| 01-20-2005, 01:57 AM | #1 |
If anyone is interested, heres the script I wrote for my cinematic Cult of the Damned. Feedback would be appreciated. I started this over a year and a half ago, so the first couple Acts arent my best writing. Cult of the Damned Official Script © 2003 by Zurg Act One: Tolling Bells Scene One: Forest Trail A rider is moving through a forest, following an old trail until he reaches a city. Scene Two: Tolling Bells Camera pans over a huge cathedral bathed in the early morning light. Pans down to a lonely beggar named Stephen. 0001Stephen: (lonely, begging) Alms! Alms! Alms for the poor! Let a poor wretch live! 0002Stephen: (addressing a passing priest, begging) Please sir, may I have just a few coins? 0003Stephen: (addressing the passing priest, begging) But sir… Camera Pans out, the courtyard in front of the church now void of activity except for the lone soul Stephen. Stephen walks to a garden where he begins a monologue. Scene Three: Lonely Heart Note: Stephen is talking to the audience until further notice. The voice should be inward feeling. 0004Stephen: I am an outcast... 0005Stephen: No one cares for my existence... 0006Stephen: I am completely alone. 0007Stephen: Who is there to be with me? 0008Stephen: No one... 0009Stephen: Indeed, not a soul. 0010Stephen: When I quench this wanting heart in drink... 0011Stephen: It brings comfort and relief... 0012Stephen: But even it is my bitterest enemy. 0013Stephen: I am a poor, lonely wretch... 0014 Stephen: And this is my story... Camera Pans back monologue end, Stephen no longer speaking to audience. Scene Four: Chapter One 0001Thuzad: (inquisitive) Excuse me sir...which way is Mortain Plaza? 0002Thuzad: (concerned/inquisitive) Um, sir... 0015Stephen (glum) Yes… 0003Thuzad: (inquisitive) What is your name son? 0016Stephen: (less glum) Stephen, sir. 0004Thuzad: (inquisitive) And why are you not in- 0005Thuzad: (realizing) -Ah, you are an outcast... 0006Thuzad: (talking to Stephen) My name is Kel' Thuzad. I have journeyed far... 0007Thuzad: (talking to Stephen) But please excuse my wanderings, now, where was I... 0008Thuzad: (inquisitive) Oh yes, and what was the reason for your banishment? 00017Stephen: (mournful, reflective) I do not want to recall that day...My wife, my family were all taken away... A flashback is seen, Stephen is being pulled away from his wife by some guards. A crowd watches. 0001Wife: (panic) Stephen! No! 0001Uther: (commanding) Take him away! 0018Stephen: (confident) I will be back, nothing can separate us. 0002Wife: (sorrow, surrendering) I will wait. Return to me quickly. 0002Uther: (commanding) Burn the house! 0003Wife: (panic) Stephen-! Camera pans out and flashback ends, returning to the scene with Thuzad and Stephen. 0019Stephen: (mournful, reflective) Accused of crimes I did not commit... 0020Stephen: (longing, mournful) Oh that I could have my life back... 0009Thuzad: (inquisitive) You wish to escape this misery, do you not? 0010Thuzad: (sympathetic) I feel your pain, you must let it go... 0021Stephen: (hopeless) I cannot...there is no hope. 0011Thuzad: (slightly mysterious) Ah, but you can. I have come from distant lands, searching for the lost and the suffering. 0012Thuzad: (voice rises) I bring hope...hope of escaping this dark world...a hope of eternal life and eternal escape. 0013Thuzad: (less mystical tone) Now I must go...I will be willing to converse with you at a later time... 0014Thuzad: (inquisitive) Mortain Plaza? 0022Stephen: (less despairing) Just north of the cathedral grounds by the hanging gardens. 0015Thuzad: Thank you sir, let us meet again soon. 0023Stephen: (hopeful, inward) Hope? A ray of light in my despairing soul? It seems so incredible... 0024Stephen: (reflecting, inward) As I talked with Kel' Thuzad he seemed to understand me...He gave me something that no one had ever given...hope... 0025Stephen: (Hope and escape, things I have longed for...yet they have always eluded me...however I believe I have now found them... Camera pans out, black filter. -END ACT ONE- Act Two: Hope Scene One: Now Camera is panning over a bustling city, finally coming to rest at Stephen. 0026Stephen: (wondering) Where is Kel' Thuzad? He told me to meet him here... 0027Stephen: (thoughtful) I want to hear more of the hope and escape he told me of- (breaks off when he notices something across the road.) I Stephen's family can be seen, vision like-transparent 0001Timmy: (requesting) Daddy, can I buy a horse? 0028Stephen: (amused) No, Timmy, not today... 0005Wife: We need to stop by the market, let's go before it gets too late. 0029Stephen: (talking to Timmy) C'mon, Timmy, follow mommy. 