Scene #1 | The Los Angeles Dystopia

FADE IN:

EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT

A sprawling metropolis glows beneath a suffocating haze of neon and smog.

Skyscrapers rise like monuments to unseen rulers. Corporate logos shimmer high above the streets.

Below —

A PUBLIC SCHOOL. Stark. Guarded. Students shuffle through metal detectors.

NEIGHBORHOODS fractured by graffiti, watchful eyes, and quiet exchanges in shadowed corners.

A LUXURY CAR glides past a HOMELESS MAN sitting motionless on the curb.

The contrast is violent. Silent. Normal.

Los Angeles — a gilded citadel of sunlit promises — now sunk beneath a velvet tyranny.

Corporations sit enthroned like silent emperors, their ledgers fattened by the quiet suffering of the many.

Schools, once temples of ascent, hollowed into assembly lines of compliance.

Neighborhoods — fallen into the iron embrace of syndicates who barter flesh and future alike, trafficking their own kin through shadowed corridors of profit.

A MACHINE OF PROFIT hums beneath it all — smiling in daylight, devouring by dusk.

And in this grand theatre of ruin —

Citizens move through the city like inventory.

Counted.

Priced.

Sold.

The city glows on.

Unbothered.

INT. MAYOR’S MANSION – LIVING ROOM – NIGHT605 SOUTH IRVING BOULEVARD

Immaculate. Expensive. Still.

INT. DEN – CONTINUOUS

Dim light spills across a quiet room.

SHARON (40s) sits in the corner of her study, breaking down — crying, unraveling.

Unseen by her —

BRODY (14) sits behind the slightly open door, frozen on a couch, watching.

She doesn’t know he’s there.

A beat.

Sharon wipes her face —

She looks up.

Sees him.

Everything stops.

                           SHARON

                (soft, startled)

        Oh, honey. I’m okay.

She forces herself together, struggling to regain composure.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        Mommy is dealing with a very big city…

        with a history of doing things that I wasn’t really aware of…

She exhales, shaken.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        I’m finding out reality is different than what I thought it was…

        it’s hard for me to believe sometimes.

A pause.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        That’s all… what everything has come down to…

Brody leans forward slightly.

                           BRODY

        Are you sure you’re okay?

Sharon shifts.

Something changes.

She smiles — but it’s off.

                           SHARON

        Oh, gosh. Yes.

She locks eyes with him.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        Just know that there are two versions of Mommy, okay?

She gestures to herself.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        This one…

A beat.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        And the one that has to put on a show —

        to keep our family safe.

Brody doesn’t respond.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        Mommy loves Los Angeles…

A flicker of conflict.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        But Mommy loves our family more…

Her smile widens — unnatural now.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        And sometimes I may seem like I’m a bad person…

She leans in slightly.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        But I’m getting paid to act.

A whisper.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        That’s all it is.

Beat.

                           SHARON (CONT’D)

        Like a professional clown.

Silence.

Brody stays still.

Disturbed.

He doesn’t recognize her smile anymore.

It lingers too long.

CUT TO BLACK.