Vegas: Luck Be A Lady (Spec Idea)

This is only the beginning of an idea I had for the show Vegas which has been cancelled.

Synopsis: 

Vincent Savino (Michael Chiklis),
Ralph Lamb (Dennis Quaid)

A young gambler/con artist/thief named Jason who is a friend of Dixon’s from high school sees Dixon in Vincent’s casino where Vincent sees them talking, maybe having a drink. 

Vincent meets up with a guest named Mr. Huxley who it turns out wants to have his wife murdered.  The next morning Mr. Huxley is found dead in his room, his wife gone.  

About the same time Jason is caught counting cards and brought to Vincent for some justice.  Vincent can do little with the cops around but looking to score points with Dixon he has him pick up his old friend.  

Dixon and Jason end up in a bar where Jason attempts to hustle a pool game but ends up starting a bar fight.  The antics continue for Jason and Dixon.

Mr. Huxley’s wife returns with her lover from across town where she had been all night.  She has an alibi.

Lamb investigates only to discover the killer might be Jason who has been running around with Dixon causing trouble. They must find the two before something worse happens...

SPEC SCRIPT BEGINNING

Int. SAVOY Casino Lobby - EVENING

Vincent stands waiting for someone as he spots Dixon across the casino shaking hands with a young man, Jason, in a Navy uniform.  They are friendly but part ways.  Vincent is snapped from his observation by an employee who informs him that his guest has arrived.

The guest, a mobster from Chicago, Huxley, enters with his wife, both in good spirits, Huxley requests to speak with Vincent in his office.

INT. VINCENT’s OFFICE - 

Huxley stands pouring himself a Scotch.

Vincent

What can I do for you?

huxley

My wife wants to divorce me and take the kids. She knows a lot about the business. She needs to go and I want you to help me find someone to do it.

--break--

int. savoy hotel room - early morning

There is a click of cameras and the movement of people as it is revealed that the center of attention is Huxley’s dead body.  The man has been beaten, stabbed, strangled, and shot several times.

R. Lamb

Doesn’t look like he went easy.

JACK LAMB

Torture? 

r. lamb

(indicating a dress hanging from the closet door)

Who was here with him?

J. Lamb

His wife, we haven’t talked to her yet. They just got into town for an anniversary.

R. Lamb

She’s missing? Kidnapped? Put out a bulletin.

Int. vincent’s office

Vincent stands while holding the phone to his ear as he is on a call to Chicago.

Vincent

They just found his body. No, I don’t know who did it but Carol is missing.

Ralph Lamb enters.

Vincent

Look the sheriff just walked into my office. Maybe he’s got some details. Okay.

Vincent hangs up the phone.

R. Lamb

Important business?

Vincent

The man had friends.

Lamb

What about his wife?

Vincent

She has friends too.

R. Lamb

What kind of cooperation are you going to give me?

Vincent

My full cooperation.  There was a murder at my casino.  No one wants this solved more than me.

Lamb

I can think of one person.

Lamb leaves as Vincent enters and closes the door behind him.  

Vincent

I need to talk with you.

Vincent

Did you find her?

Vincent

No, something else.  We caught someone counting cards. He had over ten grand on him.

Shameless (Spec Idea) - Ian in Abusive Relationship

INT. GALLAGHER HOUSE

Ian stands wearing sunglasses and concealer to hide the bruises on his face.  Fiona sees him and goes to hug him then she steps back to appraise him and sees that he is trying to cover something.

Ian
It’s not as bad as it looks.

Fiona
What happened?

Ian
Doug and I were goofing around and he caught me off guard.

Fiona
He hit you?

Ian
It’s different with guys.  We were both going at it.

Fiona
Then you started it?

Ian
(shrugs shoulders)
We don’t have to talk about it.

Fiona
No, I want to talk about it.  Were you hitting him and he struck you back?

Ian
I’m not, I mean it’s nothing.  Just uh, rough play is all.

Fiona
Did he hit you anywhere else?

Fiona grabs at his shirt and tries to raise it but he stops her and pulls away.

