SubUrbia

SubUrbia    
 
Screenplay by       Eric Bogosian

Produced by       Anne Walker-McBay

Directed by       Richard Linklater

Cast List:

Giovanni Ribisi     Jeff

Steve Zahn      Buff

Amie Carey     Sooze

John Cherico      Channel Presenter

Samia Shoaib      Pakeesa

Ajay Naidu      Nazeer

Nicky Katt      Tim

Jayce Bartok      Pony

Parker Posey     Erica

Dina Spybey      Bee-Bee

EXT. ESTABLISHING – BURNFIELD – DAY

Over the various images of Burnfield's strip malls and fast food joints we hear GENE PITNEY singing.

GENE PITNEY (V.O.)

(singing)

"When your young and so in love as we

and bewildered by the world we see

why do people hurt us so

Only those in love know

What a town without pity can do

If we stop to gave upon a star

people talk about how bad we are

ours is not an easy age

we're like tigers in a cage

What a town without pity can do"

INT. JEFF'S ROOM – GARAGE – DAY

JEFF is talking on the telephone inside of his tent which is has set up in his parents garage.

JEFF
(into telephone)

Buff? Yeah, I'll see you down there later. I just gotta finish some stuff I'm writing. Okay. 'Bye.

Jeff clicks over to the other line.

JEFF

(into telephone)

SOOZE? Yeah, so did you tell him that we couldn't afford twenty bucks a ticket and why didn't he put us on the comp list? No, no, there's always a comp list. Alright. Well, so then, just get your mother's car and maybe we'll all go do something. Yeah. I gotta get off. Okay. 'Bye.

CUT TO:

INT. PIZZA JOINT – DAY

BUFF is the one of the only people working. Pies are over cooking in the oven and Buff is trying to punch out of work as soon as he can.

BUFF
(into telephone)

Hey, Frankie! Hey, what are you doing? Sleeping? What, at six o'clock? Sleep when you are dead. Hey, man, I just got off work. Why don't you meet me down at the corner. So? Put on some clothes and come down, man, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I wanna see you, man. Alright. Yeah. Hey, why don't you bring that pot you just bought? What?! Yeah, fuck you man!

(to employee)

Later.

CUT TO:

INT. SOOZE'S HOUSE. BEDROOM – DAY

Sooze's room is covered with a wide variety of artwork, most of which she as done. She hangs up the phone and walks down the hallway towards her MOTHERS room. She stops in her mother's doorway,

SOOZE

I'm going out later.

SOOZE'S MOM
No car.

SOOZE

The fuck not?

SOOZE'S MOM

You know the fuck not.

SOOZE

Fuck.

SOOZE'S MOM

Don't swear it's impolite.

Sooze storms out of the room and back down the hall to her own room. Sooze's mom is watching a shopping channel on the television. We dolly into the television.

SHOPPING CHANNEL HOST

... suggest that you call immediately. We are truly thrilled to bring you this next item and it's a Host Value Special. It's the spiral relaxation lamp. I personally bought one of these for a very good friend of mine and ended up falling in love with it, I found myself mesmerized by watching the balls. That's why I suggest that if you're going to buy one, that you buy maybe two or three...

CUT TO:

INT. CIRCLE A CONVENIENCE STORE – NIGHT

Two POLICE OFFICERS (CHIP and GARY) are at the counter buying cigarettes. Jeff is also inside shopping. The convenience store worker, NAZEER, is watching a cops-like TV show.

TV REPORTER (V.O.)

It started with a traffic argument, escalated to the firing of a legally carried handgun, ending with the death of the man it was aimed at. GORDON RIEDHALE claimed he couldn't escape an attacker who was punching him in the head. Concealed carry instructors say, "It's that fear..."

CHIP

Just depends on the filter capacity. What size is that pool?

GARY

Fifty-five thousand.

(to Nazeer)

Marlboros, chief. Hard pack.

CHIP

In that case you need a heavy-duty filter.

NAZEER

Two-fifty.

GARY

Two-fifty? They go up?

NAZEER

Always two-fifty, my friend.

TV REPORTER (V.O.)

What that means is that every armed licensee faced with danger must make a split second judgment call.

Gary places two-fifty on the counter and him and Chip walk back to their patrol car. As they leave the parking lot they see TIM sitting on the side of the building.

CHIP
(to Tim)

Timmy-boy!

Tim makes a "smooth sailing" gesture with his hand. Buff roles over to Tim on his roller blades. He sweeps off a piece of concrete and places down a slice of pizza. Buff begins to play hockey with two empty beer cans on the ground. He shoots one at the dumpster and the other at Tim.

BUFF

Peace! Ah, time's running out, three, two, one!

He shoots the beer can at Tim, barely missing him. Jeff walks up from around the corner holding a package of cookies he just bought. Nazeer is right behind him eating something.

BUFF (CONT'D)

Score! Yeah!

NAZEER

Hey, hey, seven-twenty. Seven-twenty.

Jeff turns around.

JEFF

What?

NAZEER

Seven-twenty.

JEFF

I gave it to you.

BUFF

He paid you man.

NAZEER

You owe me twenty cents. Come on, seven-twenty. Seven-twenty.

BUFF

Yo! Your spitting rice all over us! God.

Jeff digs into his pockets.

JEFF

Here's twenty-five cents.

Nazeer takes the money and walks away.

JEFF (CONT'D)

Guy should cut down on his caffeine intake.

BUFF

Needs some pizza in his diet.

Buff is eating his slice of pizza and skating around the group.

TIM

I don't think I like that guy's attitude at all. Hey, you know what? Take off the blades. I mean it. I'm gonna break your fucking legs. Take 'em off.

BUFF

You're fascist, man. Neofascist.

He sits down and begins to take of his blades.

TIM

Buff, sit. You know what I mean though? Somebody ought to crack that guy with a baseball bat.

JEFF

Yeah, well, he's from a Third World country. He doesn't have it easy.

TIM

What? What the fuck do you know about the third world? You been there? No? No, well, I have. Fuckers live like sardines in a can over there, you know. Everything stinks. It's true, there's no, you know, law, no order. No nothing. The assholes come over here, they think it's gonna be the same.

JEFF

Hey, he's a human being you can give him that much.

TIM

Actually, the only thing I gotta give that guy is a one-way ticket back to Greaseball-land.

JEFF

Yeah, well, that pizza could feed a family of four in Turkey or India or wherever the fuck he comes from.

BUFF

Oh yeah? Oh, how'd you ship it over there, man? Federal Express? Hm? By the time it got there it'd be way cold and coagulated. Total waste. Cheese be stuck to the cardboard.

JEFF

Buff, that slice is the difference between life and death for some half-dead Bangladeshi.

BUFF

Yo, your gettin' me all upset here.