StoryScenes

1 A coffee table covered in various items. The view is tight on the table, giving no view of the room or who is in it. Playing cards are dealt onto the table. A casual conversation between three friends is unfolding with ribbing and jokes. The view pans across a cell phone playing a podcast. The phone screen shows a picture of the three hosts of the podcast huddled together as friends. The camera pulls out to show a room with only one person. Sam is listening to his favorite podcast in his dark, desolate apartment. Sam is alone and he has arranged things as if he is hanging out with other people. Sam is playing solitaire (a card game) as he listens. He sometimes responds to the podcast out loud, as if it was a two-way conversation. Sam is using podcasts as a parasocial relationship to solve the problem of loneliness. Podcast Catch Phrase setup: (the guys talking about some celebrity that LOST something valuable) Podcast guy Brett (Farter): “Guess it’s just a (farts in the mic) in the wind, hahahahaha” Podcast guy Joe: “How many times has he done that?” Podcast guy Matt: “It’s not how many times, it’s how many years has he been doing that” Podcast guy Joe: “Yeah, so how many years, 4?” Podcast guy Matt: “I think 5” Podcast guy Brett (Farter) : “Like sand from the hour glass, our lives are (farts) in the wind” Podcast guy Brett (Farter) : “Hahahahaha, and it never gets old. I’m spicing up the episode!” Podcast guy Matt: “We’ll make sure they put it on your tombstone” Podcast guy Brett (Farter) : Thanks man, I appreciate it.
2 Sam is in a fan club for his podcast which meets online and posts to a forum. The podcast guys do not participate in the online fan club and refer to those guys as weirdos on the show. Sam bickers with a rival fan online (GapingFuckHole_69_420) who trolls / antagonizes Sam on the online forum. Sam’s username on the forum is CoolGuy666.
3 Sam works as the sound guy at a concert venue, which gives him access to perks like free tickets. Sam keeps socializing with his fellow staff to a bare minimum. Co-workers occasionally invite Sam to parties but he always declines. HIs anxiety and past trauma make Sam reluctant to make real friends. People take advantage of Sam for his access to concert tickets by pretending to be his friend in superficial ways.
4 A co-worker is talking to other staff at the venue about an after-party. One says “Tell Sam”. The attractive rocker girl of the group goes over to Sam. Sam is attracted to the girl and is happy she is coming over, but tries not to show it. She approaches Sam and tells him about the after party and asks if he’s going to come as she reaches into her coat pocket for cigarettes. Just as she finishes speaking she accidentally drops her pack of cigarettes. The cigarettes leave her hand in slow motion. [Sam has an Instant Flashback] Sam is a child playing in a field with three other children, all dressed the same, in cult-garb. One kid puts his arm around Sam, “come on buddy”. The kids appear to be playing a game but young Sam is saying “you’re cheating” and the other kids are laughing at him and keep playing. They keep tagging Young Sam as he just stands there. Young Sam cries and says “you guys are my friends”. Sam is alienated and defeated.The kids push Young Sam, causing him to DROP the ball. [BACK TO THE CONCERT VENUE] The pack of cigarettes fall to the floor. Sam picks up the cigarettes and hands them to the rocker girl. “Uh, Nah, I have to get home and take care of some stuff”
5 Performers are overly nice to Sam because he is controlling the sound board and they just want him to make them sound good. A performer will ingratiate themself to Sam, and Sam will be flattered that the performer is being cool to him, but when Sam is going backstage to hand them a mic and some cords, he overhears the performers making fun of the “Weird sound guy” and they say “but it’s cool because I buttered him up, so he’ll make us sound good” and the other guys say “Nice”. Sam feels let down, and this is not new to him. Sam enters the backstage room and announces that he’s brought the mic and cables they requested. The guitarist pretends that Sam is cool and offers a fist bump. [INSTANT FLASHBACK] Young Sam is teleported to a cult dorm room with his Dad who tells him “Sorry those boys were picking on you, but having bad friends is better than having no friends at all”. The cult leader is sitting in the room with Sam’s mother on his lap and says “He’s right”. Sam’s mother says “Your father is right, dear”, and begins making out with the cult leader. Sam’s father nervously smiles with a defeated look. The cult leader extends his hand and says “put it there bud” [BACK TO THE CONCERT VENUE] Sam fist bumps the guitarist and leaves the room. Sam knows that these social situations might not be genuine, but having a group is more important and he doesn’t want to risk losing that.
6 (hero meets friend) Sam is vaping outside before the show starts and sees a guy (Karl) arriving at the ticket booth late to learn that the show is sold out. Sam sees the back of Karl’s shirt, which is a merch shirt of the podcast he likes. As Karl is walking by, Sam mentions a reference to the podcast and Karl stops and chats with him. Sam feels like he can trust this guy since he likes his favorite podcast. Sam says "I can get you in, just follow me". Karl is stoked and enjoys the show and gives Sam his social media info. "I owe you one bro". Karl is 28, athletic with a contemporary style leaning towards casual rocker. Sam quizzes Carl before offering to get him into the concert, to see if he’s a “Real fan”. He asks about a catch phrase. That catch phrase is set up in the Opening Image when Sam is listening to the podcast by himself, and it is established that the catch phrase has been shamelessly re-used for years. Sam: You know the catch phrase? Carl: The catchphrase? yeah, um…. It just a (fart sound with mouth) in the wind? Sam: Ha! Yeah. It sounds pretty weird in the real world …. Carl: Yes it does …. Sam: So anyway, yeah, follow me, I’ll get you in. Carl: Nice dude.
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