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MIND FIELDS

A TREATMENT FOR A FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY

by

FELIX NUNEZ JR

March, 2015

The present.

Redbird Tavern.

Brooklyn.

Night.

It’s a busy Thursday night, and JOHNNY BLEU is having a drink at the bar by

himself. Tall with facial scruff and well kept hair, he’s a confident dude. Standing next

to him are two dirty blondes half drunk, talking nonsense about work and some guy

one of them is trying to screw. Johnny tries to ignore the chatter, but is buzzed and can

only picture himself plowing the taller blonde who’s facing him. He’s contemplating an

opening line- Johnny's good with words and women, for the most part- but the

moment doesn’t feel right.

STAN, the bartender tonight occasionally drops in to chat with Johnny. Mostly

small talk, Stan asks him when are they finally going to sit down to write ideas for

movies. Johnny tells him "soon," to which Stan responds with a sarcastic “right.” A guy

approaches Johnny at the bar, nervous. He's AARON ROTH, and is the lead singer of

HONEY CAVE, the house band. He’s handsome, but doesn’t quite strike you as the

lead singer of any band.

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Aaron tells Johnny they only have forty-five minutes of performance time: "Let's

go!" Johnny tells a very sober Aaron they should talk to the blonde chatterboxes first.

Aaron quickly disappears, and Johnny looks over to the tall blonde one last time. She

doesn't know he exists. He takes a swig of his beer, sends a text message to the name

ANTHONY: "Where are you? We're about to go up," then slowly makes his way

towards the stage.

Honey Cave goes into action. Johnny is at lead guitar and backup vocals. He'd

rather be lead singing, but is shy in front of crowds. During a pause the drummer,

"TEQUILA," true to his namesake swigs Tequila from a bottle he keeps at his feet.

MATT, the quiet bass player looks on and shakes his head. During the next song,

Johnny is surprised to see the face of a girl in the crowd. She is KRISTA JONES, his

ex-girlfriend and is accompanied by some guy. Once Honey Cave finishes the set,

Johnny approaches Krista. It's an awkward encounter, and she let's him know the guy

next to her is PETER, an A&R for a popular Independent label who may be interested in

pushing Honey Cave. Johnny feigns interest- he can’t help thinking how this “hotshot”

must be banging his ex. Johnny reads an incoming text: it's Anthony, his brother. Meet

him at the back of the bar.

ANTHONY BLEU is Johnny's well-off, Venture Capitalist younger brother from

California. He's in town on business and would rather hang in the city, but has a fetish

for "dark skinned Latina honeys," of which Johnny promised he'd introduce him to. It's

only half true- Johnny needs money, and Anthony may be the answer. They talk and

drink, though Johnny is three drinks ahead of Anthony.

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Johnny spots two Dominican girls he knows from the neighborhood, and

introduces them to his younger brother. Meanwhile, he sees Aaron speaking to Krista

and the hotshot. Johnny approaches them.

A drunken Johnny asks Peter if he's already found Krista's "weak spot,"

insinuating something sexual. This upsets both Peter and Krista, and Aaron suggests

Johnny leave. Johnny lets Aaron have it, reminding him what a "better singer" Johnny

is along with many other insults. They push each other and get into a scuffle. An

annoyed Anthony leaves his conversation with the dark skinned girls to separate the

fight. He convinces Johnny to get in a cab by putting a small wad of cash in his pocket.

"I don't need your fuckin' money!" Anthony ignores the remark and walks Johnny out

of Redbird. As they cross a street intersection, WHAM! A speeding vehicle makes a

sharp turn and collides with the brothers. It never stops. Johnny takes most of the blow

and is blacking out. Voices of shock and panic are faintly heard, and everything turns

dark.

Johnny is now at the hospital. When he comes to, he sees his mother LAURA

MARIA BLEU, Anthony, Krista, and roommate EDDIE VARGAS in the room. Everything

hurts and Johnny is disoriented. He's been out for nearly fourteen hours, and all

present are happy to see him finally wake up. Anthony is wearing a cast, and assures

Johnny that he'll be responsible for all medical bills and anything else he'll need money

for. This surprises Johnny. Krista says she'll be there for him and asks Johnny to

promise her that he'll be "strong." He's confused about this. He's further confused

upon hearing his roommate Eddie say, "don't worry bro, I got you, it's aight."

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The doctor walks in and the rest walk out. He let's Johnny know that for the time

being he won't be able to walk, and that they'll focus on physical therapy while

conducting further tests. Johnny cannot believe his misfortune. A few weeks later,

Eddie wheels a very depressed Johnny into their impeccably neat apartment. Eddie is

loud, semi obnoxious, and a party animal, yet a complete OCD neat freak. He tells

Johnny that later tonight some girls are coming over- Eddie met them at the restaurant

where he works at as a sous chef. The girls are European and want a "taste of the

locals." Johnny feels terrible- this would've been great under normal circumstances.

