Blank Check by Blake Snyder and Colby Carr

Maybe one of the only produced movies by the guy that wrote "Save the Cat." Figured it'd be good as we embark on kid's stuff, so we outlined it up. Outlines and lessons on next page. 

• perfect suburban neighborhood with a house for sale.
• ANGLE ON: a blue mercedes
• IN THE BENZ: At the wheel is CARL QUIGLEY, 50’s, mean and nasty. He stops to scribble down the address and number off the sign. On the seat beside him is a mysterious-looking BRIEFCASE. Quigley takes a last look at the house, CHUCKLES and starts the car.
  • Love how this intro uses the language of kids and goes on to set him up as so clearly a kids movie villain.
• CLOSE ON: A toy crushed by the Benz as it pulls away.
• EXT. HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET - We see a tall tree leading to an upstairs window.
• INT. UPSTAIRS BEDROOM - DAY: A boy’s bedroom. It’s like a pack rat lives here. A leg house is built atop a kid’s dresser. A Laker banner spans the wall above an unmade, Kermit-the-Frog-sheeted bed. Fun stickers and clothes scattered everywhere and on a desk…

 

• CLOSE - A SHEET OF PAPER

 

• It says, “preston’s Birthday List” 1) Party at     Funland. 2) A Mountain Bike 3) New             Brothers. 4) A trip to Acapulco. In the b.g.         we hear childish GRUNTS and GROANS.

 

• ALONE IN HIS ROOM

 

• Skinny PRESTON WATERS, age nine, is         shirtless as he works out with a pair of         dumbbells. Preston looks as the door         opens.

 

• CONTINUOUS AS: Preston’s brothers barge in to set up their business in his room. His parents burst in, in support of the brothers. People start setting up computers. The brothers claim that money is the key to getting girls. Mom counters, “It’s what’s in your heart that counts.”
• IN THE CAR: Preston complains to his mom. She says, “Maybe someday you’ll realize what a lucky young man you are.” Preston gets out at FUNALND.
• FENLAND PARKING: Preston sees a bunch of kids having fun inside.
• AT FUNLAND: Preston has way less money for tokens than the other kids.
• As a GRINDING METAL TUNE plays, a MONTAGE BEGINS.
• EXT. FENLAND: Preston doesn’t have enough tokens to have any fun,
• HOUSE - NIGHT: Preston complains he needs money to have fun. Early b day card comes with a blank check from Granny, but his dad fills it in for $5.
• CLOSE UP- THE CHECK

 

• With heightened SOUND EFFECTS, the         scratch of Fred’s pen against the paper is         heard. Five bucks it is.

 

• *The close ups in this movie are great         tonally and visually. We should use this         technique, especially when writing for         kids.

 

• PRESTON’S ROOM: Preston displays computer prowess and he calculates that it’ll take 300k years for that $5 to become 1M.
• PARENTS ROOM: They bang on the wall to get Preston to go to bed.
• preston’s room: Preston goes to bed, frustrated.
• TOWN SQUARE - DAY: It’s a pleasant morning. A small, friendly community.
• IN THE BANK: ED BIDERMAN on the phone as someone steps inside.
  • TILT UP TO REVEAL the expensive shoes, familiar BRIEFCASE and finally the scowling face of Carl Quigley. He looks even meaner than we remember as he steps in and closes the door.
    
  • Carl threatens Biderman to launder money. Carl is evil. 
• OUTSIDE BANK: Preston pedals up, annoyed at the banking system.
• IN THE BANK: Preston heads to the teller.
  • It’s adult land in here and deadly QUIET as preston enters and looks about wondering where to go.
  • LOVE the reference to “adult land,” once again rooting us in the mind of a kid.
• IN THE BANK: Preston in line. Draws attention to himself after trying to pick gum from a g’s butt. Then…
  • HIS POV: SHAY STANLEY. Much prettier than her picture. Wow! With MUSIC building, Shay turns in SLOW MOTION, looking directly at him and smiles. As of now she is Preston’s first crush
    
  • AT SHAY’S WINDOW: She won’t let him open an account with just $5, but she’s very sweet to him.
• BACK OF THE BANK: Quigley and Biderman. Quigley being threatening.
• FRONT OF THE BANK: Preston’s brother steals the granny’s check.
• ACROSS THE LOT: Preston gets hit by Quigley. From Quigley’s POV a cop car approaches. A crowd gathers. Quigley stuffs a check in Preston’s pocket and leaves.
• OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE: Preston approaches with broken bike.
• IN DINING ROOM: Preston’s dad scolds him as he tries to sneak up. They cancel his party at Funland. They are mad he can’t take care of his valuables.
• IN HIS ROOM: Preston argues w/ brother Damian.
• DOWNSTAIRS: Parents hear the fight.
• IN BEDROOM: Preston threatening to destroy brother’s work supplies. Preston gets in trouble. He feels that EVERYONE IS AGAINST HIM.

