Untitled James Marsden* Project (TV Movie) - Establishing Scenes Riff

*This project is one in which I can clearly see James Marsden playing the lead. It does not represent any present affiliation with the actor.

James Marsden would play Walter Shulls. a down-on-his-luck single father (widower) to 7 or 8-year-old Sadie.

Our first sight of Walter is in an office, the conclusion of an interview process.

Man Behind Desk: "Walter, your primary skills just aren't what the company's looking for anymore. That sort of thing is being handled by A.I. now. I'm sorry."

Walter tries not to show his full disappointed. "Alright. So what lesser positions do you have available?"

"Pardon?"

"You said my primary skills aren't what you're looking for, and since you called me back down here-"

"Oh," he pastes on a smile, "we've gotten our wires crossed. I called you back in to tell you in person. Those A.I.'s are great but it reminds me how impersonal the world can be. I'm sorry, we have no positions available at this time. But keep checking out postings."

Walter barely manages a small smile as they shake hands and he leaves.

We see him sigh heavily as he exits the building, the opening credits displaying as we see him commuting back home from the company -a bus, a streetcar, we see him checking his watch, finally a bus/train depo.

He's just missed his train. There's another hour to wait.

Walter goes to as private a corner as he can find to place a phone call.

"--It's just I went to school to learn this particular skill that's now obsolete. Part of the funding of these A.I. programs came from the government. Isn't there any kind of assistance you can provide? Waive my tuition fees, at least? That money's gone no where."

Person on Other End of Call: "We're sorry, Mr. Shulls. The government can't predict how the world will change in several years."

Even if there were a point to continue the conversation it doesn't matter, Walter's going to miss his next train if he doesn't hang up, so he does, followed by the second heavy sigh of the day.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria of an elementary school.

Settled at a table, Sadie soon finds herself joined by two other girls.

Lunch Girl # 1: "What's that?"

Sadie answers happily: "It's a tunafish sandwich."

Lunch Girl # 1: "It looks like my cat's food." Lunch Girl # 2: "It looks like my cat's food after he's eaten some!"

They giggle.

Sadie looks uncomfortable. They don't notice.

Lunch Girl # 1: "Why is that in your lunch?"

"My Dad packed it for me."

Lunch Girl # 2: "Why does your dad make you eat cat food?"

"Because I like tunefish."

The girls share a smile before Lunch Girl # 1 asks: "What's your name?"

"Sadie."

"We're going to call you 'kitty'!" They giggle more, then start on their own lunches and another subject between themselves.

". . .tunafish is people food, too." Sadie says too quietly to be heard over the din of the cafeteria.

Later, from the train station in his home district, he walks to the supermarket.

A cart partially full, he seems in a more optimistic mood now as he comes up to the meat section. But suddenly dismay crosses his face as he sees the price of the kind he was going for.

"Excuse me," he gets the attention of an employee. "Isn't the roast still on sale? That's what the flyer says."

The employee looks at the flyer Walter has displayed on his phone. "There was an error on that flyer and the date of the sale didn't display correctly. We did send out a follow up flyer."

"I didn't receive it."

"I'm sorry. Be sure you have our Emails selected not to go into spam."

"Nothing's in my spam."

The employee pastes on a smile: "We have many other products on sale today, sir."

Sale chicken it is.

Walter gets a cab to get the groceries home.

Cut-To when he's finished putting them away (wearing a different set of clothes). We see him toss a kitchen washcloth into the laundry basket before washing his hands and getting a fresh cloth out, which he drapes over the handle of the oven door.

Checking the clock, he's out the door again.

Cut-to the elementary school being let out for the day.

We soon see Sadie occupying herself walking the short concrete walls of the school's entryway as she waits for her father, who's only a little late.

"Hey there, superstar."

She turns and smiles at him.

He takes her hand and they walk home.

"Was it not a great day today?" he asks, noting how she's not volunteering anything about it.

"Yeah. . .not the best."

He nods with a look like he totally gets it, not that she's looking at him.

At home, they take off their shoes and Sadie her backpack.

She steps into the laundry room aside the entryway and we can see by shadows she's taking off her school clothes before heading to the bathroom to wash her hands.

Walter has washed his in the kitchen before going to a computer to print out the homework the teacher has Emailed for Sadie.

By the time he sets it in a kid-decorated "inbox" basket beside the printer (an "outbox" on the other side), Sadie, in fresh clothes, has come into the living with some blank paper and collection of markers.

While she draws, Walter sets to making dinner.

"Sadie?" he calls from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"This morning you were ready to try something new for supper. Is it still a good day for that?"

". . .yeah, well, will all of supper be new?"

"No. Only 1/3rd of it."

"What's the rest?"

