Screenplay – Hologram

Posted by in Writing Samples

(Working Title)

This is the project I discussed with UC-Irvine neuroscientist, James Fallon.  The related article can be found here.  
 
EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY

               The sky is overcast as Seth walks with his hands thrust in
               his pockets, lost in thought.

               As he passes a cafe, he notices a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL with
               very short hair.  He admires her as she sits at a table
               reading a book.  Her head is bent, the line of her neck
               graceful.

               As he stares, he realizes there's something unusual about her
               neck.  The vertebrae are JUTTING through her skin, like a
               column of jagged white rocks puncturing the surface of a
               lake.

               A large TRUCK rumbles by, distracting him, and when Seth
               turns back to the girl, the appearance of her neck is NORMAL
               once more.

               Seth gives himself a shake before continuing on, but stops
               short when the door of a SHOP opens and a WOMAN exits in
               front of him.

                                   WOMAN
                         Pardon me.

                                   SETH
                         No problem.

               He remains standing there after she walks away, staring into
               the window.

               INSIDE 

               Books line the walls.  A YOUNG WOMAN sits at a table behind
               several candles and a deck of cards.

               SIDEWALK

               Seth takes a deep breath then pushes the door open and goes
               inside.



               INT. BOOKSTORE - MOMENTS LATER

               The young woman, CARRIE, early 20's, looks up with a smile.

                                   CARRIE
                         Hi.

                                   SETH
                         Hi.

                                   CARRIE
                         Are you here for a reading?

                                   SETH
                         I don't know.  I've never done
                         anything like this before.

                                   CARRIE
                         Tell you what.  I'll give you ten
                         minutes for free.  If you don't
                         like what I have to say, there's no
                         obligation.  If you do, I go on the
                         clock for twenty more minutes.  
                             (beat)
                         Deal?

               Seth hesitates near the door.  

                                   SETH
                         Uh...

               He looks outside.  Cars and people pass by, anchoring him to
               what he knows.

                                   CARRIE
                         Come on.  I happen to be between
                         clients so I figure this time slot
                         was meant for you.

               Seth steps forward and slips into the chair across from her.

                                   SETH
                         Oh, what the hell.

               MOMENTS LATER

               Carrie SHUFFLES the cards and chooses several from the top of
               the deck, setting them down systematically.

               She frowns.

                                   CARRIE
                         Hmmm...

                                   SETH
                         What?

                                   CARRIE
                         You've had a pretty rough year,
                         haven't you?

                                   SETH
                         You could say that about most
                         people.

                                   CARRIE
                         You could, but not everyone's been
                         in a plane crash.

               Seth SNORTS.

                                   SETH
                         Watch a lot of news, do you?

                                   CARRIE
                         Not everyone sees their dead
                         sister.

               Seth freezes.  He's speechless.

                                   SETH
                             (carefully)
                         What did you say?

                                   CARRIE
                         Your dead sister.  She's been
                         visiting you.

                                   SETH
                         How did you know about that?

                                   CARRIE
                         They don't call me a psychic for
                         nothing.

               She flips another card.

                                   CARRIE (CONT'D)
                         Lots of changes for you.  You're
                         changing.  Physically, of course,
                         but also spiritually and
                         emotionally.  Your spiritual
                         experiences are changing you so
                         much that you are almost
                         unrecognizable from your old self.  

               Seth is leaning forward now.

                                   SETH
                         Yes.

                                   CARRIE
                         Your experiences are real.  Don't
                         listen to the doctors.  They
                         worship science, but without the
                         spirit, they are limited in their
                         ability to understand the whole
                         nature of reality.

               Seth's eyes fill with tears.  He struggles to speak, but
               can't.

                                   CARRIE (CONT'D)
                         Don't worry.  You don't have to say
                         anything.  I know that's why you
                         came here.  You wanted an answer to
                         that question.  

               He can speak at last, his voice husky with emotion.

                                   SETH
                         Yes.

               Carrie leans back, studying him carefully.

                                   CARRIE
                         Your ten minutes are almost up, but
                         the rest of this is on me, Mister. 
                         I don't think I've ever seen anyone
                         need a reading so badly before.

               She reaches for her purse and removes a pack of cigarettes.

                                   CARRIE (CONT'D)
                         But first, I need a smoke.  Care to
                         join me outside for a chat?

               Seth nods, still finding it difficult to speak.



               EXT. SIDEWALK - MOMENTS LATER

               A plume of smoke hangs over Carrie's head as they talk.

               Seth COUGHS.

                                   CARRIE
                         Non-smoker, huh?

                                   SETH
                         Not exactly.  Ex-smoker.  Reformed.

                                   CARRIE
                             (grinning)
                         Same thing.

                                   SETH
                         So how can I know my experiences
                         are real?  

                                   CARRIE
                         How can science know they're not?

                                   SETH
                         The doctors said they're caused by
                         chemical changes in my brain due to
                         the head injury.

                                   CARRIE
                         Well, sure.  I don't doubt there's
                         a correlation.

                                   SETH
                         What do you mean?  You can't have
                         it both ways.

                                   CARRIE
                         Why not?
                             (beat)
                         Just because they're caused by some
                         abnormal firing in your brain cells
                         doesn't mean they can't still be
                         real.  Maybe those little chemical
                         changes are the thing that allows
                         you to see a deeper reality.

                                   SETH
                         Holy shit!  I never thought of it
                         that way.  

               Carrie takes a long last drag on her cigarette, then crushes
               it out, dropping it in an ashtray.

                                   CARRIE
                         Yeah.  Don't beat yourself up.  I
                         don't think they did either.

               As they turn to go back inside, she thrusts out her hand.

                                   CARRIE (CONT'D)
                         I'm Carrie, by the way.

                                   SETH
                         Seth.



               INT. COFFEE HOUSE - LATER

               Seth and Carrie sit over some coffee, intent on their
               conversation.

                                   SETH
                         So what about my negative
                         experiences?  Are they real too?

                                   CARRIE
                         I think it's highly likely.  Life
                         isn't just for shits and giggles. 
                         It's full of suffering too.  

                                   SETH
                         Great.  So expanded reality is just
                         like normal reality.

                                   CARRIE
                             (grinning)
                         Only far more psychedelic.

                                   SETH
                         You can say that again.

                                   CARRIE
                         Look-- if we didn't suffer and die,
                         we wouldn't appreciate life or 
                         have the understanding and ability
                         to value the good things when they
                         happen.  Death and suffering help
                         us define life and the positive
                         events in it.  There is union in
                         the duality.  And vice versa.

                                   SETH
                         Good God.  You're all of what--
                         twenty-three?

                                   CARRIE
                             (nodding)
                         Thereabout.

                                   SETH
                         How does someone your age become so
                         wise?

                                   CARRIE
                         Nursing school, I guess.  And
                         coffee.

               She lifts her cup.

                                   CARRIE (CONT'D)
                         Lots and lots of coffee.

                                   SETH
                         You're in nursing school?

                                   CARRIE
                         Yeah.  The psychic gig helps pay
                         the bills while I get through it.

                                   SETH
                         Do you ever sleep?

                                   CARRIE
                         Not much.

                                   SETH
                         Well, I predict a bright future as
                         a full-time psychic if the nursing
                         thing doesn't pan out.

                                   CARRIE
                         Oh, it will.  I'm psychic,
                         remember?