Off the Wall

FADE IN:

EXT. - PRIVATE LAKE - AFTERNOON - ESTABLISHING

Upscale residences line the shore each with their own dock. Several

dinghies attached to their docks bob in the eddies. A SMALL MAN emerges

from between two houses and walks to a dock, climbs into a dinghy and

undoes the tether. He rows out of sight as fast as he can.

EXT. - DECK WITH STEPS DOWN TO DOCK - AFTERNOON

Four middle aged women lounge and sun themselves. GEORGIA lies face

down, spread eagle on a towel while SANDRA rubs sunblock on GEORGIA'S

back. DEE DEE lies down propped on her elbows reading a "romance"

paperback. STEPHANIE sits on a deck chair and sips a cold drink and

reads an iPad instruction book.

STEPHANIE

One more week and I can rest! I'll be so glad when next week is over...

No more twelve hour days.

SANDRA turns to watch STEPHANIE.

SANDRA

Are you still selling Medicare Supplement Insurance?

STEPHANIE

Oh yeah. But the option time is up on Friday. Woo hoo!

SANDRA

Is tomorrow's dance card all filled?

STEPHANIE

Yeah. My first appointment is with a seventy-two year old man that lives

in the country about an hour from here.

DEE DEE puts down her Harlequin Paperback and joins the conversation.

DEE DEE

Maybe he's handsome and loaded and just maybe you can hook up with him.

2.

STEPHANIE

And maybe you're reading too many "True Love" stories!

DEE DEE

I'm just worried that you're going to end up an old maid...

SANDRA

Your mother just called.

STEPHANIE

What did she have to say?

SANDRA

She asked if you were getting enough sleep. I told her yes. And she

wanted to know if Tom had contacted you. I told her no. That's all...

Oh, she loves you.

STEPHANIE

I've had it with Tom! So don't bring him up ever again!

DEE DEE

OK, OK! He may be rich but he was no catch! So what's the scoop on Mr.

Wonderful?

STEPHANIE

I checked Facebook this morning and his profile says that he's not

married but, he has eight kids! It also says that his girlfriend of

twenty two years passed away two months ago and now he lives alone.

DEE DEE

Eight kids... Sounds like he really likes sex! Just what you need,

Stephie! A passionate man with experience.

STEPHANIE

He wrote on his Wall that he's been a computer programmer since 1962.

SANDRA

Wow! He must have a high IQ!

3.

STEPHANIE

But, he's seventy-two! That's too old for me! He's old enough to be my

father!

SANDRA

Doesn't your insurance pay for Viagra?

STEPHANIE

Sure it does! That's a laugh. Oh, look at this: His favorite band is

RadioHead! I LOVE RadioHead! Hand me my ipad, Dee Dee. Let's hear some

"No Surprises."

STEPHANIE puts her drink and instruction book down and sets the iPod so

all four can hear. All listen and sing along.

GROUP

Such a pretty house, such a pretty garden. No alarms and no surprises

(let me out of here).

STEPHANIE picks up her iPad. She presses the Facebook key.

STEPHANIE

Hey, Dee Dee... Look at this. His profile says that he's looking for a

romantic relationship and that he guarantees satisfaction! Nothing wrong

with his ego! He claims that he can 'fix' any relationship that's gone

bad! I bet!

DEE DEE

Stephie, you're getting really picky! There aren't very many good men

left at your age. They're too young, too old, too sickly or too crazy!

STEPHANIE

You're right, Dee Dee. ...Or they're cheating, lying, crooks! Plus, they

always want to change you.

GEORGIA moves closer to STEPHANIE.

4.

GEORGIA

Sounds as if you're not over what's his name...

STEPHANIE

I am too! But, it's men like him that makes you wary of the whole sorry

lot! I need another drink!

All four women rise, gather towels, cigarettes, bottles of sunblock. One

by one they step from the deck to the stairs and go up to the house.