• This whole set up is about getting us to empathize with this kid, and to help us understand how and why he feels that everyone is against him. SO USEFUL.

• Preston finds Quigley’s check and realizes… IT’S BLANK!
• FLASHBACK: He remembers his dad teaching him about blank checks.
• BACK TO SCENE: P fills out 1M for the check.
• OUTSIDE THE BANK: Preston runs in.
• IN THE BANK: Preston on line. In front of a cop. COP ADDS GREAT TENSION.
• PRESTON’S POV: At the Teller’s Window, Shay is all smiles as she helps a Customer. She is just finishing up when she is tapped on the shoulder. She puts out a SIGN that says “WINDOW CLOSED.”

• Another Teller calls Preston over: This is UDOWITZ, 50s. The type that would invite two kids in for a bite and then cook them.  
• AT THE WINDOW: Udowitz thinks it’s a joke.
• BIDERMAN’S OFFICE: Biderman assumes that Preston is Quigley’s man “JUICE.” He burns the check and provides money in Preston’s bag.
• OUTSIDE THE BANK: Preston runs, happy.
• OUTSIDE HOUSE: Preston runs inside.
• STAIRS - runs up the stairs
• IN HIS ROOM: Looks at the money in the pack.
• BACK TO SCENE: The brothers come in and brag about how they’re gonna be rich. They leave and Preston celebrates in the money. Then he writes out his new b-day list, starting with: MY OWN HOUSE.
• BANK TELLER WINDOW: Juice shows up. Wants to see Biderman. It’s clear there was a misunderstanding. Shay the Teller observes from afar.  She reports back via a secret mic… SHE’S FBI.
• RED VAN: FBI listens to Shay.
• TELLER’S WINDOW: Biderman with Juice. Biderman’s like WHAT ABOUT THE KID!? and all eyes turn to him.
  • INT. BANK - WIDE: All eyes turn to Biderman.
• REAL ESTATE OFFICE: Q waiting on his cash to buy a house. Meanwhile P calls in with an offer (using computer voice)
• INTERCUT as Q and Preston compete to buy the house. P wins. Q freaks out.
• BIDERMAN’S OFFICE: Juice and Biderman are there when Q calls and threatens them. They realize: “WE’VE GOTTA FIND THAT KID!”
• HOUSE: P’s parents go out for a date.
• PRESTON’S ROOM: Preston paces, eager dos pend his money. He calls a limo.
• LIVIN ROOM: Brothers are dumb.
• STREET: Limo pulls up.
• PRESTON’S ROOM: Preston sneaks out from his room (he’s grounded and he has a video game on as a decoy sound).
• STREET: P meets the driver.
• FUNLAND: P buys tons of tokens. Then he has a great time at fenland, doing everything he couldn’t afford to do in the set up.
  • IN THE SET UP HE DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO HAVE FUN. VERY SATISFYING THAT HE’S USING HIS MONEY TO IMMEDIATELY RIGHT THOSE WRONGS.
• STREET: The limo cruises down the street. Preston’s on the move.
• IN THE LIMO:  P talks to the driver with the in-car phone.
• VIDEO STORE: P buys every R-rated movie in stock.  
• BACK IN LIMO: P stands out the roof as they drive.
• IN RESTAURANT: P’s parents talk about how P needed to learn a lesson. In the b.g.  just out of eyeshot of the table, we see Preston’s Limousine cruise past. M.O.S. Preston whoops it up happily.
• HOUSE: Brothers realize the video game sounds are still going. That’s odd…
• P’S ROOM: Brothers realize that P is gone.
• IN THE LIMO: Preston asks driver to stop. Spots a woman jogging. It’s SHAY the Teller.
• SIDEWALK: Preston flirts with Shay. Says he’ll come by tomorrow to open an account. We see that Shay is dating the guy from the red van, but P doesn’t see that.
• HOUSE: Parents return home. Brothers confess that P escaped.
• stairs: THEY RUSH UPSTAIRS.
• P’S ROOM: Preston is fast asleep in bed.
• HALLWAY: Brothers get in trouble.
• P’S ROOM: P is relieved. He puts the money under his pillow.
• BANK: Q fumes at Biderman. Q realizes that the bike kid must be to blame.
