E A C H T U R N

A radio drama series

Created by Episode #9

http://www.oocities.org/iconostar/film.htm

Listen to the complete radio drama on Video.Google.Com:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6256789440102810322

"BUENAS NUEVAS"

Bill Olson

FIRST DRAFT: April 24, 1995

(Rev. 6/3/95 to 10/23/95)

(Based on personal accounts written from 1987-1993).

Some material in this play is actual, some is fictional.

__________________________________________________________

ICONOSTAR PRODUCTIONS

Bill Olson

418 Marston Av.

Eau Claire, WI 54701

(715) 835-6446

Associate Producer / Assistant Director: John Townsend

__________________________________________________________

CAST

(American cast)

JEFF - John Townsend

PAUL (based on Mike LaPoint) – John Townsend

MAN ON PHONE (extras casting on "Autumn Death") – Paul Davis

STUDENT – Paul Davis

(Mexican cast)

FERNANDO ELIZONDO (extras casting on "Beyond the Limit")

- Marc Paez

MILTON (A MEXICAN EXTRA) - Marc Paez

(British cast)

ANNOUNCER – Siobhan Parnicky

BARBARA LANE (costume designer) – Ruth Wendell

JOHN MAKENZIE (the director) – Paul Davis

MELVIN LIND (2nd assistant director) – Paul Davis

Other real people referred to but not portrayed: Michael

Caine (actor), Simon Hinkly (1st Asst. Dir.),

Juana Oliver (wardrobe mistress), Adam Cooper

(clapper/loader).

1 PHONE RINGS OVER LINE AND IS ANSWERED.

2 MAN: (Filtered throughout show) Extras casting.

3 JEFF: Hi, I'd like to be an extra in "Autumn Death."

4 MAN: What's your name?

5 JEFF: Jeff Adams.

6 MAN: What kind of experience do you have?

7 JEFF: Well, I'm an independent filmmaker and I was

an extra in an Italian horror movie, "Trauma,"

and "Beyond the Limit," with Michael Caine in

Mexico in 1982.

8 MAN: "Beyond the Limit." I know a lot of people who

worked on that picture.

9 JEFF: Really?

10 MAN: How'd you find yourself in a British movie in

Mexico?

11 JEFF: I was studying at the University of the

Americas, east of Mexico City, between Cholula

and Puebla. Anyway, I was walking in downtown

Puebla, through the outdoor market, when I ran

into my friend Paul.

12 STREET SOUNDS FROM PUEBLA FADE IN AND PLAY UNDER.

13 JEFF: Hey, Paul, you wanna hear something funny?

14 PAUL: From you, Jeff? Now that is a laugh.

15 JEFF: I'm trying to entertain you.

16 PAUL: Oh, but I am entertained.

17 JEFF: I haven't even said anything yet.

18 PAUL: Quite the contrary, you've said Too much!

19 JEFF: Well now I'm getting mad.

20 PAUL: Just recognize success.

21 JEFF: Right now, success would be finding out why

you think I can't be funny.

22 PAUL: Because you've chosen to be un-funny.

23 JEFF: Well today, I'm choosing to be funny and

you're just laughing at me.

24 PAUL: You always bring bad news, don't you know

that?

25 JEFF: I just wanna share the news I get in English

on my short wave radio.

26 PAUL: You just wanna show off. But all you do is

turn people's stomachs: This war starts, that

actor dies, terrorist bombings,

assassinations, floods, fire and brimstone. We

groan the minute you walk into a room.

27 JEFF: I didn't know that, Paul. I was just reporting

the news from the radio.

28 PAUL: Report the good news -- Las buenas nuevas.

29 JEFF: But it's boring.

30 PAUL: Poor Jeff, you're so eager to make friends,

and we don't make it easy for you.

31 JEFF: Perhaps you can give me advise.

32 PAUL: Well first, forget about bad news; we can't

fix it, so let it go.

33 JEFF: What about good political news?

34 PAUL: Let it go; one person's good political news is

another's bad news. We don't all share your

values.

35 JEFF: You do.

36 PAUL: I do, but I don't really care what the

president back home is doing. Or the congress.

37 JEFF: How about the president here; I get Mexican

news in English, too.

38 PAUL: Let it go; the Mexican Constitution forbids

foreigners from meddling in their internal

politics. And that's just fine with me. I like

forgetting about politics: fewer arguments,

fewer worries. And -- well, without politics,

there's automatically less bad news right

there anyway.