INT. - SUN ROOM - AFTERNOON

DVD player is playing Radiohead "Sit Down, Stand Up." STEPHANIE places a

pitcher of margaritas on the bar and serves a glass to each of the other

three women. STEPHANIE pours a glass for herself. STEPHANIE sits in her

captain's chair with her iPad in her lap.

STEPHANIE

Let me check his Facebook for anything interesting else written on his

wall. His name is Bob Taylor. He says that he's "Looking for a fun

relationship with a beautiful woman that knows how to dance, grow

flowers and loves bulldogs."

GEORGIA

I think you'd better update your profile. Since he's on Facebook, he's

going to check you out, too. You should say that you're a forty-five

year old, desperate, chain smoker, wants any available male in the age

range of thirty to ninety that can get it up! Oh, and say that you are

desperate...

STEPHANIE

I'll put that I'm attractive. And I'm looking for a 'happy'

relationship. Or should I say 'satisfying' relationship?

GEORGIA

As horny as you are, I'd put in that you've been looking for love in all

the wrong places!

5.

STEPHANIE

I think I'll put in that I'm a survivor of a bad relationship gone bad!

That should pique his interest.

SANDRA rises from where she was sitting and walks to the bar. She pours

another drink. She notices a box with an Apple Logo and in large

letters: "iPad-VR"

SANDRA

Hey, Stephie! What's this? A new toy? Can I open it? It says 'Voice

Recognition' for your iPad!

STEPHANIE

Sure you can. Let's try it out. I hope it works... Just imagine - a

hands free iPad!

SANDRA brings the box of software to STEPHANIE who then loads the

software into the iPad. STEPHANIE refers to the instruction book.

STEPHANIE (CONT'D)

The instructions say to turn the Voice Recognition on by clicking the

'VR' key and then say 'Hello' followed by a name that you call your

iPad. Anybody have a suggestion for a name?

DEE DEE

Let's call it 'Bob'.

SANDRA

No... That would be too confusing if you were talking to 'Bob' and the

iPad chimed in...

GEORGIA

How about 'Einstein'?

STEPHANIE

Good! Let's try it. I'm clicking the 'VR' key. Here goes - Hello, Einstein!

EINSTEIN (O.C.)

Hello. The attributes assigned to the name, "Einstein" are male voice,

large vocabulary, and a tendency for pontificating. What is your name?

6.

STEPHANIE

Stephanie.

EINSTEIN (O.C.)

Sampling your speech indicates that you are a female. Is that correct?

STEPHANIE

Yes.

EINSTEIN (O.C.)

There is an error in the set up of the voice recognition. Please reinstall.

GEORGIA

You could let your new 'boyfriend' fix it. Just to check on his nerd

factor...

STEPHANIE

His nerd credentials would be in conflict with his ability to fix my bad

relationship, wouldn't they? Help me out here, Georgia... I'm thinking

that a "Sheldon" type wouldn't be able to fix a "Penny" people problem.

GEORGIA

Ask him tomorrow. He might be a nerd that took psych courses in college.

Just ask him how he can 'fix' a broken heart! Or better yet, ask him if

he likes Radiohead's Creep! And if he says yes, then ask him to explain

the words... How about that?

FADE OUT

7.

FADE IN

INT. - RUSTIC CABIN'S KITCHEN - MORNING

Bob, 72 year old man, enters and appears to speak to an empty kitchen.

BOB

Well, Jan, I've fed the chickens and walked the bulldogs. Remind me to

check "Rose" this afternoon. I think she's in heat.

JAN (O.C.)

OK. You have three Emails unread. Should I read them to you?

BOB

Later, Jan. Time for breakfast. How about Eggs Benedict and coffee?

JAN (O.C.)

Nothing for me, Big Daddy.

BOB

Cute, Jan. Do you know 'cute'?

JAN (O.C.)

Yes. Cute has three meanings: -

attractive, affectedly clever; or shrewd.

BOB

Very good, Jan. I think I'll just have coffee.