Eddie tells Johnny to "relax," and that he's sure the girls will feel sorry for his situation

and maybe “comfort” him. Johnny isn't too sure about it. He looks at the perfectly

stacked bookshelf in the living room and feels pain and discomfort. Not because he

doesn't like to read, but rather because he’s actually in pain. Neither Eddie nor Johnny

have ever really read anything from it- it's mostly for aesthetics.

Later that night, Eddie and the two girls arrive at the apartment. They've been

drinking already, and catch Anthony in his wheelchair just waking from a nap, a book

on his lap: "MAKE IT HAPPEN! A guide to getting what you want, TODAY." They all

joke about it, and make Johnny catch up to their buzz with Whiskey the guys have in

the apartment. The girls find it weird that the place is so neatly done, yet its tenants are

allegedly straight. Eddie tells the story behind the apartment: his parents arrived, as did

so many others from the Dominican Republic in the Seventies, to the wasteland that

was Williamsburg then. The building was abandoned, and his parents squatted, later

claiming it theirs.

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Eventually Eddie starts making out with one of the girls. The other girl feels sorry

for Johnny and gets close to him. Eddie and his girl go to a room, while her friend

shoves a hand down Johnny's pants. He can't get in the mood, and she apologizes.

She then ignores Johnny and goes over to the room where the action is happening.

Johnny grabs the Whiskey and starts chugging- what else can he do? In the morning,

the party people walk into the living room and find Johnny lying face down on the floor,

apparently passed out. Eddie's headache turns worse and says goodbye to the girls.

When Johnny finally wakes up, he confides in Eddie that he's ready to take his life any

day now- he's worthless. Eddie hears the seriousness in Johnny's tone and gets in

touch with Krista, whose mother, DR. MARILYN JONES is a Psychologist.

Krista is very worried and the next day at a Williamsburg Boardwalk tries to

convince Johnny to speak to her mother. When Krista leaves to get some food and

refreshments, Johnny wheels himself towards the edge. Krista turns around just in time

to stop him from falling into the EAST RIVER. He’s done with life, he tells her, and she

forcibly takes Johnny to her mother's Park Avenue office.

At the session, Johnny lets it all out- he has little hope he’ll ever walk again, may

never become a Rock Star, and suicide is constantly on his mind. She tells Johnny that

along with her husband DR. RICHARD JONES, who himself is a top researcher at

Pharmaceutical giant WESTERN HEALTH NETWORKS, they’ve been testing a new

form of therapy which combines hypnosis along with a "revolutionary" medication

Richard is helping develop (though she doesn't tell Johnny that they've been doing this

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illegally: it’s far from being FDA approved, and the Jones recruit the homeless and the

poor as test subjects). Johnny reluctantly accepts to try it out.

Once in therapy, the Jones explain what will happen after Johnny goes to sleep:

things will seem surreal, and it’ll all feel like real life. “The trick is to try and control your

surroundings. This will take some practice.” Before he knows it, Johnny recognizes

memories from his past. Actually, he’s living them out: Johnny sees his Italian father

carrying a much younger version of himself, running from a shootout in broad daylight

after picking little Johnny up from Pre-K school in 1980's Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Johnny is strangely pleased at the sight, being that he’d almost forgotten what his

father looked like- JOHNNY SR. had an affair and Laura left him when Johnny Jr. and

Anthony were still very young.

Everything does feel real: the Fall air, the curse words coming from leather-clad

Puerto Rican gang members, the roaring big block engine of a Chevy Camaro. What

the heck is going on? Where's my wheelchair? How did I end up here? Johnny is both

fascinated and scared. He's unaware that this is fantasy … his subconscious doesn't

know what to make of it, and as a result weird shit starts happening. A Pitbull suddenly

barks at him, then floats away onto the roof of a nearby building. “What the fuck?”

Now Johnny is wearing white roller skates. He's losing his balance, as the sky

turns dark Green. He tries skating over flattened bottle caps on the asphalt, each

containing logos of Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and a random assortment of beer brands. The

street transforms into rough terrain, and the wheels on the skates can't roll here.

Johnny is tripping over himself and is nearing a high cliff. Below is a deep Blue sea,

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and he can't stop himself in time- Johnny falls over the cliff and the G-force

overwhelms his body. He tries to scream but nothing comes out. Johnny now wakes

up in a panic and drenched in sweat. The Jones are sitting next to him, and advise him

to relax and breathe deeply: these things will happen in the beginning. After a handful

of more sessions, they teach him self hypnosis, and hand him a decent amount of the

“special” medication.

Krista dedicates time to help Johnny heal, and inevitably starts falling for him

again- the Florence Nightingale effect. Along with physical therapy, Johnny slowly

learns how to live lucidly in the dream state. He finds the freedom of living whatever life

he wishes exhilarating- Johnny has already played sold out concerts, hit grand slams

as a member of the New York Yankees during the World Series, gone on all types of

dates with every supermodel he's known of, and has traveled the world … in short,

he'd rather live this life instead of real life. The only drawback is that if not sufficiently

nourished before taking the special medication, dreams will deteriorate and Johnny will

awaken in a panic. Additionally, there is one thing he cannot control- the appearance of

a mysterious woman, in every one of his dreams.

