Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Case Study No. 0532: Annie Merton

Bookworms-RClark.mov
14:20
"Who knows what lurks in the stacks of the old abandoned library..." This is a fun movie about a young boy who discovers strange creatures living amongst the old books. For young and old alike. (Contact rclarkbtd@me.com)
Tags: bookworm library cgi children young book worm family
Added: 1 year ago
From: rclarkbtd
Views: 97

Lifemare Productions presents
A Richard Clark Film
Bookworms

[scene opens with a young boy walking down the street and reading a book]
[he sits down under a tree and continues reading, when he sees a group of three kids, so he starts running]
BULLY 1: Get 'im!
BULLY 2: Go back to your own school, brainiac!
BULLY 3: Yeah, bookworm!
[they start chasing him, so he heads for the abandoned Dewey Library (he bumps into the sign out front and knocks the "R" off) and jumps onto a trashcan so he can open the window and sneak in]
[cut to inside the building, as he carefully peeks out the window and sees the three bullies standing outside]
BULLY 1: Well, what're you waiting for?
BULLY 2: I ain't goin' in there!
BULLY 3: Nobody goes in there anymore!
[feeling safe for the moment, he starts looking around the library (with half-empty shelves and books strewn about the floor)]
AARON: Wow!
[he leafs through a book on one of the tables, then gets a sad look on his face]
AARON: I'm not a bookworm ...
[he continues exploring]
AARON: Wow, it's all mine!
[he walks through the stacks, but doesn't notice when a couple of books on the shelf behind him start shaking slightly (like something is moving underneath them)]
[he pulls another book off the shelf, and finds it has a giant hole in the middle of it]
AARON: Cool!
[he suddenly hears weird chittering noises, and books start moving on the shelves around him]
AARON: Gasp!
[he looks up, and suddenly a man wearing a flack jacket and a red beret runs towards him]
JERRY: Come on, kid! Get outta here, now!
[they run off, as a large green worm appears on the shelf and knocks all the books off]
[cut to Aaron and the man sneaking into the library's boiler room]
AARON: Bookworms?
JERRY: That's right ...
AARON: You're crazy!
JERRY: Hey, I oughta know! I'm the caretaker!
AARON: You're the caretaker?
JERRY: Well, unofficially ... The library's been closed since the eighties. Here, have a seat.
[they stop and sit down on the floor]
JERRY: I dunno, budget cuts or something. Anyways, they left the books there because they thought they were gonna re-open again soon, but it's been almost twenty years now. What'd they think was gonna happen with all those books just layin' around? I just steer clear of the library!
[he takes a bag of potato chips and starts eating]
JERRY: I stay here in the boiler room. I don't bug the worms, the worms don't bug me ... That's why I don't read nuthin, either! You don't wanna leave anything around for bait!
AARON: But I heard they might open the library back up!
[he stops eating and gets a shocked look on his face (comically leaving his mouth full of potato chips)]
JERRY: [muffled] I think we're gonna need some help ...
[cut to outside of a mental institution (an orderly is cleaning up while a man in a straitjacket rocks back and forth), as an elderly woman is sitting at a table, speaking to Aaron and Jerry]
ANNIE: It was right after the war. I went from being Rosie the Riveter to Libbie the Librarian ... Oh, but I loved it! I was young, brash, impetuous. I wanted it all! Worked my way up to the reference desk in two years! That's a local record! If you wanted something, all you had to do was tell me and I'd tell you where it was!
[she leans back in her chair and shakes her head]
ANNIE: Nineteenth century architecture, seven-twenty point nine, aisle four on the right! Chinese poetry, eight-ninety point two, aisle eight right across from the ladies room!
[she closes her eyes and smiles]
ANNIE: Oh, I was at that library for thirty six years ...
[she opens her eyes and gets a sad look on her face]
ANNIE: And then they came.
JERRY: The bookworms?
ANNIE: Don't interrupt!
