A perfect normal day draft 2

previous comment from Phil:

• Twist needed in the story, some changes might happened on the old lady so the story will be more complete and attractive.
• Too much conversation. sometimes less is more. 
• Maybe things happened with postman because he's new in town. 

Second draft:

INT. ANN’S LIVING ROOM DAY

CLOSE UP: ANN’S FACE

It’s a typical cloudy and moody Wednesday morning in the UK,

Ann, 58, just goes back home with two bags of groceries on

her hands.

ANN

Am home. I got you your favorite

Ravioli. Almost quarrel with the

guy at the check out. On what

universe couldn’t they accept my

voucher...you know, it’s just

expired two days ago. How

ridiculous was that? Look how

filthy the room is..I need to do

the cleaning today.

Ann takes off her coat, starts to do the cleaning. She wipes

the dinning table, mops the floor and waters the plants on

the table.

ANN

Do you know that the Greek woman

lives at the end of our block,

what’s her name...oh

Livana[U+FF0C]had a stroke last

week. I say she had it coming

herself. How many times her stupid

dog slunk into our garden and

ruined your orchid and she just

simply said: I am sorry Mrs

Russell, but isn’t my bobby

adorable?" I saw someone coming

yesterday picked that dog

up.Finally!

Ann walks into the bedroom, takes several pills out from a

box on the bedstand and swallows them. She looks out of the

window, signs.

INT.ANN’S LIVING ROOM DAY

Someone’s knocking at the door.

ANN

Who is it?

POSTMAN

Postman, open the door please.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 2.

Ann slowly walks towards the door and opens it with a

impatient countenance on her face. Outside is a postman,

Joey, 27 years old who just finishes a 2 years relationship

in Manchester and moves to Nottingham.

JOEY

Good morning

ANN

I don’t know you. where has

MR.Miller gone?

JOEY

MR.Miller retired last week.I am

Joey, nice to see you.

ANN

I don’t like you young man. Look at

your furtive eyes and sullen face.

I am sure I saw you somewhere on

the tele... you must be some kind

of criminal at large.

POSTMAN

No madam I am definitely not..you

are Mrs Russell right?

Joey doesn’t seem to be upset with the comment, in fact, he

looks at Ann with a gentle smile.

ANN

Oh my God stop that creepy

smile.You’d better watch out young

man, I don’t think you wanna mess

up with my husband,right Martin?

Ann pauses for half minute, but there is no response. She

then grabs the box and shuts the door.

JOEY

(mumbling)How are you for

these years Mrs.Russell?

Ann opens the box, it appears to be a silk scarves from her

niece Rachel.

ANN

Guess what is it Martin? silk

scarves from Rachel. Oh right she

went to China with her weedy little

husband for honeymoon. Have you

ever heard a man allergies to

everything? Last time they came

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 3.

ANN (cont’d)

over for dinner a roache scared the

hell out of him. What a pussy...

what do you think..? is it good on

me?

INT. ANN’S LIVING ROOM EVENING

Ann is sitting on the sofa with an old photo album on her

hands,the television is on.

ANN

Look at you in that uniform, what

year was that? 1963? It really has

been a long time.

CAMERA ZOOM IN, CLOSE UP TO ANN’S FACE. IT IS TENDERNESS IN

HER FACE WHEN SHE LOOKS AT THE OLD PHOTO FROM ALBUM.

The camera moves on the wall, there’s a old newspaper

clipping with the headline: "Local fire fighter,37,died

after saving 3 people’s life"

Someone’s knocking at the door.

The door’s open. Joey stand outside with a small bunch of

flower on his hand.

JOEY

Good evening Mrs Russell, it’s me

Joey. We met this morning.

ANN

What do you want?

JOEY

I got something to tell you. May I

come in?

Ann hesitates for awhile, learns over and let him in.

ANN

Now you can talk.

Joey doesn’t say anything, he took a old necklace out from

his pocket and passes it to Ann.

ANN

This is..how did you get it?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 4.

JOEY

I am the boy he saved in that fire.

He gave it to me before he headed

back to the building cause I was so

scared and couldn’t stop shaking.

He said, now I give you a task.

This is the most important stuff of

me, can you help me take care of it

for awhile?

Ann trembles, she opens her month but cannot utter a word.

JOEY

My parents and I moved to

Manchester after I was discharged

from hospital. Mrs.Russell.. I..I

don’t know what to say, I am so

sorry.[U+FF08]with a lump in his

throat[U+FF09]

ANN

You know what? You are a good kid.

He must be proud to see you today.

Ann holds Joey’s hand, smiles in tears

CAMERA ZOOM OUT, FADE TO BLACK

The perfect normal day script draft 1

Screenplay

INT. ANN’S LIVING ROOM DAY

CLOSE UP: ANN’S FACE

It’s a typical cloudy and moody Wednesday morning in the UK,

Ann, 73, just goes back home with two bags of groceries on

her hands.

ANN

Am home. I got you your favorite

Ravioli. Almost quarrel with the

guy at the check out. On what

universe couldn’t they accept my

voucher...you know, it’s just

expired two days ago. How

ridiculous was that? Look how

filthy the room is..I need to do

the cleaning today.

Ann takes off her coat, starts to do the cleaning. She wipes

the dinning table, mops the floor and waters the plants on

the table.

ANN

Do you know that the Greek woman

lives at the end of our block,

what’s her name...oh

Livana[U+FF0C]had a stroke last

week. I say she had it coming

herself. How many times her stupid

dog slunk into our garden and

ruined your orchid in the garden

she just simply said: I am sorry

Mrs Russell, but isn’t my bobby

adorable?" I saw someone coming

yesterday picked that dog

up.Finally!

Ann walks into the bedroom, takes several pills out from a

box on the bedstand and swallows them. She looks out of the

window, signs.

INT.ANN’S LIVING ROOM

Someone’s knocking at the door.

ANN

Who is it?

POSTMAN

Postman, open the door please.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 2.

Ann slowly walks towards the door and opens it, with a

impatient countenance on her face.

POSTMAN

Good morning

ANN

I don’t know you. where has

MR.Miller gone?

POSTMAN

MR.Miller retired last week.I am

Scott, nice to see you.

ANN

I don’t like you young man. Look at

your furtive eyes and sullen face.

Who will be happy to see you

everyday?

POSTMAN

Oh madam...

ANN

Give me that before you ruin my

day!

Ann grabs the box and shuts the door.

POSTMAN

What the..

Ann opens the box, it appears to be a silk scarves from her

niece Rachel.

ANN

Guess what is it Martin? silk

scarves from Rachel. Oh right she

went to China with her weedy little

husband for honeymoon. Have you

ever heard a man allergies to

everything? Last time they came

over for dinner a roache scared the

hell out of him. What a pussy...

what do you think..? is it good on

me?

3.

INT. ANN’S LIVING ROOM

Ann is sitting on the sofa with an old photo album on her

hands,the television is on.

ANN

Look at you in that uniform, what

year was that? 1963? It really has

been a long time.

CAMERA ZOOM IN, CLOSE UP TO ANN’S FACE. IT IS TENDERNESS IN

HER FACE WHEN SHE LOOKS AT THE OLD PHOTO FROM ALBUM.

The camera moves on the wall, there’s a cold newspaper

clipping with the headline: "Fire fighters,45,died after

saving 3 people’s life"

ZOOM OUT AND FADE TO BLACK

Interview of female director Ann Hui (Video clips from youtube

Film review ' The Sent-Down Girl ' (Xiu Xiu) (1998)

Film ‘The Sent-Down Girl ' (Xiu Xiu) was a ground-breaking feminist film in the 1990s in Chinese Cinema. Directed by female actress and director Joan Chen, the story was adapted by the novel of one the greatest female writers Geling Yan in this century. Unfortunately it was banned in the mainland China due to the sensitivity of the topic for Chinese government and big amount nudities. However it cannot be denied that the indelible influence it brought to the Chinese cinema and further filmmakers.  

It is almost impossible for modern people to understand the unique background of the story. 1975 was almost the end of cultural revolution—after the foundation of the PRChina chairman Mao established his own regime in this land, while after years he was deified by his own people. In the 1950s he initiated the movement to send teenagers in cities to countryside in the name of “perishing the discrepancies and contradiction” between cities and rural areas. For most of the teenagers it meant they lost the change of education, was forced to leave their hometown and family, did heavy manual labor in the fields. The female leading Xiu Xiu in the film is a true picture of the chaotic time. In the beginning she was volunteered to leave her hometown and expected to come back after six months. The life was tough and boring, she soon started missing her family and all the goodness in her hometown. After been tortured by the desperation and endless waiting, she gave her virginity to a man who promised to take her back to the city.

In order to film a bold topic director Joan had spent two years of preparation. Joan Chen started her career as a actress in the year 1977 in mainland China and went to America for further study in 1981. “ I was not attempting to "romanticize" the Cultural Revolution, but rather "poeticize" it — at best a dubious distinction.” she explained her intention of making this conservational historical issue into a feminist film when she knew it would not be accept by the mainstream media in China even until now. She was fearless—years of working and studying film in Hollywood had given her enough confidence for indicating this real disaster to the world. Referring to her own grandparents’ suffering during the Cultural Revolution, Chen says, "I believe when your experience is more crystallized through distance and time, you’re more able to poeticize something…but I don’t believe beauty exists without suffering…that’s just a tourist picture in a travel agency." 

Character development--useful tips for writing the character in my script

Facts when introduce the character (The Creative Writer. Addison-Wesley, 1998)

1. Physical Details about the character: Is he/she short, tall, thin, old, etc?

1. Physical environment surrounding the character: Is he/she on a desert island, in an urban community, living in the mountains, etc?

1. The other characters surrounding the character: What kinds of people does the character associate with?

1. The things that the character does: Does he/she go to school, fly an airplane, eat pizza every night for dinner, etc?

1. The things that the character says or thinks: These things reveal the character’s feelings and opinions about things

1. His/her family: relationships, beliefs, habits, religion, activities, etc. We are all greatly influenced by our family.

1. His/her vices: illnesses, drinking or swearing, compulsive spending, obsession with sweets, etc.

1. His/her pet peeves: disorganization, grammatical mistakes, slow drivers, etc. These things say a lot about a character’s personality.

1. His/her daily schedule: school, work, errands, etc. The narrative must weave around the character’s schedule, so it is good to detail it.

1. His/her strong point: strength, determination, forgiveness, etc. This trait may help the character to overcome hardship in the narrative.

1. His/her nicknames: Readers can learn a lot about a character by what his/her friends call them and why

Laura Mulvey-Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema examples

Project " Dear myself"

This is an experimental work about my research question:  the female characters film. The idea came up from the loneliness and helpless of modern girls. I hope to express the contradiction through a story about how a girl struggles with the voice of herself when she is trapped into trouble and negative thoughts.

I haven't got enough time to edit the footage, this short clip is one scene from it. After the PGD presentation I will finish this and arrange few more experimental short films.