12 and Holding

Synopsis: After his twin brother is accidentally killed by vengeful bullies, a 12-year old boy and his friends face the harsh realities of death, teenage hormones, and family dysfunction.
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Michael Cuesta
Production: IFC Films
  5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.6
Metacritic:
65
Rotten Tomatoes:
73%
R
Year:
2005
94 min
Website
391 Views


FADE IN:

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - MORNING

TWIN BOYS, RUDY AND JACOB CARGES (12), ride their bikes

through a suburban neighborhood.

Rudy, the more athletic of the two, rides at a breakneck

pace. Jacob rides slowly due to a HOCKEY MASK that he wears

over his face. It’s making it difficult for him to see. The

boys turn down a DIRT PATH and ride deep into some WOODS.

INT. WOODS - CONTINUOUS

Rudy and Jacob ride to the edge of a CLEARING and stop.

Across from the clearing is a large OAK TREE, which has a

TREE HOUSE perched high up in it’s branches. The boys

cautiously look around and whisper.

JACOB:

You see ‘em?

RUDY:

No. But that doesn’t mean they’re

not here.

After a beat, Rudy gets off his bike and starts walking

towards the tree house. Jacob stays behind, eyeing their

safety.

RUDY (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Jacob, come on. It’s cool.

Suddenly, a ROCK comes careening from off screen. It hits

Jacob in the head and knocks him to the ground.

Rudy darts for the oak tree as a hail storm of rock and

debris come flying at him.

As Jacob rises, a stream of blood pours down the front of his

mask. He quickly runs for the tree.

TWO BOYS, JEFF AND KENNY (14), trailer park, punks come

running out of the woods, rocks in hand.

Rudy and Jacob climb the tree, using makeshift RUNGS that are

nailed into the trunk. In the floor of the tree house is a

DOOR. Rudy removes a KEY from a chain around his neck and

unlocks it. He climbs inside and pulls Jacob in after him.

2.

INT. TREE HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jacob looks back and sees Jeff and Kenny, running over. Rudy

crosses to the door with a BUCKET of liquid.

JACOB:

What the hell is that?

RUDY:

Piss.

Rudy dumps the piss onto Jeff and Kenny.

EXT. TREE HOUSE - SAME TIME

Now drenched with piss, Jeff and Kenny jump from the tree,

screaming. They try to shake the urine off.

Kenny spits the taste out of his mouth and angrily calls up

to the boys.

KENNY:

You and your deformed brother are

dead!

INT. TREE HOUSE - SAME TIME

Jacob rips the hockey mask off. (A large STRAWBERRY

BIRTHMARK covers the right side of his face.) He’s insulted.

RUDY:

(calling to Kenny)

Anytime you’re ready, d*ckhead.

EXT. TREE HOUSE - SAME TIME

Jeff and Kenny walk off.

KENNY:

They’re f***ing dead!

Jeff runs off screen and throws up.

INT. FISHER HOME - KITCHEN - MORNING

LEONARD FISHER (12), severely obese, sits at the dinner

table, eating pancakes.

His FATHER, PATRICK (35) and TWO YOUNGER SISTERS, HALEY (8)

and SARA (6) are seated with him. They are all overweight.

(CONTINUED)

3.

CONTINUED:

LEONARD’S MOTHER, GRACE (35), the largest of them all,

crosses to the table, sits and starts eating.

JUMP CUTS show the progression of their meal. From globs of

syrup being placed over pancakes to the mass consumption of

omelets and sausage. Caught up with eating, nobody speaks.

EST. EXT. CHUNG RESIDENCE - MORNING

A modern, upper-class home with a large, well tended yard.

YACCO (O.S.)

The check is supposed to be here on

the first of the month... She’s

your daughter, you a**hole!

INT. CHUNG HOME - UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

YACCO CHUANG (35), Asian-American, sexy, uptight,

psychiatrist, paces the hallway on the phone.

HER DAUGHTER, MALEE (12) with long, black, braided hair and

thick rimmed glasses, peeks her head out of the bathroom.

MALEE:

Mom, I need help.

YACCO (INTO PHONE)

(ignoring her)

Any parent is “parent of the year”

next to you, you selfish prick.

Yacco walks off. Deflated, Malee reenters the bathroom.

INT. CHUNG HOME - BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS

Malee is wrapped in a towel and holding a TAMPON. Confused,

she grabs the TAMPON BOX and reads the directions. Malee’s

confusion quickly turns to disgust.

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD ENTRANCE - LATER

Leonard sits upon a large rock with the words, LINDSAY ACRES

inscribed on the center of it. He eats POPCORN. Hanging off

the top right hand corner of the rock is a banner, which

reads, 5th ANNUAL 4TH OF JULY PICNIC. ALL INVITED.

Malee rides her bike up to Leonard. She HONKS her BIKE HORN

at every pedestrian in her path.

MALEE:

Move it, people. Outta my way!

(CONTINUED)

4.

CONTINUED:

She comes to a screeching halt an inch in front of Leonard.

LEONARD:

(mouthful)

You’re late.

MALEE:

Yeah well, I began menstruating

this morning, and I had some

difficulty inserting the tampon.

(off his disgusted look)

What? It’s a natural process. You

know, I could conceive, carry and

birth a child right now.

LEONARD:

Big deal. You won’t.

MALEE:

But I could. That’s what matters.

LEONARD:

The twins said, they’d meet us at

the spot.

Leonard gets on his bike.

MALEE:

Wanna race?

LEONARD:

Nah, I’m good.

INT. TREE HOUSE - LATER

Jacob wipes at his head wound, frightened.

JACOB:

Maybe I should have mom look at it.

RUDY:

If you didn’t have that damn mask

on, you’d have seen it coming. Our

birthday comes once a year, and you

ask for a hockey mask. You don’t

even play.

JACOB:

Jason from “Friday the 13th” wears

one. He’s bad ass.

(CONTINUED)

5.

CONTINUED:

RUDY:

Exactly. Jason wouldn’t run home

‘cause of a little blood. He’d get

back up, decapitate his victim and

move on.

Jacob looks out the makeshift window in the wall.

JACOB:

You think Jeff and Kenny will come

back?

RUDY:

I dropped piss on their heads. I’d

say the odds are pretty good.

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Michael Cuesta

Michael Cuesta is an American film and television director, best known for his independent films, specially for having co-wrote and directed the 2001 film, L.I.E., which contributed to reveal then-young actor Paul Dano. more…

All Michael Cuesta scripts | Michael Cuesta Scripts

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Submitted on August 31, 2016

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