EXT. LUCKY PICTURES, STUDIO 3

The cab arrives at a studio warehouse across town, just a block from the Astor building. The parking lot is paved nicely, but empty. The passengers get out, and Heinz tells the cabbie to wait for them there.

INT. STUDIO 3

Heinz unlocks the door, and switches the lights on.

Heinz
This is where it all happens, eh?

The studio is far from empty, housing unkempt sets and props of all different kinds. Floodlights from above cast a white glow over it all.

Callie
Wow.

Gavri
No kidding.

Heinz
This is nothing. You should see the one in California – we have an actual dinosaur.

Callie raises her eyebrows.

Gavri
I'm sorry, what does the Astor Foundation DO exactly?

Heinz
A little of everything, actually. I bought Lucky Pictures just last year, thought it'd make a nice side-hustle. They were gonna shoot those Crusher Wesley flicks, y'know, the rock star? But then the directors went with a different crew.

They walk past a cardboard cutout of Elvis Presley, The King of Rock, holding a guitar. He's wearing his classic white-tassled suit.

Callie
You mean Elvis Presley?

Heinz
Yeah, him! I love that guy.

Gavri
Yeah, he's swell, alright.

Callie
(Grinning.) "Swell?"

Gavri
(Blushing.) I like his music.

Heinz
I like it too, very punchy. It's got a nice groove to it. Here, I've got something.

Heinz walks to a record table, flicks a switch on the wall for power, and tries to blow the dust off the record. It doesn't work.

Heinz
(A little ashamed.) I'm afraid my lungs fail me. Be a gent, kid?

Gavri
Sure.

Gavri blows the dust off the record, and wipes it off with his hand. He puts the record on, lowers the needle, and presses play. Then he claps his hands as it starts to scratch, and within seconds, Heartbreak Hotel starts to play.

Heinz
(Smiling.) There we go, that's the one, haha. You ever had your hearts broken? You, miss?

Callie
(Shrugging.) A few times. I always go for the ones that break them.

Heinz
(Nodding upwards to Gavri.) And you, kid?

Gavri
(Leaning his head to the side.) It came that way.

Heinz
(Chuckling.) Ha, now that's sad, isn't it? You two should write that down somewhere. It'd make a good song some day, you could sing duet.

Gavri
What about you?

Heinz comes to a dead stop.

Heinz
(Seeming frozen.) Y'know, for some reason, I didn't expect you to ask me that. But I have... oh, I have. It's been shattered before. I've still got a few pieces left, but... oohf.

Heinz pounds his chest like it's full of smoke, and coughs. Gavri claps the dust off his hands, and shares a look with Callie. She looks at him for a little longer than he's expecting her to, and he does a little double-take. Then she walks on to follow Heinz, and Gavri walks alongside her. Heinz walks them around, letting them take in the view. They first pass by a weapon rack full of samurai swords, and samurai armor hung on wires.

Heinz
In the Great War, my father sold weapons and drugs to soldiers in need. The war raged on for years, and business boomed. Then, it ended, and he went bankrupt. He left everything to me, and when World War Two began, it was my turn.

They walk around a diorama of a mountain, with a lone little model eagle perched on a tree at the top.

Heinz
I kicked it up a notch. More weapons, more drugs. I brought on a team of specialists, including Odin, Turp's father. He was the weapons designer, knew how to make everything from guns to missiles.

They pass a make-shift rocket, on a miniature landing pad. The rocket is round, with three little glass windows on the side.

Heinz
Then, that war ended too, and profits dried up. But I didn't want to lose the company, so I sold our factories across the states and invested in consumer goods, and scientific pursuits. Projects my friends and I had on our back-burners for decades had now become our only hope.

He walks them further into the studio, to a place where the light barely reaches. Parked near the wall is a huge, metallic alien ship, like a flying saucer, open at the top. Its surface is dotted with dark glass panels, and it looks big enough to almost be real.

