Adam Dorsey (adamdorsey@adamdorsey.com)

Zebedee Wilson (conemasterzj5@yahoo.com)

"Smoking Hamlet"

 

Treatment

We open in a very depressed black and white. Hamlet searches desperately for cigarettes in his misshapen room. He searches his closet only to find a skull and an empty pack of cigarettes. All together frustrated, Hamlet leaves on a quest to purge his nicotine hunger. He storms down the road to convenient store. As he walks in he fails to notice a destitute man in wheelchair, clutching a sign that reads: "I died in Hamlet."

Hamlet buys his cigarettes, and goes outside to smoke. When he takes in his first drag the black and white fades into color. Hamlet then notices the wheelchair man’s sign on the ground. He looks around to find the wheelchair man rolling backwards toward the street. Hamlet breaks into a run, smoking his cigarette and uttering his famous monologue: To be, or not to be . . . In the nick of time Hamlet pushes the wheelchair man out of the road, just missing an oncoming car. Hamlet offers the man a smoke and walks off into the distance.

 

 CAST LIST

Hamlet: the lead character sports a beard and mustache. He wears tights, knee high boots, and a billowing white tunic. Hamlet is quick in action, but slow in talking. All his movements are calculated and purposeful.

Wheelchair Man: this destitute man is dirty and wears ragged clothing. He has wild eyes and wild hair, and he sits sprawled in wheelchair clutching a sign that reads: "I died in Hamlet." He is generally confused.

The Convenience Store Guy: can be any type of person. This character works the register of the convenience store that Hamlet goes to for his cigarettes.

 

Screenplay

  1. INT. HAMLET’S ROOM — DAY

    2. BLACK and WHITE. The room is in a state of disarray. The bedding is strewn about the bed as if it’s been a rough night and piles of dirty clothes can be heard off camera. It is Hamlet, searching frantically for his cigarettes. He searches first a drawer, and then the closet, where he discovers a skull. He holds the skull up to his own face, parodying himself silently. Next he picks up a pair of pants and roots through the pockets, only to find an empty cigarette pack. Hamlet throws the empty pack off screen with force. He then labors some deep angry breaths, contemplating. He absent-mindedly holds his chin.

  2. EXT. CITY STREET — DAY

    3. It is an overcast day as Hamlet steps out of his front door and strides down the sidewalk on a mission to remedy his lack of nicotine. Cars rush by on the street, and bystanders go about their daily business. A wheelchair bound homeless man sits in the parking lot of a convenient store. He holds a chunk of aged cardboard that reads, "I died in Hamlet. Now I have no where to go." Hamlet doesn’t pay attention to this as he continues his quest for cigarettes. He simply walks into the store.

  3. INT. CONVENIENCE STORE — DAY

    4. The bell attached to the door rings as Hamlet strides into the convenient store and approaches the counter. Behind the counter stands a typical mini-mart cashier, wearing nothing to distinguish him from the others of his trade. Hamlet points at a brand of cigarettes and mutters incoherently to the cashier. The cashier slides a pack of Renaissance Lights across the counter. Hamlet throws down some wadded dollar bills.

  4. EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE — DAY

Hamlet leans against the window of the convenience store, packs his cigarettes, carefully removes one, and lights it with his Zippo. He then begins to deeply inhale, and as he does the BLACK and WHITE fades to COLOR. Hamlet flings his eyes open and turns to find the homeless man in the wheelchair rolling towards the street. Hamlet then breaks into a run, smoking adamantly, and uttering his famous lines.

HAMLET

To be, or not to be: that is the question.

Whether ‘tis nobler in mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

Hamlet leaps into action, running into the street and forcibly pushing the wheelchair and the man to safety, just as an oncoming car speeds past, horn blaring. Throughout this entire sequence the cigarette remains in Hamlet’s mouth. After saving the homeless man, Hamlet diligently shakes the man’s hand, and offers him a smoke. The homeless wheelchair man takes a cigarette from Hamlet, and Hamlet lights it for him. Hamlet walks down the sidewalk again with a noticeable spring in his step.

 

Continuity Script

Hamlet’s Room

We open with BLACK and WHITE. This will remain until shot 24 when the picture fades to COLOR.
  1. MS: a carpeted floor covered in general trash and dirty clothes. Off camera the noise of someone rummaging through drawers can be heard. Pan right, at floor level along the garbage to Hamlet’s feet. The toes scrunch agitatedly. Track up, from Hamlet’s feet to Hamlet’s butt and pan right to Hamlet’s hands busy at work in a dresser drawer, searching for cigarettes. The hands search frantically until the frustration becomes too much. Hamlet slams the drawer violently, leaving various parts of clothing sticking out.
  2. MS: Hamlet’s bust fills the screen. He breathes heavily and grits his teeth. He raises his hands before his face, slightly crosses his eyes, and turns to run off camera.
  3. CU: Track Hamlet’s feet walking along the floor and kicking trash.
  4. MS: the camera is at eye level inside Hamlet’s closet. Hamlet opens the door. Track down with Hamlet as he squats. Hamlet proceeds to rummage through objects off camera, frantically tossing those objects over his shoulders. After a short while Hamlet retrieves a skull. Tilt up, as Hamlet raises the skull to his own face and inspects it with a look of disgust. Hamlet then rolls his eyes and tosses the skull over his shoulder.
  5. MS: side-view of Hamlet kneeling at the foot of the closet. He reaches in deep and picks up a pair of pants. At this he becomes somewhat excited.
  6. CU: Hamlet’s hand moves inside the pocket. His fist emerges quickly, clearly holding something.
  7. MS: Hamlet raises his eyebrows.
  8. CU: Hamlet’s hand opens, revealing a cigarette package.
  9. MS: from inside of the closet again, Hamlet tries to shake a cigarette out of the package, and to no avail. He throws the package off-screen. Hamlet grips his chin and mouth with his hand and breathes heavily. He closes his eyes.

