AMY´S CREEK - S01E16 - DO YOU STILL BELIEVE IN MAGIC?
1. Int. Movie Studio. Evening.
The set has been made up to look like a bar from the late 80´s. Dawson is trying to direct a pair of girls, 21 year old Hispanic beauty Melina and 20 year old Kathy, a quietly attractive blonde girl, but there´s lots of other actors and extras in the scene and a rather large crew. He´s trying to appear enthusiastic.
Dawson (voice over):
What have I done to deserve this? I like to think, that I´ve been a nice guy, so my karma should be on the up and up, shouldn´t it?
Dawson:
Girls, you walk up to the guys and ...
Kathy:
We have names, you know!
Melina:
We´ve been shooting this for two weeks and I bet you don´t remember them!
Dawson:
Sure I do! It´s Kelly ...
Kathy:
Kathy!
Dawson:
Of course! And ... something with an M?
Melina:
It´s Melina!
Dawson:
Sorry, I´ve been stressed out.
Dawson looks apologetic, but the girls don´t look to happy with him.
Dawson (voice over):
Why am I apologizing to two girls, who were in diapers, when I made my first movie? Oh yeah, because I´m a failure, that´s why! The sad fact is that this is my last chance as a director, a dreck of an R-Rated teen comedy written by a woman in her 50´s, who wishes that she could bring her glory days back, by copying scenes from the movies, she used to watch. Her and our investor are probably the only two people on earth, who would think, it could be any good.
Kathy:
I was looking forward to working with the guy, who created "The Creek". I practically grew up with that show.
Melina:
Me too. Sucks to see, that you´re like everyone else.
Dawson:
Kathy, Melina, can we start over? I´m still the same guy, okay? I look a little older, but I´m the same Dawson Leery, I´ve always been. I promise, that I won´t forget your names again.
Kathy and Melina look pleased. Dawson looks more relieved, that they can get on with the job, than anything else.
Dawson (voice over):
Yet another promise, I probably won´t be able to keep.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Dawson´s Apartment. Evening.
Dawson comes home, looking exhausted and grabs a beer from the fridge.
Dawson (voice over):
History has been full of dreamers. It´s people like us, who have gone on to change the world, whether we´ve been called Plato, Alexander the Great or Spielberg. The old Dawson grew up with two dreams. The first was to marry Joey, but I´m fine with that not coming to pass. Her place is in Capeside and mine is here. I had to leave to pursue my dreams and she never would have liked living here. All the phonies would have driven her crazy on a daily basis. The second was to make a movie, that made it feel like a new world was opening up to its viewers. I wanted to give them the feeling I experienced, when I first saw ET or the first Jurassic Park movie. Now, there´s a good analogy for my career.
He sits down on one of his worn, old couches and turns his TV on. It goes straight to the Netflix page. He takes a sip of his beer, as he starts flicking through the menus.
Dawson (voice over):
The first one was a genuine masterpiece for it´s time and took what you could do with CGI to a new level. That would have been enough, but we also got mostly believable story, as believeable as a story about bringing dinosaurs back to life can be, anyway. The second one couldn´t live up to the same standard, but it still added a couple of fun new elements. By the time we got to the 3rd one, most of us still watching, were wishing, that we weren´t. Part 4, that came out years later wasn´t a bad movie by any standards, probably better than Part 2, if you look at it objetically, but the magic from the original couldn´t be re-captured, no matter how hard they tried. I sat in my seat and smiled at some of the effects, as well as both the good and the bad acting. It still felt bittersweet to know that the feeling, I got when I walked out of the old cinema in Capeside on that night back in ´93 is never coming back. If I know that, then why do I keep making myself believe, that it can? To stop myself from going crazy, perhaps?
He takes another sip and picks an episode of The Office. We hear the episode start playing.
Dawson (voice over):
I started with a low budget series, that became a surprise hit and won a ton of acclaim. The follow up only lasted half a season, but no need to worry, right? When the next two projects don´t make it past the pilot stage, that´s when it´s time to worry. That time came and went a long time ago.
