Gabriel Legua

Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

Feature Screenplay Outline

Tetrahedron Dragons
The movie opens in a high contrast black and white image. In CLOSE VIEW, a car ash tray filled
with cigarette butts. A cigarette, already finished, gets put out on top of the small pile.
Inside a small van, we see Oliver, young, tough guy, not the best clothes, putting the cigarette
out, sitting in the passengers seat. He asks Terry, a black man in the back of the van, to hand him
a cigarette. Terry is out. He asks the guy sitting in the drivers seat. Its none other than our main
guy, Charlie Le Doux, wearing a short sleeved tropical shirt, one or two years older than them, a
serious gaze that translates to experience (some that have toughen him up), effortlessly
intimidating, focused Bored? Charlie takes a cigarette pack out from his pocket and gives
Oliver a cigarette. Terry seems a bit confused. He asks Charlie:
-I thought you didnt smoke.
-I dont, but you two motherfuckers do. Ive to carry one of these around in case you guys run
out.
The three men continue to have a short discussion. It can get a bit heated from time to time, but
theyre undoubtably long time close friends. They feel comfortable going at each others throats
knowing theyre not gonna get into a real fight.
We EXPAND to see they van is parked in a completely empty parking lot, in an industrial area of
Sunny Southern California. Its early morning. The guys are waiting.
The conversation turns into a sort of interrogation from Oliver and Terry to Charlie, who want to
know why is it that he doesnt smoke. Charlie tells them he doesnt want to poison his body.
Oliver points out that everybody around him smokes, and being around smokers is almost as
dangerous as smoking itself, so he might as well start smoking. Charlie still doesnt feel like it.
Another vehicle approaches. The two guys ask Charlie if thats the person theyre suppose to
meet. Charlie says yes. Hes clearly the gangs leader.
The car stops in front of the van and an old man gets out. Charlie also gets off the van and greets
the old man, who seems to know only Charlie, and not the other two, who stay in the car. The old
man takes a big bag from the trunk of his car. Him and Charlie then proceed to enter the back of
the van with the bag. In the van, the old man shows the three men the inside of the bag Guns.

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

A 9mm automatic, a revolver, a double barrel shotgun, a sawed off shotgun, and ammo. All
unregistered. Charlie hands the old man a good amount of money and then they get out of the
van. Outside, the old man, who almost behaves as a father figure to Charlie, asks him if hes
going to hit the place. Charlie seems to know what he is talking about. He says he is, and he
knows that the old man will disapprove, but hell do it anyway, because he knows he can get
away with it. Much like Charlie predicted, the old man doesnt think its such a good idea. He
tries discouraging Charlie from doing it. Charlie is too stubborn and proud not to do it. Besides,
he says he really needs the money. With this, the two men take off.
On their way to the place, Charlie drives, while Oliver and Terry are setting everything up in
the back of the van. They have masks, gloves, black jackets, new license plates ready to replace
the current one. They load the guns.
They park the van outside, Terry stays inside, he takes the drivers seat as Charlie, wearing a
mask, all dressed up, carrying a bag, gets off the car, together with Oliver.
Oliver enters the place, an old mini market-like location, holding a shotgun, through the front
door. Inside, everything looks pretty empty except for two well-dressed guys stashing away three
heavy bags. They go for their guns as soon as they see Oliver with the shotgun, but Oliver fires a
warning shot at the ceiling and then points at them. They freeze. Charlie enters through the
backdoor and also points the gun at them. They take whatever there is in their bag and leave as
fast as they can, without killing the two guys.
That night, in Charlies house, Oliver and Terry have some drinks with their girlfriends to
celebrate. They get drunk and talk about an issue one of the women have had recently. She works
at a mini market and she remembers back in the day, some years ago, there used to be a lot of
shoplifters who would meticulously hide products in their jackets or in their backpacks and then
try to run away from the store. But nowadays, shoplifters dont even pretend to care, they just
grab whatever it is that they want to steal without worrying about getting caught, and just walk
out of the store with it. And they understand if some poor devil hasnt eaten in three days and he
steals a fruit or something, but these shoplifters nowadays steal things like DVDs and magazines.
(By the way, everyone in this scene is smoking except for Charlie who, as we know, doesnt
smoke).
Next morning, Charlies friends have left, and its just him and his girlfriend next to him, on the
bed, hungover. A man walks into Charlies house and finds them both sleeping in bed. Without

