RED - 1 Hr
Inspired by working on oil tankers for Chevron Shipping. After learning a chemical spill has sent a crazed Red Eyed whale after a Captain and his ship, his son, with the help of his Japanese teacher, whose guilty past of her towns namesake slaughtering whales drivers her to do everything in her power to help the Captain's son find a way to communicate with whales to prevent a collision in the San Francisco Bay.
Near San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge teenager JIMMY and his family cast their
lines and his sister SARAH catches a fish. Suddenly, the
boat heaves violently pushed into the air by a WHALE.
Father BRAD worries the encounter was too close for comfort
– as Jimmy notices the whale’s seemingly personal attack.
Later, the family – along with mom PAM – enjoys time on a
tour boat and at the same time nearby, an oil tanker spills
clear liquid from a hose into the ocean.
A whale with red eyes leaps from the water and glares at
Brad. Jimmy realizes the whale believes his father is
responsible for the oil spill.
Later, as Jimmy watches a whale being aggressive toward
people, his phone rings – playing Wagner’s Ride of the
Valkyries. The whale calms and swims away ... leaving Jimmy
astounded. Can he communicate with whales by using music?
Jimmy tries to explain what he experienced to his sister
and mom, but they’re not on board with his imaginative
descriptions. Jimmy continues to experiment with different
ways to communicate with whales.
He also asks his teacher Mrs. Taiji what could happen to whales who came into contact with toxic chemicals. It wouldn’t be good-- Mrs. Taiji, ( has an intimate knowledge of whales as she was named after the named after a Japanese whaling town that spearheaded the development of more sophisticated whaling techniques in the 17th century)- because of this, and her guilt attached to her Namesakes name and the brutality against whales, she does everything in her power to help Jimmy.
Meanwhile, on the ASL China, captain Brad – Jimmy’s dad –
sees a whale stalking them in the water and he tells his
crew to maintain course and speed. The red-eyed whale will
not be deterred.
Next, Jimmy takes a contraption he created to the beach,
where a lifeless whale has come up on shore.
In front of news cameras, Jimmy plays his music – and the
whale’s fin lifts and falls. When asked to do it again,
however, it doesn’t work, and Jimmy is dejected.
Onboard the ASL China, whales now push the boat
aggressively – Brad and his crew are in danger.
Jimmy gets onto a ferry and attempts to use his
communication instrument and explains he believes the
whales are out for revenge on his father. Mrs Taiji joins jimmy on a ferry boat into the bay as his father ship enters. She will do anything to help and shows up wearing a ceremonial Shinto dress.
The song doesn’t work, and Jimmy is terrified for his
father – until mom Pam suggests trying to use whale sounds
against the whales. Mrs Taiji offers ceremonial tea and throws lotus blossoms into the Bay and prays with Jimmy and family to the gods.
Jimmy loads in sounds of killer whales – and the other
whales run for cover, retreating from the ASL China.
The story ends as the family and Mrs Tiaji visits together at a
restaurant ... and Jimmy has changed his ringtone to a
killer whale noise. A whale surfaces and goes quietly out of the Tiburon cove.
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Project Type:Television Script
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Number of Pages:60
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Country of Origin:United States
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Language:English
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First-time Screenwriter:No
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Student Project:No
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Plot Point, 2021 Spring Quarter Finalist Screenplay Winner
I'm retired from the Sailor's Union of the Pacific as Bosun, The Screen Actor's Guild and Chevron Shipping. I was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, where Rudyard Kipling wrote Kim, and Captains Courageous. I was raised in Scarsdale New York and Newtown Connecticut I worked as a psychiatric aide for the criminal insane Returning from the Vietnam War II received an Associates in Arts degree from the College of Marin in Kentfield Ca. I have spent nearly a lifetime at sea. I'm also a retired member of SAG, having worked in over one hundred productions from San Francisco to Burbank. . I have commercial fished for salmon in Alaska; and I have 4 published books and 9 screenplays. I spend my down time in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.