Okay, here's my short film. It's grisly, be warned. When filmed, it'll be only about 20 minutes long. Comments welcome (although I'll probably disregard them ).

FADE IN:

EXT. HOUSE – NIGHT

The isolated home of JEREMY TITUS, not a neighbor in sight. The garage door opens and his car pulls in.

INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy walks in the door, looking exhausted. He puts his briefcase on the ground and drops his jacket on the sofa. He walks to his room.

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy turns the light on in the bedroom. Waiting for him on the bed is a beautiful young woman—APRIL. Her presence catches him by surprise.

JEREMY
You startled me. I didn’t know you were going to come over tonight.

Her lips are curled into a lustful smile.

JEREMY
Not that I mind, of course.

He returns her smile and begins undressing.

JEREMY
I think I’ll be getting a promotion pretty soon. Did I tell you about that guy Ron? He was supposed to turn in this PowerPoint presentation last week, but for whatever reason, he didn’t. So my boss comes to me, frantic, and asks if I can whip something up for him. I had practically no time to get it done, but they were really pleased with what I did. You didn’t hear it from me, but I think Ron may be on his way out, and I’m next in line for his position.

He’s completely undressed. He moves toward the bed.

JEREMY
You’re so beautiful.

He positions himself between her legs and kisses her. Her right arm wraps over his back as he gets on top of her.

DISSOLVE:

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – MORNING

Lying in bed, Jeremy is cradled in April’s arms. He awakens and looks up at her, a smile creeping onto his face.

INT. BUILDING – JEREMY’S OFFICE – DAY

Jeremy has headphones on. The music is blaring loudly. He works on a PowerPoint slide. Behind him, his co-worker RON pops his head in the door and calls to him. Ron can’t be heard. Ron enters the office and taps Jeremy on the shoulder. Jeremy takes off his headphones and turns to Ron.

JEREMY
Oh, I’m sorry.

RON
No problem. Listen, some of the guys were going out to lunch. Did you want to come with?

JEREMY
No, that’s okay.

RON
You sure? We’re having Chinese.

JEREMY
Yeah, I need to get this presentation done.

RON
All right.

Ron exits. Jeremy puts his headphones back on and returns his attention to his computer.

INT. BUILDING – LOBBY – LATE AFTERNOON

Jeremy has his headphones on, but the batteries die out. He tries getting his Discman to start up again, but to no avail. He takes his headphones off. He walks by a SECURITY GUARD.

SECURITY GUARD
How’s it going?

JEREMY
Huh?

SECURITY GUARD
How are you doing?

JEREMY
Oh, uhm, fine, I guess.

SECURITY GUARD
Have a nice weekend.

JEREMY
Yeah, you, too.

Getting to the door, Jeremy’s face twists into confusion.

JEREMY
(to himself)
It’s already Friday?

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – NIGHT

Jeremy drives around in his car, a white Chevrolet Corsica. A nice, anonymous car that doesn’t draw very much attention, that. He eyes the road like a hawk.

JEREMY
Come on, one of you bitches has to come out some time.

JEREMY’S POV – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

The streets are barren, at least of women. A couple of men, who appear to be jonesing for crack or whatever their drug of choice is, walk around with a look of purpose.

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy takes a look at his gasometer and sees that it’s starting to run low. He checks his watch. The time is 1:43 a.m.

JEREMY
One more roll around the street, Jeremy, then you got to get home.

EXT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy’s Corsica makes a u-turn and heads back in the direction he just came from.

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy turns the radio on. Nirvana’s “Polly” is playing. Jeremy sings along.

JEREMY
(singing)
Polly says her back hurts. She’s just as bored as me. She caught me off my guard. Amazes me, the will of instinct.

Jeremy keeps his eagle eye on the street.

JEREMY’S POV – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

MICHELLE – a prostitute, dressed in rather humble attire considering her line of work – emerges from behind a building.

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head.

JEREMY
Ah, the reward for persistence.