39 JEFF: So, Paul, what do we talk about?

40 PAUL: You see those clouds?

41 JEFF: Yeah?

42 PAUL: See the volcanoes over there?

43 JEFF: Yeah?

44 PAUL: Remember the field behind the Phy. Ed.

building at school?

45 JEFF: Yeah?

46 PAUL: Have you ever walked out there, through the

tall grasses with their fuzzy tops?

47 JEFF: Yeah.

48 PAUL: Don't you think they're pretty?

49 JEFF: Yeah. And have you ever noticed those little

reptillian creatures by the student union?

They lay in the sun on the sidewalk. And when

you try to get close, they scurry into the

bushes.

50 PAUL: (Remembering fondly) That's right. And how

about the ducks by the pond?

51 JEFF: They're so cute.

52 PAUL: Cute? They're beautiful, like fresh January

snow.

53 JEFF: One was following me around one day.

54 PAUL: What do you mean?

55 JEFF: Everywhere I went, it followed: If I went

left, it went left. If I went right, it went

right. If I sat down, it stayed put. I named

it Margarita and wrote a paper about her for

Spanish class. The professor liked it so much

she read it to all her friends.

56 PAUL: How about that. Now look, Jeff, we're talking;

being a little bit positive got you a new

friend already. What do you think of that?

57 JEFF: I think I'll forget about listening to the

news -- the bad news -- on my short wave.

58 TRANSITIONAL MUSIC.

59 JEFF: A few days later, Thanksgiving rolled around.

Being an American holiday, it's not celebrated

in Mexico, so I decided to make a vacation for

myself in Veracruz, on the Gulf coast, hoping

to acquire some good news, or "buenas nuevas."

60 So, I boarded a bus in Puebla and headed east

on roads winding up and around steep hills. I

feared we'd go flying over the edge, turning

over -- everyone dying horribly.

61 But instead, when we'd reached the top, I

could see the vast countryside, and I was so

enamored with the lush and beautiful green and

the rolling hills, that I decided against

taking photos of it: How could photos ever

hope to do justice to such beauty?

62 Staying at the Hotel Emporio in Veracruz was a

good choice because one morning, I found

myself in the elevator with a plump mexican

guy wearing a dirty old green t-shirt.

63 FERNANDO: Buenos dias.

64 JEFF: Buenos Dias.

65 FER: Eres de Norte America?

66 JEFF: Sí.

67 FER: I speak English. Call me Fernando.

68 JEFF: Nice to meet you, Fernando, I'm Jeff Adams.

I'm a student at La Universidad de las

Americas.

69 FER: Ah! In Cholula.

70 JEFF: Actually, it's just outside Cholula, in the

country.

71 FER: I'm working on a motion picture here.

72 JEFF: Really? I want to be a director one day.

73 FER: Well, I'm casting extras. They're meeting down

in the lobby. Would you like to be an extra?

You'll get to meet Richard Gere and Michael

Caine. We're shooting a British movie.

74 JEFF: Wow, that'd be great!

75 FER: We're taking everyone on a bus out to a

cemetery. We're doing a funeral scene, so do

you have a dark suit?

76 JEFF: Well, no. I packed rather light for the trip

from Puebla. But I have a dark blue short-

sleeved shirt and a white tie.

77 FER: (Disappointed) Hmmm. That will be fine.

78 JEFF: You're sure?

79 FER: Well... certainly.

80 JEFF: (To the audience) Needless to say, I ate,

changed, and was in the lobby at warp 9, with

my short-sleeved blue shirt and white tie --

and camera. When I saw all the people in black

sitting around, I really felt out of place.

81 I must confess that when I first heard we were

going to take a bus to a cemetery, I wondered

if this movie was going to be about burying

gringos. I had visualized myself being

murdered and buried by a band of Mexican

extras while being photographed by a British

film crew. So, before boarding the bus, I

asked Fernando,

82 JEFF: (To Fernando) What scene will we be filming?

83 FER: Richard Gere's funeral. He plays a British

doctor killed by terrorists.

84 JEFF: Really? What's the movie called?

85 FER: "The Honorary Consul." It's based on a novel

by Graham Green.

86 SOUND OF THE BUS PULLING AWAY.

87 JEFF: (To the audience) I kept thinking of how happy

Paul would be; at last I would have some

buenas nuevas -- good news.

