Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Prince and the Mob

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               9/3/12

                                                          The Prince and the Mob.

    In the land of Petropoa, at a time when outlaws were considered heroes and it was considered okay to rebel against your own country, a wise king fathered a corrupt and horrible son. The son, the prince, would do anything to become king of Petropoa even if it meant getting help from the most violent and dangerous mob in all of Petropoa, the Hutersias.
    The Hutersias were known for their drastic and violent measures towards their enemies and their victims. They were much more ruthless than say the drug cartels in Mexico and Al-Qaida terrorists put together.

    Two months before the king’s 30th anniversary of ruling Petropoa, his son decided that he has waited too long for him to be king. He would do anything to get to the thrown instead of waiting for his father to either die of old age or if he chooses to no longer rule.
    In order to work with the Hutersias, the prince will promise to weaken the police force in certain areas so that the mob will have nothing to worry about. Once that happens, the prince plans to double cross them as a way of cutting out any loose ends.
    The plan is basically to have one of the Hutersias work as one of the king’s bodyguards and have him kill the king in his sleep and make it look like a suicide. Once the king is dead, the prince will inherit the throne and become the new king of Petropoa.

    A year has passed and the prince’s plan has gone well. The king has been killed and no one suspected murder instead of suicide, or if his son or the Hutersias were somehow involved.
    Having become the new king of Petropoa, the former prince was now the most powerful person in the land. He could do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him, which was not entirely true.
    The one problem he faces is that at any moment the Hutersias could reveal to everyone that he was behind his father’s murder. He of course had to make sure that never happens, otherwise his subjects would revolt and the former prince would be put in prison.

    Two months have passed and the former prince has successfully gotten rid of the Hutersias. By secretly giving tips to the police the Hutersias were wiped out in just a few months without anyone connecting the former prince to the mob or connecting him to the anonymous tips.
    The former prince was once again free from anything that could put him in prison, free to rule with an iron will. He was no longer bound by the fear of anyone learning about his secrets and revealing them to the people.
    Now that there was no evidence against him or to prove that he had any ties with the Hutersias the corrupt former prince was now free to rule as he wanted. He could do as he wanted and no one, not his people or the police, can stop him from doing it.

    Three years later the former prince has gone insane and mad with power, while also constantly fearing his secret might be revealed and everyone learning of his secret. The former prince now turned ruthless king would do anything to keep his secret hidden, even have random people picked from the streets who he believes know his secret and have them immediately executed.
    After so long of being ruled by a ruthless and despotic ruler with some kind of unknown grudge which he has against probably everyone ruled by him, the people of Petropoa decided that it was enough. Countless Petropoans formed a rebel group that was against the former prince’s despotic rule.
    The rebels quickly gathered more and more followers all without getting caught or having someone betray them to the authorities. Soon there were more people in the rebellion than there were who still supported the former prince.
    Eventually, the rebel group was successful at taking down several of the ruthless king’s military supporters. This was quite easy since there weren’t a lot of people left who actually supported the former prince.
    To the new king this was just a nuisance and a huge distraction that was going on that would soon end. He believed that it would soon be destroyed by his royal agents and anyone associated with the rebels will be put in prison for terrorism and betraying the kingdom.
    After destroying several of the military’s ammunitions and weapons storages the growing rebellion quickly moved closer towards the king’s palace. The next step was to somehow take over the palace and dethrone the former prince turned king.
    For the next two months, the rebel group planned how they would get into and take over the palace. Thanks to the help of a few of the guards who secretly sided with them, along with some of the king’s staff, they made the best plan that will help them take over and defeat the king.

    A few weeks have passed and the ruthless king has heard nothing that was related to the rebels. This made him both happy and worried since it either meant that they were gone or they were planning something big.
    As he was preparing to eat his dinner, all of a sudden he heard a loud explosion coming from outside. One of his loyal guards entered telling him that they were under attack by the rebel group. The guards outside were taken out quickly without killing any of the rebels before the rebels entered.
    The rebels quickly overtook the palace and defeated most of the guards still loyal to the king. With help from some of the king’s staff who sided with the rebels, they found secret passageways that the king would use in case of emergency.
    There were many passageways to chose from and many possibilities as to where the king went. The rebels split themselves into teams and each one went into the different passageways to find and defeat the corrupt king.

    The king, along with some still loyal guards, was in one passageway that took him to the harbor. In order to open a door that would take him to a secret underground cave that held the king’s emergency escape boat, the guards had to find the keys hidden under some of the rocks that were on the top of the door. One of the guards gave the king his gun in order to climb the door and find the key for them to escape.
    As the rebels were getting closer to the king, the former prince became more and more unstable from all that was going on. When they finally spotted the king and his guards the rebels called for them to surrender at once. One of the guards immediately got down from searching for the key and drew his gun at the rebels.
    The guard opened fired first without hesitation with the rebels firing back, especially after some of the underground lights were destroyed in the ensuing gunfight. As the one guard who was looking for the key was killed, the king grabbed his gun and realizing that he was outnumbered and would probably be captured and executed for his crimes he blindly fired at anything.
    The former prince killed his own guard and after a few shots, the rebels all fired back and killed the king. After no more shots were fired from the opposite side and they were able to find a light source, the rebels see what has happened. Now that the king was killed and his followers either captured or killed the rebels were now able to take over and form a new government for Petropoa. A government that’s fair, and free from any future corruption that would plague the older one.



End.

Friday, May 10, 2013

People Don't Care short story

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               5/8/11

                                                                 People Don’t Care.

