The Short Filmography of Claire Emilia Monaghan

[Laurels]

((Claire Monaghan continued from Real Scientists Fight with Umbrellas))

"Okay, well maybe we make something absurdist."

"How so?"

"Well, maybe we make a film where someone is trying to accomplish something, but random shit keeps happening to them."

"Like The Hangover?"

"No, Jessica, not like The Hangover. We make it funny. And endearing. And without reliance on shouting and saying the word 'fuck'."

Claire moved her hand through her hair. She and her sister were in her room, trying to plan her next film. Claire had a fresh pot of coffee brewing and a notepad filled with ideas. Jessica laid down on Claire's bed.

"Claire, you won't even be in Seattle for the next festival. Why are you even trying to plan another movie?"

"Because, Jess, it's always good to have a script on hand. Who knows, I might get actual studio funding, and maybe I can make it with a real cast and real production values."

"Well, why do you need a new script? You have three movies already made, and you can easily make them into real movies."

Claire turned to her sister.

"Yeah, but remakes are kind of silly."

"Well, it's not like it is a pointless remake. You are simply trying to improve on your old work."

"Good point. Let me check something."

Claire turned to her computer and opened a word document.

"Okay," Claire said, adjusting her glasses. "Let's look at some elements from my old films, and see what we can improve. It's like how Krzyzstof Kieslowski remade the fifth and sixth episodes of The Decalogue into A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love. Sure, that was part of a studio contract, but he added to art that was already great."

"Well, I haven't watched any of those, so I trust your idea," Jessica said.

"Okay, let's start with Charlotte."

Charlotte was the first full length film Claire made. She was fifteen when she made it, and it was the first film she entered in the Seattle Young Filmmakers Festival. The film was about a boy named Cliff who finds himself assigned to work on a project with a girl named Charlotte. The film was five extended scenes of Cliff and Charlotte working on their project, while also discussing their lives and problems.

Although she didn't win any prizes, the film was praised for the writing. Claire spent weeks writing the conversations between Cliff and Charlotte. She tried to emulate a bit of Quentin Tarantino and Monty Python in how she wrote dialogue. For the most part, Cliff and Charlotte would go off on tangents related to things such as rubber cement, classmates, and their future. It helped that the two actors she got to play Cliff and Charlotte had great acting chemistry. Charlotte was really eccentric and weird, and Cliff was such a straight guy that his reactions to her comments made the film really enjoyable to watch, according to the people who watched the film.

"Well, Charlotte did have a neat structure," Claire said. "Keeping the film in five scenes did add a neat narrative style to it."

"But didn't some people think that the dialogue could get dull?" asked Jessica. "I think you forgot to put some action in it."

"How can you put action in a comedy film?"

"Well, I think they would have liked to have seen some sort of break in the scenes of talking. What about Underneath Our Feet? That had some action to it."

Claire put her hand under her chin.

"Maybe. Let me look it up."

Claire pulled up the script for Underneath Our Feet. The film followed two sisters, Hannah and Jordan, who recently moved to Seattle. While out one night, they witness a man burying a corpse in a park. The man sees them and they have to flee. In the next few days, Hannah and Jordan begin to find threats in the mail and at school. Soon, people close to them begin to disappear, and the sisters have to figure out who is threatening them before things get worse.

Underneath Our Feet earned Claire a bit more prestige. She won awards for the cinematography and writing. Most of the credit for the film was for the tone of the film. The film seemed like a generic slasher, but most of the tension stuck with the audience.

"Okay," said Claire, "let me pitch this. We have a film, set in very few locations, and there is some underlying tension. Maybe a bottle movie."

"Alright, that might work," said Jessica, pouring herself some coffee. "Perhaps a group is gathered in a room, and someone is a killer."

"Yeah, maybe add a mystery to it. Perhaps they are trapped somewhere, like a cabin or something."

"Well, I think you really need to go into the psychology and themes. What was the underlying message of Dystopia?

"Justice is a vague concept that can fall flat at times."

"Yeah, that might be good."

Dystopia was the film Claire made for the most recent film festival. The film dealt with a nerd named Joss who was horribly pranked by some jerks at his school. He decides to get revenge by trying to turn them against each other and ruin their lives. However, they begin to wise up, and soon a war starts between the parties.

The film was a bit of a disappointment. Claire didn't win any awards, and the response was less than positive. People liked the story, but thought the acting and pacing got in the way of the film.

"Okay, so the new film I make is a thriller bottle film with a theme of the failings and muddling of Justice," said Claire.

"Sounds pretty good," said Jessica. "I'm sure we can get something good with that. So, what do we call it?"

Claire thought for a moment, tapping her pan against her lip.

"Holding Pen."

"Holding Pen?"

"Yeah, cause they're trapped together, they have a mystery to figure out, and a holding pen evokes imagery of prisons and incarceration."

"We can do better than Holding Pen. How about, Corral?"

"What, is it on a farm?"

"Why not?"

Claire was silent. She needed to see where Jessica was going.

"Think about it; a farm in the middle of nowhere could be perfect for a bottle film. Maybe the characters are trapped in a home, or they can't leave the property."

Claire was silent, her mouth hanging open.

"Jessica, I think you just hit gold."

Claire began to write on her notepad.

"Aren't ya glad you got a sister like me?"

"Absolutely."

CORRAL
A Claire Monaghan Production
Coming Soon

((Claire Monaghan continued Cicada Nights))