3. Ext. Parking Lot. Morning.
Dawson is hurrying to his car, when his land lord, a fat and very hairy guy in his 50´s, who apparently sees it as his mission to show off as much of it to the world as possible, sees him. Dawson pretends not to have seen him.
Landlord:
Leery!
Dawson stops walking and looks annoyed, as the landlord approaches him.
Dawson:
I told you, that I´ll have your rent next week.
Landlord:
You´ve said that before. Before you owed me six grand.
Dawson:
It can´t be that much.
Landlord:
You haven´t paid for rent or utilities in three months.
Dawson counts back on his fingers and sees, that his landlord is right.
Dawson:
Damn! I can´t get you six grand in a week. My money is tied up in the movie, I´m shooting. Look ..
Landlord:
Excuses don´t pay my bills. If I don´t get half of it this time next week, then you´re evicted and I´ll take you to court. If you want my advice, get a real job with a steady paycheck. Then you wouldn´t be in this mess.
Dawson:
I´ll find a way, I assure you.
The landlord walks away from him and Dawson looks frustrated.
Dawson (voice over):
I´m starting to understand, why Todd shifted to doing commercials. Maybe this is a pipe dream and it´s time to give up on it. Three grand in a week? Even if I sell my car, that´s a grand at the most, I can muster. Any revenue from the movie won´t come in for months. Could this day have started out worse?
He walks to his car, that doesn´t look like he could get more than a few hundred for it in it´s state of disrepair and looks dejected.
4. Int. Car. Morning.
Dawson is driving through L.A and talking into his phone, that he has on speaker. We hear it dialing and someone picks up on the other end.
Todd (voice over):
Well hello, my fallen prodigy!
Dawson:
How´s it going, Todd?
Todd (voice over):
I´m shooting a frigging mustard commercial, so how do you think I´m doing?
Dawson smiles to himself, that at least Todd won´t go and change on him.
Dawson:
Whatever pays the bills, right?
Tood (voice over):
That´s new, coming from you. What happened to the kid, who wanted to conquer the world of cinema?
Dawson:
He´s broke, single and miserable, like most of his idols were at one time or another. On top of that, I have to direct one of the worst scripts, I´ve ever read, on a ridiculously low budget and somehow make it passable.
Todd (voice over):
Just like we had to in the old days, huh?
Dawson:
Remember that weird, fetish Vampire movie, we said no to?
We can hear Todd laughing on the other end.
Todd (voice over):
What was it? "Vampire Cheerleaders on the Prowl" or something like that?
Dawson:
"Vampire Strippers in Heat", I think, it was. The surviving vampires all turned into cats at the end, remember?
Todd (voice over):
That only makes it classier!
The two old pals laugh together.
Dawson:
This is like the 80´s teen comedy version. You know, I hate to ask, but my landlord is on my back. Is there any way you could lend me a few grand?
Todd (voice over):
I would, if I could, but paying college tuition for two kids, even if they´re not yours by blood, is still expensive as heck. You should see what they make me pay in property tax!
Dawson:
Forget I said anything, okay? Say hi to Mary and the kids from me.
Todd (voice over):
I will. Careers go through their up´s and downs, especially in this city. Keep the faith and it´ll get better again.
Dawson:
I´ll try my best.
He hangs up and puts his phone away. He can´t help looking disappointed.
Dawson (voice over):
I know that Todd wouldn´t lie to me. He can be eccentric like a mad scientist, when it hits him but over the years, him and me have become almost as close as I was with Pacey back in the old days. He´s also turned out to be the best and most loyal friend I´ve made, since I left Capeside. I wouldn´t have picked him to end up as a family man, when I first met him, but I´m glad, that it agrees with him. It doesn´t bring me any closer to a solution and it´s time, I got to the set.
Another driver does a narrow passing of him and Dawson annoyedly honks his horn at them.
5. Ext. Movie Studio. Day.
The studio is nothing more than a rented warehouse, that is being cleaned out by movers, when Dawson approaches it. Kathy, Melina and the other crew and actors can only look on with sadness. The girls eyes light up, when they see him.
