The first 30 pages of a new script
For a class this month, I’ve been writing the first act of a feature film - one I hope to complete this summer, if my other responsibilities permit me the time (fingers crossed.)
Here are the pages I’ve written so far - or at least, this is what I’ve recently submitted for evaluation, so here’s hoping there’s nothing too egregious in there that I now can’t edit or amend.
The film’s name is Ski Trip. The premise is rather simple: an all-boys school goes on a ski trip and we watch as the students rub up against one another. Really, we follow one character throughout, Christian, a confused teenager from year 10. He and his older brother, Lester, an upper sixth boy, aren’t talking, and he seems less and less capable of getting on with his friends, despite his desire to fit in. Another boy, Rufus, appears to be offering escape for Christian, but whether that escape will involve his becoming a punching bag or his offering an alternative kind of friendship remains to be seen.
At the bottom of the PDF I’ve written a page-long treatment for what happens next, but I’ll repost that here in case anyone wants to access it a bit more easily, for whatever reason:
Christian spends some time isolated from the others and is kept inside to study during the mornings. Tentatively, he approaches Richard, but Richard rebukes him and Christian retreats into himself. After a day or so, James notices how lonely Christian has grown and introduces himself properly. The two talk and James invites Christian to sit with the Upper Sixth boys at dinner. Here, James floats the idea of Christian coming out with them the next night. Lester refuses.
The next day, James asks Christian more probing questions regarding his relationship with Lester. Christian reveals that he and Lester's parents have split and that while he went with their father, Lester went with their mother. Christian also mourns the selling of the family's nearby chalet. James convinces Lester that Christian needs his help and, begrudgingly, Lester agrees to let Christian accompany the group on a nighttime excursion.
The final night of the trip, the group of seven heads out into the snow for a night of reverie, ignoring the forecast of heavy snowfall. One condition Lester asserts, however, is that Christian doesn’t drink. Soon, Lester and James start to argue and, after things boil over, James makes a drunken pass at Lester, revealing the two are in a relationship. Lester explodes at him and, out of spite, James gives Christian his first drink. Lester storms off.
The snow begins to beat down heavily and, as the group move to leave, they realise Lester's continued absence. Most of the boys depart for the chalet, but James and Christian start to search for Lester. Soon realising how drunk James is, Christian suggests he catches up with the others.
After the snowstorm intensifies, Christian retreats to his family's old chalet (which exhibits no signs of the fire damage Christian has dreamt of). Inside the Chalet, he finds Lester. The two talk for a while and Lester reveals that he has in fact been having the same dream as Christian - that he was considering burning the chalet down. Lester soon realises Christian is in a bad way, however, and decides he needs to take Christian back, away from the cold of their old chalet. On the way, the pair get lost and take shelter under a tree.
As they try to stay warm, Lester reveals to Christian that he has resented him for a long time - resented that his father picked Christian over himself. Christian reveals that he feels angry all the time, but doesn’t understand why.
As the cold sets in, the boys huddle together for warmth. Christian closes his eyes and the warm, fiery glow of his dream comes over him. In the last moment of the film, Lester shakes him awake and tells him they need to keep talking.