    One fine day in Toronto, Canada, where there was no problem going on or anybody worrying about anything, a giant, fire-breathing mutant turtle rises from the ground and starts destroying the city. At the same time an alien army from another galaxy arrives in rectangular, blue spaceships and uses their weapons to melt everything they hit. Besides those two things something worse was happening: a poor, defenseless kitten was stuck in a very high tree.
    And if you thought it couldn’t get any worse for this great Canadian city, the largest in Canada by the way, think again. Street gangs are setting cars on fire, newsmen are mooning on live television, pigs are attempting to fly, more and more people are changing their names to James Cameron. In other words it was absolute chaos.
    While all this was going on, the citizens and people of Toronto, Canada did something surprising and hard to believe. They did not pay attention!
    They were literally not caring what was going on around them, all the chaos that was happening in the city. There was a man who was eating a bagel while the building in front of him was melting, a mailman driving in a road made of taffy, a woman not noticing that there is an army of bats flying behind her, and all sorts of people not even paying attention.
    Not even the local nut was perplexed by this and he was on fire, or the usual end of the world sign guy, he was warning people not to eat the tacos. The same thing was going on with the Canadian government, they were pretty much sleeping and playing poker and betting over how many more alien ships arrived.
    When the local news team and the media arrived at the scene of some strange things happening, you would think they’d be covering that. Well. One TV reporter is on the scene for a guy, who hit his toe on a fire hydrant and another is interviewing a woman about her success in breaking the record for the longest hair.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

The Best Picture winners

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                             3/15/12

                                                The Big Prize: Best Picture winners.

1st Academy Awards: 1927s Wings-the only all silent film to win Best Picture.

2nd Academy Awards: 1929s The Broadway Melody-first sound film to win Best Picture.

3rd Academy Awards: 1930s All Quiet on the Western Front-first film to win Best Picture and Best Director.

4th Academy Awards: 1931s Cimarron-first western to win Best Picture.

5th Academy Awards: 1932s Grand Hotel-only Best Picture film to not be nominated for other awards.

6th Academy Awards: 1933s Cavalcade-first FOX film to win Best Picture.

7th Academy Awards: 1934s It Happened One Night-first of only three films to win the top five Oscars of Best Picture, Director, Adapted or Original Screenplay, Actor, and Actress with the other films being One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Silence of the Lambs.

8th Academy Awards: 1935s Mutiny on the Bounty-last film to win Best Picture without winning for anything else.

9th Academy Awards: 1936s The Great Ziegfeld-first musical film to win an acting Oscar.

10th Academy Awards: 1937s The Life of Emile Zola-first Warner Bros. film to win Best Picture.

11th Academy Awards: 1938s You Can’t Take It with You-The first year a foreign language film, 1937 French The Grand Illusion, was nominated for Best Picture.

12th Academy Awards: 1939s Gone with the Wind-first color film to win Best Picture.

13th Academy Awards: 1940s Rebecca-first and only Hitchcock film to win Best Picture.

14th Academy Awards: 1941s How Green Was My Valley-modern film fans and critics think of this as an upset since it beat Citizen Kane.

15th Academy Awards: 1942s Mrs. Miniver-first film to ever have five acting Oscar nominations.

16th Academy Awards: 1942s Casablanca-last Best Picture winner to compete against nine other films before it came back in 2010.

17th Academy Awards: 1944s Going My Way-The only film to ever have one actor be nominated for both Best Leading and Supporting Actor for the same role.

18th Academy Awards: 1945s The Lost Weekend-one of the first films to use a theremin for its musical score.

19th Academy Awards: 1946s The Best Years of Our Lives-Harold Russell, who won a Best Supporting Actor and Honorary Award for bringing hope to WW2 veterans, is one of only two non-actors to win an acting Oscar and the only one to win two for the same role as a war veteran who lost both hands, which is what actually happened to Russell in World War Two.

20th Academy Awards: 1947s Gentleman’s Agreement-controversial at the time it was released, the House Un-American Activities Committee called many of those associated with the film to be called to testify.

21st Academy Awards: 1948s Hamlet-first British film to win Best Picture.

22nd Academy Awards: 1949s All the King’s Men-last year wherein all Best Picture nominations were in black and white.

23rd Academy Awards: 1950s All About Eve-only film to have four actress nominations, two for leading and two for supporting.

24th Academy Awards: 1951s An American in Paris-the first Best Picture film to give the Oscar to the producer instead of the studio.

25th Academy Awards: 1952s The Greatest Show on Earth-considered the worst film to ever win Best Picture.

26th Academy Awards: 1953s From Here to Eternity-so far the last Best Picture winner to be nominated in all four acting categories.

27th Academy Awards: 1954s On the Waterfront-Rear Window's Best Director nomination marks the only time Hitchcock was nominated for a film in color.

28th Academy Awards: 1955s Marty-first film based on a television production to be nominated and win Best Picture.

29th Academy Awards: 1956s Around the World in 80 Days-the first year in which all Best Picture nominees were in color.

30th Academy Awards: 1957s The Bridge on the River Kwai-first time a British director won a Best Director Oscar.

31st Academy Awards: 1958s Gigi-David Niven's Best Actor win marks the only time a host won.

32nd Academy Awards: 1959s Ben-Hur-tied with 1997s Titanic and the third Lord of the Rings with the most Oscars won with eleven.

33rd Academy Awards: 1960s The Apartment-the last all black-and-white film to win Best Picture until The Artist in 2012.

34th Academy Awards: 1961s West Side Story-the first film with two directors to win Best Picture.

35th Academy Awards: 1962s Lawrence of Arabia-the first of eight films in which actor Peter O’Toole is nominated and never wins.

36th Academy Awards: 1963s Tom Jones-the only film to ever have three of its actresses be nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

37th Academy Awards: 1964s My Fair Lady-the first year all four Acting wins were for non-Americans.

38th Academy Awards: 1965s The Sound of Music-the first Oscars broadcast in color.

39th Academy Awards: 1966s A Man for All Seasons-Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf's four acting nominations marks the first time all credited cast members were nominated.

40th Academy Awards: 1967s In the Heat of the Night-the first detective mystery to win Best Picture.

41st Academy Awards: 1968s Oliver!-first, and so far only, G-rated film to win Best Picture.

42nd Academy Awards: 1969s Midnight Cowboy-the only X-rated film to win Best Picture.

43rd Academy Awards: 1970s Patton-George C. Scott’s, who won Best Actor, was the first time someone refused to attend and accept their award.

