The Gardeners first 20 pgs

7/31/2019 The Gardeners first 20 pgs

1/21

The Gardeners

byStephen P. Hicks

Tim Hicks


2/21

INT. CHANNEL 11 STUDIO NEWS DESK - DAY

LINE PRODUCER (V.O.)And were in commercial.

FADE IN:

A young nerdy PRODUCTION ASSISTANT holding a cup of coffeewalks through a busy news studio in the midst of a newsbroadcast.

The two news anchors, KIP WINGER (52) adjusting his hair andfixing his loud tie, and KIM BAKER (38), perfectlysymmetrical from head to toe, sit behind the news desk.

KIM BAKERYou didnt!

KIP WINGER

Had to. The upkeep on the yachtalone was killing me. Not tomention the mortgage.

KIM BAKERI guess no more scootin around theMarina for me.

The production assistant hands Kip the cup of coffee. Hetakes a sip and burns his mouth.

KIP WINGERShit! What are you trying to do,

ruin the broadcast? Who is this guyanyway?

The production assistant is frozen.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANTSorry Mr. Winger.

KIP WINGERYoud be really sorry if I didnthave a silver tongue.

He nudges Kim, who smirks.

KIM BAKEROh Kip, give the kid a break.

KIP WINGERThis is the world of live news,kid. You got to bring your A gameevery day.


3/21

The production assistant cowers away.

LINE PRODUCER (O.S.)And were back in 5... 4... 3...

CUT TO:

TITLE: CHANNEL 11 ACTION NEWS AT NOON

KIM BAKER(addressing the broadcastcamera)

Welcome back. New developments onCapitol Hill in the houses attemptsto reign in Wall Streetcompensation. But first, we have abreaking story, and our very ownTrisha Yearwood is on the scene.

Trisha.

CUT TO:

EXT. TIDUS FAMILY MANSION - CONTINUOUS

TRISHA YEARWOOD (30) stunningly attractive professionalreporter, stands in front of the gates of the Mansion. Behindthe gates sit a few police cars. TONY ALVAREZ (38) the cameraoperator, gives Trisha the cue.

CUT TO:

TITLES: LIVE IN BRENTWOOD TRISHA YEARWOOD

TRISHA(addressing the camera)

Thank you Kim. Dark clouds hangheavy over the residents ofBrentwood. Im at the corner ofEdgewood and Bundy, outside thehome of Glen Tidus, a prominentbanking tycoon. Last night the

Sheriffs department responded to a911 call coming from this housebehind me. Early indications arethat the entire Tidus family hasbeen slaughtered.

2.


4/21

KIM BAKER (O.S.)And we have a recording of the 911call.

CUT TO:

INT. CHANNEL 11 STUDIO NEWS DESK - CONTINUOUS

Instead of cutting to the recorded call, they mistakenly cutback to Kip and Kim. Kip sucks his teeth loudly while Kimsits there awkwardly.

Kim realizes they are live and nudges Kip. He looks up at thecamera.

CUT TO:

TITLE: EMERGENCY 911 CALL

911 OPERATOR (V.O.)911...

GLEN TIDUS (V.O.)Oh my god, theres so much blood.

911 OPERATOR (V.O.)Is it your blood sir?

GLEN TIDUS (V.O.)I dont know. I think they know Im

in here...I think theyrelistening.

911 OPERATOR (V.O.)Who is listening? How many peopleare there sir.

Suddenly, in the background, a loud chainsaw like soundbursts out. Glen Tidus screams. The audio then abruptly cutsout.

CUT TO:

INT. CHANNEL 11 STUDIO NEWS DESK - CONTINUOUS

SPLIT SCREEN OF KIM AND TRISHA

KIM BAKER(addressing the camera)

We apologize. The last bit of audiowasnt supposed to be aired.

3.


5/21

TRISHA(addressing the camera)

This is pretty terrifying stuff weare dealing with. Were are tryingto gather as much information as wecan. All we know at this time, is

that the house was besieged by anunknown number of assailants. Theentire Tidus family are missing andpresumed dead.

KIM BAKERHave the police made an officialstatement?

TRISHAYes, the police...

The sound of a leaf blower overpowers Trisha. A hulking

Hispanic man, JESUS ROBLES aka LEAFBLOWER (41) with a leafblower strapped to his back walks into frame behind Trisha.

KIP WINGER (O.S.)Trisha, we lost that last part.

She tries to speak again, but is totally drowned out by thesound of the leaf blower.

KIM BAKERWere going to have to get back toyou later Trisha. Thank you.

CUT TO:

Kip with a graphic of a silly looking dog.