[he looks down in embarrasment (and fear?)]
ANNIE: It was the early eighties. Library use was at an all-time low. Most of the books hadn't been touched in years. I was the only one who knew about ... them! Nobody else believed me, they thought my talk about bookworms was just another ploy to get additional funding! Well, waddaya think about this?
[she pulls back the shawl on her lap to reveal teethmarks on her left arm, as Aaron and Jerry both gasp]
ANNIE: Well, they thought I was crazy. Put me in this place! The next day they closed the library for good!
[she shakes her head]
ANNIE: It's been eighteen years ... and now you want me back? Yesterday I was so much human garbage, and now you need me to save your ass?! Not bloody likely!
JERRY: But it's just that ... the library's re-opening soon!
[she gets a shocked look on her face]
JERRY: You don't wanna see people get hurt, do you?
AARON: Misses Merton, I know things have been bad for you, but everybody really needs you to come and save the library!
[she smiles]
ANNIE: You're a sweet boy.
AARON: So ... will you help us?
[she sighs]
ANNIE: Well, Aaron ...
[he smiles, but then she gets an angry look on her face]
ANNIE: Amscray, you're bothering me!
[cut to inside the library at night, as Aaron and Jerry are armed with various "weapons" (a rake and cheese grater for the caretaker, while the boy holds up a potato masher and plunger)]
AARON: I'm ready!
[they start sneaking through the stacks, as the sounds of the bookworms can be heard]
AARON: [whispering] Sounds like feeding time ...
[they peek around the corner, and see a bookworm on the floor]
AARON: [whispering] Look, there's one!
[it slithers away, so they keep moving forward and find several more crawling around the books]
JERRY: [whispering] When it comes for ya, just run. I'll take care of it.
[he swings the rake down and impales one of the bookworms, which brings shrieking in pain]
JERRY: Ooh, oh yeah! That hurt, ya little sucker?
[he laughs]
JERRY: Let's see ya worm your way outta that one!
[the bookworm stops moving and falls silent]
JERRY: [yelling] I got the slimy bastard! Whoo!
AARON: Yeah!
JERRY: Who's next?
[he does a little "victory dance," when Aaron turns and notices several of the bookworms on the shelves are now looking at them]
AARON: Jerry?
[he ignores him and continues trash talking]
JERRY: This is gonna be a cake walk, man!
AARON: Jerry!
[he finally stops and turns, as the bookworms bare their teeth]
JERRY: Aw fudge ...
[they scream and start running, as Aaron hides behind some boxes]
JERRY: Lay down! Lay down! Save yourself!
[he continues running down the hallway, as the bookworms crawl after him]
AARON: Jerry?!
[cut to Jerry running into the boiler room, as the bookworms continue their pursuit]
[cut back to Aaron, as he's still hiding]
AARON: Jerry?
[cut back to Jerry, and (thinking he's lost the bookworms) he collapses to the floor in exhaustion]
[cut to the camera (simulating the bookworms' POV) slowly zooming in on Jerry, as he gets up in fright and presses up against the wall]
[cut back to Aaron, as he can hear Jerry screaming out in pain]
AARON: Jerry?
[Jerry's screams go quiet, then Aaron turns and looks at something off camera]
AARON: Ahh!
[cut to Annie at the door, as she's wearing a holster ... but instead of a gun, she pulls out a bookstamp]
ANNIE: Boys, I'm back!
AARON: Misses Merton, you gotta leave! They killed Jerry!
[she stops and looks at some green slime on a bamboo stick stuck in the card catalog]
AARON: [whispering] What's that stuff?
[she runs her finger over it and tastes it]
ANNIE: Bookworm dung ... Fresh! They're close!
[she pulls out the stick and places it in her holster (like a samurai sword)]
ANNIE: You can do what you wanna do, but I got me a date with some worms!
[he hides behind a chair, as the librarian (with a clap of thunder punctuating the moment) ventures into the stacks]
ANNIE: Eighteen years it's been, boys! Eighteen long years! Well, this time I ain't lettin' nobody drag me away! This time, you're gonna have to take me down!
