End of the World/ Avinatan Shinar and Duffi Harpaz



End of the World

by

Avinatan Shinar and Duffi Harpaz

May, 2008

©

1

1. Outdoors. Roof top of a small house. Day.

[BETH and KAREN, 8, are laying on their backs, staring at the sky.]

[p.o.v shot – moving clouds]

BETH:

Can you feel we are moving?

KAREN:

Yes

BETH:

Do you think we will move forever?

KAREN:

Yes

[fade to black]

[Title: End of the World]

2.Outdoors. Lake shore. Afternoon.

40-year old man walks slowly in the middle of nowhere. Wearing long pants and a cap, he has large earphones on his head connected to the metal detector he is holding. A distant buzz sounds off. A large airplane shadow crosses the man over. The man looks up.

3. Indoors. House. BETH and JEFF's House. Night.

A young couple's house just starting up. Plain furnitures. The phone rings. [several shots marking in especially BETH and covering several artifacts related to astronomy. On the wall a poster of the galaxy. An old b&w picture of a little girl standing on top of a chair and peers through a telescope at a planetarium, a young man, probably her father, is standing by her. An up-to-date picture of BETH and JEFF hugging each other. On the table a newspaper with the headlines reporting the Columbia's space shuttle expected return. On the refrigerator several pictures of which one of them backpacking BETH and KAREN are smiling to the camera]

4. Inside of a driving car. Night

[A desert view is seen through the car's windows. KAREN, 23, listens as the phone at the other side of the line is ringing, and hangs up after several times it rings.]

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2

5. Indoors. Planetarium. Night.

[BETH, 23, sits in front of a computer's screen, typing data and with a concerned look observers the data on the screen. The sound of someone coming up the steps emerges. BETH turns toward the figure approaching through the dark room. KAREN comes out of the darkness, and they smile one to the other. KAREN throws a small backpack off her shoulder as BETH gets up from the chair approaching her. They hug a long warm hug.]

BETH:

KAREN! How did you get in?

KAREN:

[smiling] SEAN is downstairs,

he remembered me from the last time i was here.

BETH:

I am so sorry. I forgot about today.

Were you at the house earlier?

KAREN:

No, i called on the way but no one answered

so i called up the office and SEAN answered.

He said you were here.

BETH: (smiles)

He is available i think. I can check for you.

KAREN:

He is cute but i am six hours drive away.

I hardly have time for grad school...

and he is a student too. It won't work.

BETH:

[sitting down] Whatever you want.

[KAREN walks in the room, between the different apparatuses, reaching the telescope and looking through the lens.]

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3

KAREN:

It's so beautiful

6. Outdoors. Downtown. Street. Night

[Empty street, a car enters the frame and stops. KAREN comes out of the car and leaves the frame]©

7. Inside of car. Downtown. Street. Night

[BETH inside the car, hearing a buzz that grows weaker and then renews itself. A light flashes on her face. She bends over and looks up to the source of the light. It's a street light, the bulb alternately flashes on and off. She reclines back, somewhat concerned]

[The sound of the car's door opening. KAREN enters the car shutting the door behind her]

KAREN:

BETH, you won't believe it.

BETH:

What?

KAREN:

It's closed and there's a note on the door,

“Closed – the end of the world is coming.”

BETH looks on KAREN with a smile.

KAREN:

I am not kidding, there really is a note on the door.

Anyone else knows something about this?

BETH:

No, just you and me. Someone is joking around.

KAREN:

] I wanted to buy some things – food, drinks.

BETH:

Come by my place, the fridge is full with all that we need.

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4

KAREN:

Is JEFF back already?

BETH:

On wednesday. I miss him so much.

KAREN:

[pause] Ok, we go by your place.

We'll take the cd player too – i

brought a cd I recorded on something I composed.

8. Outdoors. Lake shore. Night

[BETH and KAREN sitting by a small pitted bonfire. Sleepingbags sprawled nearby, blankets, two backpacks and planks. A boombox plays music.]

BETH:

It's beautiful.

KAREN:

It's not finished yet, [pause]… and in few more hours...

BETH:

All this will be gone...

