Soul

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A BAD MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND PLAYS THE DISNEY LOGO THEME.

ONCE IT ENDS...

JOE (O.S.)

Alright! Let’s try something else.

Uh...from the top. Ready? One, two,

three...

INT. MIDDLE SCHOOL BAND ROOM.

JOE GARDNER, a passionate, well-dressed middle-aged man,

conducts an off-key middle school band. It’s painfully bad.

JOE:

One, two, three, four! Stay on the

beat! Two, three four--that’s a C

Sharp, horns!

A TROMBONIST loses his trombone end, which lands on the floor

with a CLANK.

A TRUMPETER uses his horn to vacuum up M&Ms from the floor.

CALEB, a saxophonist, pretends to play while actually on his

iPHONE.

JOE:

Two, three, I see you, Caleb!

Startled, Caleb tosses the phone into a neighboring student’s

sax.

JOE:

(to another student)

Rachel, now you!

But Rachel lies across a few chairs.

RACHEL:

Forgot my sax, Mr. G.

JOE:

Okay, she forgot her sax! Aaand now-

aaaaall you, Connie. Go for it!

Joe then motions to CONNIE, a Chinese American girl holding a

trombone. She’s his last hope.

Connie plays her solo, strong and passionate. Joe smiles.

But some of the other kids start giggling, and Connie’s

confidence (and playing) suddenly wilts.

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 2.

CALEB:

Way to go!

Joe taps his music stand.

JOE:

Hang on, hang on. What are y’all

laughing at?

The kids quiet down.

JOE:

So Connie got lost in it. That’s a

good thing!

Connie stews in her seat, embarrassed, as Joe addresses the

class.

JOE:

Look, I remember one time... my dad

took me to this jazz club, and

that’s the last place that I wanted

to be.

Joe walks to the piano and starts playing while he explains:

JOE:

But then I see this guy. And he’s

playing these chords with fourths

on it and then, with the minor.

Whooo! Then he adds the inner

voices, and it’s like he’s... it’s

like he’s singing. And I swear, the

next thing I know... it’s like he

he floats off the stage. That guy

was lost in the music. He was in

it, and he took the rest of us with

him.

Joe finishes with a beautiful, dreamy flourish. The class is

captivated with his music.

JOE:

And I wanted to learn how to talk

like that. That’s when I knew. I

was born to play.

(beat)

Connie knows what I mean. Right,

Connie?

CONNIE:

I’m twelve.

A KNOCK on the classroom door interrupts.

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 3.

JOE:

I’ll be right back. Practice your

scales.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY -MOMENTS LATER

Joe pops into the hall to speak with PRINCIPAL ARROYO as bad

scales emanate from the classroom behind him.

PRINCIPAL ARROYO

Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Gardner.

JOE:

Heh heh, you’re doing my ears a

favor.

A STUDENT exits the class doorway behind Joe:

CALEB:

Hey!

JOE:

Not you, though. You’re good.

When the student leaves:

JOE:

(whispering)

He’s not.

The Principal CHUCKLES.

JOE:

What can I do for you, Principal

Arroyo?

PRINCIPAL ARROYO

I wanted to deliver the good news

personally!

She hands Joe a letter:

PRINCIPAL ARROYO

No more part-time for you. You’re

now our full-time band teacher! Job

security. Medical insurance.

Pension.

JOE:

Wow. That’s...great.

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 4.

PRINCIPAL ARROYO

Welcome to the M.S. 70 family, Joe.

Permanently.

JOE:

Thanks.

Joe forces a smile.

He reenters the classroom and sadly looks at the wall,

covered with photos of jazz greats.

INT. LIBBA’S TAILOR SHOP.

A busy tailor shop bustling with activity. LIBBA, Joe’s

mother, hems a dress on a CUSTOMER.

Libba’s assistants, MELBA and LULU, work away at sewing

machines.

Joe is folding his laundry, poorly.

LIBBA:

After all these years, my prayers

have been answered! A full-time

job!

LULU MELBA:

Wonderful, wonderful! Workin’ man, comin’ through!

JOE:

Yeah. But mom I...

Joe rolls each piece of clothing and places it in the basket.

LIBBA:

You’re going to tell them yes,

right?

JOE:

Don’t worry Mom, I got a plan.

LIBBA:

You always got a plan.

She begins poking the customer with pins as she talks.

CUSTOMER:

Ow!

LIBBA:

Maybe you need to have a backup

plan too...

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 5.

CUSTOMER:

Ow-ow!

LIBBA:

...for when your plan falls

through.

MELBA:

A back up plan never hurt.

LULU:

Mmmhmm.

JOE:

Hm.

LIBBA:

Joey. We didn’t struggle giving you

an education so you could be a

middle-aged man washing your

underwear in my shop.

Libba holds up an pair embarrassing underwear from Joe’s

laundry basket.

MELBA LULU:

Mm, Mmm, Mmm. (at sight of underwear)

walkin’ around with a hole in

*

his pants...

Lulu grabs the undies and checks them out, shaking her head.

JOE:

Yeah, but-

Joe snatches the underwear and throws them back into his

basket.

LIBBA:

With this job, you’ll be able to

put that dead-end gigging behind

you. And Lord knows, we need more

teachers in this world. And just

think, playing music will finally

be your real career!

Joe can see this is a losing battle.

LIBBA:

So, you’re going to tell them yes,

right?

Joe is about to protest...

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 6.

CUSTOMER:

(pleading)

Please, say yes.

...but instead closes his mouth.

JOE:

Yeah. Definitely.

LIBBA:

Good.

BZZZ! Joe’s phone rings. He fishes it out and answers.

JOE:

Hello?

CURLEY (O.S.)

How you been, Mr. G? Uh, It’s

Curley. Lamont, Lamont Baker.

Joe turns away from Libba as she tends to the customer.

JOE:

Hey! Curley! Hey, good to hear your

voice, man. Uh listen, you can call

me Joe now, Curley. I’m not your

teacher anymore.

CURLEY (O.S.)

Okay Mr. Gardner. Hey, look, I’m

the new drummer in the Dorothea

Williams Quartet and we’re kicking

off our tour with a show at The

Half Note tonight.

JOE:

Dorothea Williams?! Are you kidding

me? Congratulations, man! Wow, I

would die a happy man if I could

perform with Dorothea Williams.

CURLEY (O.S.)

Well, this could be your lucky day!

EXT. NEW YORK STREET. DAY.

Joe SPRINTS DOWN THE STREET, weaving between NEW YORKERS. He

comes up to a brick building --the renowned HALF NOTE jazz

club.

©2020 DISNEY•PIXAR -

--PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL

7/17/2020 Soul Academy Draft 7.

INT. HALF NOTE --ENTRY HALL.

Joe catches his breath as he walks down the stairs. Photos of

jazz greats line the wall. He gazes at them, taking off his

hat in reverence.

Deep in the club we hear a jazz band WARMING UP.

CURLEY BAKER, a burley drummer in his 20s, meets Joe.

CURLEY:

Woo, there he is!

JOE:

Hey, Curley.

CURLEY:

Leon skipping town really put us in

a bind, man.

JOE:

I’ll bet.

CURLEY:

I’m glad you made it. My boy Bishop

said he sat in on with you on a set

last year in Brooklyn. Said you

were great.

JOE:

Well... you know, for a coffee

shop.

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