0002Timmy: I am going to be a knight when I grow up, Daddy! Stephen's family walks away Scene Two: Tomorrow Kel' Thuzad interrupts Stephen's “vision� and camera pans back to them. 0016Thuzad: (calling, gradually growing more urgent) Stephen...Stephen...Stephen! 0030Stephen: (wistful) Oh, I miss them so much... 0017Thuzad: Come on, its time to go. 0031Stephen: Where are we going? 0018Thuzad: Away from the city. You do want to hear more? 0032Stephen: Yes... 0019Thuzad: Well then, we don't have much time. Scene Three: 1159 Kel Thuzad and Stephen riding through city, talking. 0020Thuzad: You see Stephen, this is your old life, a life of sorrow and pain. 0021Thuzad: The poor and oppressed, you used to be among them, one in their plight of hopelessness. 0022Thuzad: No hope for a better life, no hope to rise from the ashes they were cast into by the Church of the Light. 0023Thuzad: The Church has become corrupt, throwing anyone who opposes its beliefs into the dust. 0024Thuzad: But now I offer you escape from that despair, you can cast away your old life. 0033Stephen: How can I? I have been branded by the Church as an outcast; no one will associate with me. 0025Thuzad: Hide the scars that were inflicted on you, they do not need to know. 0026Thuzad: You need to have faith in what you can do and what you can become. Scene Four: Then Again Stephen stops as he sees his family once again. His family walk down to a small pond and the camera pans out. Kel Thuzad and Stephen now ride through the gates of the city. 0027Thuzad: Leave your old life, leave your despair, and abandon the curse of the outcast... Scene Five: Field Stephen turns and watches as the gates slam shut behind him. Stephen and Kel Thuzad are now riding through rolling fields. 0028Thuzad: This is your new life. 0029Thuzad: These rolling fields, this idyllic countryside, it is an example of the open freedom you can have. 0030Thuzad: Away from your old life, away from your past, the city, the church, the hopeless despair. 0034Stephen: But is my old life really terrible? What about my family? 0031Thuzad: Is that greater than anything I offer? Escape from the curses of mortal life... 0032Thuzad: Consider that, reflect on what I have said. I must go. Return to the city. Take this hope and build your new life. Scene Six: Reset Kel Thuzad leaves Stephen to contemplate his words. 0035Stephen: (contemplating) So now I have a choice, a choice between my old life and the new hope which Kel' Thuzad has offered. 0036Stephen: Hope...this vast field...freedom from the cares of this world. 0037Stephen: (reflective) My life, my family...I want to return to them. 0038Stephen: (realizing) Maybe I can. 0039Stephen: Maybe it is possible to have both hope and my old life. 0040Stephen: (hopeful) Yes, I will rebuild my life and return to them. 0041Stephen: (thoughtful) But Kel' Thuzad told me to leave my past behind and embrace the escape from it. 0042Stephen: (determined) No, despite the troubles I may face with my old life I must go back… Stephen takes off running through the field, huge epic music, etc, etc. :P 0043Stephen: (hopeful) Hope, I have found it, now I can rise from the ashes, the despair and go back to my family and my life that I lost… Camera finally shows a vast field and blacks out. -END ACT TWO- Act Three: I Shall Return Scene One: I Shall Return Stephen is walking though an empty city on his way to the cathedral. Scene Two: Where I Used to Be Stephen enters the cathedral, walks through the entrance area and into the main cathedral. Scene Three: The Top The choir stops singing and the service ends. Father Andrew walks to the door and stops when Stephen addresses him. 0044Stephen: (greeting) Father Andrew! 0001FatherAndrew: (puzzled) Stephen, why are you here? 0045Stephen: Please, let me speak with you… Father Andrew looks around nervously 0002FatherAndrew: Very well... They leave the cathedral and enter the cathedral garden. 0046Stephen: My life has changed. I am no longer a penniless vagabond. 0047Stephen: I met someone. He gave me hope. Hope which I hadn't known since my banishment. 0048Stephen: I have rebuilt my life. I have a job. I have a little money. 0049Stephen: I want to return to my former life. 0050Stephen: Father, I want to be accepted by the Church once again. 0003FatherAndrew: (sad) Stephen, my old friend, I admire what you have done and how far you have come. 0004FatherAndrew: (sad) Sadly, you cannot be reinstated. There are too many people who still dislike you. 0005FatherAndrew: (sad, sympathetic) I have always disagreed with them over your banishment. It had no religious merit. 