falling

written and directed by Joe Ballarini May 2008

A MATCH SPARKS IN THE DARKNESS. 7 CANDLES are lit on a cake frosted with a drawing of a HOT AIR BALLOON above HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY! INT. BACKYARD BIRTHDAY PARTY - NIGHT The glowing cake is set before 7 YEAR-OLD JIMMY, surrounded by cheering FAMILY and FRIENDS and balloons. Jimmy looks at his freshly unwrapped hot air balloon model. He closes his eyes and with intense, silent determination, makes the greatest wish he will ever wish. Eyes closed, Jimmy blows out the candles-CUT TO: EXT. FINANCIAL DISTRICT SIDEWALK - MORNING OVERHEAD - An endless river of BUSINESS MEN AND WOMEN trudge to work in the shadows of looming SKYSCRAPERS. We only see the tops of their heads until ONE MAN LOOKS UP. JIM. 33. Brooks Brothers suit, briefcase, brown paper bag. Eyes wide with fear and worry. JIMS POV - A TOWERING 99 FLOOR SKY SCRAPER before him eclipses the BLUE SKY. INT. SKYSCRAPER - GLASS ELEVATOR Jims trembling hand presses the button for the 99th floor. The shimmering horizon DROPS through the glass elevator. Workers smile at the view. Jim has pressed himself into the corner as far from the view as possible, staring at the ground. His white knuckles clutch his briefcase and brown paper bag to his chest like a shield. INT. 99TH FLOOR HALL DING! Jim RUSHES out of the elevator. Gasping for breath. Workers stare at him. Jim straightens up. Wipes his sweating brow. He enters-INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS GRIM-FACED BOARD OF EXECUTIVES sit at a conference table in front of a SWEEPING VIEW OF THE CITY. Eyes fixed on the view beside him, Jim swallows. He fumbles to reveal a LARGE SALES GRAPH that shows a RED ARROW PLUMMETING DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.

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Executives GASP. Jim hurries to turn the graph UPSIDE DOWN so that the red arrow is now pointing UP. Executives RELAX. Jim exhales, catches a glimpse out the WINDOW.... JIMS POV - 99 FLOORS DOWN. Spiralling vertigo. SLAM! Jim plasters himself in the corner, away from the window. Worried Executives stare at him. Jim smiles, apologetic. INT. JIMS CUBICLE - LATER One of millions of cubicles stretching into infinity. Jim slumps in his chair. He remembers... the brown paper bag. Making sure no one is watching, he opens the bag, removes a beautifully decorated cupcake: HAPPY B-DAY TO ME! Excited, Jim puts a single candle in it. Lights it. Hums to himself. He closes his eyes, takes a breath, about to blow out the candle-- then stops... He cant think of a wish. His excitement deflates. He sets down the cupcake and ponders the flickering candle, head in his hand... As he thinks and thinks Jim slowly begins to RISE, as if his chair is lifting him up. Jims eyes flick back and forth as he drifts up out of frame... He grabs the desk to stop himself-- but his lower half continues FLOATING UPWARD-- Jim clings to his desk as he turns UPSIDE DOWN in the air, feet facing the ceiling. SLAM! Jim pulls himself down, wedging his legs under his desk. He clutches his desk TIGHT. A CURIOUS COWORKER looks over. Hugging the desk, Jim pretends to be reading a paper very close. Coworker returns to his cubicle. Jim sweats. Maybe he was daydreaming. He stands, defiantly. Instantly he FLOATS up into the air. He swipes for his desk, misses it and-HE BUMPS INTO THE CEILING. He hovers above the CUBICLES, over OBLIVIOUS WORKERS heads as they stare at their computer screens. Its more like FLAIL-FLOATING than FLYING as Jim glides, amazed through the office, just barely going UNNOTICED BY WORKERS as he drifts past. CLOSE ON - Staplers, phones, coffee mugs-- as JIMS HANDS COME FROM ABOVE and swipe them off their DESKS. A WORKER wonders where her UNICORN PAPERWEIGHT just went...

