No Hope
(from In Search of Luke Skywalker)
Scene 1 – Jersey City, Day
Est: Shot of Street corner bus stop, people passing, cars passing
Master: Sam approaches corner towards a granite bench in front of a real estate store
Match cut: Sam pauses in front of bench
POV shot: close up of Sam’s face looking down
Shot of bench which is a tribute to Peter, who has died, followed by the saying, “May the force be with you”
Shot of Sam’s face, nodding slowly.
Long shot of Sam sitting down on the bench
Shot of his horrified face and flashes of space ships.
Medium shot of him leaping up.
Shot of his face looking startled, then looking around
Shot of people moving passed apparently noticing nothing.
Medium shot of Sam reaching for the back of the bench
His hand on bench back
A flash and he is suddenly transported into the hallway of a space ship
Scene 2- ship corridor
Etab: Long corridor with Storm troopers at the far end and ship guards along the walls firing at the storm troopers. Sam is in the fore ground to the left side as shots are coming at him.
Medium shot of him and the firing
Reaction shot: of Sam’s face.
Master shot of fight and one of the ship guards (Peter) looking over at him, then coming towards him, firing over his shoulder at the storm troopers as a hail of shots comes down the hall.
Match cut of the two of them, and Peter grabbing Sam’s arm and pulling him down the side hallway.
PETER:
We have to get you out of here before you screw everything up.
Shot of them fleeing down the other corridor
Shot of the fight and the falling of ship guards as DARTH VADER steps through the hatch into the corridor.
Close up of Vader’s helmet.
VADER:
There is a disturbance in the force.
Scene 3: INTERIOR ESCAPE POD
Etab: Peter and Sam seated in the escape Pod. Peter is staring out the door into the hall.
Shot of Peter’s face, and then the hall, sound of marching steps
Shot of Sam
SAM:
What the hell is going on here?
PETER (Solo shot of him looking out)
Shut up I’m thinking – You don’t belong here.
SAM:
I don’t even know where here is?
One minute, I’m waiting for a bus for New York, the next minute I’m…
PETER: (Closing the door)
Hold on to something. We’re heading down to the surface
Scene 4: EXTERIOR OF THE SHIP –
Long shot of main ship passing over head as it heads towards planet.
Match cut of ship with smaller ship under it, and something shooting out from it.
A shot of an escape pod rushing towards the planet
Shot of main bridge and officer there.
OFFICER #1
There goes another one
OFFICER #2:
The sensors show this one has life forms. We’d better alert Lord Vader.
Shot of pod hitting the atmosphere
Scene 5: Desert surface, day
Etab: long shot of crashed pod with Sam and Peter walking away from it across the sand.
Match cut of the two of them
PETER:
You’re not supposed to be here.
SAM:
Do you mind telling me exactly where I am?
PETER:
Tatooine
SAM:
As in Star Wars?
PETER:
Precisely.
SAM:
You’re crazy
(looks around)
And maybe so am I.
PETER:
I don’t know how you got here, mister.
But the sooner we get you out of here the better.
SAM:
And how the hell do we do that since I don’t know how I even got here?
PETER:
We should try and get to Obi Wan before he hooks up with Luke. Ben’s place isn’t too far from here.
Scene 6: Ben Kenobi’s mountain top home (towards sunset)
ETAB: Long shot of the mountain top retreat.
Match cut of them going inside
Shot of them inside roaming through the place
PETER:
Ben? Where are you, Ben?
This is strange. He should be here.
SAM:
Maybe he had to go to the 7-11 for something.
PETER:
No, there’s something wrong. I can feel it.
SAM:
You mean like a disturbance in the force?
PETER:
Yes, if you must know.
We have to get to the town.
SAM:
How?
It wasn’t even easy getting here.
PETER:
I have an idea, come on.
Scene 6: Canyon – heavy sunset
Etab: Long shot of canyon with two of them climbing down
Match cut: Peter holds up his hand to halt Sam – heavy mechanical sound echoes from down the valley.
Shot of the valley with the sand people’s vehicle appears
Two shot of Sam and Peter
PETER:
There’s our ride.
SAM
I would prefer the bus.
It wouldn’t be going to Manhattan by any chance.
PETER (hurrying down the canyon)
Not likely, but it’ll get us to --- town.
Follow me
Scene 7: EXTERIOR of sand people’s vehicle – evening
Etab: Long shot of Peter and Sam sneaking up behind the vehicle
Match cut: of peter and Sam looking up at the door, Peter gives Sam a boost, and when Sam is up near the door, he reaches down to pull Peter up, both slip inside.
Scene 8: Interior of the Sand People’s vehicle
Estab: shot of Sam and Peter at the door and then a pan shot of the interior filled with pieces of electronic junk, rusted old robots and stuff.
Match cut of Sam and Peter
PETER:
That’s a relief
SAM:
What is?
PETER:
I was afraid we would find CPO and R2D2 in here.
SAM:
You really are out of your freakin’ mind, you know that, don’t you?
PETER:
No, I’m not, I’m dead.
SAM:
What?
PETER:
I died and went to heaven.
At least, that’s what I think happened.
SAM:
You’re idea of heaven is Star Wars?
PETER:
You bet. The movie changed my life. I always wanted to live in that universe. Now I do.
I live the movies from beginning to end as one character, and then I start all over as another – sometimes as one of the major characters, most of the time, someone minor.
SAM:
How many times have you been through this?
PETER:
More times than I can remember
SAM:
And you never get sick of it?
PETER:
Never. I can spend an eternity here, and I hope I do.
SAM:
What about me?