He’s going too fast to stop in time, and two lanes out of position, but he waves at Michelle as he passes by her to grab her attention.

EXT. SIDEWALK – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Michelle sees Jeremy waving at her and stops, waiting for him.

EXT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy makes another u-turn at the first opportunity to do so and speeds down the other side of the street before making one last u-turn and pulling up in front of Michelle.

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

His window already rolled down, Michelle steps up to his car after he stops in front of her.

MICHELLE
Hey, baby, you looking for a date?

JEREMY
Yeah, get in.

She does so.

EXT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

The Corsica drives off.

INT. CAR – THE ROAD HOME – NIGHT

Jeremy turns the radio off as Michelle puts her hand on his crotch.

MICHELLE
You’re not a cop, are you?

JEREMY
No. Are you?

MICHELLE
No. Do you like that?

She’s worked her hand into his pants and is jerking him off.

JEREMY
Who wouldn’t?

MICHELLE
What do you want to do?

JEREMY
I was thinking about giving you $200 to spend the entire evening at my house.

MICHELLE
Two hundred?

JEREMY
Yeah.

MICHELLE
I don’t know. I could make more than that being on the street all night.

JEREMY
How much more?

MICHELLE
It depends on how good business is.

JEREMY
So it could be less?

MICHELLE
I didn’t say that.

JEREMY
How much would it take?

MICHELLE
To spend the night at your house?

Jeremy nods. She takes her hand out of his pants and sits back.

MICHELLE
Shit. Three?

JEREMY
I don’t know. That’s a little more than I’m used to spending. What if we meet halfway—two-fifty?

MICHELLE
Two seventy-five, and that’s as low as I can go.

JEREMY
If that’s as low as you’ll go, I guess I’ll have to take it, won’t I?

Michelle nods.

JEREMY
All right then. Why don’t we get a blowjob out of the way in the meanwhile? It’s a bit of a drive to my house.

MICHELLE
I need the money first. $50.

EXT. HOUSE – NIGHT

The garage door opens and Jeremy’s car pulls inside.

INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

Michelle enters the house first, followed by Jeremy.

MICHELLE
I’m going to need the money up front.

JEREMY
I know. I wanted to show you something first.

He starts walking to his living room. She hesitates and he turns around, waving her on.

JEREMY
Come on. It’ll only be a moment. You’ll get your money.

Michelle finally follows, unenthusiastically.

INT. HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy walks to a bulletin board. Hanging prominently beside the board is an Employee of the Month plaque. Adorning the board are magazine clippings. Some have a small picture of Jeremy on them. All of them have Jeremy’s name written in bold-faced font.

JEREMY
Take a look at this.

She stands by him and takes a look at his bulletin board. He stands proud, although she’s duly unimpressed. He doesn’t notice, as his attention is focused solely on the plaque.

JEREMY
I work for one of the biggest software companies in the entire world, and I was considered the Employee of the Month. Can you believe that? I’ve been there for a few years, and let me tell you, they don’t just hand those awards out. You have to earn one. And I did.

Jeremy stands in awe in front of his plaque, basking in it silently while Michelle tries to mask her utter indifference. Fed up, she grabs his attention.

MICHELLE
Did you want to get started?

JEREMY
Of course.

MICHELLE
And you need to pay me.

JEREMY
How could I forget? My money’s in my room.

He starts for his room. She looks at him, beginning to get mildly frustrated.

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy enters the room and turns the lights on. Michelle follows him in.

MICHELLE
Blowjobs are $50, and straight sex is seventy-five. Plus, for being off the street the entire night—

Michelle is stopped short when she sees April sitting on Jeremy’s bed. This startles her, and she lets out a suitable gasp. Jeremy doesn’t seem too concerned about this.

JEREMY
Oh, April? Don’t worry about her. She doesn’t mind.

Jeremy maneuvers himself between Michelle and the doorway. He lifts his hands to head-level behind her. Her attention is focused on April. April has a blank expression on her face. Though her lips have that same smile from before, her eyes seem not to have any life behind them.