0006FatherAndrew: I am sorry, it is too great a risk for me to oppose them. 0051Stephen: (stunned, disheartened) But it was unjust… 0007FatherAndrew: (sad but firm) I am sorry. 0052Stephen: (bewildered) Will you at least tell me where my family is? 0008FatherAndrew: They were moved to the southern end of the city. They live near the Abbey of St. Moreth. 0053Stephen: (bewildered, sad) I think I know where that is… Thank you. 0009FatherAndrew: I hate that it must be this way… Stephen walks off without saying a word and heads out of the cathedral. Scene Four: Running Stephen runs blindly through Atraymath. Night falls and he enters a small courtyard and stops in front of a pond. Scene Five: Moonlight Over Sorrow Stephen is staring down into the pond and contemplating the turn of events. He feels despaired and lonely, almost to the point of tears. 0054Stephen: (despaired) There is nothing left. No hope of returning to my old life... 0055Stephen: (despaired, angry) Everything I have done amounts to nothing because of that cursed church. 0056Stephen: (angry, despaired) Why me? 0057Stephen: (despaired) Why can't my life just be the way it was... 0058Stephen: (angry, despaired) Why?! Kel Thuzad emerges from the shadows and greets Stephen quietly. 0033Thuzad: (calm, quiet) Stephen… Stephen does not seem to notice Kel Thuzad. 0059Stephen: (sad) There is no hope... 0034Thuzad: (fatherly) You went to him... he said no... 0035Thuzad: (fatherly) You knew he would turn you back... 0036Thuzad: (fatherly) There is nothing left for you here... Stephen looks up and responds to Kel Thuzad. 0060Stephen: But... 0037Thuzad: Come with me, let me show you what I have been eluding to all this time... Stephen and Kel Thuzad ride off, out of the city and into the forest. Scene Six: Cult of the Damned Stephen and Kel Thuzad come to a point overlooking a valley where several cult members are passing by. 0061Stephen: (wondering, frightened) Who are they? 0038Thuzad: (mysterious) They are free... 0062Stephen: (wondering) But why so dark? 0039Thuzad: (calm) Does light offer you refuge any longer? 0063Stephen: No... 0040Thuzad: (mysterious) Come... let me show you the freedom these people know... Fade out. -END ACT THREE- Act Four: Hopes Charred Scene One: Ner Zhul's Cave Deep in the throne room of the Lich King, Kel Thuzad submits himself to Ner Zhul. Kel Thuzad's voice pales in comparison to Ner Zhul's, and fails to fill the cavern as the rumbling depth of Ner Zhul's does so fully. 0001NerZhul: So finally you have come… Kel Thuzad the Wanderer. 0041Thuzad: Yes my lord, I am here. 0002NerZhul: You left Dalaran, for their petty magics could never satisfy you. You have wandered many leagues, many days. You sought greater power, darker power. Now you have found it. Kel Thuzad the Ambitious. 0042Thuzad: What is your will my lord? 0003NerZhul: I grant you all the dark powers you have longed for and capacity to rule a kingdom on my behalf. Kel Thuzad the Necromancer. 0043Thuzad: Where shall I go my lord? 0004NerZhul: To Lordaeron, land of the Humans. Gather worshippers of the dark. Bring them to my control and create for me a people. A nation to oppose the world of the light. Kel Thuzad the courier of doom. 0043Thuzad: As you will my lord. Scene Two: Dawn on Brill It is dawn on a cold, snowy morning. Stephen is outside a small house warming his hands over a small fire. Kel Thuzad comes out of the house and begins to speak with Stephen. Kel Thuzad sounds almost cheerful, contrasting the glumness of Stephen. 0044Thuzad: Up early aren't you… 0064Stephen: (blunt, sad) I couldn't sleep. 0045Thuzad: Do not despair, it is a new day. 0046Thuzad: (slightly more serious) The light has forsaken you. Now you must forsake the light. There is no more hope in returning to your former life. Run from it. 0065Stephen: Where will I go? 0047Thuzad: Come with me. The village of Brill is not far. Stephen and Kel Thuzad leave the fire and head down a road towards Brill. Kel Thuzad speaks to Stephen again as they walk. Scene Three: The Kingdom of Brill 0048Thuzad: Run to the dark. The dark will hide you. In the dark your mind will be set free as emotion and feeling fall away. There is no fear, pain, or hate. All sadness falls away in the dark. They cross a bridge and enter the village of Brill. Walking down the streets, Kel Thuzad is greeted by passers-by. 0049Thuzad: These people are just like you. They are outcasts of the light. Yet all of them have run to the dark. 0050Thuzad: They have begun to organize and congregate. 0051Thuzad: They gather to worship the Lich King. 0066Stephen: Who is that? They stop and Kel Thuzad looks down the street at the people milling about. 