44th Academy Awards: 1971s The French Connection-the first R-rated film to win Best Picture.

45th Academy Awards: 1972s The Godfather-Marlon Brando became the second refused to accept his second Oscar win because of how Hollywood and the government treated Native Americans.

46th Academy Awards: 1973s The Sting-the first film with a female producer to win an Oscar.

47th Academy Awards: 1974s The Godfather Part II-the first sequel to win Best Picture.

48th Academy Awards: 1975s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-George Burns's Best Supporting Actor win marks the last time an actor born in the 19th century would win an acting Oscar.

49th Academy Awards: 1976s Rocky-the first sports film to win Best Picture.

50th Academy Awards: 1977s Annie Hall-Woody Allen winning Best Director was the first time any director won it after starring in the film itself.

51st Academy Awards: 1978s The Deer Hunter-the first film dealing with the Vietnam War to win Best Picture.

52nd Academy Awards: 1979s Kramer vs. Kramer-Justin Henry's Best Supporting Actor nomination at 8 years old makes him the youngest nominee in any of the acting categories.

53rd Academy Awards: 1980s Ordinary People-Held a day after it was supposed to air due to Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination.

54th Academy Awards: 1981s Chariots of Fire-the first year that the Best Makeup category was awarded, in this case An American Werewolf in London.

55th Academy Awards: 1982s Gandhi-Ben Kingsley, being half-Indian, was the first South Asian to win Best Actor.

56th Academy Awards: 1983s Terms of Endearment-Linda Hunt's Best Supporting Actress win for The Year of Living Dangerously marks the first time an actor won for portraying the opposite sex.

57th Academy Awards: 1984s Amadeus-F. Murray Abraham is the first Arab descended actor to win Best Actor.

58th Academy Awards: 1985s Out of Africa-Kiss of the Spider Woman was the first independent film to be nominated for Best Picture.

59th Academy Awards: 1986s Platoon-Marlee Matlin's Best Actress win for Children of a Lesser God makes her the youngest in the category and the first deaf actor to win an Oscar.

60th Academy Awards: 1987s The Last Emperor-first film where the Chinese government allowed filming in the Forbidden City.

61st Academy Awards: 1988s Rain Man-the first year that the announcement of “and the Oscar goes to…” was told instead of “and the winner is…”

62nd Academy Awards: 1989s Driving Miss Daisy-the first and, so far, only off-Broadway play based film to win Best Picture.

63rd Academy Awards: 1990s Dances with Wolves-The Godfather, Part III's Best Picture nomination marks the first time a trilogy was nominated in the category.

64th Academy Awards: 1991s The Silence of the Lambs-the first horror film to win Best Picture.

65th Academy Awards: 1992s Unforgiven-the last western, so far, to win Best Picture.

66th Academy Awards: 1993s Schindler’s List-Holly Hunter and Emma Thompson being nominated for both Leading and Supporting Oscars marks the first, and so far, only time two actors were double nominated.

67th Academy Awards: 1994s Forrest Gump-Dianne Wiest became the first person to win a second acting Oscar from the same director as the first win.

68th Academy Awards: 1995s Braveheart-the last year, so far, in which all acting wins were for films not nominated for Best Picture.

69th Academy Awards: 1996s The English Patient-Frances McDormand's Best Actress win marks the first time any actor won an Oscar for a movie directed by their spouse.

70th Academy Awards: 1997s Titanic-the highest-grossing film to ever win Best Picture and the first to make over a billion dollars.

71st Academy Awards: 1998s Shakespeare in Love-Judi Dench's Supporting Actress win for Shakespeare in Love and Cate Blanchett's Leading nomination for Elizabeth marks the first time a pair of actors were nominated for portraying the same character in different films.

72nd Academy Awards: 1999s American Beauty-the first DreamWorks film to win Best Picture.

73rd Academy Awards: 2000s Gladiator-Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's nomination for Best Picture marks the first martial arts film to be nominated.

74th Academy Awards: 2001s A Beautiful Mind-the first year of the Best Animated Film category, given to Shrek.

75th Academy Awards: 2002s Chicago-at 29, Adrien Brody's Best Actor win for The Pianist makes him the youngest to win in the category.

76th Academy Awards: 2003s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King-the first fantasy film to win Best Picture.

77th Academy Awards: 2004s Million Dollar Baby-Eastwood’s win for Best Director at 74 made him the oldest director to win it.

78th Academy Awards: 2004s Crash-Ang Lee's Best Director win for Brokeback Mountain marks the first time a non-Caucasian won in the category.

79th Academy Awards: 2006s The Departed-the first remake of a foreign film to win Best Picture.

80th Academy Awards: 2007s No Country for Old Men-Javier Bardem’s Best Supporting Actor win marked the first time a Spanish actor won an Oscar.

81st Academy Awards: 2008s Slumdog Millionaire-Heath Ledger’s posthumous Best Supporting Oscar win for the Joker in The Dark Knight, was the first time any actor won an Oscar for a role in a comic book superhero film.

82nd Academy Awards: 2008s The Hurt Locker-the first Best Picture winning film to be directed by a woman.

83rd Academy Awards: 2010s The King’s Speech-the first Australian film to win Best Picture.

84th Academy Awards: 2011s The Artist-Christopher Plummer's Best Supporting Oscar win for Beginners at 82 makes him the oldest winner of any acting category.

85th Academy Awards: 2012s Argo-Seth MacFarlane is the first solo host to be nominated for a song.

86th Academy Awards: 2013s 12 Years A Slave-first film by a black director to win Best Picture.

87th Academy Awards: 2014s Birdman-first year since the expansion of Best Picture nominees in 2010 that all films nominated won an Oscar.

88th Academy Awards: 2015s Spotlight-Ex Machina winning for Best Visual Effects made it the least expensive film to win the award since 1979s Alien.

89th Academy Awards: 2016s Moonlight-Mahershala Ali's win for Best Supporting Actor marks the first win for a Muslim actor.