KIP WINGER(addressing the camera)

The Westminister dog show was thisweek...

CUT TO:

EXT. TIDUS FAMILY MANSION - CONTINUOUS

Tony, draped in camera gear, unlatches and sets down theequipment.

Trisha pulls out a compact mirror and checks her makeup.

TRISHAHowd I do?

4.


6/21

TONY ALVAREZEverything looked good until thatgardener ruined the shot.

(To Jesus)Perfect timing man. Youre on thenews now. Happy?

Leafblower ignores him.

TONY ALVAREZGuess he doesnt speak English.

TRISHACome on Tony. He probably justcant hear you.

Trisha walks over and taps him on the shoulder. He flinches,whipping the cone towards her.

TRISHASorry.

Tony approaches.

TONY ALVAREZWatch it with that thing man. Dontyou know who we are? You almost hitthe hottest rising reporter in LAVoted freshest face by ValleyHerald-

TRISHA

Thats enough Tony.(To Jesus)

No quise asustarte.

He shuts off his leaf blower and stares at Trisha.

TRISHATengo cuidado con su leafblower.Estamos con la noticia y esdemasiado fuerte para nosotroshacer nuestro trabajo.

He turns his blower back on, turns away, and continuesblowing leaves.

TONY ALVAREZMaybe he doesnt speak Spanisheither.

We follow, as Leafblower expertly blows the leaves around thecorner.

5.


7/21

The force of air from the blower swirls the debris. Amongstthe whirling leaves and branches, stones and dust, severedfingers roll along the pavement.

WHACK!!!!

A sharpened rake pierces one of the fingers with precision,and quickly brushes everything into a trash bag.

Leaning out the sliding door of a beat up old van, ROBERTOMARTINEZ aka THE RAKER (33) ties the bag shut. Leafblowerhops through the sliding door.

WHAM!!!!

The Raker slams the sliding door shut.

TITLE: THE GARDENERS

DISSOLVE TO:

TITLES AND MUSIC:

ERNESTO MONTOYA (31) a mousey bug eyed Hispanic man drivesthe van from Brentwood heading east.

As the van travels east the neighborhoods change. Going fromupper class mansions to lower end apartments.

They reach the ghetto and drive past trashed streets and run

down homes.

The van arrives in a gritty, desolate stretch of south L.A.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HEADQUARTERS - EVENING

The van pulls into the driveway and parks in the garage of asmall rundown suburban home.

INT. HEADQUARTERS GARAGE - CONTINUOUS

Ernesto gets out of the van. The sliding door opens and TheRaker throws several black trash bags out the door.

THE RAKERHey Ernesto. Throw those bags inthe dumpster.

6.


8/21

Ernesto angrily grabs the bags.

Leafblower exits the van followed by BRIAN ALVAREZ akaWEEDWHACKER (28), a pockmarked, deranged Hispanic man withlong hair. He is followed by ISRAEL MONTOYA aka TRASHBAG BOY(10), a short, chubby Hispanic boy eating a chocolate bar

that is all over his mouth; and MARIA MONTOYA (29) aleathery, effete Hispanic woman.

MARIAIsrael, go help your Father.

Trashbag Boy stuffs the chocolate bar in his back pocket andslowly waddles over to help his dad.

WEEDWHACKERMira el gordo.

He slaps the boys behind.

WEEDWHACKER (CONTD)Hurry up Trashbag Boy!

Father and son help each other throw the bags in thedumpster.

CUT TO:

INT. HEADQUARTERS KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

A FEW HISPANIC WOMEN busily prepare food. One by one they

file in, The Raker, Leafblower, Weedwhacker, Maria, TrashbagBoy, and Ernesto. The Women greet them with a chorus ofHolas.

WEEDWHACKERHow can your food always smell sogood and taste so awful?

WOMAN 1 (O.S.)Then dont eat it?

Leafblower reaches for a piece of burnt meat.

THE RAKERWe dont have time to eat. We needto check in with El Jefe.

Leafblower drops the piece of meat and follows the others outof the kitchen.

7.


9/21

INT. HEADQUARTERS LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The Raker rolls back the rug revealing a trapdoor. He grabsthe latch and opens the door.

One by one the group climb down the ladder into the dark

hole.

INT. HEADQUARTERS BASEMENT - CONTINUOUS

The group climbs into a room the size of a warehouse. As theymake their way down the ladder the commotion of the roomgrows louder.

The room is filled with 50 people performing various tasksaround the room. A few MEN sit around tables smoking pipesand reading Marx.

A group of PEOPLE sit at old desks highlighting Thomasguides.

