Your Big Break

The brief was to capture the spirit of New Zealand, but what if that spirit was to capture a person? In the mockumentary ‘100% Gone’, the lives of a young English couple are dramatically altered when one of them disappears during a holiday in New Zealand. Will Kelly find closure to her relationship with Steve? Find out when she returns to Queenstown a year later in search of her missing boyfriend.

FADE IN:
EXT. LAKE AND MOUNTAINS - DAY (STOCK FOOTAGE)
Aerial over a deep lake ringed by mountains. Ominous music.
KELLY (V.O.)
You hear travel horror stories all the time, but you never think it will happen to you. Especially New Zealand. It’s so beautiful and everyone’s so nice, right? It was just a three week holiday. Steven was really looking forward to it. We both were.
INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
KELLY, twenty-something, perky, Sienna Miller’s brunette sister, sits on a couch.
SUPERIMPOSE: KELLY KEETLER, lost boyfriend
KELLY
It was a couple of days before we had to fly back to London. We’d had a great time until then. Did all this stuff we’d never do back home. What’s that thing where you roll down a hill in an inflatable ball?
INTERVIEWER (O.C.)
Zorbing.
KELLY
Yeah, that’s the one. We loved that. Steven didn’t want to go back to work, but who does? I honestly didn’t think anything of it.
EXT. PICTURESQUE BLUFF - DAY
Kelly stands on a grassy bluff, framed by the scenic panorama of Queenstown and the mountains.
KELLY
This is the last place I saw him. Exactly a year ago today. He wanted to go tandem hang gliding. I'm afraid of heights, so I said I'd meet him at the bottom.
She looks wistfully into the distance.
KELLY (CONT'D)
When he got there he didn't wait for me. The guide said he just walked off. We stayed there until sunset, thinking he might have gone for a walk. But he never came back.
EXT. PICTURESQUE BLUFF - DAY
Heavy-set Maori tracker, JIM 'EYEBONES' TRIGG takes over the story.
SUPERIMPOSE: JIM ‘EYEBONES’ TRIGG, tracker
JIM
Yeah, well, the police did their bit but weren't getting anywhere, so they brought me in. I got the dog out and we started on the trail, such as it was. But sometimes... Is Kelly around?
INTERVIEWER(O.C.)
No.
JIM
Well, people want to get lost.
INTERVIEWER (O.C.)
What do you mean?
JIM
He's not the first. I’ve helped out with six of these this year. The tourists - they just don’t want to go home. Wait, just cut that. I don't know anything about a cover-up.

INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
KELLY
Steven and I had been together two years. We were really happy. There was no reason for him to go off like that. He just wasn’t the adventurous type. He wasn’t reckless. He was a supermarket manager.
She looks down at a PHOTO in her hand.
KELLY (CONT’D)
This is Steven before the holiday. It was taken at work a couple of months earlier.
A slightly overweight, twenty-something man stands happily next to a row of canned goods.
KELLY (CONT’D)
And this is a picture someone sent me after I posted ads asking if anyone had seen him.
A bearded, feral-looking man holds up a large fish.
CAMERAMAN DARRYL (O.C.)
Jeez, what happened to him?
INTERVIEWER (O.C.)
(stern)
Darryl.
KELLY
I know. He’s turned into Robinson Crusoe.

EXT. PICNIC AREA, LAKE SHORE - AFTERNOON
Kelly and Jim relax on a picnic blanket, enjoying the afternoon sun. The remains of lunch sit nearby. The dog snores at Jim’s feet.
JIM
We’ve been here two hours now. We got a bum steer this morning. Some joker told us to try the beach. But we had a second tip off Steven’s been seen around here.
KELLY
Wait! Did you hear that?
STEVEN (O.C.)
Wahoo!
KELLY
It’s him!
They spring up, RUN towards the lake. Struggling to keep up, the cameraman stumbles over the dog, dropping the camera. The dog YELPS.
CAMERAMAN DARRYL (O.C.)
Sorry.
He picks the camera up, focuses back on Kelly.
KELLY
Which way did it come from?
JIM
Over there.
KELLY
Steven! It's Kelly! Steven!

The group come to an abrupt stop by the water’s edge. In the distance a man in a CANOE paddles calmly towards them, the wash of the water the only sound on the quiet lake. It's STEVEN. For a moment they’re caught off guard and can only stare. Kelly recovers first.
KELLY
(shouting)
Steven! Come and talk to me. Please Steven. I can get you help. I’ve found a psychologist. We can work through this.
Steven stops paddling. Thrusts a PADDLE in the air.
STEVEN
Wahoo!
KELLY
Steven, stop messing about. You need to come home. The holiday's over.
Steven stares for a moment, turns his canoe around and paddles away. Jim shakes his head, puts his arm around Kelly.
JIM
Come on, love. Just leave him.
KELLY
(shrieking)
I'm not mourning for you, Steven. I'm not mourning for you.
JIM
He's gone. Just let him go.
Jim guides her away, but Kelly's not finished. She shrugs off his arm, RUNS back to the water's edge.
KELLY
(top of her lungs)
New Zealand, you can have him!
She STALKS off.

EXT. LAKE AND MOUNTAINS - DAY (OPENING STOCK FOOTAGE CONT’D)
Aerial over a deep lake ringed by mountains. Ominous music.
KELLY (V/O)
They say there are powerful spirits in New Zealand. The heart of a giant beats under a lake. Gods live in the mountains. Something strange happened to Steven in that place and the world needs to know about it. I’ve lost Steven, but maybe my story will help others. I know I’ll never see him again. I just hope he’s happy.
STEVEN (V/O)
Wahoo!
FADE OUT

LOGISTICS

CAST
Kelly Keetler
Steven Cottingam
Jim ‘Eyebones’ Trigg
Interviewer (heard, not seen)
Darryl the camera operator (heard, not seen)

SHOOTING SCHEDULE
Interiors – ½ day
Exteriors – 1 ½ days

LOCATIONS
Interior – Queenstown home
Exterior 1 – Coronet Peak*
Exterior 2 – Lake shore, Lake Wakatipu*

*Alternative locations are planned for should these not be possible.

MUSIC
Short, ominous piece needed for opening and closing scenes.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
‘The dog.’ Jim’s dog should be a blue heeler or kelpie.

Mindful of my lack of experience directing and of packing too much into a two day shoot, I’ve kept locations and action to a minimum. Stock footage frames the story, leaving three shooting locations, including one interior. I will happily take all the help I can get and that my budget permits. One of my main challenges will be finding the right comedic actors, one of whom should be English or good with accents.

Thanks for reading my screenplay. I had fun writing it, even though I feel for poor Kelly. I’m a freelance writer based in Vancouver, Canada. More information on me can be found here: http://nicsarah.wordpress.com/

Big thanks to all who put this competition together and good luck to my fellow writers.

Sarah Nicholson