Sam and Me (Working Title)
A short screenplay by Steve Cosmic
Based on the feature length screenplay,
Sam and Leah, also by Steve Cosmic.
Draft 3.6 (It will be polished more.)
This movie will get attention, and be viewed a lot.
This is what actors need to get ahead.
How it will help actors, explained under script.
Based on a true story.
This short screenplay tells the basic story in the feature length 90 minute movie, in only about 26 minutes. It will be sort of a duologue.... sometimes the two main actors will perform monologues, and other times they will perform with each other. It will use the style of shooting like that in Mona's Me Too Story, which won a Best Actress Award. It will require great acting, and it is an opportunity for actors to really show their stuff. The actors will get outstanding demo reels.
The characters.
Sam. About 32-35. Athletic. A recovering alcoholic, he has been clean and sober for 5 years.
Leah, about 18 to 22. Slim and attractive. A cocaine addict, she has worked as an escort sometimes. When she met Sam she was living with her boyfriend Orlando. When she had a fight with Orlando she would sleep on Sam's couch.
Orlando. About 25-27. Leah's boyfriend. He deals cocaine. He is abusive and controlling. A small but very important role.
Sam and Leah will perform the whole movie three times. First, there will be a wide shot showing them both. Then Sam and Leah look at each other as they speak, the second time they perform.
They will be looking VERY CLOSE to the camera. The third time they perform
they will mostly look at the camera. The second and third performances will be closeups. All 3 performances will be utilized during editng. There will also be cut away reaction shots. It will be very dramatic. I want only 3 on camera takes for each actor.
Applying actors should also read the synopsis for the 90 minute movie below, and watch the practice shoot "Soulmate Scene" for Sam and Leah, here. And watch two other scenes, here. This will give you a good understanding of the characters.
INTERIOR, DAY, SAM'S APARTMENT. THE DINING AREA.
Leah is sitting at the table and Sam places a mug of coffee in front of her and sits down.
Sam
It's got extra sugar like you like.
Leah
Thanks...So what's this about Pamela? Why did she call? I'm
surprised she'd call you. ...You left her after being married to her for
only two minutes.
Sam
(sigh) Yeah, I know. But she's gotten over it. (beat) She's writing
a screenplay.
Leah
A screenplay? What's it about?
Sam
It's about us actually. She thinks our story about
how we met and everything that happened is interesting enough
for a movie.
Leah
A movie. Wow. So why did she call? She knows most of our
story.
Sam
She wants more background and details.
Leah
Do we have to tell her about making
the topless videos?
Sam
I suppose so.
Leah pauses and drinks her coffee.
Leah
Maybe we should practice what we're gonna
say to her.
Sam
That's a good idea.
Leah
You want me to go first?
Sam
Sure OK.
Leah drinks some more coffee. Sam does too.
Leah
I haven't thought about those videos for a while.... That's how
we met. You placed an ad saying you wanted a topless model
and I replied.
Sam
Yeah, I was lonely and I had a fantasy about filming
a topless model.
In the background, there will be a brief clip of Sam operating a small video camera as Leah poses topless. IT IS ARTISTIC, something like the brief bikini clip in Mona's Me Too Story. Watch it here, and click pause at 9:38.
She will be posing, not jogging, for just a few seconds. And, her image will be distant. It is important to watch the short bit of the video so you know what is involved. It's an important part of the story. When you click and pause, you'll see it's artistic. It will help the movie get seen a lot, which
will help your career.
Leah
Lots of guys have those fantasies. (beat) The videos
were fun and
that's how we started to get to know each other.
(beat)
I guess she will want to know about Orlando giving me
coke and beating me. (beat)
(There will be lots of closeups, especially during the monologues. Closeups are needed to win awards. The backgrounds will fade to black sometimes, and other times different backgrounds will fade in and out, like in Mona's Me Too Story.)
Leah continued
I've gotten better at sharing personal stuff, since you first
took me to AA. (several beats,
a big breath.....) I ran away when I was 16.
I was abused and my
mother knew about it and never did anything.
(swallows, beat)
Leah fidgets a bit, and then speaks more.
I worked as a waitress and met boyfriends who
gave me coke.
I got fired from jobs and I was broke a lot,
so I would escort sometimes. (beat) I
never told my boyfriends. I only did coke sometimes.
I couldn't pay my rent lots of times. I met Orlando
who was dealing coke. Moving in with him solved
all my problems.
(beat) Well, except he beat me sometimes.
He had lots of coke around all the time,
and I started doing it more.
(beat)
I had to make deliveries. (sniffle) If I didn't want to do it
he beat me...(sobs). (2 or 3 beats....sniffle) Then
I saw your ad and met you. You let me sleep on your
couch if Orlando and I had a fight.