Kathy:
Mister Leery, can you tell us what´s going on?
Melina:
They´ve only told us, that we´re not allowed inside.
Dawson:
Wait here. I´ll find out what´s going on.
Dawson heads inside.
Dawson (muttering to himself):
The least you can do is put on a show for them.
6. Int. Movie Studio. Day.
The set is being dismantled under the watch of a woman in her 40´s, Susanne. She smiles sadly at him.
Dawson:
When did you find out?
Susanne:
Early this morning. Our investor is filing for bankruptcy, as we speak. Apparently, all of that money, he claimed to have, didn´t exist in the real world.
Dawson:
We can´t find other investors, to take their place?
Susanne:
With this script?
Dawson:
I can re-write it. I just need a few days and ...
Susanne:
Sorry, Dawson, but unless you can come up with the money to finance it, then this ship has sailed. Hopefully we can sell the set pieces and make some money back that way, even if we´ll have to split it with the other creditors.
Dawson:
Can we pay people or get our own money back?
Susanne:
Sure, if we want to spend thousands on lawyers to get thirty cents back on the dollar, if we´re lucky. This can be a lousy business, and these things happen. No movie means no pay. Do you want to tell them?
Dawson:
Not really.
Susanne:
I´m not facing their wrath, so unless you want them to find out through the internet ...
Dawson:
I´ll do it. There´s no way this day can get any worse, anyway!
Susanne:
Things can always get worse, Dawson! I wouldn´t joke about things like that!
Dawson:
Give me a call, when you find out more.
He starts to walk out.
Dawson (voice over):
Oh, how I love my life!
7. Int. Diner. Day.
Dawson is buying coffee for himself, Kathy and Melina.
Dawson (voice over):
It went as well, as could be expected. Though, for some strange reason, these two still believe in me.
Kathy:
You must have tried everything in the business. It isn´t the end, is it?
Dawson:
I wish, I could give you better news. I really do.
Melina:
I read your Wikipedia page. You´re a fighter!
Dawson:
Wikipedia doesn´t tell you everything. I´ve done plenty of movies because I had to, more than because I wanted to.
Melina:
That´s what I mean. You took your punches, but it meant you got to create the best series ever! "The Creek" was my life back in High School. I was Sammy!
Kathy:
Millions of girls are. It´s why it was so special. You gave all us small town girls hope, that we could get out and achieve more in life, than our mothers did!
Dawson tries to take their praise with a smile, even if he´d rather be without it at tthis moment.
Dawson (voice over):
Could they pile the guilt on anymore?
Melina:
I suppose, I´ll have to beg to get that creep to get my job at the topless bar back.
Kathy:
Maybe I can beg enough change from strangers, that I can buy a Greyhound ticket back to Missoula, when I get kicked out. It´s that or living on the streets.
Dawson (voice over):
They could!
Dawson:
This isn´t the end of the world. Missoula sounds like a nice place. Isn´t that where David Lynch comes from?
Kathy:
Him and the girl, who has to return home a complete and utter failure! How would you feel, if you had to give up and return to Capeside?
Dawson (voice over):
It would be my worst nightmare come true.
Dawson gives in and shakes his head.
Dawson:
Give me your phone numbers and I´ll see, what I can do. I can´t give you any guarantees.
Melina and Kathy look pleased.
Melina:
I knew, you were different! If I have to put my faith in anyone, then I´m glad, it´s you!
Kathy:
You have two girls here, who believe in you, mister Leery.
Dawson:
You can call me Dawson. It´s not like I deserve a title these days.
Dawson (voice over):
Miracles, anyone?
Dawson ponders what to do next.
8. Int. Car. Day.
Dawson is dropping Melina off.
Melina:
Right here is perfect.
Dawson:
It doesn´t look like a safe neighborhood.
Melina:
It isn´t, but it´s all I could afford. My plan was to move into a new place with the money from the movie. I guess, I´ll have to enjoy the luxury of living here in crime central for a while longer.