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

hesitating, the man pulls out a gun and shoots at the edge of the bed, not hitting Charlie nor his
girlfriend, but waking them up quickly, scared.
Charlie jumps out of bed and tries to hide, but he realizes the mysterious man is Dominick, an
old friend of his. Charlie gets into a row with Dominick, who tells him hes just there to talk to
him about what he did yesterday.
Turns out the place Charlie and his friends hit was a place owned by a syndicate Charlie used to
work for (hence his knowledge of when and where to make the hit), and Dominick works for that
syndicate currently. Dominick tells Charlie that the syndicate wants him dead, but he convinced
them to do something else. Instead of going through all the trouble of getting a hitman to off
Charlie, they can ask Charlie to off someone else on their hit-list and pay him back with the
promise of leaving him off the hook. Since Charlie has had a bad past with the syndicate and
they have many reasons to go after him, he considers the offer.
After being pushed around by Dominick he accepts, with his target being two young guys, Tulio
and Gaspar. Charlie doesnt know them, but he doesnt need to, he just needs to know where to
find them. Dominick tells him where Tulio lives. Him and Gaspar are close friends so the plan is
to go to Tulios place, ask him where to find Gaspar, then, once he tells Charlie where this is,
hell kill Tulio and then go after Gaspar.
With a bad attitude and not really used to working like this, Charlie embarks on his mission with
the help of Oliver. They get a car and go to Tulios place.
On their way, they plan a strategy. Olivers idea is to just bust into the place, kill anyone in their
way, and get to Tulio. Charlie, however, wants this job to go as smooth as possible, so he
suggests going in, asking for Tulio, and then intimidate him into telling him where Gaspar is.
Then, take him out of his home to Gaspars place, and when they get to Gaspar, theyll take them
two someplace else to kill them.
They get to the place, a nice humble house. They knock on the door to be greeted by an old
woman. Charlie asks if Tulio is home. The woman says he isnt but hell be back soon. Charlie
asks if him and Oliver can come in and wait for Tulio. They convince the old lady that Tulio is in
trouble and that they just wanna help him. The woman lets them in.
In the living room, Charlie and Oliver sit in an old couch, waiting, staying put. Next to them, an
old, overweight man wearing a shirt that reads I <3 L.A. sits in a one-person couch with a beer
to his side, watching TV. The old woman brings the two men some tea and she sits in a table

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nearby, also waiting. The atmosphere becomes very uncomfortable. These two are Tulios
parents. They begin trying to make some conversation with the two criminals, who tell them not
to worry, that everything will be fine as soon as Tulio comes with them.
As the conversation goes on, the father becomes desperate as he suspects theyre gonna kill his
son regardless of what theyre saying. He starts breathing heavily. The two men try calming him
down while the mother flees the living room. Charlie thinks shes hiding something, she goes
after her and, sure enough, shes helping Tulio (who was in the house all along) escape the house
through the window. When Charlie realizes this, he tells Oliver to move on quickly before the
lose him. Oliver, furious at the two old men, takes out his handgun and fires a shot into the old
mans belly, then, he leaves the house. Charlie reacts in anger and frustration as they run out of
the house and go after Tulio, who is getting away in a bicycle.
Charlie and Oliver get in the van and follow him. When Tulio notices theyre getting closer, he
drops the bike and runs up a forest-like hill that leads him to a very forested isolated park.
Charlie gets off the van and tells Oliver to stay there. Charlie goes up that same hill and looks for
Tulio. Hes agitated and feels nervous hes gonna miss him. After a while of running here and
there, following every sound Tulio makes, he finally finds him and points the gun at him. Tulio is
tired and cant run any longer. He says he doesnt have a gun.
Charlie takes him down the hill again and into the van. Him and Oliver ask him where to find
Gaspar. Tulio is hard to break, he wont give information to these guys, he knows theyre clearly
gonna kill him. Oliver threatens with cutting Tulios fingers with a pipe cutter, one each time he
declines to give them information.
Charlie and Oliver have a little play of good cop (Charlie) / bad cop (Oliver), with Charlie trying
to cooperate intimidating Tulio, and Oliver being rough and violent with him.
-Things usually dont work out when I intimidate people. So, Im gonna change my behavior a
bit. Gonna act like a friend, not a threat. However, I still want you to remain warned of the things
that I can do.
Charlie pulls out a pipe cutter. Tulio flinches, shakes in fear, but does his best to stay put. Its
hard. Oliver holds him steady from behind.
-So, take it easy now. I wanna let you know that I can cut your fingers with this thing. But I
wont. I wont, because youre gonna help me. Is that right? Or am I wrong?
Tulio doesnt react. He just gives him a look. Charlie is willing to proceed.