0052Thuzad: He has set their minds free. He is the origin of the Darkness in which they find refuge. They enter a large house at the outskirts of town. Scene Four: The Question 0053Thuzad: I am their leader and under me they are building a new kingdom, a kingdom where people are truly free. 0054Thuzad: Free from emotions. Free from hate, suffering, sorrow. United in the all covering safety of the darkness. 0055Thuzad: Now we are reaching outwards, to people like you, people who need to be free from the light. 0067Stephen: What must I do? 0056Thuzad: It is free, just walk through those doors and give your soul to the protection of the Lich King. Kel Thuzad looks back to a double door at the other side of the main room of the house. It is silent for a minute as the tension builds. ‘What will Stephen say?' 0068Stephen: I can not. 0057Thuzad: But there is nothing left of your former life… 0069Stephen: Just give me one day, one day to consider your words. 0058Thuzad: (sighing) Very well. Scene Five: Road to Atraymath It is now midday and Stephen is traveling back to Atraymath. The audience can now hear his thoughts. 0070Stephen: (wistfully) I remember those old days. Me, my wife and Timmy would leave the city on the weekends and picnic in the countryside. 0071Stephen: (weeping) Those days are so far from me now. 0072Stephen: (sad) Oh to just give up and end my sorrow. It is so tempting, yet with it would go joy and happiness. 0073Stephen: (realizing, sad) Those emotions have already left. 0074Stephen: I still have hope, soon I will be reunited with my family. I can take them far from Atraymath and all will be well. Then maybe, all sorrow will pass away. 0075Stephen: I still have hope. Scene Six: Hopes Charred Stephen enters Atraymath and walks down several streets before stopping in front of a gate to an upscale subdivision where his family now lives. 0076Stephen: (excited) Here it is. My dear wife, I have returned. He opens the gate and runs through. Smoke drifts out from one house. It is charred and collapsing, though there are no more open flames. Stephen stops then runs up to the gate of the house. 0077Stephen: (weeping) No, it cannot be. He looks over and sees a sign: “-Grand Heretic. Enemy of the Church- -sentenced to burn forever-“ 0078Stephen: (weeping) They did nothing wrong, and yet the church picks a quarrel with them. 0079Stephen: (angry) Its quarrel is with me! Why?! He runs through the gate and sees his family dead. His knees buckle beneath him and he falls to the ground crying. 0080Stephen: (crying for a few seconds then goes directly into the next line) 0081Stephen: (shouting, angry, weeping) Why am I so cursed? What have I done wrong? 0082Stephen: (continuing despaired, sad crying from previous line for about 10 seconds) Silence ensues and Stephen looks down still crying. Scene Seven: The Bridge It is night and Stephen stands on the edge of a bridge overlooking a river rushing below. He looks as if he is about to throw himself in. 0083Stephen: (sad, despair) An end to all pain and suffering… Stephen turns back and walks off. -END ACT FOUR- Act Five: In Passing Scene One: Meditating Dusk has fallen on Brill, the day after Stephen returned to Atraymath. The darkness is thickening and a gloomy fog lies over the land. Kel'Thuzad stands on a cliff, overlooking a field surrounded by the shadows of trees. He is meditating. Stephen walks up from behind and begins speaking with Kel Thuzad. 0084Stephen: (timid, sad) Kel'Thuzad, I am ready… 0059Thuzad: (slowly, breaking from meditation) Are you truly ready? 0085Stephen: (sad) The last tie I have with this world has been broken. The last hope I had is now gone. 0060Thuzad: (a little bit faster, more present tone) Once you enter the service of the Lich King you will never be released. 0086Stephen: (sad) There is nothing that I would wish to return to. There is no love, happiness, or hope left for me here. 0061Thuzad: (confident) Very well, you are now ready. 0062Thuzad: I must go. There are strange powers at work tonight. The Lich King is gathering his forces, soon it will be time to make ourselves known to the denizens of the Light. 