JEREMY
After all, she’s already dead. How could she?

A look of terror blankets Michelle’s face as she realizes what she’s gotten herself into. Before she can let out a scream, Jeremy grabs her by the throat and breaks her neck.

INT. HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – AFTERNOON

Jeremy sits against the wall, his Employee of the Month plaque in his lap as he polishes it lovingly. The phone RINGS. He puts the plaque down, making a face, gets up and walks to the cordless phone.

JEREMY
Hello?

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Hi, Jeremy. How are you doing?

The expression on Jeremy’s face demonstrates how happy he is to hear from her (which is not very).

JEREMY
Uh…I’m doing fine, I guess.

He walks out of the living room.

INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

He walks to the stove and checks on what he has cooking in a pot.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I haven’t heard from you in so long. I was beginning to get worried. Has everything been okay?

JEREMY
Yes, mom, I’m fine.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
You weren’t sick? There was a nasty virus going around over here a few weeks back. Did you catch anything?

JEREMY
No, mom, I haven’t been sick for a while. I’m fine.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Were you busy with work?

JEREMY
A bit.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Tell me about it. Are things going well over there?

JEREMY
Yeah, everything’s fine.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
The economy’s gotten so bad. I was concerned your company might start laying people off.

JEREMY
I don’t have to worry about that, mom. My job’s secure.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
That’s good to hear.

He walks out of the kitchen.

INT. HOUSE – BATHROOM – CONTINUOUS

He pulls his pants down and sits on the toilet.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Any progress in the sweepstakes to be my daughter-in-law?

JEREMY
None to speak of.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I want to be a grandmother while I can still enjoy it.

JEREMY
I know.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I don’t want to be walled up in some nursing home when my grandson needs to be spoiled and taken to the toy store.

JEREMY
I’m working on it, mom.

He gets off the toilet, pulling up his pants, grimacing. He looks at himself in the mirror, scrutinizing a potential pimple on his cheek. His reflection can be seen on two mirrors. There’s a crack in one of the mirrors.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I don’t know why you don’t just come back here.

JEREMY
(starting to get really annoyed)
Mom.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
There are plenty of women looking to get married, start a family. You should see the personals.

JEREMY
(more forcefully)
Mom.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
It’d be like shooting fish in a barrel.

JEREMY
Mom! Jesus, you know how annoying that is? I’ll meet a woman on my own timetable, okay? Not yours.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I just thought…

JEREMY
You thought wrong, all right? You think that fixing me up with a woman is going to make everything suddenly okay? That it’s just going to erase the past and make me forget?

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
No, Jeremy.

JEREMY
Fuck you!

He throws the phone down and punches a hole in the wall. His emotions take over him.

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – MORNING

Jeremy opens his closet. Inside, all of his shirts are the same and all of his pants are the same. He picks out one of each. On his bed is Michelle, propped up the way April had been.

INT. BUILDING – LOBBY – MORNING

Jeremy walks into work, his headphones on. The music’s blaring loudly. None of the noise in the office can be heard. A few people nod “hello” to Jeremy, but he doesn’t acknowledge a single one of them.

INT. HOUSE – DEN – NIGHT

Jeremy sits in front of his computer. He’s chatting with somebody on-line. He’s dressed in the same clothes he wears to work and when driving Miracle Mile.

INT. HOUSE – COMPUTER SCREEN – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy’s moniker is “JTitus.” He’s chatting with “MiracleWorker.”

JTITUS
I’ve been working there since ’96.

MIRACLEWORKER
Cool.

JTITUS
Do you ever read PC Weekly?

MIRACLEWORKER
No.

JTITUS
I got mentioned in an article there once. They ran a pic of me, too.

MIRACLEWORKER
Cool.

JTITUS
April 99. Around the time I was Employee of the Month.

MIRACLEWORKER
That’s great.

