YOU HAVE ONE YEAR

In the aftermath of a morning held at gunpoint, a

disillusioned security guard works through her trauma by
seeking the motivations of the man who took her hostage -
in the pages of the book he authored.
INT. TRENDY PUBLISHING HOUSE BULLPEN - MORNING

Fade in: on the tear-trickled face of a woman, EMILY (30s,

security attire, hair up). She takes a deep, shaky breath and
begins to cross the office at an uncomfortably brisk pace.

In her wake, we see panicked workers pour into the aisle,

hunched and scrambling toward the door Emily came in through.

INT. CEO'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

Jenga-like towers of novels and novel manuscripts teeter on

every surface around the room. A woman, KRISTIN (40s, CEO,
pant suit) is startled while on a call - Emily's arrived.

KRISTIN
Hold that thought-
(covering receiver)
Emily... Emily what's wrong?

A STUBBLED MAN (late 30s) rises into view behind Emily,

holding a GUN to her back - on one of his shoulders hangs her
SECURITY TOOL BELT. The man also appears to be nearly as
distraught with the situation as the hostage he's taken.

KRISTIN
Oh... okay, I'm-

STUBBLED MAN
Tell them you'll call back.

KRISTIN
(into phone)
I'll call you back.

She gently rests the phone in the middle of her desk.

KRISTIN
Do we know each other?

STUBBLED MAN
Yes- uh, I mean maybe, my name's Finn,
Finn Taylor. You read my manuscript.

KRISTIN
Okay Finn, I think someone that works
for me might have, but I would be hap-

FINN TAYLOR
I was told it needed edits!!
(tense beat)
 2.

So I had it edited right, and I

resubmitted, but no one got back to me
and I tried again and nothing and- and
I really tried the right way, I just
ran out of time and it needs- I need
it published right now- NOW! Okay?

KRISTIN
I hear you, I can do that for you, but
the printing process takes time-

FINN TAYLOR
I don't need 1000 copies, I just need
one- one before noon. You make the uh-
the test copies here right?

A "new text message" noise CHIRPS from a phone inside Finn's

jacket. He winces, but does not reach for his device.

KRISTIN
You'll let us go if we make just one?

Finn nods in affirmation, digs a USB from his pocket and sets
it on the desk.

INT. TEST PRINTING ROOM - SHORTLY BEFORE NOON

Close on: a freshly bound hardcover BOOK being wrapped in its

final protective slip baring the crudely photoshopped title:

"YOU
_________________
HAVE ONE YEAR" ~ Author: Finn Taylor

Reveal on Finn with welling tears in his eyes. He snaps a

photo of it with his phone and sends it away in a message.

KRISTIN
Is this okay Finn?

Finn's phone chirps. He reacts with a smile this time.

FINN TAYLOR
More than okay... I'm an author now.
My Sandra would be so proud if she
could see.

Cradling the book in his arms, he addresses his captives.

FINN TAYLOR
You can let the officers outside know
that I'm ready to surrender.
 3.

EXT. PUBLISHING HOUSE - NOON

Emily and Kristin watch through a barricade of patrol cars as

Finn is marched out of the building in handcuffs - an officer
trails with "the book" in a large plastic evidence bag.

EMILY
Why do you think he did it?

KRISTIN
Unhinged likely. When failing artists
realize they won't be as accomplished
as they thought, they cope, in healthy
ways and other times like this.

EMILY
So his book...

KRISTIN
God no- granted, we'd stand to make a
fortune off the publicity, but I'd
rather we not encourage more lunatics
to try and publish work with guns.

EMILY
Yeah, that makes sense.

The two share a tired silence together.

KRISTIN
You okay?- F.Y.I. if it wasn't already
clear, when you get home feel free to
take as much time off from the front
desk as you need. We'll survive.

Acknowledging the kind offer, Emily realizes-

EMILY
Oh shit... my keys are with my belt.

INT. TEST PRINTING ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON

A pair of glove-snapping investigators exit, and Emily, under

officer supervision, is allowed a quick look around the room
to locate her belt - which she soon spots near the computer.

However, during the belt's retrieval, something else catches

her eye - FINN'S USB - somehow still plugged in the computer.

Moments later, after Emily is escorted from the room with her
belt, we return to the computer - there's no USB to be found.
 4.

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - DUSK

Emily burrows through pizza boxes on her couch, unearthing a

marinara-stained LAPTOP.

One might consider this apartment a "write-off," if not for

the crooked mosaic of ARTWORK clinging to its walls - doing
its best to bring balance to the surrounding squalor.

The floors are peppered in HAIR ELASTICS, UNDERGARMENTS and

crumpled SECURITY UNIFORMS - signs that the Emily we see
before us (whose hair remains up, uniform buttoned and bra
still clasped) may not exactly be herself due to her singular
focus on this USB's content.

On Emily's laptop a manuscript's PDF pops open and her read

begins...

INT. JOEY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

A man, JOEY (late 30s, overweight) slumps across a recliner

as his girlfriend, SANDRA (early 30s, slimmer) berates him.

SANDRA
What happened to you Joey! You had
goals and dreams! Now all you do is
sit there. I can't take it anymore!

As she storms out, her slam of the front door dislodges an

ARTICLE OF MAIL from its slot. The print on it reads:

"Invitation to Derek Simpson's Album Release Party."

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Emily rolls her eyes, which incidentally fall on a dejected

corner of her apartment where CANVAS AND ART SUPPLIES appear
to be collecting dust. She glowers, then chooses to scroll a
few dozen pages ahead.

INT. JOEY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

Shrouded in dark we see only a vertical strip of light lining

the silhouette of a curiously ajar apartment door.