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

-You see, Im being friendly here. Do me and favor and do the same. Tell us: Where is Gaspar?
Tulio spits on Charlies face. Charlie wipes it off, smiles, and hands the pipe cutter to Oliver,
who holds Tulios hand up from behind.
-Okay. There we go. It was your fucking call, you piece of shit.
-Hes right, it was your call, Tulio. You fucked up.
Oliver rests his knee on Tulios head, holding him still, and puts a lot of pressure on one of his
fingers with the pipe cutter. Tulio is in agonizing pain. Charlie stops Oliver for a moment.
-Okay, hold on. Hold on a second. (He talks to Oliver) It hurts, right? You dont want that. He
dont want that, man.
-Tell us how to find Gaspar.
-Where do we find him? Come on, man. You tell us and well let you go.
Tulio gives him a little smile and then says:
-Listen, man, you torture me all you want But dont treat me like Im an idiot.
Charlie is surprised by his bravery, but that doesnt change things.
-Suit yourself.
Oliver cuts Tulios finger off.
The torture session keeps going and Tulio keeps resisting, to the point where five of his fingers in
one of his hand are cut.
A short conversation ensues between Tulio and Charlie when he wont stop referring to Tulio
with racial slurs.
-Fuck you, fucking white trash. Im a fucking American. I was born an American and Im gonna
die an American. So fuck you two fucks!
-Good for you, American coon. What are do you want? 21-gun salute at your funeral? Fuck no,
youre not even gonna get a proper burial, you fucking monkey.
After a moment, Charlie and Oliver have a conversation outside the van. Oliver notices the bike
that Tulio was riding had replacement parts that come from a store owned by a gang member
who has control over the area Tulio and Gaspar live in. This gang member, called Sydney, is
actually an old friend of Charlies. Oliver suggests they go to the store and do their best to find
Gaspar because interrogating Tulio isnt paying off.
Oliver - Thats all we got right now. He aint gonna give us shit.
Charlie - So what are you saying? We take this to the bank and get rid of him?

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

-You got a better idea?

-I dont know man.
-Kids just been through this shit. What are we gonna do? Cut the other five? Give him a fucking
break.
The decision is made. Unbeknownst to them, Tulio managed to get his cellphone out of his
pocket and make a quick call to let his people know that Charlie is looking for Gaspar.
At this point in the story, Oliver kills Tulio in a forested area nearby them, and leaves the corpse
there. Then, him and Charlie go to the store, pretending to buy something but in reality looking
for someone who knows where Gaspar is. However, they realize everyone knows what theyre
actually after, and they get taken down.
Charlie and Oliver are taken to Sydney, in a small warehouse-like building. Sydney meets
Charlie, who is, in fact, slightly intimidated by Sydney (a tall, wrinkled-face black man, with
authority under his name, especially in this area). Sydney smiles friendly, but knowingly of
whats about to happen, when he sees Charlie. Charlie returns the smile.
Sydney asks Charlie what is it that hes doing there. Charlie lies, saying hes working for the
syndicate and that hes looking for some ounces of cocaine to buy. Sydney doesnt buy it. He
knows Charlie is bullshiting him. Sydney tells him theres someone hes doing business with on
the other room, so he invites Charlie in so that the other guy doesnt lose patience.
Its an old, humble Armenian man, Kamo, having a conversation about his restaurant.
Sydney - A TV?
Kamo - Yes. For the customers.
-You already got a TV. We loaned you the money to get the TV.
-I know. I know you did, but there is an issue.
-Whats wrong with the TV?
-Nothing, nothings wrong with the TV.
-TVs fine, so whats the matter?
-I put the TV on one side of the restaurant. On the big wall. But the thing is, only the people who
are sitting facing the TV can watch, and the people who sit facing those people have to watch a
wall with the picture of Mount Ararat. But if I get a second TV, I can provide entertainment to
both sides of the table. TV here, TV there. Problem solved. No one watches Mount Ararat
anymore.

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

Sydney smiles and gives Charlie a look. Charlie rolls his eyes and smiles.
-Smart. But you still havent paid back that table we had to get for you-A second TV means happier customers, more customers! Faster payback.
Sydney chuckles.
-Hey, I gotta give it to you, man. Good businessman right here. Hey. Charlie! Come here. Kamo,
do you know who this is?
Kamo shakes his head, no.
-Charlie, you know Kamo?
-No.
-Ever been to The Spiced Mouflon? Little Armenian restaurant in Studio City.
-No.
-You should, they gonna have two TVs soon. Why is it in Studio City instead of Little Armenia?
That I dont know, but... I hope it makes money. It better make money. Kamo, what if I told you
that Charlie here...
Sydney rests his hand on Charlies shoulder, in an almost fathering way.
-is a nigger?
Charlie simply closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Kamo doesnt really know what to
answer.
-He doesnt look like one.
Sydney laughs and shakes Charlies shoulders, as if Charlie was a pet that belonged to him.
-You aint gotta look like a nigger to be a nigger, man. If you behave like one, if you think like
one, then you are one...
Once again, Sydneys gaze moves to Charlie, and he gives him that death stare... The look in
Sydneys eyes is truly frightening.
-And Charlie here is one hell of a nigger.
Charlie looks back at him, still keeping it together, trying not to be dismayed.
-And I gotta talk to him, so...
Sydney drops his fierce mask and stands up, guiding Kamo to the door. Charlie remains seated.
-Give Giancarlo the details on the TV and well ship it to you by next week, okay?
He opens the door to find Giancarlo on the other side.
-Thank you so much, Sydney. Its not a waste of money, I promise.