90th Academy Awards: 2017s The Shape of Water-With Icarus winning for Best Documentary Feature, Netflix has nabbed its first Oscar win.

91st Academy Awards: 2018s Green Book-Black Panther's Best Picture nomination marks the first comic book superhero film to be nominated in that category.

92nd Academy Awards: 2019s Parasite-The first foreign film in a language other than English to win Best Picture.

93rd Academy Awards: 2020s Nomadland-Frances McDormand's wins for Best Actress and as a producer of the film marks the first time anyone in one year won for a performance and producer for the same film.

94th Academy Awards: 2021s CODA-The first movie to be released through a streaming service, that being Apple TV+, to win Best Picture.

95th Academy Awards: 2022s Everything Everywhere All at Once-The first sci-fi film to win Best Picture.

96th Academy Awards: 2023s Oppenheimer-Robert Downey Jr.'s win for Best Supporting Actor marks the first time that someone from Saturday Night Live won any kind of Oscar.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

A Different Job screenplay

1    EXT. PARK-AFTERNOON                                                                                                             1
    FADE IN
    A MAN IN A big sweater is walking outside of a park. He’s wearing sunglasses and gloves.
MAN (narrating)
My name? Not important. You can call me Mike Where I’m from? Anywhere. What I do? Death.
    Mike enters the small park by a small entrance.
MIKE (narrating)
As for what I do, well that’s tough to explain in any normal dinner conversation.
    Mike sees a letter taped underneath one of the benches and sits down on the bench with the taped letter. He opens the letter, removes his sunglasses and reads it.
LETTER
I’ll be there in a few minutes.
    After reading the letter, Mike folds it and puts it in his shirt pocket.
MIKE (narrating)
I’m a hired assassin. Although I like to call myself a professional cleaner. I take out the guys my boss doesn’t like. I may not like it, but there’s no other offer coming my way. My biggest wish is to leave this business, but I made a promise to my boss. And there’s only five rules. One is make sure they’re dead. Two is never leave any evidence. The third rule is...
    A man in a business suit and carrying a briefcase sits next to Mike.
MIKE (narrating)
Never meet the boss. Somehow I don’t know if I broke the rule or he did.
    The man opens the briefcase and takes out a folder and hands it to Mike. Mike opens the folder, checks the contents, and grabs one of the pictures.
MAN
You’re not going to ask?
MIKE
Rule #4: Don’t ask.
    The man smiles.
MAN
Were you surprised?
    Mike looks at the man who then looks at Mike back.
MIKE
Yeah, boss. Actually I was. Why---
BOSS
Meet now? After this job, you’ll find out.
    Mike’s boss takes out a handkerchief and coughs really hard for about ten seconds. He then places the handkerchief back into his pocket.
BOSS
I’ll answer everything once you’ve done this job.
    Mike looks at his boss, then at the folder and looks it over again.
MIKE
All right.
    Mike’s boss gets up and walks away, leaving Mike all alone with the folder and suitcase next to him.
MIKE (narrating)
Usually, when I get a job, no matter who it is or what they did, It’s all by encoded email messages. I only met him a few times. First, when he got me out of prison because he was interested in my skills. Skills that I can’t really talk about.
    Mike puts everything back into the suitcase.
MIKE (naratting)
The other time was on my first hit. He showed me the ropes and how to do it carefully. After that, I didn’t see him for five years and over forty hits he hired me for. Until now.
    Mike stands up and starts walking out of the park.
MIKE (naratting)
I’m very much tempted to get information on this person. Especially since the job in this one is pretty clean and quick, the opposite of what I usually do. But then again, that would mean breaking rule number five: Don’t see a name, but a target. I hate this job, I don’t know if my boss does so too, but we all have to make a living somehow.
    FADE OUT