JTITUS
That was, like, the greatest achievement of my life. I got a plaque and everything.

MIRACLEWORKER
You got the plague? ;-b

JTITUS
No, I got a PLAQUE. With a ‘q’.

MIRACLEWORKER
I know. I was kidding.

JTITUS
Oh.

MIRACLEWORKER
So what do you do for fun?

JTITUS
I don’t know. Not a whole lot. Why?

MIRACLEWORKER
Just wondering.

JTITUS
Did you want to meet?

MIRACLEWORKER
I was thinking about it, but I don’t know.

JTITUS
Let’s meet Sunday.

MIRACLEWORKER
Would you spend the entire time talking about your job?

JTITUS
Is that supposed to be a subtle swipe at me?

MIRACLEWORKER
There was nothing subtle about it. Can you talk about anything else?

JTITUS
Sure.

MIRACLEWORKER
Then why don’t you?

INT. HOUSE – DEN – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy looks at the clock.

INT. HOUSE – COMPUTER SCREEN – CONTINUOUS

JTITUS
I’m gonna have to go now. I’ve got to get to work.

MIRACLEWORKER
Whatever.

JTITUS
Will you be on tomorrow?

MIRACLEWORKER
l8r.

JTITUS
Will you be on tomorrow??

MIRACLEWORKER
I dunno. Bye.

INT. HOUSE – DEN – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy sits back and turns his computer off. He hesitates a moment before getting out of his chair.

INT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – NIGHT

Jeremy prowls Miracle Mile yet again. He’s dressed in the same clothes he was wearing last time.

JEREMY
(singing)
It isn’t me. I have some seed. Let me clip your dirty wings. Let me take a ride. Don’t cut yourself. I want some help to please myself.

EXT. CAR – MIRACLE MILE – CONTINUOUS

LAUREN – a prostitute who’s dressed a bit more conventionally than Michelle – waits along the side of the road. Jeremy’s car pulls up in front of her and she leans forward to talk to him through the window.

LAUREN
You looking for a date?

JEREMY (O.S.)
Yeah, get in.

Lauren gives a look at the street, making sure no cops see her, before obliging his request.

INT. CAR – THE ROAD – CONTINUOUS

She lights a cigarette and barely gives him a glance.

LAUREN
You’re not a cop, are you?

JEREMY
No. And you?

LAUREN
No. What do you want?

JEREMY
I was thinking of giving you $200 to spend the entire evening at my house.

LAUREN
No.

JEREMY
Three hundred.

LAUREN
It’s not the money. I don’t go to houses.

JEREMY
Why not?

LAUREN
I just don’t. If you want to get a hotel or something, that’d be fine, but I’m not going to your house.

JEREMY
Well, I don’t go to hotels.

LAUREN
Then think of something else.

She’s barely looked at him since she’s gotten in the car. He gives her an incredulous look. Nobody’s ever acted like this with him before.

JEREMY
Could you put that cigarette out?

She looks at him to see if he’s kidding, but he isn’t. She drops it out of the window after taking one last drag.

JEREMY
How much for a blowjob?

LAUREN
Fifty.

JEREMY
Do you know any place we could go that we won’t get caught?

LAUREN
Take a left at the next light. There’s a parking lot that’s safe.

EXT. CAR – THE ROAD – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy’s car does so, taking a left turn at the light.

EXT. CAR – PARKING LOT – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy’s car pulls into a parking space. There’s minimal lighting and nobody else around.

INT. CAR – PARKING LOT – CONTINUOUS

LAUREN
I need the money up front.

JEREMY
I know. I’ve done this before.

Jeremy goes to reach for his wallet while Lauren waits for him, looking impatient and with a “Let’s get this over with” look on her face. Jeremy suddenly punches her square on the nose. She registers a look of shock, but before she says anything he punches her a few more times. She’s knocked unconscious and falls against the door. Jeremy sits back and absorbs what he just did. He looks at her, his face contorts in rage, and he begins really pounding on her, beating her chest and head. He sits back and catches his breath, looking over at her disgustedly. After a bit, he picks up his Club (anti-auto theft device) and beats her to death with it. Blood splashes on his face and he looks truly demonic when finished.