OTHERS maintenance gardening equipment.

Behind a series of bunkbeds, DANNY TREJO aka EL JEFE akaTREJO sits facing a corner lined with television monitors.

Various security images and street scenes flash on thescreens.

The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is giving a speech on onescreen.

Trejo grabs the remote and turns up the volume.

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (O.S.)I want everyone to rest assuredthat my main focus is the economy.I want to create solid, sustainableAmerican jobs...

VLADIMIR (39), a strong, man in glasses, walks up behindTrejo and whispers in his ear.

VLADIMIRThey are back El Jefe.

Trejo turns off the monitors. He swivels around in his chair.In front of him stand The Raker, Leafblower, Weedwhacker,Trashbag Boy, Maria and Ernesto.

TREJOWelcome home, Compardes!

8.


10/21

THE RAKEREverything went just as planned ElJefe.

WEEDWHACKERYeah. You should of heard the

noises. Squealing like pigs.

TREJOExcellent. We can move forward withour mission. Are you prepared?

THE RAKEROf course, El Jefe.

CUT TO:

EXT. LARGE SUBURBAN HOME - MORNING

The front door opens revealing MR. SCHIFF (47) in fulljogging gear, he checks his pulse while jogging in place.

MR. SCHIFFIll back soon, honey.

He jogs down his front steps past JULIO (33) an overweightHispanic man mowing the front lawn.

MR. SCHIFF (CONTD)Morning, Julio.

Julio smiles at Mr. Schiff as he jogs down the street out ofsight.

Julio returns to mowing the lawn. He pushes the lawnmowerover towards a woman clipping hedges.

He approaches her from behind.

JULIORosie, venga con migo.

The woman spins around.

Its Maria!

JULIO (CONTD)(Confused)

Quien-

Julios words are lost in a gurgle of blood.

9.


11/21

Maria holds on to the rusty clippers jammed through Juliosthroat. She opens the clippers removing Julios head from hisbody.

CUT TO:

INT. HEADQUARTERS BASEMENT - DAY

A large crowd is gathered in front of Trejo. Behind him hangsa Chinese National Flag and a large poster of Trotsky. He ishanded a megaphone.

TREJOMy Brothers and Sisters, today theseeds of our labor will sproutthrough the hard soil of greed.These Capitalist pigs will now fearthe unseen hand of workers rage. We

have struggled long and hardtogether and now we can begin theharvest. This family we havecreated will spread out far beyondthese walls.

VLADIMIR (O.S.)Andale, El Jefe!

The crowd cheers loudly. Trejo holds his hands up to quietthem down.

TREJO

Por Favor. Remember that I am thesame as you my brothers andsisters. I can no longer answer toEl Jefe. The success of our groupis more important than each of us.Call me Trejo or call me nothing atall.

WOMAN 2We are with you Trejo! Por la vida.

Everyone claps in rhythmic unison.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. LARGE SUBURBAN HOME - DAY

The clapping slowing dissolves into the sound of Mr. Schiffstennis shoes rhythmically jogging along the pavement.

10.


12/21

He slows up next to the man operating the lawnmower.

MR. SCHIFFIts going to be a hot one today,eh, Julio.

Ernesto stops pushing the lawnmower and smiles at Mr. Schiff.

MR. SCHIFF (CONTD)Hows the mowing coming along?

ERNESTOEverything is-

MR. SCHIFFLast week you must have forgot towater the lawn too. Look at how dryit is getting. Make sure you giveit plenty of water this week or

well have to have a real talk.

Mr. Schiff shoots a glance at Ernesto and jogs the rest ofthe way to his front door.

He reaches for the door knob, twists, and pushes open thefront door.

CUT TO:

INT. HEADQUARTERS BASEMENT - DAY

Trejo throws down the megaphone and puts on a head band.

TREJOWe know people want to beworshipped for what they are not.We will change this world withfire.

The crowd erupts in applause.

TREJO (CONTD)Our soldiers are killing for the

cause right now.

CUT TO:

INT. LARGE SUBURBAN HOME - DAY

The door slams shut behind Mr. Schiff.

11.


13/21

MR. SCHIFFHoney, Im home. Hope breakfast isready.

He walks into...

INT. LARGE SUBURBAN HOME KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

He freezes with shock. At his feet lies a blood soakedbackpack with two child arms dangling from the straps.

The walls are splattered with blood. PIG is written on thewindow in blood.

MR. SCHIFFGod!

He backs up, bumps into something.

He spins to see The Raker standing in front of him.

THE RAKERThere is no god.

The Raker slashes Mr. Schiff in two.