Dawson clearly feels sorry for her.
Dawson (voice over):
Why did your parents have to install a high sense of morality in you? Why couldn´t they have been jerks, who didn´t give a damn about other people?
Dawson:
Don´t you have family, you can stay with? Anything has to be better than this place.
Melina:
That´s a long story. I don´t want to bore you with it, but I can´t go back to them.
The nice guy in Dawson makes him give in again.
Dawson:
I have an extra couch at my apartment. It´ll probably shatter your image of me, when you see it.
Melina smiles at him.
Melina:
Are you for real? I thought, guys like you only existed in chick flicks.
Dawson:
It isn´t a long-term solution. Unless I can come up with a small fortune, I´ll be living in this car a week from now.
Melina:
I´ll take it. Beggars can´t be choosers, can they? Do you believe in fate?
Dawson:
I used to, back what seems like forever ago.
Melina:
You and I had to be meant to meet. You, so you could help me get my life on track. Me, so I can bring back the magic in you. I´ll quickly grab a few things, okay?
Dawson:
Don´t be too long. I feel like a target, just parking here.
Melina:
People here are poor, but even by their standards, this car wouldn´t be worth stealing! I´ll be five, at the most.
She gets out of the car and Dawson smiles to himself.
Dawson (voice over):
What kind of a crazy day is this? Audrey is gonna freak, when she finds out, that you have a young girl living with you! Aww, so what? She probably isn´t taking you back, anyway. Maybe this girl can help you get the magic back. Stranger things have happened in Hollywood.
9. Int. Dawson´s Apartment. Evening.
Dawson and Melina are eating Chinese Food, while trying to come up with a script.
Dawson (voice over):
It probably won´t make any difference, but at least it´ll make her think, we can do it against the odds.
Dawson:
The first question is what it should be about and which genre.
Melina:
I´ve always been a sucker for a good bit of drama.
Dawson:
You and me both. Not that I didn´t haven´t had enough of it, in my own life.
Melina:
Same here. More than I would have liked.
Dawson:
Most of the best movies are rooted in real life. Tell me your story.
Melina:
So you can make it into a sappy movie?
Dawson:
So that WE can. What makes you sure, it will be sappy?
Melina:
Because my life so far has kind of sucked.
Melina continues talking as Dawson types on his lap top.
Dawson (voice over):
And so, she began to tell her story. Of the abusive small-town home, she was twice removed from, until she ran away at age sixteen on a wing and a prayer, with a hundred bucks and the clothes on her back, as her only belongings. Of the boyfriend, who started out nice, until he started beating her and she had to run away how she´d had to run away time and time again, until she ended up living in that hell hole. That had been her whole life. Running from one place to another, to get away from her shitty life, in the hope that she would find something better elsewhere. I could have written a fifty-episode TV series on my own, with all the inspiration her life story filled me with. At some point during the evening, I realized why I haven´t written anything worth a damn, since we finished "The Creek" up, all those years ago. Joey hadn´t been there in person, but she was still my muse in a spiritual sense, because it was her story. This girl is my new muse!
10. Int. Dawson´s Apartment. Morning.
Dawson wakes up to find Melina reading on his lap top. She looks excited.
Melina:
Morning, sleepyhead! Did you write all this, while I was sleeping?
Dawson:
Yeah. Once I got started, I didn´t want to stop.
Melina:
This is Oscar winning material, if you ask me! Do you want a cup of coffee?
Dawson:
Sure, that would be nice.
Melina:
Don´t get up. I´ll get it.
Melina gets up and heads out to his kitchen.
Dawson (voice over):
How long has it been, since you got a morning welcome like that? With Audrey it was always "Leave me alone, so I can sleep for another hour".
Melina comes back with two cups of coffee and puts one in front of him.
Melina:
What now?
Dawson:
I drink my coffee and have a shower.
Melina:
Ha, ha! I meant about the script.
Dawson:
Do you really think, it´s that good?
