Mendelevium (pdf format) by Erich VonHeeder
A “Battle of the Bands” helps two lead singers find love.
Mendelevium. It’s a synthetic element on the Periodic Table. Atomic Number: 101.
Don’t let the title lead you astray. There’s little science in Erich Von Heeder’s script, Mendelevium.
But tons of chemistry.
Incredibly engaging, Mendelevium is totally character-driven: an interview of Delores and Levi, two lead singers in rival punk rock bands.
When the couple first meet, it’s hate at first sight – an animosity of biblical proportions. As Delores articulates: “I was overcome with hatred for him. Like deep, blinding…” A helpful Levi completes the thought: “Murderous. Murderous hatred.”
…a hatred which escalates to an on-stage scuffle, after Delores throws a pound of cocaine at Levi. Followed by a night in jail. Talk about auspicious first dates!
“Where did you get a pound of cocaine?” their puzzled interviewer queries.
“Where do fish get scales?” Delores replies. “I don’t know. I’m a rock star, dude.”
Holding hands, the couple reminisce about their whirlwind romance, shortly after making bail. Delores: “We were hotter than a pequin pepper. A rare pepper that grows in the remote Andes Mountains of Chile, and if you even touch it to your mouth you die.”
Levi rolls his eyes. “Doesn’t exist,” he confides to the camera.
Imagine a punk rock reboot of When Harry Met Sally… that’s Mendelevium in a nutshell. Packed with witty dialogue, the script is funny, fresh – a standout vignette of two non-conformists in love. As Levi says, “Love’s a jester, man.” And a script like this is bound to shine.
Pages: 5
Budget: Low-medium. All that’s needed is an interview room, an indie rock “stage”, a handful of crowd extras – and a couple with great chemistry.
About the writer: A humble denizen of Seattle (home of some amazing rock bands) talented writer Erich VonHeeder can be reached at erich_vonheeder(a)yahoo.com
About the reviewers: Scott & Paula Merrow are a husband and wife screenwriting team. Since 2006, they’ve written over 50 short screenplays, several of which have been produced. They tend toward family-friendly scripts, but they’ve written a little bit of everything: horror, fantasy, sci-fi, comedy,… the whole nine yards. They’re reachable at scott-paula(a)comcast.net
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This screenplay may not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
3 Comments so far
1.
KP Mackie
November 7th, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Clever!
An easy, entertaining read. The title is an attention-getter.
Always fun to NOT know where a story is going, and be surprised…
Two strong characters. (Actors are going to love it.) 🙂
2.
marnieml
November 7th, 2014 at 3:23 pm
This was my fave from that 2008 MP challenge. Would love to see this one filmed!
3.
Henry Christner
November 7th, 2014 at 4:55 pm
I’m glad I didn’t read the review first (no knock on this particular review) because it would have spoiled one of the nice surprises in this script — that mendelevium is on the periodic table. (On the other hand, maybe everbody but me already knows that!)
This is a well-constructed tale that covers a lot of ground in a short space, thanks in part to the expert use of voice-over transitions. Fun to read.