[she stops and pulls some books off the shelf, to reveal a bookworm hiding behind them ... it snarls at her, but she takes her bookstamp and squishes its skull in]
ANNIE: Sorry, looks like you're overdue!
[cut back to Aaron, as he tries to pick out the librarian in the darkness, then back to Annie as she sees another bookworm on the floor]
ANNIE: Book 'em, Dan-o!
[she picks up a book and squashes its tail, then turns and sees another bookworm on the floor]
ANNIE: When is a bookworm like a library book?
[she takes out the bamboo stick and stabs it]
ANNIE: When it checks out!
[she lifts up the skewered bookworm and starts laughing maniacally]
ANNIE: I've never felt so alive!
[cut to a closeup of Annie's face while she's laughing, then the camera focuses on a bookworm peeking out of a book on the shelf above her]
[cut back to Aaron, as he hears the librarian's laughter change to screams]
AARON: Misses Merton?
[cut back to Annie, as she wrestles with the worm (hovering inches away from her neck)]
ANNIE: That all you got, you slimy bastard? It'll take more than a few scratches to take down Annie Merton!
[cut back to Aaron, as he slowly gets up from behind the chair]
AARON: Misses Merton?
[everything suddenly goes quiet, so Aaron cautiously goes to investigate and finds Misses Merton's glasses on the floor]
AARON: Oh no ...
[he looks up and gets a determined look on his face]
AARON: Jerry, this is for you and Misses Merton!
[cut to a shot of the book "Fill the Sky", as Aaron opens it and begins ripping out pages]
[cut to Aaron using a piece of chalk to draw a large "X" on the floor]
[cut to Aaron using a tape measurer on one of the bookshelves]
[cut to Aaron placing the pages on the floor one by one, leading up to the "X" on the floor]
AARON: Come on, boys, brand new pages! Come and get it!
[the bookworms appear and begin chewing on the pages]
AARON: Come on, a little closer!
[he stands perfectly still, as the worms crawl towards him, then he grabs a rope on the bookshelf behind him and pulls ... the entire shelf falls forward, crushing the bookworms (but missing Aaron completely as he had used the tape measurer to find exactly which shelf he would need to remove the books from in order to avoid him)]
[he looks around at the bookworm carcasses, then Jerry (with his clothes in tatters) appears from out of the shadows]
AARON: Jerry! I thought you--
JERRY: Nah, they just nibbled on me a little bit ... It hurt like hell!
[they suddenly hear something whimpering off camera, and discover that it's a baby bookworm hiding on a nearby shelf]
AARON: Wow, look at that!
[Jerry recoils in horror]
JERRY: Kill it!
AARON: But it's just a baby ...
[he smiles at it, then cut to outside the newly re-opened Dewey Library (with a fixed sign), as Aaron exits carrying some books ... until he's stopped by the three bullies]
BULLY 1: Hey look, it's the brainiac!
[he knocks the books out of his hands]
BULLY 2: Like the new library, Poindexter?
BULLY 3: What'cha got in your lunchbox, bookworm?
[Aaron slowly smiles]
AARON: Yeah, I do ... How'd ya guess?
[he opens the lunchbox and shows them the baby worm]
BULLY 1: Holy crap!
[they run off in fright, as Aaron talks to the bookworm]
AARON: It's okay, they're gone now. Everything's okay.
[he looks up and gives the camera a devilish grin]
AARON: I can't wait for show and tell ...

Written, Directed and Produced by Richard Clark

Starring
Kyler Fisher
Mark Sovel
Beverly Miller

Director of Photography
Edgar Arellano

Assistant Director
Doug Campbell

Edited by
Mark Sovel
Richard Clark

Animatronics
Tod Ryan

Computer Animation
Scott Coulter
Greg Nelson
Jim Carbonetti

Original Score by
Robert Fair

Cast
Aaron Peterson - Kyler Fisher
Jerry - Mark Sovel
Annie Merton - Beverly Miller
Bullies - Elliott Pinkney Ball, James Henry White, Michael Raimi
Voice of Worms - Elizabeth Harris
Extras - Kip Stolberg, Debra Lake, Paul Norton, Curt Coutin, Diane Suarez

Bookworms (c) 1998 Richard Clark

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From imdb.com:

"Bookworms" (2000)
14 min - Short

Director: Richard Clark
Writer: Richard Clark

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