INT. HOUSE – GARAGE – AFTERNOON

Jeremy cleans the passenger’s seat of his car. Bloodstains are everywhere, and he’s trying his best to scrub them out, but doesn’t look to be getting very far. The phone RINGS. He picks it up off the hood of the car.

JEREMY
Hello?

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Jeremy, it’s me.

JEREMY
What do you want?

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I didn’t like how our last talk ended.

JEREMY
Mm-hmm.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
You don’t have anything to say to me?

JEREMY
Not really, or else I’d be the one calling you.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
Jeremy, I know it’s hard to just let things go, but that’s what you have to do.

JEREMY
Mm-hmm.

He washes the blood off the window while they’re talking.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I love you, Jeremy, I do. I know I didn’t always show it, but you’ve got to believe me.

JEREMY
Oh, I do.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
You’re my son, for god’s sake.

JEREMY
Do you know anything that’ll get blood out of upholstery?

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
What happened?

JEREMY
I cut my hand in the car and bled on the seat, and it’s a bitch getting it out.

JEREMY’S MOM (O.S.)
I really don’t know. It’s not something I have a lot of experience with. Jeremy, I was wondering, my therapist thinks it would be a good idea—

JEREMY
I’ve got to go now.

He hangs up on her and continues working on his car.

INT. BUILDING – JEREMY’S OFFICE – DAY

Jeremy has his headphones on, and as usual, the music is blaring loudly. He’s reading an e-mail. It’s from an automated message service, a forward of a forward, so it’s not like an actual person sent it to him. A fax comes in next to his computer. He notices it after reading the e-mail and picks it up.

FAX

“Dear Cherished Employee:

Due to the waning economy, IntelliCorp Software Inc. is being forced to make some drastic budgetary cutbacks. Unfortunately, some of these cutbacks will come through the laying off of two-thirds of our staff. Sadly, you are among these two-thirds. Pat in Human Resources will discuss the severance package with you in a meeting this afternoon at 3:00 in the auditorium. We have enjoyed working with you and wish you the best of luck in the future.

The Management”

INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – NIGHT

Jeremy throws a tantrum. Empty beer cans and bottles of alcohol litter the kitchen. He upends his table and throws dishes against the wall.

INT. HOUSE – BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy pounds on Lauren’s corpse, which is propped up on the bed like April and Michelle were.

INT. HOUSE – BATHROOM – CONTINUOUS

Taking a shower, Jeremy crouches down and sobs loudly.

INT. HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS

A bottle of alcohol in hand, Jeremy staggers to his bulletin board. He stares bitterly at his Employee of the Month plaque before grabbing it and tossing it to the ground. He stomps on it, then rips the bulletin board off the wall and throws it across the room. He takes the magazine clippings and rips them up, throwing them away.

INT. HOUSE – KITCHEN – CONTINUOUS

Jeremy nurses on his bottle of alcohol as he rambles over to the cabinet in which he keeps his medicine. He takes out every bottle of pills he’s got—Aspirin, Tylenol, whatever. He uncaps each one and dumps the contents onto the counter. He stares at the mass of pills for a bit, downing the rest of his alcohol. He grabs a handful of pills and is on the verge of putting them in his mouth, but hesitates. He starts crying again, grits his teeth and throws the pills away. He runs his arm over the counter and shoves the pills to the ground.

Jeremy walks to the woodblock in which he keeps his knives. He takes out a Chef’s knife and looks it over before putting it back away and taking out a Petite Carver. It’s to his liking, so he takes it with him as he walks out to the garage.

FADE OUT

In response to Justin Timberlake comparing N'Sync to Nirvana (the audacity!): "If it means that justin is going to blow his brains out with a shotgun, then I support his comparison."