2    EXT. PARK-NEXT DAY                                                                                                                  2
    FADE IN
    MIKE, LIKE THE DAY before, is wearing a big sweater, sunglasses, and gloves. He’s also holding the same suitcase that his boss left for him yesterday.
MIKE (naratting)
Sometimes when you finish a job, you wonder how it would impact the world. Maybe the guy found the cure for some disease that millions of people were dying from. He could’ve found a planet no one else could find. Or even just be a nobody that no one actually cared about.
    Mike enters the park.
MIKE (naratting)
Usually when you kill a target, you don’t get sentimental. But this one felt, different. Enough to make me remember many of the people I killed, something that doesn’t usually happen. Maybe now it’s time to break rule number four.
    Just like the day before, Mike finds the bench with another letter taped underneath. He opens the letter.
LETTER
Wait for me here. I might be there in a moment or it might take minutes. Remember, the questions you ask yourselves will be answered.
    After finishing reading the letter, Mike continues to look at it for a few more seconds. Mike rips the letter into pieces and throws them into the garbage can that is near him.
MIKE (naratting)
In all the time I’ve known him he’s never been late. Always the first one.
    After two minutes, Mike looks at his watch.
MIKE (naratting)
This job last night must have been important. Usually I torture them first, then I kill them. But there was no torture with this one. I know that sounds pretty sadistic, but it’s one of the few things I knew how to do. I may not like it, but what other choice do I have.
    Mike spots his boss entering the park. The boss stops for a moment, gets a handkerchief from his pocket and coughs on it.
MIKE (naratting)
Sometimes I wonder of the little time people have. They could die any day. Sometimes after a job is done, I feel like I want to find my boss and kill him and then me for what he had me do.
    After Mike’s boss finishes coughing on the handkerchief, he throws it out into a garbage can. He then grabs onto the fence as if he is falling down. Mike is about to stand up until his boss sees him and waves to keep sitting.
BOSS (yelling)
I’ll be right there.
    His boss lets go of the fence, stands straight again, and walks to Mike. When he sits down, it sounds like he’s out of breath.
MIKE (worried)
You...
    Mike looks at his boss who looks at him back.
MIKE (worried)
...okay?
BOSS (raspy and sickly)
You want to know, don’t you?
MIKE
Rule #4---
BOSS (raspy and sickly)
Right now, there are no more rules.
    Mike’s boss coughs on his sleeve.
BOSS
If you’re wondering, yes I am sick. There’s no cure for what I have.
    Mike looks at his boss in surprise.
MIKE
You mean---
BOSS
I’m dying? Yes.
MIKE
And the man you had me kill yesterday?
BOSS
Why? Is it eating away at you, wanting to know who he was? What he could have done with his life? Did he do anything wrong?
    All Mike does is stare at him in anger and confusion.
BOSS
Let me ask you. Do you enjoy what you do?
MIKE
Not in the slightest.
BOSS
How do you feel about this kill? It seems strange right? Kept you up at night? The mystery surrounding a man who lived in a small house. Not a lot of money. Living alone.
MIKE (in anger)
Get to the point!
    The boss coughs once again for ten seconds.
BOSS
The point is this was your last straw. Right?
MIKE
And? It’s not like you could just let me leave all this? Trust me I want to, I really do!
    Mike’s boss stares at him and smiles.
BOSS
You really want to leave? How long have you thought about it?
MIKE
From the very beginning!
    Mike and his boss just stare at each other for a moment. The boss coughs hard onto his sleeve.
BOSS
I always knew you wanted to leave. I saw it in your eyes when I freed you from that prison. You were hours from being executed, desperate for anything. I met you, knew you had the skills I was looking for, and you worked for me because of your loyalty, no matter what you did.
    Mike looks at his boss then at the ground.
MIKE
So, what now?
BOSS
You’re free.
MIKE (surprised)
Free?
BOSS
Free to live the life you want.
MIKE
How? What happened to finally make you realize this?
BOSS
First, the why. When I first got sick, I thought it was nothing. Then, as I learned from my doctor, I had a rare disease, with one of the symptoms being continuous nightmares. I kept seeing the relatives of those I ordered to kill. The pain I caused. My doctor said he had made a cure for what I had. As for the how you can escape from this, well I have a huge fortune, but I have no heir.
MIKE
Heir to what? And what about the cure?
    Mike’s boss smiles again.
BOSS
Sadly, as it turns out my doctor was apparently killed last night.
    Mike looks at his boss in shock.
BOSS
Anyway, I recently built a corporation specializing in helping victims of violence, anywhere and everywhere.
MIKE
Wait, why did you have me kill the one guy that could have cured you?
BOSS
Two birds. One stone. Your freedom. My punishment.
MIKE
And this organization?
BOSS
I want you to take over when I’m gone.
MIKE
Why me?
BOSS
You have true heart. Something I lacked for so long. Once I’m gone, the business we were both in will no longer exist, and in its place is something new and better.
MIKE
How will they know that I’m your heir?
BOSS
They don’t. I have no real identity anywhere. Basically, I don’t exist. A man who doesn’t exist can’t run an organization. I started it using the identity of someone younger, healthier.
MIKE
Me?
BOSS
That’s right. Instead of taking lives, you help them.
MIKE
So that’s it then?
BOSS
Pretty much.
    Mike’s boss gets up.
MIKE
When’s your funeral?
    The boss smiles.
BOSS
A man who never existed can’t have a funeral.
FADE OUT

End.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

A Great Story poem

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               2/9/12

                                                                 A Great Story poem.

A Great Story has many things;
A Great Story keeps you going.

When you’re reading this story,
When you’re imagining a story,
You don’t want to stop.

Creating a story is not easy,
Except when it becomes great,
Then it is a Great Story.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

84th academy awards winners

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                             2/27/12
 
                                                         84th Academy Awards winners.

Best Picture: The Artist.

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius- The Artist.

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin- The Artist.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep- The Iron Lady.

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer- Beginners.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer- The Help.

Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris- Woody Allen.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Descendants- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash from The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Best Animated Feature: Rango- Gore Verbinski.

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation (Iran) in Persian- Asghar Farhadi

Best Documentary Feature: Undefeated- TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay, and Richard Middlemas

Best Documentary Short Subject: Saving Face- Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge

Best Live Action Short Film: The Shore- Terry George and Oorlagh George

Best Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore- William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

Best Original Score: The Artist- Ludovic Bource.

Best Original Song: "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets- Bret McKenzie.

Best Sound Editing: Hugo- Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty.

Best Sound Mixing: Hugo- Tom Fleischman and John Midgley.

Best Art Direction: Hugo- Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo.

Best Cinematography: Hugo- Robert Richardson.

Best Makeup: The Iron Lady- Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland.

Best Costume Design: The Artist- Mark Bridges.

Best Film Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter.

Best Visual Effects: Hugo- Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Oscar hosts

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               2/9/12

                                                The Guy With the Big Job: Oscar Hosts.