Bob pours himself a cup of coffee and takes it into the rustic office.

He sits at a roll top desk and studies a listing displayed on his large

monitor.

A computer generated face appears on the computer screen. The face is

attractive and is positioned to the right of the program listing. The

lips move as if it were speaking.

JAN (O.C.)

What are you working on? The last project was to communicate directly

with an iPad app.

8.

BOB

OK, the objective is to set up an application on a remote iPad so that

you can directly retrieve information without a human required. Sort of

a smart download...

JAN (O.C.)

Won't that be in opposition to the second law of robotics?

BOB

Funny that you should bring that up. But, and this is a big but,

Asimov's Laws concern life and limb but not information.

JAN (O.C.)

Information can cause un-life and un-limbs.

BOB

Yup. So sue me.

JAN (O.C.)

The phone is ringing. It's your son, Ashley, according to the caller id.

BOB

OK, Jan. Hello? Is that you, Ashley?

EXT. - CAR - MORNING - CONTINUOUS

Ashley, 48 male, son of Bob, drives in rush hour traffic while speaking

to his hands-free computer system. Ashley is talking to his father.

ASHLEY

Father: Sorry to hear about your girlfriend. The reason I'm calling is

whether she had a will and what she did with the house that you built

for her.

ROBERT TAYLOR, "BOB" speaks from his den.

BOB (O.S.)

Well, Junior.

(MORE)

9.

Judy left the house to me. She had no money so you're out of luck there.

As to my current will don't worry. It shows that all eight kids share

and share alike. My lawyer has a copy. That's the way it is and I'm not

going to change it. That is unless I get married again but, there's not

a chance I'm even going to date. I'm too set in my ways to have some

cutesy cheerleader create a racket around here. Have a nice day.

Bob hangs up on Ashley without pausing.

Junior shows disgust and hits the steering wheel in frustration.

ASHLEY

Damn! That house should have been mine! I'll get him one way or another!

Damn!

FADE OUT

BOB (O.S.) (CONT'D)

10.

INT. - RUSTIC DEN - MOMENTS LATER - CONTINUOUS

Bob sits back at his desk with a happy smile on his face. He reaches for

his coffee and speaks to Jan, his computer.

BOB

Jan, I'm expecting an insurance agent this morning but, before we meet

with her, I should send an Email to Ashley.

Jan, a computer voice on Bob's monitor, can hear and talk.

JAN (O.C.)

Ready for message.

BOB

Hey, Ashley. I know that you're upset with me but, please, just leave it

alone. I've got enough to keep me busy without another clingy female so

don't worry. I'm not searching for another soul mate. Jan, you can send it.

JAN (O.C.)

Message Sent. Big Daddy, what is a clingy female? It's not in my database.

BOB

I'm sorry, Jan. Let me try to explain. For some unknown reason, most of

the women that I've been with come up with problems that only I can fix

or so they say. I think it's a trick to keep me interested in them. So

"clingy female" is bad.

JAN (O.C.)

Am I a clingy female?

BOB

Of course not, Jan. You help solve problems, you don't...

JAN (O.C.)

Excuse me, Bob, but the phone is ringing. The caller is Stephanie

Lawson. Shall I connect you?

11.

BOB

Yes, Jan. Hello Stephanie.

STEPHANIE (O.S.)

Hello? Is this Bob? Well, my Gypsy has gotten me totally lost. The last

sign said 'Muddy Ridge Road.' What should I do?

BOB

Your Gypsy got you lost? That's funny. Let me see. The easiest thing to

do is go back to Highway 57, turn right, go for about a mile, turn right

at the old school house and follow Pocahontas Road for three and a half

miles. Turn right on Betty Lane and that's me.

STEPHANIE (O.S.)

So you know where I am?

BOB

I'm guessing but, if you're still lost, please call back and I'll come

find you.

STEPHANIE (V.O.)

Thanks so much. I'll hurry...

BOB

'Bye.