The door bellows an irritable "croak" as it's nudged wide,

welcoming the cautious figure of Joey, who slowly enters.

CLICK! - the apartment floods with light to reveal...

SANDRA'S BODY is an island in its own pool of blood on the

 5.

floor, and buried into her back are a set of high-end CHEF'S
KNIVES, carefully arranged to resemble how they might look
when stored in their original block. A note below them reads:

"6 months to get back on track."

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Joey's horror dissolves into the similar terror-filled face

of Emily, who mouths the words: "what in the fuck..."

She promptly scrolls back to beginning of the manuscript.

INT. NIGHTCLUB - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

Perched at the bar, Joey studies an eccentrically dressed

man, DEREK SIMPSON (30s, wading through his fans). Derek
lights up at the sight of Joey - gesturing to a quieter area.

Cut to: Derek and Joey sinking into a booth.

DEREK SIMPSON
Wow man! You made it! It's been a
minute hey? How's your bistro!

JOEY
It's- well I never- one day maybe?
This though- is amazing! I thought
you'd given up on music awhile back?

DEREK SIMPSON
See, I did, and almost for good too,
until a friend tipped me off on this
place that helps "reignite your
motivations" and yo- hold on-

Derek retrieves, then slides Joey a card baring an address.

DEREK SIMPSON
When 'Joey's Bistro' finally opens I
want the V.I.P. treatment for that!

EXT. INDUSTRIAL BUILDING - DAY (MANUSCRIPT)

As his cab pulls away, Joey's left squinting at the address

scribbled on the card and the one rusted into the derelict
building in front him - they match, so he enters.

INT. INDUSTRIAL BUILDING - CONTINUOUS (MANUSCRIPT)

A concrete hallway lined with corrugated steel stretches into

 6.

the distance - it's a disorienting "infinite" akin to the

dimensional abyss that conjures between pairs of mirrors -
the echoes of Joey's steps return after an unsettling delay.

In time, there does eventually come a door. It is labeled:

"Dream Fulfillment Center"

Joey knocks - no answer. He peeks in, then enters - unable to

hear the mechanical whirring of the door locking behind him.

INT. DREAM FULFILLMENT CENTER - CONTINUOUS (MANUSCRIPT)

Tacky MOTIVATIONAL POSTERS cover the walls of a space roughly

the size of a large boardroom. SPEAKERS tuck into the
ceiling's corners and a single CCTV CAMERA points directly
toward a NOTEPAD with a MARKER laying atop a grey table.

SPEAKER
Welcome to the Dream Fulfillment
Center. Please list everything you
wish you had accomplished by now in
your life on the pad provided.

Joey plays along and writes (among several loftier goals):

"- open my own bistro"

SPEAKER
Please circle a dream you believe is
achievable within a one year period.

Joey circles "- open my own bistro."

SPEAKER
Nod to confirm your dream please.

Joey nods.

SPEAKER
You have one year. You will be
monitored to ensure dream fulfillment.

BUZZZZT! - the room's only door pops open.

JOEY
A year or- hello? One year or what!
(silence)
You need my sig if this is for tv!
(nothing)
Unbelievable Derek...
 7.

Cut to CCTV feed: Joey flipping off the camera as he leaves.

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

That dusty pile of oils and acrylics in the corner of her

apartment borrow Emily's attention once more...

INT. BAR - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

A football game reflects off Joey's glazed eyes as his

vibrating phone crawls across the bar top blinking 'SANDRA,'
but it's the chirp of a text that breaks his trance:

"UNKNOWN CALLER - With procrastination comes consequence."

Joey blocks the caller, but is clearly a bit disturbed.

EXT. JOEY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

Joey arrives at his apartment door - it is curiously ajar.

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

Emily scrolls past the inevitable text with one eye closed.

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

Shovel in hand, a weeping Joey looks down at Sandra's body

which now fills the shallow grave he's just dug.

JOEY
You had believed in me and I let you
down. You deserved so much more than I
gave and I promise to do you right!

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

EMILY
(self-muttering)
You're kidding me... how do you not go
to the police with that?

INT./EXT. MONTAGE (MANUSCRIPT)

• Joey successfully applying for a bank loan.

• Joey signing the lease to open a restaurant.

• Joey unveiling sign for restaurant - "Sandra's Bistro"

 8.

INT. SANDRA'S BISTRO - OPENING NIGHT (MANUSCRIPT)

Clad in chef whites, Joey wades through his bustling bistro

to greet a familiar face at the door...

DEREK SIMPSON
Congratulations my man! I hope you
don't mind- I brought a friend who
once dreamed of becoming an author. I
told him that you might know somewhere
he can go to get "remotivated."

Joey grins as he's introduced to Finn Taylor - soon to

receive the address of a certain "fulfillment center."

INT. EMILY'S APARTMENT - CONTINUOUS

EMILY
Fucking... garbage.

Emily wears a look bordering on "incredulous disgust" before

crumbling into giggles, followed by heaving laughs that begin
to grow more and more crazed until her lungs finally give and
her hysteria is replaced by equally violent sobs.

When her howls fade, Emily's gaze rises from cradled hands,
focus now drifting between crumpled uniforms and dusty art
supplies, eventually landing on... the laptop.

She copies the manuscript's address into Google: it exists.

EXT. INDUSTRIAL BUILDING - NIGHT

An Uber pulls away, leaving Emily, hair down, in front of a

building identical to what was described in the manuscript.

INT. DREAM FULFILLMENT CENTER - CONTINUOUS

SPEAKER
Welcome to the Dream Fulfillment
Center. Please-

Emily briskly scribbles a single goal on the pad and holds it

up to the CCTV - our view of what she's written is obscured.

beat.

SPEAKER
You have one year.

CUT TO BLACK: