudly.
LOUIE
Hold your ears.
NATTY
What?
LOUIE
Don”t listen.
NATTY
Don’t be dumb. I’ve heard a man
pee before.
Louie’s face goes red with embarrrassment as they HEAR pee hitting the urinal outside. He can’t look Natty in the eye. He seems to relax again as the FOOTSTEPS recede and the outer door opens. Snatches of Sol’s TALK drift in through the open door before it closes again.
SOL (VO)
If you’re working hard, you
ought to be paid for it. An
honest wage for honest work.
But the only way to get that is
by sticking together. Fighting
back. If we don’t fight back,
together, we fall. One by one.
LOUIE
Your Dad’s giving them hell.
NATTY
Yeah.
FRANKIE
My Dad says he’s a Red.
NATTY
Huh?
FRANKIE
Says they ought to ship him to
Russia cause he’s a Commie.
NATTY
He is not !
FRANKIE
My Dad says he is.
NATTY
Well your Dad’s as dumb as you
are.
FRANKIE
You calling my Dad dumb?
NATTY
You calling my Dad a Commie?
FRANKIE
Yeah! You want to make
Something of it?
Natty hauls back and strikes out, shoving her fist into Frankie’s belly with a pounding THUD. He fal1s backwards but gets up in an instant and leaps at Natty.
They roll out of the stall and across the floor scratching and hitting. Louie tries unsuccessfully to break up the fight.
LOUIE
Hey! Knock it off. Frankie!
Natty!
The NOISE of the struggle brings adults from the meeting room. They step into the middle of the fight and with some difficulty pull Natty and Frankie apart.
END PART 1
Monday, 11/22/ Part 2
A script analysis of her favorite childhood novel – written as a USC class assignment – led Jeanne Rosenberg to her first Hollywood writing assignment on The Black Stallion. Switching from documentary filmmaker to narrative screenwriter, Jeanne studied her craft while working as a script supervisor on numerous films before completing her first original screenplay, The Journey of Natty Gann. She has been writing as well as producing and directing ever since. In addition, Jeanne has taught graduate screenwriting at USC and National University.
Welcome back from a great summer!! Our next series will be MOVIES YOU HAVE SEEN starting with THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN by JEANNE ROSENBERG.
A script analysis of her favorite childhood novel – written as a USC class assignment – led Jeanne to her first Hollywood writing assignment on The Black Stallion. Switching from documentary filmmaker, LA BACKWATER: THE VENICE CANALS, NOWHERE TO RUN, to narrative screenwriter, Jeanne studied her craft while working as a script supervisor on numerous films, PIRAHNA, THE FOG, VICE SQUAD, before completing her first original screenplay, THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN. She has been writing, WHITE FANG, T-REX BACK TO THE CREATACEOUS, THE YOUNG BLACK STALLION, as well as producing and directing ever since. In addition, Jeanne has taught graduate screenwriting at USC and National University.
First installment Thursday, October 11, 2012