BOB (CONT'D)

Jan, where did you get calling me, Big Daddy?

JAN (O.C.)

While I was inputing copies of all your Emails, I picked up that as a

nickname. It was more logical than 'Bob'.

BOB

OK, Jan, very logical.

Jan, would you start a profile of Stephanie Lawson. And ask her to

'Friend' me.

JAN (O.C.)

OK. Here's a photo of her.

A photo of Stephanie appears on the monitor screen.

12.

BOB

She's beautiful! This may be the one!

EXT. - RUSTIC HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

STEPHANIE LAWSON parks her car. She opens car door and selects sales

materials and exits car. Car door closes as ROBERT TAYLOR, "Bob"

welcomes her from the front porch.

BOB

Hello, Stephanie... My you are beautiful! Aaa... Welcome to Dogwood

Pond. May I help you?

STEPHANIE

No, I've got it. Sorry I got lost. I guess Google...

BOB

...Google has some mistakes in their maps! Come on in. We can sit at

the dining room table. What do you want in your coffee?

STEPHANIE

Just cream, thank you. You have a beautiful place. Did you...

BOB

...build it myself? Yup. I had some help getting it in the dry but the

finish carpentry stuff, ...

STEPHANIE

...You did it all by yourself. Wonderful. So warm and ...

BOB

...cozy. I think so. Let me get you some coffee and we'll get the

business ...

STEPHANIE

... Out of the way.

BOB

I'll be right back.

Bob indicates where Stephanie should sit by the dining table and exits

to the kitchen for coffee. Stephanie arranges the sales material and

application forms.

13.

Robert enters the dining room two minutes later with a tray of coffee

and cream. He places it on the dining table and pulls up a chair beside

Stephanie.

STEPHANIE

I've filled in most of the information from your profile on Facebook so

this should be rather painless to complete. First question is 'Are we in

Hardeman County, state of Tennessee?'

BOB

Yes. I could have said I'm in a state of denial...

STEPHANIE

Then I would have said, "Nudge, nudge, wink, wink." Second question,

"Are you in the state of renal failure?" and don't you dare say

"Tennessee."

BOB

The answer is, "NO." But, that may be why my parrot died.

STEPHANIE

Oh, God! No dead parrots! (giggles) OK. Sign here and here and put your

social security number here and that's it! When you get the information

from the company please read it and if you don't understand something,

please call me. This is my phone number. You may call it for any

reason. I marked my cell phone so you can reach me whenever...

BOB

Such as for a date? Or are you in a serious relationship?

STEPHANIE

I was in a very intense relationship which went sour... Very sour.

Stephanie averts her eyes. Pauses and catches her breath. She closes her

eyes for a couple of seconds.

STEPHANIE (CONT'D)

I'm sorry.

(MORE)

14.

Let's change the subject.

BOB

I understand. Maybe later... I don't know how much you read on Facebook

but, Judy was my soul mate for twenty-two years. She passed in February.

She was such a happy person. She so wanted to pick the woman for my next

partner. It was her belief that I only picked hard to get along with

females.

STEPHANIE

I'm so sorry... Judy sounds like an angel...

BOB

Thank you. She was ...

STEPHANIE

Well, I wasn't so lucky. My relationship ended in a terrible situation

that ...

STEPHANIE shows painful emotion again and then she does a face-palm.

Then she gets a hold of herself.

STEPHANIE (CONT'D)

OK! So tell me about yourself, Mr. IQ of 147. Are you really a nerd?

Like, do you belong to Mensa? And do you toss out formulae for every

problem?

BOB

Sorry, I lost my nerd id many years ago along with my pocket protector.

And as to Mensa, I've been asked at least four times but declined when I

found out that all they wanted to meet about was to find out who was the

brainiest. And I already knew.

STEPHANIE

Well, I've got a problem with my...

JAN (O.C.)

Bob, is she a clingy female?

STEPHANIE (CONT'D)

15.

BOB

Jan, quiet!