• HALLWAY: Shay listens in. Connects Q’s MacIntosh to the Mac that Preston told her about last night.
• IN THE BANK: Shay makes the connection. Pulls out P’s application.
• HOUSE: P moves tons of moving van stuff into his house. All the neighbors look on. P pretends he’s just there as an employee for MACINTOSH.
• INSIDE THE HOUSE: P’s dad learns more about Mr. Mac.
• STREET: P continues to load in a bunch of opulent shit. neighbors watch.
• IN THE HOUSE: more great shit.
• BACKYARD: a dream land. P dives down slide into his pool.
• LATER: Friend Butch shows up, but P won’t let him in. (This kid was an asshole earlier).
• MOVIE THEATER: Q and Biderman scan the kids to find P.
• MACINTOSH BACKYARD: Shay shows up, wants his $25 to start an account.
• UPSTAIRS: P grabs $100 from the bag, then slides out the window and into the pool.
• BACKYARD: Shay tries to get P to set up a meeting with Macintosh so she can “open his account.” He sets up a date for her and him later (P and Shay), says Mac is too busy but he can help.
• LIBRARY: P tries to learn about dating.
• FRED SEGAL’S: P buys a custom suit.
• FLOWER SHOP: P buys tons of flowers.
• BANK: Flowers are delivered to Shay.
• FANCY RESTAURANT: He makes arrangements for later.
• HAIR STYLIST: He gets a cut.
• WORKOUT ROOM: Tries to get that pump.
• As the MONTAGE ends, P is DRESSED and ready to go.
• PARENT HOUSE: P rushes past dinner to grab some stuff for the date. His dad wants to meet MacIntosh.
• OUTSIDE: P joins Shay in the limo.
• FANCY CAFE: P thinly veiled hits on her and tries to find out if she’d date him. She is curious about Mr. Mac.
• FORUM: They’re at a Lakers game.
• NOSE BLEEDS: Q and Biderman are there too, trying to take their minds off the problem.
• P’S SEATS: A player crashes into P.
• ANNOUNCER BOOTH: Talks about how the little boy got hit.
• P’S SEAT: P jumps up and he’s fine. The crowd cheers.
• NOSE BLEEDS: Q sees that the kid is Preston and hurry down towards him.
• P’S SEAT: P sees Q across the court.  Tells Shay it’s time to go.
• TUNNEL: They run away. P tosses cash into the stands to create a frenzy and slow Quig’s progress.
• OUTSIDE: Limo pulls away just as the bad guys get out there.
• FISH STORE: P introduces Shay to his favorite fish.
• OUTSIDE MANSION: They part ways. P is attacked by Butch. Butch notices the big wad of bills P dropped and swipes it up.
• P’S ROOM: P adds GIRLFRIEND to his b-day list.
• NEXT MORNING: P’S DAD sees that the whole street is now being renovated, learns that it is Macintosh’s doing.
• MANSION BACKYARD: P takes batting practice. His bro loads the machine, he’s getting paid by MacIntosh to do it.
• STREET: Q makes his way through the street.
• IN CAR: The bad guys see a sign for the MacinTosh street renewal project.
• STREET: Butch rides along. Q spots him. Butch rides away. Q chases but ends up in a ditch.
• LIMO: P looks out just as Q climbs out of ditched up Benz. They lock eyes. P says DRIVE!
• IN THE LIMO: TOWN SQUARE: Red Van is parked.
• IN VAN: Shay with the other agents, examining P’s $100 bill. We learn Shay is honing on on Mac and needs to stay close to P for that.
• PARTY PLANNER OFFICE: P plans a great shin dig with a creepy lady who makes him grab her ass.
• MAC BACKYARD: P’s bros get sick of their work detail and go inside to find Mr. Mac.
• IN THE LIBRARY: The brothers go to confront Mr. M but get scared and run away. Revealed that P set up a cool decoy for a fake Mr. M.
• MECHANIC: Q says his mobster friends are coming tomorrow and they expect him to be in a house with money. Stakes are raised.
• STREET: P pays the street worker. It’s hinted that he could be running low on funds.
• HOME: The dynamic has shifted. All are deferent to P vis a vis MacIntosh. Also P is acting like a little shit.
