Chute script

INT. bedroom

Open on LARRY kneeling beside his bed in prayer, dressed in business casual. The camera pans and zooms in on him as we begin to hear what he is saying.

larry

…and God, let me feel your presence in my life today. Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me. Show me your will in everything I do. Amen.

We hear a SWOOOSH-THUMP. Closeup of Larry as he lifts his head and opens his eyes. Pull back to reveal a bank drive-thru type of tube next to Larry in which a container has just dropped. He removes the container from the tube and removes a small piece of paper. Insert of the paper shows that it says

note

[Read Matthew 25:45.]

Larry looks at his watch, looks at the note, folds it, and puts it in his pocket.

LARRY

(muttering)

I can look that up later when I get back home.

Larry stands to leave for work.

INT. larry’s cubicle

Larry sits at his computer typing something and drinking coffee. A coworker, CHET, is walking by and stops at the cubicle opening. He seems down, but trying to hide it.

chet

Hey, Larry.

Larry glances up in acknowledgment but does not shift focus from his work.

LARRY

Hey, Chet. How’s it going?

CHET

It’s going okay, I guess.

LARRY

Cool. You going to happy hour later?

CHET

I haven’t decided yet.

LARRY

Alright. Maybe I’ll see you there.

CHET

Sure. Later.

Chet leaves as we hear the same SWOOOSH-THUMP we heard in the bedroom. Larry turns his head to see that the drive-thru tube, which wasn’t there before, has delivered another message. He reads it.

NOTE

[He's going through a divorce. He needs a friend. Talk to him.]

Larry tapes the message to the bottom of his monitor, throws the container in the trash, and continues working until he realizes his coffee mug is empty. He gets up to refill.

int. office corridor

Larry is walking to the break room when ALICE approaches him walking from the opposite direction. They stop to talk.

LARRY

Hey, Alice.

alice

Hey, Larry. I don’t see you much since you moved to your new position. What are you working on these days?

LARRY

I’m putting together a presentation for the company-wide meeting on Monday.

ALICE

Oh yeah. I’m sorry I’m going to miss that.

As Alice speaks, we hear the SWOOOSH-THUMP once again. Larry turns to the tube beside him, which we now see even though Alice does not seem to, and removes the container from the tube, then the note from the container as Alice is speaking.

ALICE

(cont.)

I’m moving this weekend and taking off all next week to unpack and get settled. You know how moving is.

Insert of the note.

NOTE

[You have a pickup. Offer to help.]

Larry crumples the note and puts it in his pocket.

LARRY

Sounds exciting. I’ll see you later.

Larry walks past her.

INT. breakroom

Larry is refilling his mug with coffee when STEVE enters the room. Steve is carrying a three-ring binder.

steve

How’s it going, Larry?

SWOOOSH-THUMP. The container appears under Larry’s arm. He reads the note as he speaks, then crumples it and throws it away.

NOTE

[Invite him to church.]

LARRY

Good, good. How ’bout yourself?

STEVE

Midlife crisis, man. (laughs) Yeah, I’ve really been questioning a lot of stuff lately, thinking there must be more to life. Wondering about God, you know? What’s he like? Does he exist?

Larry reaches for some cream and sugar. SWOOOSH-THUMP. The container appears in his outstretched hand. He opens the container, reads the note without even removing it, and throws the container away.

NOTE

[What are you afraid of?]

LARRY

Yeah, we all think about that stuff sometimes.

STEVE

I don’t know. It’d be nice to get together with some people who maybe have the same questions I do. Maybe some answers too. Maybe it could even be something that happens every week. Like in a ch–

SWOOOSH-THUMP. The container falls directly on Larry’s head. He yelps and falls down, holding his head. Steve does not seem to have noticed the container.

STEVE

(cont.)

Larry, what’s wrong? Are you okay?

Larry grabs the binder out of Steve’s hand, scrambles to his feet and darts out of the break room without even opening the container. He runs down the hall holding the binder over his head with both hands.