7/29/2019 The Contortionist Chicken

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The Contortionist Chicken

Written By

Megan Howett

7/29/2019 The Contortionist Chicken

2/3

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EXT. THE JOKE SHOP - EVENING

Soon before closing time, the camera pans down street to thejoke shop. Pans through the door.

Title appears

FADE:

INT. THE JOKE SHOP - CONTINUOUS

A rubber chicken is asleep in an empty box of party poppers,on the top shelf. A hand moves into shot and lifts thechicken away. The chicken wakes, panicked.

CUT TO:

A child stretches and twists the chicken, then drop it onthe floor.

While the camera focuses on the chicken,feet are seenwalking past. The chicken's eyes can be seen darting fromside to side.

CUT TO:

The shop keeper walks to the door, turns over the 'open'sign. Walks to the door at the back of the shop, turns offthe light and leaves.

CUT TO:

INT. THE JOKE SHOP - MOMENTS LATER

The chicken suddenly jumps up and looks around, panicking.She looks up at the top shelf and squawks. She is clearlynervous and distressed as she begins to finds a way to climbback up.

CUT TO:

On the first shelf, the chicken encounters a closedjack-in-the-box. As she tries to sneak around, Jack jumpsout, scaring the chicken.

Jack advances until the chicken uses her rubber texture andspringy limps to jump over the toy and reach the next shelf,she continues up.

CUT TO:

The next shelf is covered in spilled fun snaps. The chickenbends and stretches to make her way across the shelf without

7/29/2019 The Contortionist Chicken

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stepping on any of the snaps. However, after clearing themajority of the snaps, she loses her balance and knocks awhole box off the shelf. They fall in slow motion to thefloor, where the bang and crack like shower off machine gunbullets.

CUT TO:

Close up of the chicken looking over the edge of the shelf.

Footsteps on the stairs from the flat above the shop can beheard. All of the items in the shop freeze as the ownercomes through the door and turns on the light.

CUT TO:

Close up of the shopkeeper as he looks around. He sees thefallen box.

CUT TO:

Point of view shot of the shop floor and fallen snaps.

CUT TO:

Close up. The shop keeper 'tuts', then returns upstairs tobed, turning off the lights on the way.

CUT TO:

The chicken breathes a sigh of relief then continues herjourney.

CUT TO:

The next shelf is home to a family of whoopee cushions.Unlike the jack-in-the-box, the whoopee cushions are eagerto help the chicken reach her nest. They lay themselves outin line, to be used as trampolines.

The chicken jumps across the cushions and grasps the edge ofthe top shelf.

INT. TOP SHELF - LATER

The chicken pulls herself up onto the shelf and the camerapans around to show her nest. She clucks excitedly and runsover to the nest. She looks around to check the condition ofher 'eggs' before sitting down on top of them. She sighshappily and goes to sleep.