• KITCHEN: P talks to Butch on the phone. Butch extorts him, he knows about the money. Says meet me tomorrow.
• ON THE STREET: Q cruises by in his Benz, casing the hood.
• MANSION BACKYARD: Decorations coming in for the big party.  Shay watches from nearby. The brothers once again work slavishly. The brothers tell P that Shay is only after him for Mac’s money.
• STREET: Q and cronies on the hunt in his benz. They get the idea to go to fenland.
• FUNLAN: Preston hops out of his limo.
• ARCADE: Preston is sad and lonely. Maybe his brothers were right? Preston looks down as he plays pinball. If it wasn’t Coca Cola he was drinking, we’d swear he was drowning in his sorrows.
• OUTSIDE FUNLAND: The bad guys show up.
• TOKEN BOOTH: Bad guys threaten Cashier and find out what P is wearing.
• Quick shots as they search for P at Funland. Then… BUTCH gets captured by the villains.
• OUTSIDE FUNLAND: The Limo pulls away.
• IN THE LIMO: Preston isn’t so happy. He wants to go to the….
• FISH STORE: Preston stops when he sees Shay with her bf. She’s buying gift for him. The bf insist on paying. From afar, P concludes that Shay really IS a Gold Digger.
• IN THE LIMO: Preston is one sad little boy.
• MANSION BACKYARD: A fancy party is ready to go. P gets a bill for 100K.
• PARKING LOT: Bad guys threaten Butch. Get the info about Preston.
• LIBRARY: P realizes he’s in debt 100k. His dad comes in and gives a speech, thinking P is Mr. M (the chair is turned to the window). Dad says he’s proud of P. Then he leaves. P is not feeling great.
• STREET: P chases after Dad but he’s too late. P looks in his parent’s house and sees a simple paper plate party set up. He’s sad.
• OUTSIDE THE MANSION: Party in full swing. FBI Van shows up. Shay gets out and walks towards party.
• IN THE PARTY: P realizes all the waste. He regrets this spending. Party planner is after him for her money.
• PARENTS HOUSE: The bad guys burst in the front door. No Preston.
• LIBRARY: Shay discovers the financial truth. P has her removed by security after calling her a gold digger.
• MANSION BACKYARD: Bad guys looking for P. Party planner grabs the mic and cancels the party. “MAC CAN’T PAY HIS BILLS!”
• FRONT YARD: Shay struggles with security, she spots theban guys looking for P.
• FAMILY STATION WAGON: They’ve learned to appreciate each other and value work less. Also: A Mac billboard helps Fred realize what could be up…
• EXT. FREEWAY: Station wagon turns around, back towards P.
• MANSION LIVING ROOM: Empty party. Preston threatened by the party planner. She leaves and Q shows up with bad guys.
• AT THE POLICE STATION: Shay argues with security. Convinces them she’s FBI ‘cuz her partner is there. They hurry back to the house.
• LIBRARY: Q and P. Q learns what happened.

 

• Note: The “Tuckers” are after Q. Everyone has someone after them. That keeps everyone motivated, which is nice. This script does a great job creating multiple antagonistic sources.

 

• LIBRARY: Bad guys decide Q should assume Mac’s identity. Only problem is that P knows. P catches on and dives down slide to make his exit. Runs away.
• OUTSIDE: P slides into pool. positions slide into trash. Then bad guys slide into trash.
• BACKYARD: P uses pitching machine to slow the bad guys down.
• RACE TRACK: P escapes in one of his race cars, knocking the bad guys into the pool.
• BACK GATE: Cops pull up. Shay and her partner rush up to P.  P’s dad shows up. So do the BIG BAD GUYS, THE TUCKERS. Q and cronies are arrested but crowd adores them… They loved Mac. Except for the stiffed party planner: she punches Q in the face.
• OUT FRONT: Shay kisses Preston. Says to look her up in ten years.