Ian
It was my fault.  I taunted him and we started arguing.

Fiona
You sound like every domestic abuse case I ever heard.

Ian
It’s not that.

Fiona
Then what is it?

Ian shrugs and walks away into the kitchen and Fiona follows.  Ian starts to clean up.

Fiona
I’m serious.

The front door opens and Lip yells into the house that he has arrived.

Ian
Don’t say anything to Lip.

Fiona
Why not?

Lip enters the kitchen carrying bags of groceries.

Lip
Are we ready for a feast?

Fiona looks to Ian who turns away to the sink.

Fiona
Show him.

Lip
Show me what?

Ian
Nothing.

Lip
What don’t you want me to see?

Lip steps to Ian but his smile fades when he sees Ian’s bruise.

Lip
What the hell is that?

Lip grabs Ian’s shoulder and turns him making Ian wince.

Ian
It’s nothing.

Fiona
Show him the rest.

Lip
The rest?

Ian
It’s nothing.

Fiona
He’s got other marks on his body he doesn’t want me to see.

Lip
Who did this to you?

Ian
It’s nothing.

Fiona
That piece of shit Doug beat him up.

Lip
Your boyfriend?

Ian
No.

Fiona
Show him the rest.

Lip
There’s more?

Ian
No.

Lip
(turns Ian and pulls off his glasses)
Let me see.

Ian struggling to keep composure and not lose his temper begins to lift his shirt.

Lip
Take it off.

Ian pulls his shirt over his head and off.  He has several black and blue marks over his body from fighting with Doug.

Lip
Is this the first time?

Ian looks away.

Ian
When it happened before--

Lip
Hold on, it happened before, your boyfriend kicked your ass?

Ian
We were goofing around and it got out of hand.  It was as much my fault as his.

Lip
Your fault?

Ian
We were goofing around and he apologized.

Lip
Why didn’t you tell me?

Ian
Because I didn’t want you to do something.

Lip
Oh, I’m going to do something.

Ian
Don’t.

Lip
This isn’t getting mugged.

Fiona
We worked too damn hard to have a safe home all these years.  You shouldn’t have to go back to this.

Ian
We aren’t together right now.  He’s at his mother’s place for a few days.

Lip
A few days?

Ian
I don’t want you to try and do something like you always do.

Lip
You’re my brother.

Ian
I’m your brother.

They all stand looking at each other when Carl walks into the room from upstairs.  He is shocked to see Ian shirtless and with bruises over his body.

Carl
What happened?

Ian
Nothing.

Carl
Were you in a fight?

Ian pushes his way past Lip and walks into the living room.

(or else Carl overhears the conversation from the stairs and confronts Ian about it later)

Carl
Your boyfriend beat you up?

Ian
It’s not like that.  We were fighting.

Carl
Why were you fighting?

Ian
It’s complicated.

Carl
I’d never fight with a girl I was dating.

Ian
That’s very good of you.

Carl overhears Lip and Fiona talking about Ian an abusive relationship...

Lip
What was he thinking?

Fiona
It’s not easy.

Lip
The guy beat the shit out of him.  Not once, maybe not even twice, we don’t know how many times it happened.

Fiona
Think about all the shit we put up with each day of our lives.

Lip
No one would ever treat me like that.

Fiona
Think about all we’ve been through.  None of us have had good role models.

Lip
What’s that supposed to mean?

Fiona
We normalize abuse.  It’s not just the family.  It’s life.

Lip
I don’t.  Never.

Fiona
Think about when you got into a fight with Mikey Drisk in the the first grade.  You made up with him the next day and then you two were inseparable for that whole summer.

Lip
Until he stole my GI Joes.  It’s not the same.

Incomplete Psych (Clue Homage): Mr. and Mrs. Body

Introduction- when a show does something better than you had imagined you know you are on the right path. I had thought about a Clue homage for sometime with Psych and had been working on a script but I was beaten to the punch.

I thought I would post this incomplete writing anyway. It was fun to write and maybe it'll be fun to read.