Sam
Yeah, well I had been alone a lot at that time. I wanted
some company. I liked cooking for you. You liked
everything I cooked! (slight chuckle)
Sam pauses between lines, as he thinks about what he will say next.
Sam continued
And we did some outings which I liked, like movies,
and drives, and picnics and that kind of stuff. And we
shopped for some clothes for you.... you were so raggy....
We had fun.
Leah stares off into space briefly, and so does Sam. In the background there is a clip of them walking on a sidewalk eating ice cream cones and laughing and having fun.
Sam continued
And first I believed everything you said. Like if you
were high on coke and I asked why you were so
speedy and you said it was because you had too much
coffee, I believed you. You lied a lot and I believed you.
And you'd call me from skid row sometimes,
and ask me to come and get you. You were a
total mess when I picked you up.
Leah looks embarassed or ashamed.
Sam continued.
(serious, and slightly angry)
I worried about you all the time!
It was like a brother sister kind of love.
Or maybe a father daughter kind of love.
Sam pauses. Leah looks down and then up at him.
Leah
Well I remember when I saw your ad for a topless model.
I was thinking you might be some kind of creep.
But I was curious and I like showing off.
She holds out her chest a bit and moves from side to side. Sam does a sort of
silent chuckle.
Leah
Plus I needed the money. So I messaged you.
You were kind of formal
and shy..... I remember you blushed when I asked if
you were going to jack off when you watched the video.
Sam blushes again.
Leah
Well a week later we made another video and
we talked and ate cookies. And you told me about
your idea to make topless videos to sell so I didn't
have to escort anymore. (beat)
And you let me sleep
on your couch. (2 beats) You never tried to fuck me
and I thought that was strange. (beat). I slept on your
couch many times. We had fun
without sex or drugs or drinks. That was new to me.
Sam
I was glad when your videos started making
money for you.
I made them so you could stop escorting. I worried
about you getting hurt, ...and the drug scene. ... And well
I just didn't like the idea of you having sex with all
those men. ... (2 beats)
Leah
It was fun to make the videos. And I was glad
for the money. (beat) Until Orlando made us stop selling
them.
Sam
(beat) You'll have to talk about Orlando,
and what happened.
Leah looks down, and fidgets a bit. She is going to have to talk about a difficult time.
Leah
Yeah....... the time he beat me the worst....
It was after I stayed at your place a few times.
He hated you.
And he was nervous because he had a really big
coke deal coming up. I heard him talking about
having someone killed. (beat)
He was on the phone......I was pretending I wasn't
listening and didn't hear
what he was saying. He hung up the phone
and came over and grabbed my throat
and held me against the wall.....
He said if I told anyone he would kill me. (beat)
And he'd kill you too......
Then he punched my face and all over, and
threw me out into the hall.
The background shows Leah being thrown into the hallway and falling down. She gets
up on her hands and knees. She has a black eye and bruises on her shoulder and a cut on her forehead. Close up on her face. Leah is teary as she tells about this. Sam stares off into space. It is hard for him to think about the one he loves being beaten.
They are both silent for about 10 seconds.
(Go to Mona's Me Too Story, here. Hit pause at 8:46. Imagine Leah's face on the left side of the screen, facing towards the camera, then Sam's face on the left side, also facing towards the camera. Imagine the face on the right being Leah on the floor in the hallway, with a black eye, and blood running down her forehead.)
Leah
Then you saved me Sam ! ..... (she sobs)
You made a plan and saved me...... (beat)
Sam
Having you smuggle in that spy camera.
That's what did it. When Orlando saw the video
and knew my friend would give a copy to the police and
that other dealer if anything happened to us, he left us alone.
Leah
And then I started going to meetings with you and I got clean and sober. (beat)
And that's where you met Pamela.
Sam
Yeah, I liked her. And she was my age.
Leah smiles.
Leah
I was younger, but smarter than you thought. I
knew you were in love with
me but afraid to admit it!
Sam is happy.
Sam
Well I thought I was too old for you. And there was that guy your
age at the meetings who liked you. I wanted you to be happy.
Leah laughs.
Leah
Yeah but I was in love with you.
I had been in love with you since the first time
you bought me ice cream! (2 beats) And your
wedding was really something. ......
Sam
Yeah, I guess it was. I'll never forget it.
Leah
Neither will anyone else who was there!
Especially Pamela!
Sam
You caught the bouquet.....
Leah
I got pushed forward, and it landed right on
my chest. I wasn't trying to catch it. I didn't
want to catch it. Actually I was pissed when
I caught it.
Sam and Leah are both smiling and happy as they recall his wedding day.
Leah
You started to drive away with Pamela and I ran in front of your car.
Sam
I got out of my car and you threw your arms around me
and kissed me.
Leah
I heard Pamela crying but I didn't care.
Sam
And we've been happy together ever since.
They lean towards each other and kiss.
Leah
You snore sometimes....
Sam
So do you.