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JIMS FEET touch the FLOOR. He proudly walks, PANTS and POCKETS STUFFED with office supplies, weighing him down. The WORKER looking for her paperweight GLARES at Jim. Jim tries to look innocent. RIP!!! Office supplies spill out Jims cuffs. The paperweight THUMPS out. Jim smiles apologetically. WORKER GLARES at him, picks up her paperweight. When she stands, JIM IS GONE. Flying weightless again, Jim sees he is headed toward AN OPEN WINDOW-- Jim gasps. Grabs at anything to stop him-He snatches a BRASS DOOR KNOB. Click. The door slowly opens, revealing THE CONFERENCE ROOM FULL OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The Directors look out of the open doorway. Looks like no one is there. One of the Directors SLAMS THE DOOR SHUT and we hear a SCREAM. EXT. SKYSCRAPER Among the vaulting, steel buildings we see Jim floating across the sky. Bustling street far below. He stutters, overwhelmed as he flails, drifting like a cloud. This is his worst NIGHTMARE COME TRUE. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM As the Board of Directors watch another Stock Report, we see in the window behind them, JIM-- clutching himself in a TIGHT BALL, eyes closed, as he FLOATS past. One of the Directors glances at Jim then casually looks back to the Stock Report. Beat. The Director FREEZES. EXT. SKYSCRAPER Jim approaches an APARTMENT WINDOW-- inside KIDS reading a SUPER HERO COMIC BOOK look at him in alarm. Jim BOUNCES off the window like a beach-ball. Higher and higher. He removes his CELL PHONE, dials for help, but-His CELL PHONE SLIPS out of his hand and tumbles down... the cell phone SHATTERS on the side-walk! Looking down, Jim gulps as he is swallowed by a MASSIVE CLOUD. EXT. CLOUDS PLUNGE INTO THICK WHITE BLANKETS. Shafts of sunlight streaming through the mountainous cloud. Covered in dew, Jim slowly drifts through the heavenly sight, AWEINSPIRED.

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Trying to see, he waves his HAND through the air-- which pushes him through the air. Jim gets and idea. He slowly begins to SWIM through the air, controlling his flight. Jim waves his hands frantically doing the doggie-paddle in mid-air. It aint graceful, but its working. EXT. BLUE SKY ABOVE GREEN HILLSIDE POOF. Jim swims out of the clouds, fog trailing from his heels. He is out of the city, GREEN ROLLING HILLS BENEATH HIM. Jim flies down toward the AUTUMN-PAINTED TREETOPS. A BIRD squawks by, looking confused at the flying man. Jim smiles a little, finally getting the hang of this-FWOOM! A HOT AIR BALLOON RISES IN HIS PATH. Going too fast, Jim COLLIDES with the balloon, BOUNCING OFF IT-IN THE ROCKING HOT AIR BALLOON BASKET - AMELIA, the beautiful pilot, woolly scarf and jeans, hangs onto the swinging basket. Amelia looks up-Sees JIM floating upside down IN THE AIR. Jim moves his flapping tie out of his face. Amelia and Jim make eye contact. Electricity between their gaze. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. A breeze blows and Jim spins through the air-- he freaks out. Amelia laughs. Jim steadies himself-- then laughs. Amelia fires the burner and she rises higher... Jim swims after her. Playful. Entranced, Amelia reaches out for Jims hand... ... he reaches out for hers.... KRAKSSH!!! STORM CLOUDS DARKEN THE SKY. THUNDER RAGES. LIGHTNING CRACKLES. WIND WHIPS THE SKY. Jim and Amelia are BLOWN AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. Jim flails backward into the WHIRLING DARKNESS. Amelias hot air balloon is HURLED THROUGH THE RAIN. EXT. GROUND Jim SLAMS into the ground. And to his AMAZEMENT, he stays there. Jim slowly stands, worried he might fly off. But he doesnt. He smiles, exhausted, grounded. Thankful.

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The hot air balloon is TOSSED OUT OF CONTROL by the STORM CLOUDS. AMELIA SCREAMS! Jim looks to the black sky. He swallows, stares at the ground. Then his determined, rain-battered eyes look up. He tears off his tie as he runs-- and JUMPS!!! SPLASH! Jim lands face down in a mud puddle. What?! He hops up and down. NOTHING. He cant fly. IN THE STORM - AMELIA tries to pilot the violently swaying balloon, but the RAIN EXTINGUISHES the BURNER. Jim thinks, desperate. And then... HE CLOSES HIS EYES AND MAKES A WISH. THE GREATEST WISH HE HAS EVER MADE. When he opens his eyes-- he sees he is FLOATING OFF THE GROUND. Jim inhales deep and SWIMS UPWARD-- ROCKETING INTO THE STORM. EXT. STORMY SKY AMELIA clings to the basket ropes connected to the balloon to keep them from snapping. And then she sees-Jim. Flying toward her. SNAP! A rope pops off the basket and AMELIA falls-KRAKSSH!!! A LIGHTING STALK SHOOTS IN FRONT OF JIM-- he narrowly DIVES through its fork-- SNATCHING AMELIAS HAND. She looks up at him. He looks down at her. A smile. Hands clasped together, Jim and Amelia soar through the sky. Sun piercing through the clouds. INT. CAFE - NIGHT Jim and Amelia sit across from each other, staring into each others eyes. A sparkling birthday cake on the table between them. Jim smiles at Amelia, closes his eyes. And makes his wish. As he blows out the candles-CUT TO: INT. BACKYARD BIRTHDAY PARTY 7 YEAR OLD JIMMY opens his eyes. He smiles knowingly at the smoldering candles on his birthday cake. THE END