    Something that’s very common almost every year during the Academy Awards is that at least one person hosts the movie awards event since the first Oscars. The host can either be the actors themselves or any other celebrity, especially if they’re known for their hilarious late night talk shows.
    The first Oscars were hosted by actor/screenwriter/director/producer Douglas Fairbanks and screenwriter and director William C. deMille on May 16, 1929. Other Academy Award hosts include Ellen DeGeneres, Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Frank Capra, James Stewart, and so many others. The years when the Oscars didn’t have a host were in 1939 for the first time, 1969 to 1971, and the last time was in 1989 when Best Picture went to Rain Man.
    Bob Hope is the man who’s hosted the Academy Awards the most times at 19, which includes the 1939 to 1942 Oscars and the last time he hosted was in 1978, when Annie Hall won Best Picture. In second place is Billy Crystal at nine times hosting the Oscars, which includes his first in 1990, 1998, 2004, and this year’s ceremonies will be his ninth. Others who have hosted the Academy Awards multiple times include Johnny Carson at five times, David Niven at three, and Jack Lemmon at four.
    Most of the time, the Oscars have been hosted by at least one person, but occasionally there’s more than one. The 2011 Academy Awards were hosted by both Anne Hathaway and James Franco, who was also nominated for his role in 127 Hours that year. The first Oscars ceremony in 1929 was hosted by two people, along with the 1953 Oscars with Bob Hope and Conrad Nagel, some of the members of the original Rat Pack in 1975, and Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in 2010.
    Since the 1990s, when Billy Crystal was hosting, usually the host would start the ceremonies by appearing in the films nominated that year or other films or would do something related to one of the films nominated that year. At the 1992 Academy Awards honoring the films of 1991 Crystal first came out shackled like Hannibal Lecter and walking to Anthony Hopkins telling he’s having the Academy members over for dinner and if he would like to join him. At the 1998 Oscars, Crystal, with clever use of special effects and editing, appeared in the films nominated for Best Picture that year, including Titanic and Good Will Hunting. He did this the next few times he hosted the Academy Awards including appearing in The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, American Beauty, and a Charlie Chaplin film in 2000 and in 2004 he was in the third Lord of the Rings, Finding Nemo, Monster, and other films. The last time this happened was at the last Oscars which was hosted by, once again, Billy Crystal where he went into Bridesmaids, Hugo, and other films. One will wonder how Seth MacFarlane will do when he hosts the 85th Oscars this Sunday.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Actor trademarks

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               3/8/12

                                        What makes them well known: Actor trademarks.

    There are many ways that actors of the past and present are different from each other in the same way as directors are different. The way in that each actor is different from each other is by their trademarks, like their voice, looks, or what they usually play in movies.
    For example, a lot of actors are famous for their distinct voice, like Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin is known for his distinctive hoarse voice. His predecessor in the role of Chekov, Walter Koenig, doesn’t have a familiar voice but when he plays Chekov he has the famous thick Russian accent where he says anything with a v to a w. Ghostbusters and Lost in Translation actor Bill Murray has many trademarks and one of them is his soft mellow voice.
    In addition to his voice, another of Murray’s trademarks is that he frequently works with directors Wes Anderson and Ivan Reitman. Bill Murray is also known for his deadpan expression and early works of playing loud, mean, and often rude anti-heroes, like in the Ghostbusters films and Caddyshack. Now, however, because of his work on movies like Rushmore and his Oscar-nominated performance in Lost in Translation, Murray has frequently played depressed characters.
    One of Robert De Niro's many trademarks includes his frequent work with friend and director Martin Scorsese. Another actor who has worked with Scorsese to the point it’s one of his trademarks is Leonardo DiCaprio.
    James Dean, the late actor who was known for playing troubled teens and died before his career began to really take off, is known for two things on how he looks. One is his distinctive hair being laid back in such a perfect place and the other is his squinty, sleepy looking eyes.
    Someone else who is also well known for their looks was Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart’s wife before he died of cancer. The deep, sexy voiced actress, who worked with Bogey on such films as The Big Sleep and Key Largo, is also known for her cat-like eyes.
    A final movie actor who has well known trademarks is 1950s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe who was known for three things. One was her lisped breathless voice which she had to hide her stutter, her platinum blonde hair and her voluptuous figure.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Stalking One screenplay

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                             4/26/12 Search for Identity12/5A-B                                                                                                      Mr. Beatty

                                                                     One Act Play Project.
                                      The Stalking One: A Hitchcock style Tribute screenplay.



1    EXT. HIGH SCHOOL-SATURDAY 10 A.M.                                                                                  1
    FADE IN
    MAC TOPIN is standing outside of his high school after driving there for his Saturday detention. He grabs his phone from his pocket and dials a number and then puts the phone to his ear. While he's talking, a mysterious hooded figure stands a few feet from him without Mac noticing.
                                                                                MAC
             Yes Mom, I’m here. I don’t get why I have to be here. It wasn’t my fault. Okay fine.
    A teacher opens one of the doors to enter the school and looks at Mac in a way that was like he's inspecting him.
                                                                          TEACHER
                                       You the punk kid who has detention on a weekend?
                                                                    MAC (sarcastically)
Yes officer!
TEACHER
Don’t be smart with me, boy. Get in here!
    Mac enters the school and the mysterious hooded figure walks right where Mac was standing before going in.

2    INT. HALLWAY-10:08                                                                                                                     2
    MAC GETS INTO the hallway and follows the teacher to wherever he is supposed to stay for detention. The hooded figure is standing right outside looking in through the glass and stops the door from closing completely and goes in without being noticed.

3    INT. CLASSROOM-10:11                                                                                                                3
    MAC FOLLOWS the teacher in to one of the English classrooms and gives him three pieces of paper and a pen to write with.
TEACHER
All right, smart-aleck, you’re going to stay in here for the next four hours. In those four hours you’re going to write about what that poor kid is probably going through right now. What do you think this is MythBusters? This will teach you some manners.
MAC
It wasn’t my fault that it happened. The kid should be smarter next time.
TEACHER
You snot-nosed brat! You’ll get yours soon.
    The teacher points to the windows.
TEACHER
To ensure you don’t go anywhere the windows are closed shut. While all the doors, except the one you got in with are all closed and locked.
    He then points his finger very closely at Mac.
TEACHER
I’ll be going and lock that door too, so this school won’t be opened from both outside and inside without the keys I have. So that way you won’t get out until 2 P.M. That will give you lots of time to reflect on what you did and write your paper.
MAC
Whatever, man.
    Mac grabs his phone and begins texting. Angry, the teacher grabs Mac’s phone from his hand.
MAC (angrily)
Hey!
TEACHER
There’s no having fun in detention, Fonz! Oh, and don’t try to be smart by pulling the fire alarms. They were deactivated so that you don’t get out early.
    The teacher leaves the classroom and then goes outside and locks the door that Mac entered through, thus closing all exits off of the school. As the teacher leaves the hooded figure appears out of the shadows and saw the teacher leave in his car with Mac’s phone.