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Fall 14 BFA Filmmaking

-I trust you. Ill drop by some day to have some of that Harissa, or whatever. See you then.
As Giancarlo and Kamo disappear into the other room, Sydney closes the door. Now its just
Sydney and Charlie.
-Wow. Giving out TVs here and there. That aint the Sydney I remember.
Sydney turns around and slowly makes his way to the table.
-Sydney you remember didnt have two pennies to rub together. Now that he does hed like to
give one away.
He sits down, facing Charlie.
-Nobody did that to me when I was rotting away in a shithole. Not even you, Charlie.
-Hey, man, we crawled through the shit, you and me, both. Just separately.
-Well, one of us did make it, right?
A moment of silence.
-What do you- What do you want?
-You gotta tell me why youre here man. Outta respect, I dont know, for old times sake. Just tell
me.
-I cant.
Sydney sighs as his friendly charismatic attitude towards Charlie gradually disappears.
-Charlie, you do know that I dont have to be polite to you, right? I dont owe you shit. If you
were a stranger youd have a bullet in each leg already, and then Id ask the fucking question.
But youre not a stranger. Do not abuse that privilege. Im gonna ask again: Who or what are you
after?
Charlie gulps, sits up, ready to hit him back with the best hes got.
-Youre right, you dont owe me shit. You dont owe shit to Joes syndicate either.
Sydney rolls his eyes, rubs his face, and shakes his head in disappointment... Hes one step ahead
of Charlie already.
-Youre trying to take me for a fool, man. You dont do that to a brother. You dont fucking do
that.
-You think Im bullshitting you? Okay. Its your call. Im under your roof, youre the man.
-Charlie, youre not with the fucking syndicate no more. Everybody knows.
-You the man.
-After all these years, you think Im a knucklehead, huh? No, man... You dont fucking do that.

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Sydney stands up and draws his REVOLVER from his jacket pocket, taking aim.
Charlie flinches, his hands go up, but he remains seated.
-Okay, hold on. Wait a minute.
Sydney stays aimed. Cocks the hammer.
-Im too fucking old for that shit, Charlie.
Charlie stands up, quakes, and gingerly extends his arms, keeping his distance from Sydney.
-Ill tell you! Im telling you who they are.
Sydney de-cocks his gun, still holding Charlie at gunpoint.
-Its two fucking kids, okay? Lowlifes. Just two idiots Joe wants dead.
-You keep bringing up Joe like Im some fucking retard, man.
-Okay, Im not in the syndicate, youre right, but this is something Joe wants.
Charlie brings his arms down, calmer. So is Sydney.
-Im doing it so he wont bother me no more. Its the last thing Ill ever do for him. Will you put
that thing down, man? Give me a break.
-What will you do when you know who Im after?
-Ill think about what my next moves gonna be. Either I let you go, or I dont. It all depends on
who that nigga is.
As their back and forth cools down, the two start to have a lighter conversation. They feel
nostalgia about each other and the golden days that are now in the past. Charlie dares Sydney to
a game of russian roulette they used to play a long time ago. With a bit of hesitation, Sydney
accepts. He takes a six-shooter with one bullet in it. He fires into his own head. No bullet. Now
its Charlies turn. As soon as Charlie takes the revolver, he aims it at Sydney and fires repeatedly
until the one bullet fires and hits Sydney, killing him instantly.
For the next few minutes, a tense sequence ensues in which Charlie and Oliver do their best to
escape the warehouse, with Oliver dying, and Charlie finally finding Gaspar. When the chaos is
over, Charlie shoots Gaspar with his gun but realizes he has no bullets left. He then smashes
Gaspars head into the ground until he kills the young man. Tired and fed up, Charlie, covered in
blood, walks towards the van with Olivers corpse. He lays him down on the inside. He takes
Olivers pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and, for the first time in the movie, he lights a
cigarette for himself. He breathes deeply and lays down on the van next to his dead friend.