Great Gatsby Script

For this assignment, I decided to put my screenplay of the Great Gatsby in a modern technological setting.

BACKSTORY

GATSBY is the CEO BaZynga, a multimillion-dollar social gaming startup.  His company's headquarters are on one of the top floors of a skyscraper in San Francsico.  Directly underneath BaZynga is a small moderately successful enterprise software company, where NICK was recently hired as a database engineer.  NICK is cousins with DAISY.  DAISY is married to TOM, the CEO of the mega social network platform Flitter.  She works there as a frontend developer.  GATSBY's office stares directly at Flitter's headquarters, which he can see on a clear day.  GATSBY has asked NICK to invite DAISY to see NICK's new workplace, and NICK has agreed to this request.

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INT. ENTERPRISE OFFICE, MID-DAY

GATSBY
Is everything in order?

NICK
The break room's been cleaned, if that's what you mean.

GATSBY
What break room?  (Pause) Oh, the one right next to us.  Yeah, I saw it.  Looks quite good.  One of the weather apps said they though the rain would stop about four.  I think it was Weatherbug.  (Jittering his leg) Do you have everything you need in the shape of - of coffee?

NICK walks over to the coffee machine.

NICK
Does this work?

GATSBY
Sure thing, sure thing!  Looks fine, man.

GATSBY checks his phone.  He gets up to leave the office.

NICK
What's up?

GATSBY
She's not coming.  It's way too late.  (Stares at the ground) I knew this would happen.

NICK
Don't be silly, it's just two minutes to four.

DAISY arrives.  NICK takes the elevator to the first floor [and finds her and stuff and brings her to the top floor]

NICK
(Looking for GATSBY) Well that's funny.

DAISY
What's funny?

NICK and DAISY walk to the break room.  They find GATSBY, who is resting against the ping pong table.  DAISY and GATSBY lock eyes for what feels like an eternity.

DAISY
Well I'm awfully glad to see you again.

GATSBY
(Pause) We've met before.

The ping pong table starts to scoot back, GATSBY loses his composure, and then quickly regains it.

GATSBY
Sorry about the table.

NICK
It's been pretty worn down for a while.

DAISY
We haven't met for many years.

GATSBY
Five years next November.

NICK starts to leave the room.

GATSBY
Hey - where are you going?

NICK
I'll be back, just going outside for a second.

GATSBY
Before you go, let me talk with you for a moment.

NICK and GATSBY walk outside the break room.

GATSBY
(Stressed, half-whispering) Oh god!

NICK
What's the matter?

GATSBY
This is a huge mistake.  I've made a huge, huge mistake.

NICK
(Smiles) You're just embarrassed, that's all.  Daisy's embarrased too.

GATSBY
She is?

NICK
Just as much as you are.

GATSBY's eyes dart back to the break room.

GATSBY
(Whispering) Don't talk so loud.

NICK
You're acting like a child.  Not only that, but you're being rude.  Daisy's sitting in that break room all by herself.

GATSBY grudgingly accept what NICK says, and goes back into the break room.  NICK takes the elevator down, and has a smoke break under an awning.  The rain clears up, and NICK heads back inside.

NICK
It's stopped raining.

GATSBY
Has it? (To DAISY)  How about that?  It's stopped raining.

DAISY
I'm glad, Jay.

GATSBY
I want you and Daisy to come up to my company's headquarters.  I'd like to show her around.

NICK
You sure you want me there.

GATSBY
Absolutely, man.

INT. BAZYNGA OFFICE, MID-DAY

They all take the elevator up to BaZynga's headquarters.  The space has very modern and trendy interior design, with sculptures, paintings, retro lounge furniture, expensive workstations, and a fully stocked cocktail bar.

DAISY
You run THIS place?

GATSBY
Do you like it?

DAISY
I love it; I hope you don't keep it all to yourself.

GATSBY
I keep my company always full of interesing and hard-working developers.  Developers who make interesting things.  Celebrated developers.

The group continues to tour through the floor, each room completely different from the previous one.  DAISY whispers something unintelligible in GATSBY's ear that makes him fluster.  NICK exits the building.

The Great Gatsby

I'm glad I read The Great Gatsby.  It was a really fascinating interweaving of characters and relationships.  The setting of 1920's New York was also beautifully described, from the mansions of Tom and Gatsby to the "valley of ashes" that George and Myrtle Wilson reside in. Initially, it was a bit difficult for me to get invested in the story, but things got really interesting by Chapter 5 when Gatsby planed to see Daisy for the first time in five years.  The book did a great job of making me sympathize with Gatsby despite all his shortcomings.  Here was a man who pursued the love of his life for years, accomplishing so much and trying to treat her with the utmost respect, only to end up with nothing as all his hopes, dreams, and ultimately life went away in a matter of a day.

It was interesting to see how the book handled its focus on the characters in the story.  I had initially assumed that the book was going to mostly revolve around Gatsby, but it instead seemed to focus on the love triangle of Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby as a whole.  In fact, Nick seemed to only exist as a window into the world and story of the love triangle.  Even plot-wise, he just exists as the key to what Gatsby believes will be a successful reunion with Daisy.  Aside from Nick's noted honesty, there's nothing really special about his character, and his living space is far closer to average than Tom's or Gatsby's mansions. He does have somewhat of a relationship with Jordan for a part of the book, but the passages that discuss that aspect of the narrative are kept rather short.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: Short Story

Placeholder post!  Wheeeeee

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Before my Lit and Media Studies class, the film version of The Wizard of Oz was my only exposure to the Oz universe.  Having now read the first book in the series, I can say that it's a far more enjoyable experience than the movie.  An issue I always had with the movie was that it seemed to take eons for Judy Garland to take a stroll down a relatively short yellow brick road.  If she wanted to get home so badly, she wouldn't have wasted so much time singing with every single person she meets on her way to Emerald City.  In fact, it takes an entire hour just for Dorothy to meet up with the full gang.  Pacing is handled far better in the book.  Instead of feeling like a drawn out afternoon stroll, it feels like an actual journey.  More events occur along the way, and no single event overstays its welcome.  Aside from possibly Dorothy, all of the main characters in the book are more developed and have interesting backstories.  The book also makes it far more clear that the scarecrow, lion, and tin man all had what they were looking for before they got to Emerald City.  The scarecrow helps them solve problems to continue their journey, the tin man cries out of sympathy, and the lion swears to defend them with his life.  The wizard only helps with a shift in perspective.  I'm glad I got the chance to read the book; I would have maintained a tarnished view of the Oz universe otherwise.