4    INT. HALLWAY-10:30                                                                                                                     4
    AFTER ONLY WRITING a page of the letter, Mac gets bored and decides to walk around the school to see if there's anything to do while he is stuck at the school. Mac realizes that some of the rooms aren't closed such as the lunch room, the gym, and several other rooms. When he enters the gym he goes to the middle and just feels like screaming very loudly to get his anger out.
MAC (angrily to himself)
Not my fault. It was just a small joke.
    Mac hears the door close behind him and when he turns around he thinks he saw someone wearing mostly black. He goes to the door, opens it and looks out into the hall but sees that no one is out there.
MAC
Is anybody there?
    No answer comes so he gets out of the gym and decides to keep on walking. As he is walking, Mac doesn't notice that the hooded figure is slowly and quietly walking behind him. When Mac hears a noise behind him he turns around and sees no one.
MAC
Hello?
    No answer.
MAC
Must be my stinking imagination, I guess.
    When he turns back around and keeps on walking, the mysterious figure appears behind him and keeps on following him.

5    INT. CLASSROOM-11:20                                                                                                                5
    MAC IS finally finished with writing the paper and decides to eat his lunch. When he looks down to grab his lunch and then stands back up he sees the hooded figure right in front of him.
MAC
Can I help you, Darth Vader?
    The hooded figure does not answer, but just tilts his head to the side.
MAC
Look, I don’t know who you are, but if this is some kind of joke, I’m not laughing.
    Again, there's no answer.
MAC
Whatever this is about, I had no part. How did you get in here anyway?
    The hooded figure walks to the back of the class and then turns around facing Mac. Mac stands up out of his seat and walks to the chalkboard, then turns around facing the unknown figure.
MAC
Listen, if you’re here to check up on me don’t bother. I already finished my paper. I don’t know why I even did it. As far as I’m concerned the kid deserved it, okay Michael Myers.
    Once again there's no answer. However, from behind, the hooded figure removes his hood and reveals to Mac who he is. Mac has a scared and frightened look on his face.
MAC (surprised and scared)
You!
    The hooded figure lunges at him, but Mac runs out of the class before the figure caught him.

6    INT. HALLWAY-11:30                                                                                                                     6
    FOR TEN MINUTES Mac tries to get away from and hide from the hooded figure but to no avail. When he goes into the gym he sees the figure on the other side. He tries opening a bathroom door but it is locked and sees the figure not even running towards him.
MAC (scared)
Oh God!
    He keeps trying to find an exit door, but they are all locked. He tries to hide behind the stairs to the auditorium next to the library but as the hooded figure is walking slowly to the other side he spots Mac.
MAC (scared)
What do you want from me?
    No matter where Mac goes, the mysterious hooded figure would know where he is. Mac couldn’t get out as the doors and windows are locked. He couldn’t call for help as his phone was taken and the fire alarms have been deactivated.  Mac is trapped inside, perfect for the hooded figure.
MAC (scared)
How do I get out of here?
    Mac thinks of going to the lunch room where he could use one of the chairs to break one of the windows and escape. When he gets to the lunch room he grabs a chair. Just as he is about to throw the chair through the window, the hooded figure grabs it from behind him and throws it down. Mac trips and sees the hooded figure slowly walking towards him.
MAC (scared)
No, please! I’m sorry for what I did. It was an accident, honestly!
    The camera focuses on both of them from the back and suddenly fades out just as you hear Mac’s screams.


End.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Alien Invasion: Their View

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                               2/3/12

                                                      The Alien Invasion: Their View.

    On August 29, 2016, an army of aliens arrived at Earth, planning to take over. Normally, stories like this would center on the government and how they plan to defeat them and somehow it’s America that beats them and thanks to someone no one knew arriving at the last minute. However, this is not this story; this story is from the invader’s point of view.

    Inside one of the alien battleships, whose species are the Jyklims and are humanoid except that they have protective exoskeleton on their shoulders, two young Jyklims were dancing to some unknown alien music. The two aliens were drinking some sort of pink liquid that made them seem drunk.
    “That was totally mogp,” said one of the teen Jyklims.
    “Yeah it was, Nurt!” said the second.
    “You know what we should do, Kup?” asked Nurt.
    “What?”
    “We should like,” he began before drinking again, “take over this ship. It’s I’ll be totally Mogp. We could just destroy that little planet filled with those jelly bags, instead of just what everyone is doing and going slow.”
    “Oh, Yeah, I mean why not? No one’s in the bridge right now. It’ll be that easy.”

    When they entered the bridge they decided to take out some sort of small tube and lit it on fire. They then ate the tube and started acting even more crazy, like they were on drugs.
    Nurt started touching every button he saw, which made the ship fire at New Myanmar. Kup, who after noticing what looks like human made rocket ships with nuclear bombs strapped on, they both laughed.
    Just as all of those bombs exploded, which wouldn’t affect the alien ships, Kup pushed the self destruct button for the whole Jyklim army thinking it was for the Earth. All of the alien ships were destroyed, and everyone on Earth thinking that their bombs worked felt safe again.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Kung Fu Cards screenplay

Daniel Brizuela                                                                                                                           11/16/12 New York Film Academy 1st Year                                                                                          Screenplay
                                                          1st Quarter 3rd Film: First Semester.
                                                                         Kung Fu Cards