If you’re dead, does that mean I’m dead, too?
PETER:
You’d better hope not, otherwise, you’ll never get back.
But get some sleep. We won’t get to town until morning.
Scene 9 -----, morning
ESTAB: Long shot of the town with the sand people vehicle riding through it.
MATCH cut: Sam and Peter looking out the door as the vehicle passes the buildings
PETER:
Never a bigger den of vice will you find than this place
(grabs the door frame and moves to go out)
This is our stop.
Long shot of exterior as Peter and Sam jump to the ground and the vehicle continues on without them.)
Match cut: of the two of them standing, then a shot of Sam’s shocked face
SAM:
I can’t believe I’m seeing any of this.
PETER:
(pushing Sam against a wall)
Stay here. I have to go talk to the market man.
(Sam nods, and stares—followed by a series of shots of life moving around him. A moment later, Peter returned)
Well, that’s something anyway.
Luke and his uncle already bought the droids. So that part of the story is still intact.
But we need to make sure.
Come on
(Peter starts towards one of the buildings)
SAM:
Where are you going?
PETER:
To get a drink.
SAM: (grinning)
Now you’re talking!!!
SCENE 10 – The Cantina – day but dark inside
Est: Exterior shot of Peter and Sam entering, followed by an interior shot of them coming in through the door. A pan shot of the interior and its occupants. Peter leads Sam to the bar
Match cut: Peter and Sam at the bar, with Sam looking stunned.
PETER:
Stay here while I look around – and for god’s sake don’t talk to any of them.
SAM (close up of his startled face)
You mean these – creatures can talk.
PETER – Yes, and they’ll kill you just as look at you.
SAM – Then maybe we should leave.
PETER – Not yet. I need to find out if Hans Solo has been here yet.
(PETER goes off into the crowd. The bartender slides a drink in front of Sam. But Alien #2 grabs it and glares at him, Alien #2 grabs Sam’s arm)
ALIEN #1 – My friend here doesn’t like you, and neither do I. So you’d better watch yourself.
(Peter returns agitated and pulls Sam back through the place and out into the plaza)
Scene 11: Plaza Day
Etb: A busy plaza filled with moving aliens and machines. Peter and Sam are standing near the Cantina door
Match cut of Peter and Sam
PETER:
Something is definitely wrong.
Nobody’s seen him and he should be here.
SAM:
Maybe it’s too early in the story for him to show up.
PETER:
Possibly. But I have a bad feeling about all this.
SAM:
Which means what?
PETER:
Which means we have to find Luke before the storm troopers do.
Come on. I’ll borrow a flyer.
Scene 12 the desert plains day
(Sam and Peter in the flyer are rushing across the landscape at high speed and eventually arrive at the ruins of Luke’s house.
Etab: Sam and Peter climbing out of the flyer while the building smolders
Match cut: Sam and Peter staring off frame
Pan shot of smoldering ruins and finally the dead bodies.
Shot of Peter nodding.
PETER:
This looks normal enough
SAM:
Normal? These people are dead
PETER:
They’re supposed to die.
I’m just hoping Luke wasn’t with them when it happened.
SAM:
What now?
PETER:
Now we really do have to find, Ben
SAM:
Where?
PETER:
The only place I can think of is back in town.
Come on
SAM:
This is getting down right monotonous.
SCENE 13 – Town, day light
Etab: Peter and Sam are moving through the town which is as busy as earlier, but now has storm troopers everywhere looking.
Match cut of Peter and Sam in the flyer, with Peter looking off frame
Shot of R2D2 and CPO standing in the plaza.
Shot of Peter stopping the flyer
Shot of Sam
SAM:
What’s going on
(Two shot of Peter and Sam in the flyer)
PETER (indicating off frame)
Those two are our droids, I think
Shot of the flyer from behind the two droids
R2? Cpo?
R2:
Thank the stars
It’s Master Luke and Master Ben
(Shot from behind Sam and Peter in the flyer of the two droids approaching)
Where have you been?
(A reverse shot from behind the two droids of Sam and Peter in the flyer with two storm troopers approaching)
Shot of troopers
TROOPER #1
Are these droids yours?
Shot of Peter
PETER:
These are not the droids you want
TROOPER #1 (to the second trooper)
These are not the droids we want
(then to Peter and Sam in the flyer)
Move along
(Peter starts the flyer moving slowly ahead—scene fades)
Scene 14 -- In another section of the plaza -day
Est: Peter, Sam, R2 and CPO are under an arch looking out at activity around in the plaza.
Shot of Peter
PETER:
I don’t believe this. I seem to have become Obi Wan
SAM:
Then maybe you can get me out of here.
PETER:
I don’t think I can
SAM:
Why not?
PETER:
It appears that you’ve become Luke
SAM:
That’s nuts.
I’m broaching sixty. I’m too old to play Luke.
PETER:
Not in this reality.
SAM:
You’re full of it.
PETER:
Am I?
(Peter turns to R2)
Who is this? (indicates Sam)
R2:
Why, that’s master Luke, of course.
PETER: (to Sam)
See!
SAM:
He’s nuts, too, or I am
PETER:
This can only mean one thing
SAM:
I’m not sure I want to hear it
PETER:
It means we’re going to have to play our parts to make sure the story ends the way it’s supposed to.
SAM:
I asked you not to tell me
(Peter is headed towards the cantina door)
Hey, where are you going?
PETER: (halts at the door)
To arrange for our transportation.
You forget we have a droid to deliver to the rebel base. That means we have to find Hans Solo
(Peter vanishes through the door)
SAM:
How on earth can I forget a thing like that
(Fade to end.)