I had imagined the butler played by Ryan Cartwright (Bones, Mad Men).

FADE IN...

INT. Dining Hall- Evening

Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, and Juliet sit across from each other at one end of a long dining table while on the other end is a group of people dressed distinctly as weekend actors: Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. White, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum, Mr. Green, and Miss Scarlet.  Shawn is very happy, Gus distracted by his food, Juliette overly suspicious, and Lassiter is angered.

Shawn
I’m so excited I always wanted to attend an murder mystery weekend.

Gus
Shawn it seems like we deal with real murder every week.

Shawn
But these people have costumes and are dressed like the characters.  Look, Mrs. White is wearing white, Professor Plum is wearing purple, Mr. Green is wearing green.  You know that was something I never understood about Reservoir Dogs.

Gus
Those were aliases so they didn’t have to use their real names. And Professor Plum is wearing mauve not purple.

Shawn
Huh.

Lassiter
Just where did you get the tickets to this thing?

Shawn
I won them in a radio contest.  I was the thirteenth caller.

Juliet
Thirteen?

Shawn
Yeah, you know after twelve.

Gus
Even if the costumes aren’t very good the food is delicious.

Gus raises his glass in a toast when the butler (Ryan Cartwright) enters.

Gus
My compliments to the chef.

Butler
I will make sure to pass along your kind words.

Lassiter
It’s not going to be very difficult to figure out who the murderor is when we make up half the people here.

Shawn
Not very difficult?  Then perhaps a gentleman’s wager of say one dollar?

Gus raises an eyebrow.

Lassiter
One dollar?  What kind of wager is that?

Gus
It was good enough for Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places.

Shawn and Gus clink glasses.

Lassiter
Okay then one dollar but we all know the butler did it.

Everyone looks to the butler who look uncomfortable.

Butler
Well, time for dessert.

Gus
I ordered the chocolate pudding.

SHOT- Ext. Mansion Midnight-
A clock begins to chime twelve times.

Int. Shawn and Juliet’s room-
They are both sound asleep.

Int. Lassiter’s room-
He is also sound asleep and clutching his gun.

Int. Gus’s room-
Gus is sound asleep.

Int. Billiard Room
Mr. Green leans against the pool table.

Mr. Green
This weekend is going to be so easy.  Three days and two nights with bed and breakfast it’s the best job yet.  Have our employers decided who dies yet?

Whispered Voice:
You.

Mr. Green is then attacked by someone wielding a rope.

Int. Study- night
Colonel Mustard is reading a book with a snifter of Brandy and cigar by his side.  He is struck from behind with a wrench.  The cigar is extinguished in the Brandy.

Int. Kitchen
Miss Scarlet enters the kitchen where she sees a garbage can overflowing with takeout containers and guffaws at the sight of it.  She lights a cigarette at the end of a long holder in front of a large pantry before she moves to a stool and sits.  The pantry is a cover for a secret door which opens quietly.  Miss Scarlet is hit over the head with a candlestick.

Int. Greenhouse (raining)- night
Mrs. White stands appreciating the flowers when the door opens and she turns on the person entering.

Mrs. White
Have they all been taken care of?

Whispered Voice:
Yes.

Mrs. White is shocked and begins to step back.

Mrs. White
What are you doing with that gun?

Mrs. White is shot.

The interiors of Shawn and Juliett’s, Gus’s, Lassiter’s rooms are all shown in turn where each character still sleeps.

Break

SHOT Ext. Mansion Early Morning
There is the sound of birds.

Int. Long Hallway Early Morning
Lassiter exits his room and goes down the hallway to the restroom.  Shawn steps out of his room and goes to Gus’s room, knocks on door but when there is no response he goes down to the restroom where Lassiter is exiting.  As Lassiter passes Gus’s room Gus opens the door and see Lassiter who indicates Shawn passed him.  Gus spots his polished shoes as Juliett opens her door.  They spot each other and Gus holds up his shoes proudly.  Lassiter returns to his room.  Juliett shuts her door.  Gus shuts his door.  Shawn steps out of the restroom and walks back to his room where he closes the door behind him.