0087Stephen: But what about me? 0063Thuzad: Yes, uh… Go to the old house in about an hour. I will meet you there. Kel Thuzad walks away. Stephen stares out over the field, thinking about all that has happened to him. 0088Stephen: (sad) It is cold, warmth has left forever. Hope has left the world. Hope has left my life, and in its absence winter sets in. Stephen leaves and walks along a forgotten road through the forest. It is night now. Scene Two: Mourning 0089Stephen: (sad) Everything I held dear has been stripped away. 0090Stephen: (sad) Before I met Kel'Thuzad I thought I had no hope. Now I know I have no hope. Stephen arrives at a pond, mist covers the waters and fog rises slowly. There is a melancholy feel about the place and an aura of mourning and fear. 0091Stephen: (sad) He opened my eyes to what I could accomplish and what I had left. I reached for what I saw, only to have it slip between my fingers. Stephen falls to his knees by the edge of the pond crying. He cries for about thirty seconds before he notices two flowers float by on the water. 0092Stephen: (sad) My hope is gone. My life is gone. My family is gone. Even their spirits are now passing. 0092Stephen: (crying) Mary… Timmy… My memories of you will never be lost… Farewell… Stephen continues to cry for about ten seconds longer and stares blankly out into the mist. Something moves in the forest and he looks up, startled. 0093Stephen: (a bit scared) Who is there? Scene Three: Running Stephen follows the sounds into the forest going deeper and deeper as the shadows of the trees get darker and darker around him. The sounds stop and he is left standing in the near pitch black of the forest. Suddenly ghosts and spirits fly at him from all sides, he takes off running, pursued by the ethereal beings. Scene Four: Waiting Stephen stumbles out of the forest in front of the old house. Kel'Thuzad is there waiting. 0064Thuzad: (worried) Stephen? Are you alright? 0065Thuzad: I should never have left you alone. The night is coming to life. The spirits are now minions of the Lich King; they prey on the living. I have no control over them. 0066Thuzad: Come, it is time. Stephen and Kel'Thuzad walk into the old house. An acolyte is standing in the corner and Kel'Thuzad turns to Stephen. 0067Thuzad: I have other business to attend. I have brought you this far and now we must part. Kel'Thuzad looks down and then back up at Stephen. 0068Thuzad: (slowly with a tone of respect) I admire you Stephen. Despite all of the difficulties, all the Church has done to you, you aspired to create a better life. Now you understand my message fully. Now you see the Church for what it really is. Now you are ready, you have passed the test. Kel'Thuzad moves toward the door, but Stephen stops him. 0094Stephen: Thank you... You inspired in me the will to try, now that will is lost and you have given me a way out of my misery. 0069Thuzad: Goodbye, Stephen. Kel'Thuzad walks out of the house. The acolyte moves over to Stephen from the corner, and motions for Stephen to follow. Stephen doesn't move but looks the acolyte in the face. 0001Acolyte: (whispering, cracked voice) Freedom is not worth your soul. Stephen looks away. Then runs his eyes around the room, taking in the living world one last time. The acolyte opens the two doors and Stephen walks in. The corners of the small room are in shadow. Stephen walks to the center and from the corners, four acolytes appear. The doors close behind him and it is deathly silent. One of the acolytes begins to chant something, and then the others begin slowly. They begin to work their spell and Stephen glances around the room becoming blurry. Suddenly the floor starts spinning underneath him and he falls to the ground, blacking out. He becomes conscience floating around in the Twisting Nether. Spirits and wraiths are begin to circle around him, reaching for him. They scatter as Ner'Zhul's heartbeat is heard. Stephen looks back, regretting what he has done and trying to find a way out. In the distance is a shimmering portal. Stephen takes off running for it, the Lich King in pursuit. Just as Ner'Zhul's hand reaches out for Stephen he reaches the portal and everything whites out. Scene Five: Reuniting Music begins playing and the screen fades in on Stephen lying in a sunny field. He gets up and looks around. The sun is bright, almost blinding and he can see a valley stretching out below the cliff/hill he is standing on. At the top of the hill in the distance he can see is family. He runs to them and hugs his wife. -END ACT FIVE- The End. |
| 01-20-2005, 05:29 AM | #2 |
I liked the cult of the damned Zurg, but I could never really figure out the ending, I'm assuming he dies though. |
| 01-20-2005, 06:13 AM | #3 |
This will be useful to many cinematicers. It's good to plan the whole story first before you start making the real cinematic. Many people usually forget that. |
| 01-20-2005, 09:22 AM | #4 |
Cult of the Damned was amazing, Zurg. And there were things I missed, so being able to see the script is nice. Post this on Digital Realm too. |