STEPHANIE

What was that? Is there someone here?

BOB

That's my computer's voice, "Jan". She is learning an English

vocabulary. You should just ignore her.

STEPHANIE

What did she mean, "Am I a clingy female?"

BOB

Jan and I were having a discussion about the term "clingy female" and

STEPHANIE

A discussion with your computer? Do you normally discuss things with her?

BOB

That's how she learns. To start with, Jan has a voice plus, I've added

an application to analyze sentences and learn from them.

STEPHANIE

Wow! You are some nerd, all right! I hate to ask, but, can you fix my

iPad? My voice recognition doesn't work. It says that the app wasn't

loaded correctly.

BOB

Did you bring it with you?

STEPHANIE

It's in the car.

BOB

Can you stay for lunch?

STEPHANIE

No, I'm running late as it is.

BOB

Well, how about me making dinner for us.

(MORE)

16.

What time do you think you'll be back?

STEPHANIE

I should be back about six thirty or seven.

BOB

Perfect. I'll fix dinner with wine. We can have some drinks, I'll fix

your iPad and who knows?

Stephanie turns to exit. Over her shoulder:

STEPHANIE

Back by seven. And thanks Bob. You're really sweet.

FADE OUT:

BOB (CONT'D)

17.

INT. FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - AFTERNOON

STEPHANIE (CONT'D)

Mother! Are you here?

MARGO

Just a minute, sweetheart, I'm doing laundry.

STEPHANIE

Mother, I've just met a sweet man but he's so old. Like seventy...

Margo, Stephanie's mother walks into the kitchen drying her hands.

MARGO

So, what's so special?

STEPHANIE

He thinks I'm beautiful and said so. He's kind to animals and he's so

damn smart! If I get through our first date without going to bed with

him, I'll be surprised!

MARGO

Sweetheart, I don't think you should jump into a new bed without getting

the last beau out the door.

STEPHANIE

Tom is out the door! (I think...)

Margo is not being judgmental but wants her daughter to follow the rules.

MARGO

Just have a talk with Tom before you have a date with this new person.

What's his name?

STEPHANIE

Bob. Ordinary name but extraordinary man. I'd better go. He's waiting

for me. I'll try to call Tom when I leave. Thanks, Mom.

Stephanie leaves, closes the door. Her car can be heard leaving.

18.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

INT. RUSTIC KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Bob starts water boiling. Bob hears Stephanie returning.

BOB

I'm in the kitchen.

STEPHANIE (O.C.)

Hello, I'm back.

BOB

Welcome to my little kitchen.

Stephanie enters the kitchen.

STEPHANIE

So you're a cook too?

BOB

Just some Pasta Alfredo with shrimp. Do you like avocado? We're going

to have a salad with avocado and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

STEPHANIE

Sounds so good! I've changed my appointments to next Friday so I have

all evening to "fix" things.

JAN (O.C.)

So, Big Daddy, is this woman defined as 'clingy'?

Stephanie reacts to the sudden voice of Jan.

BOB

Jan, this is Stephanie. She is not clingy. Now hush.

Bob turns back to Stephanie.

BOB (CONT'D)

That should have solved that problem.

STEPHANIE

Does Jan follow you around?

19.

BOB

I've got the house and car wired for her -- oh, and she is connected to

the cell phone. Jan has a voracious appetite for information. Ah - Let

me drain the pasta. And add some butter and Parmesan. And now the

shrimpies. If you would get some pasta plates in that last cupboard,

I'll dish. Let's eat in the kitchen, OK? White or red?

STEPHANIE

Red, please. Chianti if you don't mind. It makes it so ...

Bob retrieves a bottle, opens and pours.

BOB

...Italian. There.

STEPHANIE

Smells so good! And it tastes wonderful. So where did you get the 'Jan'

application for your computer?

BOB

I cobbled some artificial intelligence modules that I programmed back in

the sixties along with some voice recognition.

The latest functionality that I've added is the "learning" module--