Rob or Robot

SCREENPLAY : ROB OR ROBOT

By

JOE PARKER

Copyright: Joe Parker 2013 [email protected]

INT. DAY TO EVENING - OFFICE

Office location. Dreary and dull. Workers situated in rows

of small cubicles. Time lapse of people working and leaving

to go home until only one person remains. Seen from above.

Blinds are closed but some light leaks through. Day to

evening shift reflected in Office lighting.

CUT TO:

INT. EVENING - ROBS CUBICLE

Focus on ROB, established by a name tag worn, seated and

typing at his desk on a 90s looking computer. Sunken

shoulders and a permanent frown, his demeanor is of a down

and tired worker. He is balding, wearing square spectacles

and a white collared shirt. His dull tie shows evidence of

being gradually loosened and Rob has a slight coffee stain

around his mouth. His glasses slip down numerous times and

he pushes them back up instantly.

CUT TO:

Robs BOSS approaches from behind. He is dressed in a bright

purple suit, black hair slicked to one side and an orange

tie. He slaps Rob hard on the back, speaks in an arrogant

tone then exits.

BOSS

I wish I had more of you.

CUT TO:

INT. EVENING - OFFICE WALLS

Office interior is shown in more detail. Walls with slogans

include Cogs in the Machine and Worked Like Robots.

Portraits of The Boss are also present around the office in

smug and menacing poses. These are purposely over-the-top

and exaggerated.

CUT TO:

INT. EVENING - OTHER DESKS

Pan of the other employee desks in the office. We see a

variety of pictures, family photos and small oddities on

each until we see one only piled up with work. The camera

pans slightly past it and then cuts back. The computer is on

with a black screen filled with green text. This is Robs

desk.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 2.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - WATER COOLER

Rob stretches his arms in the air and slowly gets up. He

walks over to the water cooler located at the other side of

the room. His trousers are high and ill-fitting. Suddenly,

there is a sound of power failing, a second of anguish on

Robs face, close-up, then darkness.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - COMPUTER SCREEN

In the darkness Rob can be heard scampering back towards the

screen. The sounds of his knee banging against his desk,

draws opening and objects being searched through. There is

suddenly a bright light shining on his face, cutting through

the darkness. Rob is holding a torch. The light is powerful,

Rob blinks and is slightly blinded. He shines it towards his

computer, which no longer contains any text. His glasses are

askew, face pained and his pen in his pocket slowly leaks as

he stares despondently at the screen. In a mad panic, he

types the keyboard and shakes the monitor but to no avail,

his work is no longer there. He regains his composure and

looks puzzled. The torch is now held beneath his chin. On

the computer screen, knocked at an awkward angle, is a

flicker of light. He taps the screen. He realises it is a

reflection and turns around quickly.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - DARKNESS - BOSSS OFFICE

The flicking light is shown as a Do Not Enter sign. The

lights and power come back on, lighting up the room the sign

is placed in. It is above a door. The room belongs to the

Boss, clearly larger in grandeur to the other cubicles with

wood and glass panels separating it from the outside. Rob is

looking at it from his desk, intrigued. He has ignored his

computer screen and lost work. He walks towards the Bosss

office.

CUT TO:

3.

INT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE BOSSS OFFICE

Rob tries to open the door to the room, turning the handle.

It is locked. He presses his nose against the glass pane in

the door. He pulls at the handle again though this time much

more aggressively. From inside the room, looking out, we see

the pane steams up and Rob fails to open the door, but not

much in the room is seen.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - THROUGH OFFICE AND BEHIND DOOR

Back outside with Rob, he wipes away the steam on the pane

and looks through intently. The camera follows his gaze

through the door. The office contains non-extraordinary

items such as a plant, cloak stand and wooden desk. The

camera carries on moving forward and through the second

door, underneath the Do Not Enter sign...Darkness.

FADE TO BLACK:

INT. TIME UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE

The room has exactly the same layout as the last, though

with a few individual differences. The water cooler no

longer contains water but a thicker, oil substance. All the

surfaces have a metallic shine and the room has an unearthly

light. Photos of the Boss in menacing poses have been

replaced with a Robot with the same poses while the slogans

now read Well Hire Humans, Theyre Cheaper. The metallic

shine leaves the room feeling cold. There is a wire coming

from the door that, once followed, along the same layout as

the first office, leads to a plugged in figure next to a

desk, where Robs would be.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT TO UNKNOWN - BOTH OFFICES

The Do Not Enter sign flashes and sparks once more time,

causing Rob to jump backwards.

QUICK CUT:

The figure also jumps up. He is a ROBOT but with many

similarities with Rob. They have the same hairline and

style, though the Robots is wires that spark. The Robot is

also wearing glasses that slide down and thus corrected.