KAREN:

Hide-n-seek, jumping rope, lollipops

BETH:

Pooh the Bear, The Little Prince, Alice In Wonderland

KAREN:

The story that never ends, anna karnina, the old man and the sea

[both stop talking and sit in silence, listening to the hollowing wind]

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5

9. Outdoors. Lake shore. Night

[the fire is now subsiding, KAREN and BETH lying in their sleeping-bags]

BETH:

When it really will happen, few will know and they won't tell

KAREN:

Who is “they”?

BETH:

All sort of officials, they will mute it.

KAREN:

That's not fair. People should know

that the end of the world is coming

BETH:

And suppose people knew that thats it,

that its the end and there is no where to run to.

What will they then do?

KAREN:

I dunno. Maybe they will do what we are now doing?

BETH:

In 1938, a radio show wreaked havoc when

people took its dramatic enactment of a space

invasion to be real. there was a great scare.

People did not know what to do with themselves.

KAREN:

I understand what you mean, but i still think that

people need that knowledge of finality. That it's over.

I think that whatever people will do is hug whomever

is dear to them and tell that person that how much they love each other.

BETH is troubled by KAREN's reply. silence takes over...

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6

BETH:

I am not sure i want to know such things. I don't

know how to deal with knowing that everything ends.

10. Outdoors. Lake shore. Night

[the fire is out, but the firebrands glow in the dark. BETH and KAREN hugging each other are laying still]

KAREN [looking at her watch] whispers:

Three more hours to sunrise.

BETH [sleepy]:

Huh?

KAREN:

We need to talk...

BETH [hesitatingly]:

I don't know, don't bug me on this. This is

something between me and JEFF; and he does not know

anything about it yet. Something happened, you will

know when he returns.

KAREN:

Something good?

BETH remains silent but smiles.

[KAREN stands up then sits down again, BETH moves to sit by her side, the fire slowly dies out]

KAREN (after a long pause):

She is 40-year old, married with three children,

living in New Jersey.

[BETH stares at KAREN with puzzlement while KAREN looks on at the lake. BETH thinks for a while and then realizes]

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7

BETH:

I can't believe it! You did it.

KAREN lowers her head, embraces her bended knees to her chest.

BETH:

Did you two meet?

KAREN shakes her head for a 'no.'

KAREN:

Next month.

BETH:

Wait a second, she was seventeen

when she had you.

KAREN:

Yes.

BETH:

A kid.

[BETH and KAREN quiet down. BETH gets up and brings over a blanket covering them both and hugging KAREN under]

BETH:

And your mom... what did she say?

KAREN:

She is under stress because of this.

She says she can't understand why i did

not inquire back when i was eighteen...

my dad kept quiet for a week until i talked to him.

He said, “KAREN, everyone has a right

to know who brought them to this world.”

I want... to know...

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8

11. Outdoors. Lake shore. Early Dawn.

[KAREN and BETH are sleeping. BETH's head covered under the blanket. KAREN opens her eyes, looking around, and sitting up. KAREN stands up, trying not to wake BETH up, she looks at the sand dunes. KAREN starts walking toward the sunrise, she passes the extinguished bonfire pit, and starts taking her clothes off. Walking naked, her back to us, we see her entering the lake]

12. Outdoors. lake shore. Morning

[Time passes by. The fire is out but some smoke is still ascending above the firebrands. BETH wakes up, rolling the blanket from her head, she looks up to the sky and then searches for KAREN. KAREN is missing. BETH is concerned and observes the lake's shore, she thinks she sees something. She focuses at the lake and sees KAREN swimming. BETH is relieved. She gets up from her place and stands for a long quite moment listening to the sounds around. She lifts her shirt and caresses her belly, a loving touch for the unborn life looming inside her. The sun is dawning, a ray of light reflects on her belly, BETH smiles to herself.]

13. Outside. Lake shore. Morning

[Radio broadcasting sounds off from the cd-player BETH and KAREN brought. A man runs on the beach, his dog alongside him. Across the frame a young couple walks the opposite way, a young boy in between the couple. The boy turns his head at the running man and his dog, standing still – the man and his dog leave the frame. The couple and boy stand still. KAREN reads a book by the extinguished fire, her hair wet. BETH is listening to the radio. A live news broadcast is on. 'Columbia' is expected to land and the anchorman is talking on the importance of the mission; the feed and his voice are cut for a second, unclear noise is sounded, and the feed continues. KAREN lowers the book and looks up to the sky and closes her eyes. Fade to black]

[End Titles – the anchorman's broadcast is still sounded]

©

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