CUT TO:

EXT. HEADQUARTERS - DAY

A large megaphone blares the words of SERGEANT TOM STERLING(49), a tough, handsome police veteran.

STERLINGWeve got the place surrounded.Come out now and no one has to gethurt.

Reds and blues are flashing. Sergeant Sterling stands behinda police cruiser surrounded by ARMED COPS. Next to him standsa uniformed officer, MATT HENDRICKS (25). They face theheadquarters.

STERLING (CONTD)(to Hendricks)

Make sure all your guys are wearingvests. I got a bad feeling aboutthis one.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Gunshots inside the house.

12.


14/21

Sterling pulls out his revolver.

STERLING (CONTD)All right men, lets go!

He jumps the perimeter, followed by a few SWAT TEAM COPS.

They reach the front door and Sterling stands by as the swatteam use a battering ram to knock down the front door.

INT. HEADQUARTERS KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Sterling enters the kitchen and stumbles upon three deadHispanic woman each holding handguns. Hendricks comes upbehind him.

HENDRICKSDid they really kill themselves?

Hendricks starts to feel sick.

STERLINGGet out of here kid.

COP 1 (O.S.)We got something in here.

CUT TO:

INT. HEADQUARTERS LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

COP 1, with gun drawn, stands above the trap door. Sterlingand Hendricks run in. He directs their attention to the trapdoor.

CUT TO:

INT. HEADQUARTERS BASEMENT - CONTINUOUS

Trejo holds of stack of burning bills. He tosses the billsover the crowd.

TREJOWell burn their money, theirhouses, and their women!

CLINK, CLINK.

Behind the crowd, two tear gas canisters hit the ground.

The crowd turns as two clouds of tear gas begin to fill theroom.

13.


15/21

The swat team members rope down into the basement and startfiring into the crowd. People scatter, a few stand theirground and fight, others are shot, some succumb to the gas.

TREJO (CONTD)We must stand and fight!

A GROUP of followers led by Vladimir surround Trejo and usherhim to a secret exit. They push aside some boxes. Vladimiropens a lid.

TREJO (CONTD)Let go of me!

VLADIMIRGo. Go find the others. The causewill live with you.

TREJO

I will stay and fight with you.

Vladimir pushes Trejo into a large sewer pipe.

VLADIMIR(as he shuts the lid)

Make them pay.

INT. SEWER PIPE - CONTINUOUS

TREJONoooooo!

He hears them push the boxes back, then loud gunfire.

CUT TO:

INT. CHANNEL 11 STUDIO - TRISHAS OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

Trisha sits on her desk, lotus position, meditating. The wallbehind her is decorated with personal photos and a collegediploma.

Suddenly, Tony burst through the door.

TONY ALVAREZI just got a hot tip on a raid.

Trisha is unresponsive.

TONY ALVAREZ (CONTD)Wake up, Trish. Its going downnow.

14.


16/21

TRISHA(opening one eye)

Lets go!

CUT TO:

INT. SEWER - CONTINUOUS

Trejo runs through the muck. The POP! And WHIZZ! Of bulletsecho and ricochet along the concrete sewer walls.

He loses his footing and falls into the shit and piss.Flashlights glare from around the corner.

COP 1 (O.S.)I heard something over here.

Trejo gets to his feet as Cop 1 rounds the corner.

TREJOShit.

COP 1Freeze! Hes over here fellas. Thebig bad...

VLADIMIR ON FIRE tackles Cop 1 as he fires a round from hisgun.

The bullet nicks Trejo in the shoulder, taking him down.

Vladimir bears hugs Cop 1 until they both are engulfed inflames.

CUT TO:

EXT. HEADQUARTERS - CONTINUOUS

The Channel Eleven News Van pulls up to the police blockade.Flames illuminates the dark sky.

Trisha jumps out, followed by Tony strapping on his gear and

powering up his camera.

Smoking a cigarette, Sterling stands next to Hendrickswatching the Headquarters burn. Trisha approaches.

STERLINGTrisha Yearwood. I thought Id seeneverything tonight. What in thehell are you doing here?

15.


17/21

TRISHAGot an extra smoke, Sterling?

Sterling reaches into his pocket pulling out his pack ofcigarettes. One left. After lighting it he hands thecigarette to Trisha.

TRISHA (CONTD)Whats going on down here?

TONY ALVAREZSmells like carne asada.

HENDRICKSShut up, jackass!

STERLING(to Trisha)

See they got you with a new camera

man. What happened to Bru...

TRISHALong story. I need this scoopSterling. Can you give me astatement?