He sighs to himself as he takes out the protein, "chicken drumsticks, and that vegetable medley you like with the cauliflower, carrots and broccoli."

"Yeah, okay. The other 3rd can be new."

Dinner is prepared and the new item turns out to be couscous, which Sadie stares at with a thoughtful expression.

"Now you try that when you're ready, and then tell me what you think it's called."

Sadie goes for a bite of chicken first, which she smiles at afterward as though it never disappoints. Her smile seems gratifying to Walter; at least she doesn't seem to wish they had something other than chicken.

She spears a piece of broccoli, cauliflower and a carrot on her fork next to get a bite of each, then does again, before sampling the starch. ". . .bubble rice."

Walter grins. "It's actually called 'couscous', but not anymore in this household! Do you like it?"

"I think so. I like the. . .what's it called again, the bubble of it?"

"The grain?"

"No, like the feeling of the food."

"Texture."

"Yeah, I like the texture. I can't decide about the taste, yet," she samples some more, taking on that thoughtful look again as though really evaluating the food in her mouth.

"This is just the plain kind, since it's your first try. They have other flavours. Maybe we'll try a different one next time."

She nods agreeably.

At the end of the meal . . .

"Did you get your job today, Daddy?"

The fourth sigh of the day -at least that we've seen.

"No. Which the HR person could've just told me over the phone, but instead I had to go all the way down there."

"And that was that far place too, wasn't it?"

"Pretty far."

"That's not very thoughtful of them."

"Well they thought they were being thoughtful. Though I would've preferred being saved the hassle instead of face-to-face."

"So it's still the store, then?"

"Well it would've still been the store, anyway. This job was only going to be part time, at first."

"Is tomorrow the Tuesday you work?"

"Yep." He states the hours. "So it's playdate day for you after school."

To Be Written: Scenes of Walter at Zellers-like store.

Then, we see Sadie's playdate.

Playdate Pal: "Hey let's walk to the store and get ourselves some snacks!"

Sadie is self conscious a minute, then she shrugs. "I didn't bring anything for that."

"You're my guest! I've got enough. I'll pay for both our snacks."

Sadie smiles.

At the store, Sadie points out a particular box of items: "Let's get those! They're on sale."

"I said I had enough. We can get these," the pal points out a more expensive box of items.

"But stuff on sale tastes great! That's what Dad always makes us, and he's quick to get it before it's all gone." She seems excited that there's still so many in the display box -they haven't missed out.

"People don't buy that stuff because it tastes great. It's cheap. That means it tastes worse. Here! You'll see when you try this!"

Sadie seems unsure and a little offended. She sees her pal is buying two for each of them. "Can we get one of each? Then we can do a taste experiment."

The pal looks up in thought, not looking too keen on that idea, but: "Okay."

Cut-To the weekend at home.

Sadie is playing in her playhouse in the backyard while her Dad is doing yard work.

Some boys in a treehouse in the adjacent yard call out: "Sadie! Sadie are you in your house?"

Sadie comes to stand in the front door of her playhouse and looks up: "Yes?"

"Whatcha' doin'?"

"Drawing an idea."

"Cool. Want to come over an' play Treehouse Alien Dragons?"

Sadie puts her finger to her chin in thought. "No, I don't think so, thank you."

The boys start urging her to change her mind.

Walter gets involved: "Boys. She said 'no'. It's not up to you to change her mind."

"But she'd have fun!"

"We know she would!"

Walter smiles in an unrelenting way. "She said 'no'."

The boys go back to playing by themselves,

and Sadie returns to her drawing.

A short time later, she comes up to her Dad.

"Can I still change my mind about playing? Even though I said 'no' before."

Walter bends down. "Of course. Your mind is yours to change, no one else's. But ask the boys again first, they might've changed theirs."

"Okay."

She turns to look up at the treehouse, but seems shy about calling out.

Walter: "Just start with something to get their attention."

"Um...."

"Try that louder."

"UM! Guys?"

The boys pop their heads out.

"Yeah?"

"I finished my drawing...Can I still play with you? I'd like to now."

They look at each other first.

"Well, we're kind of in the middle, so you'll have to be what'll fit at this part now."

"Yeah, you can't like, pick to be one of the heroes, now."

Sadie seems unsure again.

Walter helps: "So maybe she could be one of the alien dragons?"

"Yeah, or one of the victims!"

"Yeah! One of the people the alien dragons have zap-chomped gruesomely!"

Walter makes a face before saying in Sadie's ear: "Does that still sound good to you?"

She seems surprised by the ideas, yet not put off. "I think so."

She calls up to the boys. "Yeah, that sounds good."

They gesture for her to join then.

Walter reminds her: "You can still change your mind again if it feels different to play. Just call for me if your words are taking their time. I'll still be out here."

"Okay."

She hurries through their gate around to the neighbor's.