There is a similar dull tie worn and instead of a coffee

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 4.

stain, one of rust by the Robots mouth. The magnetic name

tag is titled ROBOT and placed where Robs is. The Robot

is typing at its desk, just as Rob was, glasses slipping

every now and then. It has a similar negative demeanor like

Rob, hunched in his chair.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - ROBS DESK

Rob walks back to his desk. He beats against it with his

fists. He has a name plate which is half obscured behind his

workload which reads Rob Ot. The rest of his last name,

Otterman, cant be seen. Angrily he pushes the chest high

papers over, causing them to fly around the office. Behind

them, along with his name plate now seen in full is a photo

in a frame. There is a young boy in it; along with his proud

parents, next to a model rocket and holding a toy Robot,

same as the one in the other room. There is a banner saying

County Fair 1st Prize. The young boy is Rob with square

glasses and a giant grin, wearing a rosette. There are words

at the bottom, Aim For The Stars. Rob stares at the photo,

pondering what might have been. And then puts it down.

FADE TO BLACK:


Objects are shown hitting against the Do Not Enter door,

over the office walls. There is the tip tap sound of pens; a

bounce of a rubber, a splat of a banana, a crack of a ruler,

a ping of staples and then finally, after a little pause, a

thud of the stapler against the door.

L CUT:

INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE

The Robot hears a loud thump against the same door but in

the other office, also separated by a larger cubicle where

its Boss would be and where the wire leads through. It spins

round on its chair, which is attached to its body. The plug

is seen to be pulled out (in the background) as the Robot

wheels out to investigate. Close up of wheels moving...

MATCH CUT:

5.


...to a close up of wheels moving. Pull away to reveal Rob

speeding towards the first door on an office chair. He is

crouched, hiding behind the back rest. It slams against the

locked office door while Rob goes head first through the

glass pane and crashes into the room. He sits up, dazed and

confused, with the plant on his head, soil crumbling down.

CUT TO:


The Robot is outside its Bosss office. It doesnt even

check to see if it is locked but nonchalantly rides up it,

causing it to give way under the weight and collapse. The

Robot graciously bounces a little and carries on into the

room. Again, this is very similar to Robs Bosss Office but

with the same metallic layer as earlier, including the

plant. The Robot wheels to the second door where it heard

the thud, above it is a Does Not Compute sign. He listens

against the door whilst its glasses slip again. The door

makes no second sound so the Robot swivels round and goes to

turn back.

CUT TO:

INT. NIGHT - BOSSS OFFICE - ROBOT BOSSS OFFICE

Rob sits up, he is now outside the second door. He looks

nervously at the damage he has caused in the office and

decides he has nothing left to lose. He grabs the handle and

pushes hard into it, twice, hard with the side of his

body...

L CUT:

... The Robot swivels back round, hearing two sounds. It

again approaches the door. It also puts its hands on the

handle. There is a mirrored shot above, separated down the

middle by the door, Rob on the left side and the Robot on

the right. This is paused for a few seconds, Rob pushes and

the Robot pulls....

FADE TO BLACK:

6.

INT. NIGHT - SECRET ROOM

Rob flies forward into the room. We only see his face as he

looks on in amazement as he sits up. The camera slowly pans

round as Rob walks in. The room is small, dark, lined with

filing cabinets at the sides, 3 brooms scattered across the

floor and at the end, there is a giant window the size of

the far wall. Behind it, is the most beautiful City view;

grand buildings alive with shining lights, a park with

street lanterns weaving through and stars in the night sky,

glittering as far as the eye can see. Rob presses against it

in awe. There is no Robot.

CUT TO:


Rob runs back through the mess, looks back and smiles to

himself. He picks up his photo, pulls of his tie and leaves

the main office for good. It still takes him two attempts to

get through the door in his overzealous exit. The tie is

show last, lying on the floor.

FADE TO BLACK:

INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER SECRET ROOM

The Robot is on its side and lifts itself back up. It has

been hit with 3 brooms. It enters the room, again lined with

cabinets but with no window or view at the end. The Robot is

dejected, shoulders sunk and exits. As it leaves to go back

to its work station, it notices it is no longer plugged in,

the wire that came out earlier is sparking on the floor. It

picks it up, goes to put it in, hesitates, and then raises

its arms in the air, swirling and spinning with glee. The

Robot rips off its boring magnetic tie, sticks on a yellow

bow tie with white dots. It slicks back its wired hair and

then wheels its way to the exit, again, riding up the door

until it breaks.

CUT TO CREDITS:


The Robot speeds back in, steals the oil cooler and exits

again, leaving behind a trail of black substance.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: 7.

THE END

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Rob or Robot