The butler steps into the hallway dressed in a bathrobe and in a panic.  He knocks on each door in succession until he reaches Shawn’s door which opens promptly then the other doors follow so that Gus and Lassiter can peak out.

Shawn
Mr. Pennyworth what is it?

Butler:
Sir, there’s been a murder.

Shawn
Our first clue and the butler is telling me about it so I don’t think he did it.  Lassie you may want to get your wallet ready.

Butler
No sir, this isn’t part of the game.  It’s Miss Scarlet in the kitchen with the candlestick.  She’s really dead.

Int. Kitchen
Miss Scarlet is facedown on the floor as Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, Juliett, and the Butler enter.  Shawn spots the takeout containers in the trash.  He also spots the candlestick.

Lassiter
No one touch a thing.  Juliett go call it in while I take a look around.

Juliett leaves the room.

Shawn
Why the candlestick?

Lassiter
The murderer picked it up on the way here.

Shawn
(to the Butler)
Do you know where this candlestick is from?

Butler
I believe the Study sir.

Shawn
I’m going to check it out.

Lassiter
Not without me, you two come with us.

Int. Study
Shawn, Gus, Lassiter, and the Butler enter the study and approach Colonel Mustard who looks as if he is sleeping.

Butler
Sir, time to wake up.

Lassiter
Come on wake up Colonel.

Shawn sees blood then spots the wrench on a nearby table with more blood on it.

Shawn
Wait, don’t get any closer.  He’s dead.

Lassiter turns on Shawn.

Lassiter
What exactly is going on here?

Shawn
I’m getting a strange feeling about this.

Shawn has a flash of memory from his dream.

Shawn
Does anyone else remember a sound in the middle of the night?  I remember having a dream about setting off a M-80 in the girl’s lavatory.

Gus
Lavatory?

Lassiter
I dreamt I was at the shooting range but I usually have that dream.

Shawn
A gunshot, but so far we haven’t found anyone with a gunshot wound?

Lassiter
Another victim?

There is a scream but they realize it is Shawn’s ringtone for his phone.

Shawn
Sorry about that.  Hello.  It’s Juliett.  We’ll be right there.  There’s been another murder.

Int. Greenhouse
Miss White lays facedown as Juliett stands over her.

Lassiter
This is mass murder.

Gus
Or maybe a serial killer.

Butler
We need to check on the other guests.

SHOT -- Ext. Mansion Late Morning

There are several police cars in front of the mansion as police officers work to secure the perimeter.  Mrs. Peacock and Professor Plum actors stand in their robes.

Ext. Mansion Near Police Cars-
Lassiter stands with a notepad and pen interviewing the Butler as Buzz stands nearby waiting for orders.  Shawn and Gus are in earshot.  Juliett walks up to Lassiter.

Juliett
They just found another body.  It was Mr. Green in the Billiard Room with the rope.  Everyone seems to be accounted for now.

Lassiter
Thanks O’Hara.

Juliett
No problem Lassiter.

Lassiter
(to the Butler)
And what’s your name?

Butler
Edmond T. Harris sir.

Lassiter
What’s your job here?

Edmond
I’m an actor who is playing the butler.

Lassiter
And what exactly were you supposed to do this weekend?

Edmond
Butle sir.

Lassiter
But you’re an actor.

Butler
I am very committed to my role.

Lassiter
What can you tell me about what was supposed to happen?

Butler
I don’t know sir the writer wasn’t supposed to show up until this morning.

Lassiter
Uh huh, now tell me, yes or no was anyone else in the house?

Butler
No.

Lassiter eyes him suspiciously.

Butler
I mean yes.  I mean no, well, maybe.  There could have been.  It is a very large place.

Lassiter
How many people total?

Butler
Counting the six actors, four guests, and myself?

Lassiter
Yes.

Butler
Eleven sir.

Lassiter
(to Buzz)
Six actors, four guests, one butler, well that’s what he says but I don’t know if we can trust him.  Search the rest of the house with caution two to the basement, two to the first floor, two to the second, and two to the attic.