They kiss again.
FADE OUT. THE END.
A song, "She's a Big Girl Now" is heard during the credits. The song was written and performed specially for my short film Cam Girl, which won a Platinum Award and the actress won a Best Actress Award. Cam Girl has some nudity.
Cam Girl, with the song, is here. Cam Girl has nudity.
The actress playing Leah must be OK doing the topless scene. It is an essential part of the story. If you want to be Leah but are not OK with this, then do not apply. The topless scene is brief. (You can search google for "actresses who have done nudity." It's a long list.)
The synopsis for Sam and Leah, the feature length screenplay. It will give you background on your characters.
Sam is an alcoholic about 35-40, tall and athletic. He played minor league baseball in his 20's and advanced to the Big Leagues where he pitched 3 successful innings. He celebrated his accomplishment by getting drunk and walking into a moving car. He broke his collar bone and it never healed quite right, so he never regained his full pitching ability. He kept trying in the minor leagues for a while, but went into a downward spiral with alcohol and drugs. He got clean and sober, and at the time of this story, he is making his living building websites for others and selling baseball related merchandise on the internet. He was married and has a 12 year old son who does not live with him.
Leah is a cocaine addict in her late 20's, slim and attractive. Her boyfriend is a dealer and she gets coke from him. She fights frequently with him, and leaves him, or he throws her out, and she goes back to him. Sometimes he beats her. She occasionally works as a waitress, and sometimes as a prostitute and other times as a model. She is a compulsive liar, and part of her wants to change.
Sam and Leah meet through an internet ad. Sam hires her for a topless video, and they become friends. He shelters her and feeds her sometimes when she has had a fight with her boyfriend. Sometimes he picks her up on skid row after she has been binging on coke for a week, and nurses her back to health. They do healthy activities together, such as day drives, movies, dining and going to the beach. They never have sex together. They don't even kiss.
Sam wants to wean her from prostitution and comes up with a plan for her to make some topless videos for sale on the internet. He also encourages her to waitress and finish her grade 12, and he starts taking her to AA meetings. Leah is reluctant to go sometimes, and sometimes she is keen to go. At AA, Sam meets a woman closer to his age, and Leah becomes jealous, even though she has an AA guy around her age interested in her.
Leah is frequently back with her drug dealer boyfriend, not seeing Sam for a while. Sam starts getting frightening phone calls late at night from her boyfriend, who threatens to have him killed.
Leah learns of a plan by her boyfriend where he plans to rip off a big time dealer, and then have him murdered. Sam comes up with a dangerous plan to prevent the murder and to get Leah's boyfriend to leave him and her alone for good. This part is exciting and suspenseful.
The plan works, and Sam marries the AA woman who is closer to his age. Leah is hurt and jealous. Sam leaves his new bride after being married for just two minutes, and runs off with Leah. End.
The screenplay is copyright, and so is this long synopsis. It may not be copied or used in any way without express written permission.
Why work with me for low pay?
I am an "actors director". I have taken acting classes, memorized lines and gone to auditions. I know how much work it is to be an actor. I highly respect actors.
And, I know how to get superior performances from actors.
You can volunteer on short films. Many of them never get finished. Most take months to finish in post production. Most get seen by the cast, crew and friends, and that's about it. That is reality.
With me, this project will get finished for sure. It will be edited
within about 10 days, and you can then send the link to agents and casting directors.
Lots more people will see you.
You will get an IMDB credit.
Most short film shoots are very slow. You waste time. I am quick and you will learn a LOT. I will teach everyone my "$10,000 acting trick" which you can ask me about at our audition meeting.
I am an award winning filmmaker, and I have been nominated for a Best Director Award. I will bring out the best in you.
My last short film is 23 minutes long. It is an inspring story of a young woman who was raped, and how she healed and learned to feel happy again. It has been submitted to about 80 film festivals so far, with about 10 of them being in the LA area, where the actress was seen by some Hollywood people. She got an IMDB credit. She learned my special acting technique.
She won A Best Actress Award. She was a rookie.
This is why it is worthwhile working with me, for low pay.
Everyone working on Sam and Me will be considered for Sam and Leah when the time comes. I expect Sam and Leah to have a significant budget so everyone gets good pay.
We will shoot on green screen, in my home studio.
About the producer/casting director/multi tasker job. This can be a beginner, and it could be an actor who doesn't suit the roles. A chance to learn a lot and get producer, casting director, and script supervisor credits. You will also learn my "$10,000 acting trick."
How to apply. Do not apply through facebook, as I can't save messages in a folder and sort them. Send an email, with your name, and the role you are applying for, in the subject box. Then tell me about yourself, your experience, and why you want to be in this movie. A formal resume is not needed, and selfies are OK. Send a head shot and a full body shot.
PS: If you find a link that doesn't work, or some
other problem on this site, please tell me. Thanks!