HENDRICKSThose crazy bastards startedkilling themselves as soon as wecame through. Then the whole placejust went up.

Sterling shoots a disapproving glare at Hendricks.

HENDRICKS (CONTD)They set fire to themselves. Ivenever seen anything like it.

Sterling opens his coat, draws his gun and takes aim atHendricks.

HENDRICKS (CONTD)Hey, what are you...

BAM!

Sterling fires past Hendricks, killing another MAN ON FIRE.He stumbles to the ground and a smoldering VHS cassette rollsout of his hand.

POV: Tonys camera: Sterling throws his coat on the body andextinguishes the flames. He picks up the cassette and turnsto see Tony recording the whole thing.

16.


18/21

STERLINGTurn that thing off.

He puts his hand in front of the lens. Tony cuts the camera.

TONY ALVAREZ

What happened to the warning shot?

STERLINGCry me a river.

Sterling examines the cassette, it has Spanish writing undera hammer and sickle.

TRISHAI need to see whats on that tape.

STERLINGNo way.

TRISHAWe got this whole mess on camera.You dont want to be sent back tothe Valley again do you?

Sterling eyes her and reluctantly throws her the tape.

STERLINGWere watching this together.

HENDRICKSIll bring the popcorn.

They all stare at him.

CAMERA PANS up the road to the idling Gardeners van. Itpulls away down an alley.

It comes to a stop next to a manhole cover. The sliding dooropens as the manhole cover pops off releasing plumes of darksmoke.

An arm pops out and clutches the asphalt. Limb by limb, awounded Trejo pulls himself up out of the sewer. He is helped

into the van and it speeds away.

INT. VAN - CONTINUOUS

Weedwhacker drives as the Group of Gardeners sit in the vanlooking defeated.

ERNESTOWhat happened man?

17.


19/21

WEEDWHACKERThose fucking pigs man! We have tokill em all.

ERNESTOIs this the type of revolution you

wanted?

Trejo slaps Ernesto hard. He winces in pain from slappingwith his injured arm.

TREJOHave some respect. We lost a lot ofbrothers and sisters tonight.

Trejos wound starts leaking.

MARIAWeve got to fix you up.

TREJOIll be all right.

THE RAKERThe revolution wont die tonight.Lets get them now.

TREJOWeve got to get out of the cityand regroup.

ERNESTO

Man, where are we gonna go?

TREJODidnt I tell you to shut up. Imbeginning to think youre not atrue revolutionary.

ERNESTOHey man.

THE RAKERJust shut up puto.

TREJO(To Weedwhacker)

Head east hombre.

Weedwhacker nods.

MONTAGE: Sitting in the passenger seat, Leafblower silentlystares out the window.

18.


20/21

City lights slowly diminish as the van leaves the citybehind.

The stars get brighter as the van lights wind through darkhillsides.

EXT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT

Headlights pull up on a gravel driveway in front of an OLDRANCH HOUSE.

CUT TO:

EXT. RANCH HOUSE PORCH - MOMENTS LATER

Knuckles on door.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

No answer.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

A light pops on. The door opens. A bleary eyed TOM McGEE (71)stands in the open door in an old robe.

TOMWhat the hell?!

The Raker pushes him in.

INT. RANCH HOUSE LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The Raker has Tom pinned against the wall with his sharpenedrake.

THE RAKERDont move holmes.

The Group of Gardeners rushes in.

A door opens down the hall.

MARTHA (O.S.)Tom. Whats going on?

MARTHA (68), in a night gown, enters the living room.Weedwhacker grabs her as she screams.

THE RAKERShut her up.

19.


21/21

Weedwhacker pulls out a pair of grass scissors and holds themto her throat.

THE RAKERNow listen, you keep your bocaclosed and we wont make fertilizer

out of you. Is there anyone elsehere?

TOMNo, its just us.

From down the hall...

CRASH.

The Raker pushes his rake in closer. He nods to Leafblowerand Maria. They exit to search the rooms.

Moments later, A scream is heard off screen.

PEGGY (O.S.)Stop it. Get off me!

Leafblower drags PEGGY SUE (19), in short shorts and a whiteMotley Crue T shirt, into the room. He pushes her onto thecouch.

PEGGY (CONTD)Whats happening mom?

MARTHA

Its going to be okay honey.

WEEDWHACKERNo its not.

(To Tom)Im going to kill your wife forlying.

He opens the scissors on her throat, ready to snip when...

TREJO (O.S.)Stop!!!!

Trejo stands in the doorway, back lit by the headlights, andcloses the door.

CUT TO:

20.

Documents

The Gardeners first 20 pgs