    10. Hamlet’s Front Door

  10. LS: The front of Hamlet’s house fills the screen, the front door is at center screen. The door whips open, Hamlet steps out onto his porch (fully clothed in black boots, tights and a tunic), shuts the door, and steps down the porch.
  11. MS: the camera is at Hamlet’s back as he steps down the porch. Hamlet walks urgently to the sidewalk.

    12. The Street

  12. LS: screen-left, Hamlet treads the sidewalk in the distance. Screen-right, traffic on the road.
  13. CU: Hamlet’s feet walking in the direction of screen-right. Camera tracks the feet.
  14. MS: Hamlet’s head and chest bobbing along as he walks.
  15. LS: Hamlet arrives at the convenience store parking lot. Hamlet enters at screen-left. He walks across the parking lot toward the store.
  16. MS: camera pans with Hamlet as he enters the store and stops on a destitute looking man in a wheelchair (this is actually Horatio). He holds a crust cardboard sign that reads: "I died in Hamlet."

    17. Convenience Store

  17. LS: the camera tracks along an aisle in the store until it reaches a point where the doorway is in view. Hamlet enters. The camera pans with Hamlet as steps over to the counter.
  18. MS: Hamlet gestures, and points to a particular brand. He mumbles something, but his actual words are not understood.
  19. MS: Hamlet’s POV, the cashier turns around and retrieves the pack of cigarettes.
  20. CU: the cashier’s hand slides the cigarettes — Renaissance Lights -- across the counter. Hamlet slides a gold coin towards the cashier’s hands and grabs the pack.
  21. MS: from POV of the cashier, Hamlet exits the store.
  22. MS: Hamlet steps out of the store and gets himself ready to smoke. He leans against the window of the building.
  23. MS: slow zoom, as Hamlet inhales.
  24. CU: side-view of Hamlet’s head. Hamlet inhales, and as he does the scene changes from BLACK and WHITE to COLOR.
  25. MS: Hamlet looks at his cigarette raises an eyebrow.
  26. LS: Hamlet looks down at the ground, walks over and picks up the cardboard sign the Horatio was holding.
  27. CU: of the sign with Hamlet’s thumbs at the edges, cigarette in view.
  28. MS: Hamlet turns and looks around.
  29. LS: wheelchair bound homeless man
  30. MS: wheelchair bound homeless man
  31. CU: wheelchair bound homeless man
  32. MS: Hamlet looks out.
  33. CU: on Hamlet’s mouth.

    HAMLET: To be, or not to be . . .

  34. CU: just Hamlet’s eyes.

    HAMLET: . . .that is the question.

  35. LS: a full frontal view of Hamlet breaking into a run towards the wheel chair man. Hamlet takes a few quick drags as he runs.
  36. CU: on Hamlet’s mouth. Hamlet takes a quick drag.

    HAMLET: Whether ‘tis nobler in mind to suffer.

  37. LS: the wheelchair man is rolling backwards in the foreground of the shot, and Hamlet is running towards him, smoking.
  38. CU: the wheelchair wheels spinning madly backward.
  39. CU: Hamlet’s legs pumping along the sidewalk towards the street.
  40. CU: on Hamlet’s mouth. Hamlet takes a quick drag.

    HAMLET: The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

  41. CU: continuation of 38.
  42. CU: continuation of 39.
  43. CU: on Hamlet’s mouth. Hamlet takes a drag.

    HAMLET: Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.

  44. LS: Hamlet bursts into action, rushing in and pushing the wheelchair man to the other side of the street to safety.
  45. MS: a car shoots past Hamlet and the wheelchair man honking loudly.
  46. MS: Hamlet leans on the wheelchair still smoking the same cigarette. He looks tired but serenely happy.

    47. 47: MS: the wheelchair man’s face looking all but bewildered.

  47. CU: Pan with Hamlet’s hands taking a cigarette out of the pack and offering it to the wheelchair man’s hands. Track up, as the wheelchair man puts cigarette in his mouth and lights it for him.
  48. MS: Hamlet shakes the wheelchair man’s hand.
  49. LS: the wheelchair man smokes in the foreground. We can see his profile. In the background, Hamlet walks off into the distance, smoking. There is a noticeable spring in his step now.
  50. CU: on Hamlet’s mouth. Hamlet takes a final drag on his cigarette.

THE END