Crank

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FADE IN:

VIDEO SCREEN:

1

EXTREME CU:
PACMAN, from the old video game, just a yellow

ball with a mouth, fills the screen in all it's lo-res glory.

The camera tracks along as it rolls along a tight corridor,

gobbling dots.

2 CUT TO:

EXTREME CU:
A RED GHOST follows, in hot pursuit.

CUT TO:

EXTREME CU:
PACMAN gives it the slip, cuts down and gobbles a

big dot.

CUT TO:

EXTREME CU:
RED GHOST transforms into BLUE GHOST, changes

direction and runs. PACMAN chases ...

P.. but just before he catches up the BLUE GHOST transforms

back to RED and changes direction again. PACMAN barely

escapes.

CUT TO:

PACMAN flees, but at every turn he is confronted by another

ghost. The CAMERA pulls out in a series of jump cuts to

reveal that unlike the old arcade game, this game screen goes

E forever, an infinite maze ... and instead of the original

on four there are thousands of ghosts at all sides, closing in.

The sound of the game redoubles, reverberates, deafening ...

CUT TO BLACK.

SOUND:
A HEART BEATS SLOWLY IN THE DARK.

FADE IN:

INT CHEV'S BEDROOM, MORNING 2

This scene plays out as a continuous POV shot, right up

until CHEV's face is revealed for the first time.)

CHEV CHELIOS, wakes up in his apartment to a RINGING CELL

PHONE, groggy, vision doubled ...

1 .. from his POV we see him examine his hands, which don't

feel right, don't want to move right.

(CONTINUED)

5

2.

CONTINUED:

The CELL PHONE, coming from some other room, plays the PACMAN

theme in beeps:
BEE-DEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEEE-DEE-DEE-DUM ...

He tries to get out of bed, HITS THE GROUND. Plush rug,

ultra modern bed frame, night stand, high tech stereo, the

works.

He crawls/stumbles into ...

INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS

3 3

... the living room, decked out by Kostabi paintings and

glass furniture then into...

INT CHELIOS KITCHEN, CONTINUOUS 4

... the kitchen, with a black marble island and hanging

copper.

He jams his head under the Fossil sink and runs the water.

He steadies himself against the matching black marble

counter, staring at his hands ...

.. tries to lift them and BANG! He's back on the floor,

stunned...

All the while we hear the faint sound of his HEARTBEAT...

... slow:
LUBDUB... LUBDUB... LUBDUB.

He begins crawling back into...

5

INT CHELIOS LIVING ROOM, CONTINUOUS

... the living room, toward the telephone where he spots a

plain black VHS tape propped up in front of a plasma screen

TV with police ribbon wrapped around it, tied in a bow, like

a present.

CHELIOS:

(barely comprehensible)

Whathufuck?

He grabs the thing, fumbles to unwrap it, shoves it into the

VCR and pushes PLAY.

INT. TV SCREEN

5A 5A

It's RICKY VERONA on the SCREEN, a young, irritatingly slick

EASTERN EURO ... little to no accent - fast talking,

sarcastic, a complete dick ...

(CONTINUED)

3.

CONTINUED:

We see him sitting on CHEV'S bed ... CHEV is visible in the

frame, unconscious behind VERONA. Pale nicotine sunlight

filters in through the blinds. There are HOODS loitering

around the room. It was apparently shot only hours before.

(

The discernible sound of CHEV'S heartbeat will subliminally

increase in speed and volume throughout VERONA'S monologue -

the cell phone continues to ring, somewhere.)

VERONA:

What's shaking, douchebag? Thought I'd

give you the heads up. You're dead.

On the TV - VERONA points into the CAMERA.

VERONA (CONT'D)

Yeah, that's right, you little b*tch ...

if you're watching this tape it means

that I somehow resisted the urge to

dismember you and shove the pieces down

the garbage disposal ... opting instead

to poison you in your sleep. Yeah, you

heard me...

We stay with CHEV'S POV as he flashes a frantic glance around

the room. The LUBDUB of the HEARTBEAT is much LOUDER AND

FASTER NOW; we really begin to notice it.

VERONA (CONT'D)

... I f***ing poisoned you in your sleep.

How sick is that?... for the satisfaction

of watching you squirm out your last

minutes knowing it was me that did it to

you, and there's nothing you can do about

it...

Cut to high angle view from a hidden lipstick camera; CHEV is 5

on his knees in front of the set, looking around ... we still

don't see his face clearly.

VERONA (CONT'D)

5A 5A

... that's right, you're on candid

camera, try not to embarrass yourself...

Cut back to CHEV'S POV. He holds his head down over the 5

carpet and shoves a finger in his mouth, GAGGING.

VERONA (CONT'D)

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