Brad’s Status

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FADE IN:

1 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 1

BRAD SLOAN, lies in bed, staring anxiously up at the ceiling.

His wife, MELANIE, is asleep beside him. Moonlightilluminates the room. It is deathly silent, then we HEAR aNARRATOR’s voice.

NARRATOR:

Brad was lying in bed at 3AMwondering why he felt so anxious.

CLOSE ON BRAD as his mind wanders from thought to thought.

NARRATOR:

He scanned through all the possiblesources of his dread - as there

were many - until he seized uponthe Architectural Digest.

Brad winces as his memory is stirred.

2 INT. SACRAMENTO LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 2

TEN PEOPLE are gathered in a living room, drinking andchatting.

NARRATOR:

That night, he and Melanie had goneto a dinner party with some of herco-workers.

*

*

Brad spots an ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST on the coffee table.

notices the cover and picks it up.

ON ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

He *

*

Photos of some sleek modern house.

NARRATOR:

There was a photo spread of ahideous steel and glass monstrosityin Los Angeles.

*

(CONTINUED)

BRAD'S STATUS - Pink Revision - Sept. 29, 2016-Page 2

2 CONTINUED:
2

The page flips. The owner of the house, NICK and his LATINO

BOYFRIEND sit on the couch, grinning, in one of the photos.

NARRATOR:

Brad realized the home belonged toa college friend, Nick Pascale.

ON BRAD - he grimaces at the photo - a stricken look. *

NARRATOR:

The article stated he bought thehouse for nine million dollars and

put another two into it.

BACK AND CLOSER ON PHOTO OF NICK AND HIS HUSBAND.

NARRATOR:

Brad knew Nick had become

successful, but felt gut-punchednonetheless.

Brad tosses down the magazine. *

3 OMIT 3 *

4 INT. DINING ROOM - NIGHT 4

As the other GUESTS, including Melanie, laugh and chat, Bradglumly stares into space.

NARRATOR:

This ruined the dinner party forBrad. He stared into space mostly.

GLIMPSES of the other DINNER GUESTS, talking and eating.

NARRATOR:

He realized the other people at thetable were mediocrities.

Underachieving beta males, livingin Sacramento, a secondary market.

Guys thinking they were big fish inthe most inconsequential of ponds.

Brad looks around at the others with a sour expression.

NARRATOR:

He felt contempt for himself andeveryone there.

BRAD'S STATUS - WHITE VERSION - Sept 13, 2016 -Page 3

5 INT. BRAD’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 5

Brad rolls over in bed, restless and agitated. He picks uphis cell phone on the side table. It GLOWS to life.

NARRATOR:

Brad’s mind went to other successes

that pained him.

ON PHONE - MOMENTS LATER

We SEE Brad’s finger scroll across a SERIES of GOOGLE IMAGES

of Craig Fisher - a political wonk and talking head. Craig -

in a studio, posing with the President, getting interviewed.

NARRATOR:

There was Craig Fisher - who hadworked for the White House. He had

written two successful books and

was always on TV. He had alwaysbeen a self-confident know-it-all

and now life had affirmed his

delusions of grandeur.

We now SEE Brad’s fingers ZOOM in close on a PHOTO of Craig,

his WIFE and TWO DAUGHTERS all smiles, at an event.

ON BRAD - illuminated by the light of the phone, he grimaces.

He puts the phone down. He looks back up at the ceiling.

NARRATOR:

He thought about Jason Hatfield...

6 EXT. MANHATTAN STREET - DAY 6

JASON HATFIELD walks with TWO EXECS. An attractive ASSISTANT

intercepts him and they hop in the back of a waiting SUV.

NARRATOR:

...whose hedge fund had made himobscenely wealthy. That he was a

nice guy who was a philanthropistand had even given money to Brad’snon-profit somehow made it even

worse.

7 EXT. MAUI BEACH - DAY 7

A tan BILLY WERSTLER sits on the beach with TWO YOUNG SURFER

GIRLS, chatting them up.

*

(CONTINUED)

BRAD'S STATUS - Pink Revision - Sept. 29, 2016-Page 4

CONTINUED:
7

NARRATOR:

And Billy Werstler who had made

enough money from his tech start-upto retire in Maui before he was

even forty.

8 INT. BRAD’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 8

Brad grits his teeth, his mind reeling.

NARRATOR:

Everyone had won the lottery buthim. Bitter adrenaline pumpedthrough Brad’s body. He was never

going to get back to sleep.

9 INT. BRAD’S LIVING ROOM - DAY 9

Brad’s son, TROY, age six, is playing something for him on an

electric keyboard. Brad looks over at...

*

...THE TV - where Craig Fisher is being interviewed on a news

program.

NARRATOR:

He remembered the first time he’d

seen Craig Fisher being interviewedon TV.

ON BRAD - he stops listening to Troy and stares mesmerized atthe TV. He rises, pointing at Craig’s talking head.

NARRATOR:

The memory was like a cluster ofneedles in his heart. This wasn’t

a fleeting jealousy. It was pain.

It was real pain.

BRAD:

(calling toward kitchen)

Melanie!

CLOSER ON BRAD - as he digests this vision.

NARRATOR:

Why was it so painful?

wrong with him?

What was

BRAD'S STATUS - Blue Revision - Sept 26, 2016 -Page 5

10 INT. BRAD’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 10

Agitated and trying to get comfortable, Brad accidentallyswats Melanie in the face, waking her.

Brad!

MELANIE:

BRAD:

Sh*t, sorry.

MELANIE:

(half-asleep)

What the hell? You just hit me inthe face.

BRAD:

Sorry, sorry. I can’t sleep.

(beat)

How much do you think your parentshouse is worth?

MELANIE:

My parents’ house? I don’t know.

BRAD:

Like two million? Two and a half?

MELANIE:

I don’t know.

BRAD:

You’ve never thought about it?

MELANIE:

Not really.

BRAD:

(grabs his phone)

It’ll say on Zillow. *

MELANIE:

Why are you doing this? *

BRAD:

(types into phone)

It says 1.857. That seems low, no?

For Seattle? 4300 square feet.

Zillow is always low. I bet 2.5 at

least. Don’t you think?

*

*

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