At first he thinks she's just another background character, but quickly realizes

she won’t disappear like every other random person his subconscious creates. This

worries him. Is it some sort of glitch? He tries to ignore her, but it proves difficult. In

Johnny's next dream state, he sees her on a swing during a warm Yellow afternoon at

an abandoned Golf course.

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Johnny approaches her, but is afraid of what she may have to say. It's a large

swing, capable of fitting two people- she motions for him to sit next to her. He

complies.

Suddenly he smells an overbearing and powerful sweet aroma, unlike anything

he’s ever smelled before. Johnny’s eyes are automatically drawn to hers: they are

large, dark, and never blink. Her skin is milky, smooth and warm. Her loose hair thick,

voluminous and perfectly Black. She needn't talk, for her words aren't necessary: her

aura speaks volumes, and this weakens every nerve and bone in his body. He can

barely hold on to the rope on the swing as she pushes for momentum. They swing

gently back and forth, and he casually lays his head on her shoulder. There is no noise,

just a faint whistle of wind penetrating the lush Green leaves nearby. This is the most

perfect moment one could imagine, and Johnny has never felt so calm in his entire life.

She stops the swing and they lock eyes. Johnny is suddenly frozen- she slowly

closes in. Their noses touch and Johnny's eyes feel immensely heavy, then close. He

feels her soft lips, and a shockwave runs down, then back up his spine. No drug

Johnny has ever experimented with can even compare to the high he's experiencing

right now. He then wakes up. Damn it! Johnny quickly self hypnotizes and re-lives the

same scenario again, the high just as pleasurable as before, but … wakes up at the

exact same spot again!

Like an addict, and now able to walk with a cane, Johnny confronts Krista’s

parents, the Jones. He demands to know how to extend the fantasy without waking

up. Johnny is able to control most anything in the dream state except this, and he’s on

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the verge of losing it. The Jones know something no one else knows, but aren’t willing

to spill the beans, certainly not to Johnny. “The experiment is still in its trial phase,”

they tell him. Johnny isn’t convinced, and fiercely asks for an explanation. Meanwhile,

concerns among his family and friends continue to grow: Johnny misses Eddie’s

birthday, Honey Cave’s celebratory Label signing party, and constantly ignores his

mother’s pleas to come out of the house and stop sleeping already. Johnny's fully

focused on something else- what is this thing he’s feeling? It’s not love, because that

obviously doesn’t exist. This new woman isn't his soul mate ... heck she isn’t even

“real.” But whoever she is, she sure as hell feels perfect.

Noticing Johnny’s deteriorating mental health, Krista intervenes. Her parents

won’t dish out details about the therapy, and she eventually starts digging. Krista finds

a folder containing the records of all trial patients undergoing the same experimental

therapy, codenamed: “SHEEP SLEEP.” She’s disheartened, and is caught red-handed

by Dr. Robert Jones. He tells her he’s pleased she agreed to have Johnny become a

test subject. After all, he was never “suited” to be part of the family anyway. Krista

breaks down.

By now Johnny has entered a vicious cycle of fantasy and reality- he doesn’t

care about repercussions concerning the therapy. It’s annoying to constantly wake up

right before things are about to get better- like a reverse version of Groundhog Day.

But Johnny’s determined to figure it out, with or without the Jones’ help.

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Back home, Eddie is pleading with Johnny to consider living real life, now that

he’s able to walk again. “Who knows, maybe you can join Honey Cave, or develop a

relationship with Krista.” No, Eddie. You have no fucking idea.

Nope, Eddie hasn’t got a damn clue.

“You weren’t there Eddie. The lonely Golf course, the leaves, the wind, the warm

air, the Yellow sky … the Rat trap in her eyes, those fucking large-ass eyes. She

doesn’t talk man, she doesn’t need to. We just swing, and she controls me. She stops

me, does what she wants when she wants to … I let her.”

Krista comes over. She finagles Johnny into accompanying her to the previously

attended Williamsburg Boardwalk. They sit looking at the city skyline, and she tells him

the therapy is very dangerous to his health. Johnny doesn’t care, but stops to think:

Krista is real, and his obsession isn’t.

- “Johnny, it’s time to wake up.”

- “ … “

Johnny doesn’t know what to say. Krista kisses him, and he tries to emulate the

feeling from his fantasy … of course, to no avail. He tries to lock eyes with her, but it

isn’t the same. He looks downward and exhales- Krista desperately wants another

kiss. Johnny holds her face, and she waits … he can’t kiss her, and she lets the

waterworks flow.

- “Come back to us Johnny, come back to me. Stay here.”

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His facial expression says it all. He’s not ready to come back. Johnny’s real

interest is elsewhere, somewhere beyond this place. Suddenly, something catches his

attention. A woman he recognizes very well walks along not far from where he and

Krista are standing. He freezes in his tracks upon locking with those large, familiar

unblinking dark eyes.

Johnny doesn’t know whether to feel confused or happy. A smile slowly creeps

up on him- he looks down at Krista:

- Yes, I’ll stay here ...