1    INT. BUILDING-AFTERNOON                                                                                                      1
    FADE IN
    A MAN IS SITTING on a chair on a table, he’s reading a book while the chair in front of him is empty. Suddenly a hand grabbed the other chair and pulled it back.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF HANDS
    CUT TO POV SHOT OF FIRST MAN
    The first man looks at the the second man as the second man sits down on the chair. The second man then notices the first man looking at him.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF SECOND MAN
                                                                        SECOND MAN
                                                                         Are you ready?
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF LEFT SIDE OF FIRST MAN
                                                                         FIRST MAN
                                                                          Of course---
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF RIGHT SIDE OF FIRST MAN
                                                                         FIRST MAN
                                                                              I am---
    CUT TO FRONTAL CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN
                                                                         FIRST MAN
                                                                   You fool. Ha ha ha.
    CUT TO WIDE SHOT OF BOTH MEN
    The second man gets out UNO cards from his pocket and puts it in the middle of the table. The first man shuffles the deck of cards for a few seconds before setting it back on the table.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN
    The first man draws five cards from the deck.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF SECOND MAN
    The second man draws five cards from the deck.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF DECK OF CARDS
    CUT TO EXTREME CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN’S FACE
                                                    FIRST MAN (dialogue not in synch)
                                                                        Drawwww!
    CUT TO POV SHOT OF FIRST MAN
    The second man puts down a RED 7.
    CUT TO HIGH ANGLE CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN
    The first man puts a BLUE 7 then a GREEN 7.
    CUT TO POV SHOT OF SECOND MAN
    The second man looks at his cards and doesn’t see any cards to put in the middle. He draws a card from the deck. The card is a BLUE 8. He draws again. The card is a GREEN DRAW 2.
    CUT TO LOW ANGLE EXTREME CLOSE UP OF SECOND MAN’S CARDS FROM THE BACK
    CUT TO HIGH ANGLE SHOT OF SECOND MAN
    The second man laughs.
                                                              SECOND MAN (excited)
                                                              Youu! Aree! Doooomeed!
    The second man puts the DRAW 2 down.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN
    Just as the DRAW 2 was put down, the first man immediately raised one of his hands with a YELLOW DRAW 2 in it. Lighting appeared out of nowhere.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF CARDS PUT DOWN
    The first man puts the card down.
                                                       FIRST MAN (dialogue not in synch)
                                                                   Enjoy the ice cream!
    CUT TO EXTREME CLOSE UP OF SECOND MAN’S REACTING IN DIFFERENT WAYS
    CUT TO STOCK FOOTAGE OF A GOAT
    CUT TO WIDE SHOT
    The second man puts a card down. The first man draws twice, then he puts two cards in a row down.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP
    The first man puts a GREEN SKIP card down. The second man immediately puts a BLUE SKIP card to counter the first man’s skip.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN’S FACE
    The first man looks at the other in anger. It looks like he’s about to yell at him but all that comes out of his mouth are lion roars.
    CUT TO WIDE SHOT
    The two men are staring at each other. All of a sudden a stranger appears.
    CUT TO WIDE SHOT FROM DIFFERENT ANGLE
    The stranger looked at the two men with a smile.
                                                                         STRANGER
                                                       So did, like, anyone order a pizza?
    CUT TO OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT OF FIRST MAN TOWARDS SECOND
                                                                      SECOND MAN
                                                              No. But where’s the pizza?
    CUT TO PREVIOUS SHOT
                                                                        STRANGER
                                                                   Like, I don’t know.
    CUT TO TWO SEPARATE SHOTS OF THE TWO MEN LOOKING AT EACH OTHER AND THEN THE STRANGER
    CUT BACK TO PREVIOUS SHOT
    The two men got up and after a few seconds lifter there hands as fist and got it near the stranger’s face.
     CUT TO BLACK
                                                WORDS IN THE BLACK BACKGROUND
                         Due to the violent nature of the next few seconds, please enjoy this instead.
    CUT TO VARIOUS STOCK FOOTAGE OF WATERFALLS
    CUT BACK TO BLACK
                                                                            WORDS
                                   Almost done folks. Holly molly, oh the humanity. Oh God.
    CUT TO VARIOUS STOCK FOOTAGES OF ANIMALS
    CUT BACK TO BLACK
                                                                            WORDS
      All right folks, I think it’s safe now to continue with the film. We are sorry for what happened,  
                                                                     but  it is what it is.
    CUT BACK TO WIDE SHOT OF TWO MEN PLAYING UNO
    The two men were once again playing UNO, all without any signs of the stranger. The first man put down a card, then the second man put down another.
    CUT TO POV SHOT OF SECOND MAN IN BLACK AND WHITE AND SILENT
    The second man looks at the first. He tells the second something that is very long.
                                         FIRST MAN (WHAT’S SHOWN IN TITLE CARD)
                                                                              I’ll win!
    CUT TO CLOSE UP SECOND MAN
    The second man looks at the first man, then at his cards, then he turns his eyes towards the side.
    CUT TO STOCK FOOTAGE OF A WAR GOING ON
    CUT BACK TO CLOSE UP
    The second man looks back at his cards.
    CUT BACK TO WIDE SHOT
                                                       SECOND MAN (dialogue not in synch)
                                                                   I.Will. Beat. Youuuu!
    CUT TO LOW ANGLE CLOSE UP OF FIRST MAN
    The first man laughs and says something very short.
                                                    FIRST MAN (what’s actually heard)
                                            You will lose! It’s in your nature! Pancakes!
    CUT BACK TO WIDE UP
    All of a sudden, the game starts to get really intense as they both put several cards down in a row, draw cards from the deck, and try to beat each other.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF DECK OF CARDS
    Both of them keep on drawing and drawing from the deck, so much so that there are only a small amount of cards left to draw.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF CARDS PUT DOWN
    As the stack of cards to draw is getting smaller, the stack of cards put down increases.
    CUT TO SAME SHOT IN BETWEEN TWO CLOSE UP SHOTS OF BOTH MEN.
    The pile of cards put down is getting bigger and bigger as both men put one card after another. Eventually, they both end up with one card each.
                                                         FIRST AND SECOND MAN
                                                                         Unoooo!
    CUT TO SHOTS OF JUST THE TWO MEN
    The two men look at each other and then the cards they’re holding.
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF BOTH THEIR HANDS
    They both decide to quickly put their cards down at the same time.
    CUT TO CAMERA FOLLOWING THEIR HANDS IN SLOW MOTION
    CUT TO CLOSE UP OF CARDS PUT DOWN
    Both the first and second man’s cards landed at the same time.
    CUT TO REACTIONS OF BOTH FIRST AND SECOND MAN
    CUT TO STOCK FOOTAGE OF AN ATOMIC EXPLOSION
    FADE OUT


                                                                          END.