Heinz
All of us were scientists, each of our own respective fields. My expertise was in Theory.

Gavri
Like Theoretical Physics?

Heinz
Theoretical EVERYTHING. I was the imaginator that spurred us all forward, connecting our stringent ideas, learning just enough from each field to craft an intricate understanding of how they blended into one another. My help was the glue that bonded us together, despite the impossible differences we all had. Scientists are known to be quite lonely, y'know. Add politics in the mix, and yeesh. You're in for a bad time.

Callie elbows Gavri. Gavri frowns. Heinz puts his hand on the ship's body, and leans against it.

Heinz
Anyway, my company's done it all. Snack foods, hair gel, vacuum cleaners, bulk chemicals, ladders, and even diapers. Many of which were recalled. Anything to stay over that dotted line, to survive.

Gavri
Better than war profiteering, right?

Heinz
No, it's much worse, actually. Who ever heard of a 'Cold War'? Have the battle or just call it off, am I right?

Gavri and Callie exchange a worried look.

Heinz
Whatever. We don't even make weapons anymore, what do I care? The point is: I'm retiring soon, and I don't want my family legacy to die. I don't know who'll be running the show when I'm out. What I do know is this: movies are awesome.

The two nod.

Heinz
You don't seem very enthused.

Gavri
I just... what do movies have to do with everything you just said?

Heinz
(Stressing his point.) Nothing, yet. That's why I want to MAKE one, a movie about my LIFE! My experiences, my journey, my struggles. I want the world to understand ME for ME, not as a C.E.O. but as a MAN. Ya dig?

Gavri
(Nodding.) Yeah, I dig. What do you want me to do?

Heinz
We have everyone and everything we need, except a script.

Gavri
I'm not that kind of writer, sir.

Heinz walks around to the back of the ship, where a ladder grants access to the top. He climbs it, still talking, and sits in the cockpit.

Heinz
I know that. You're a reporter, you interview people. So talk to my employees, my family, my friends. Anyone who knows me, and maybe some civilians who've heard of me. My brand is very famous, I'm sure they'll have some opinions.

Callie side-eyes Gavri, like 'get a load of this guy'. He elbows her, and she moves away. Gavri looks back to talk to Heinz again.

Gavri
What will that do for the movie? Aren't they usually all made-up?

Heinz
I want authenticity, damn it! I want the grit, I want the dirt, I want it all! If people hate my guts, wanna know. Don't hold anything back. If they love me, that's nice too.

He cocks his head, and examines the dashboard.

Gavri
I dunno, there's a wedding going on, right? Besides, we're kind of on vacation. I already have a job back home.

Heinz
Shouldn't take more than a week. I'll pay you – five hundred thousand dollars.

Heinz starts digging in his pockets. Calliophie's eyes go wide. She looks at Gavri and mouths the words silently, gasping: "Five hundred thousand?!"

Gavri
For one week? That seems a little excessive.

Heinz
Please, it's barely as much as I sent my son to make sure he didn't go broke on the way here. What do you want in life?

Gavri
Me? A place of my own, I guess. Food on the table. Slippers.

Heinz
(Sarcastic.) Watch the pride, there, skipper. Comes with a great fall.

Gavri
I'm sorry?

Heinz
(Shaking his head.) I'm joshin' ya, those are meager dreams. Either you're selling yourself short, or your sleep must be like a famine. Now, lemme see here...

Heinz takes a pair of goggles, having found them in his pockets, and straps them on his head. He grabs the steering wheel, and flips some switches. The "engines" whir, two industrial-sized fans placed on each side, unsuitable for flight but still kicking up a strong wind. A green light beams from the ship's front headlights, nearly blinding Gavri and Callie, already feeling blown back. Mechanical noise fills the studio around them.

Gavri
(Shouting over the noise.) How do you know I'll do a good job?

Heinz
(Shouting back.) You seem like a smart lad, I'm sure you'll do fine! So what'll it be?

Gavri and Callie share another look.