Melina:
I haven´t read it all the way through, but I love it so far. Please tell me, that she gets a happy ending?
Dawson:
I haven´t written the ending yet. She can have a happy ending, if you want her to. It´s your story, as much as it´s mine.
Melina:
Put her in a place, where there´s hope for the future. Like I feel at this moment.
Dawson:
I´m glad, but I don´t want to get your hopes up. I could still very well be on the street in a week.
Melina:
Then we find a way to deal with it. As I said, this is fate, Dawson. You and me were meant to meet.
Dawson takes a sip of his coffee and lets on an "ahh".
Dawson:
That´s good coffee!
Melina:
Thanks, but I mean it. Meeting you has been even more special, than I thought it would be. You´re like, my savior.
Dawson:
I´m no one´s savior. I can´t even save myself anymore!
Melina:
I have a feeling, that all you need is someone, who believes in you. You´re not the loser, you´ve somehow convinced yourself, you are. You´re an incredible guy with an amazing gift for telling stories. Maybe the rest of the world can´t see it, but I can and so can Kathy. This could be your big comeback, if we fight for it.
Dawson takes another sip and considers it.
Dawson (voice over):
As I said, stranger things have happened in Hollywood!
11. Ext. Todd´s House. Day.
Dawson and Melina are welcomed by Todd, who has a baby on his arm.
Dawson (voice over):
If there´s one guy I can trust for a brutally honest opinion, it´s Todd! Say what you want about the guy, but he´s never held back a punch in his life, when it comes to scathing crticism!
Todd:
Who might this young bird ... ehm, woman, be, Leery? Sorry Luv, I´m still getting used to the whole PG or PC, or whatever they call it, thing! It conflicts with my Birtish upbrigning!
Melina:
No offense taken. It´s an honor to meet you.
Todd:
She has manners too! That´s a step up from the last one! Will she be as entertaining, though?
Melina:
You´ll have to find out for yourself.
Todd:
Intruguing! Where did you find her?
Dawson:
She was in the movie, I was making.
Todd:
As in, not anymore?
Dawson:
Never mind that! It would have ended up as another lousy, quick cash grab, no matter what I did to it. The world has enough of those to boot.
Todd:
No arguments there!
Dawson:
We wrote a script last night. Can you give us your opinion on a scene or two?
Todd:
I wouldn´t, if it hadn´t been for her.
He winks at Melina and they smile at each other.
Todd:
Come in..
12. Int. Todd´s House. Day.
Todd is reading on his I-Pad, while Dawson and Melina wait for his verdict.
Todd:
Dawson, this is ...
Dawson:
Whatever it is, you know I can fix it!
Todd:
I´m not sure, I would touch a thing, if this was my script! It´s original, relevant, perfectly written, except for maybe a few clunky pieces of dialogue. You really wrote this?
Dawson:
I couldn´t have done it, if it hadn´t been for Melina.
Melina:
Do you think, we can get it made?
Todd:
I can´t see why not, considering the rubbish, they fill up the streaming services with. Didn´t you mention that you needed money?
Dawson:
Are you looking to invest?
Todd:
How much do you owe your landlord?
Dawson:
Six large.
Todd:
Then how about this? I buy into fifty percent of the profit you would have made for six grand, plus I get to co-produce it. I´ve done enough ad´s to make me despise every product out there! I can swing it to the missus as a solid investment.
Dawson:
I thought, you didn´t have the money.
Todd:
Do you think I got to where I am, by being a fool? I know an opportunity, when I see one. Are we back in business, with our new, much more attractive sidekick, by our side?
Melina:
And Kathy. We can´t forget about her.
Dawson looks like he can´t believe his luck.
Dawson:
I guess, we´re back in business!
Dawson (voice over):
I didn´t see this coming a day ago, but hey, I´ll roll with it!
They all shake on the agreement.
CLOSING CREDITS
THE FOLLOW UP TO THIS LITTLE STORY COMES IN THE NEXT EPISODE. i HOPE YOU´RE ALL DOING WELL OUT THERE.