88 (Pause) The cemetery was beautiful, with old

white stones, and built with terraces climbing

a hillside. It was funny to look up and see a

casket draped with a British flag in Mexico.

89 Outside the fence was a dirt road. We stood in

the hot sun, surrounded by vans, cars, and

motor homes as we waited for directions.

90 Melvin was the second assistant director. I

never saw him smile all day. When I first saw

him, he was angry about a middle-aged woman

who'd appeared out of nowhere, dressed in

formal black attire:

91 FER: She says she was just passing by.

92 MELVIN: Just passing by, and she's dressed like that?

(Almost crying) Tell her to go away, Fernando.

93 BARBARA: You! Why are you dressed like that? Who told

you to where a white tie?

94 JEFF: Huh?

95 BARB: This is supposed to be a funeral, not a... not

a... not a -- whatever event you might where a

white tie to. I've got to get you out of those

clothes.

96 JEFF: Oh!

97 BARB: Juanita, Get me the gray suit of the C.I.A.

man. You know which one I mean? That's it.

Thank you. (To Jeff) Here!

98 JEFF: Huh?

99 BARB: What's your name?

100 JEFF: Jeff Ad --

101 BARB: Take this suit in that trailer, Jeff, and

change.

102 MELVIN: Change! Why does he have to change?

103 BARB: Well look at him, Melvin. (To Jeff) -- Don't

look at us arguing, Jeff, go and change!

104 JEFF: Yes, Ma'am.

105 MELVIN: We're already behind "shedule" and we have a

real funeral showing up here at five o'clock.

106 BARB: Well don't yell at me about it, I caught him

as soon as I could. Why do you have extras

showing up who aren't dressed right?

107 MELVIN: Fernando! Where the hell is he?

108 BARB: Use your walkie-talkie.

109 MELVIN: The batteries are dead. Someone's supposed to

get me new ones. God, I hate this job.

110 OUTDOOR SOUNDS END.

111 JEFF: The trailer was divided into little sections.

I went into one and began taking off my pants.

Then it hit me: My clothes might get stolen.

Well I couldn't let that happen, so I kept my

own clothes on and put the gray suit of the

CIA man over them. This would be very hot, but

I couldn't let my clothes get stolen.

112 Unfortunately, my own pants legs were longer

than the costume pants legs, meaning that my

own pants legs kept falling down and revealing

themselves. Well, that's something no CIA

agient should leave home without: an extra set

of clothes.

113 Actually, European movies must have a problem

with small pants. Years later I was an extra

in the Italian horror film, "Trauma," and

those pants were too tight. At one point, the

costume designer, another woman, took me into

a back room and literally stripped the pants

right off of me. That's the only time since I

was a small child that a woman, for any

reason, took my pants off of me. (Beat) Woe is

me . . .

114 TRANSITIONAL MUSIC.

115 OUTDOOR SOUNDS RESUME.

116 MILTON: You look very professional.

117 JEFF: Thanks. Now if I can get this necktie tied.

What's your name?

118 MILTON: "Meal'tone."

119 JEFF: I'm Jeff Adams. I'm a student at la

Universidad de las Americas.

120 MILTON: Ah! La "Ood'lah" -- cerca de Cholula.

121 JEFF: Sí. Es muy bonito allá.

122 MILTON: Sí, claro. You are from the United States?

123 JEFF: Yes, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It's kind of

between Chicago and Canada.

124 MILTON: Ah, yes. I have a cousin who lives in Chicago.

I'd like to go there myself some day to get a

good job.

125 JEFF: Good luck. I --

126 BARB: Oh my God! What the hell is this? Why are you

wearing your pants on under the costume!? Huh?

Why?

127 JEFF: I -- um, well, I... it a... it-it-it's...

128 JEFF: (Over himself stammering) I couldn't stand there

in front of her and the Mexican extras and say

I was afraid my clothes would get stolen. I

didn't want to hurt the feelings of the

Mexicans.

129 I also felt Barbara might have a certain pride

in the security of her costume trailer. So I

stood silently, dying inside as she kneeled

down and began to fix my costume, tucking-in

the dark blue pants so only the gray ones

remained. I felt like a child being scolded by

his mother before Uncle Richard's funeral --

Richard from the Gere side of the family.

130 BARB: Why did you have to where them underneath? Are

you afraid my clothes are dirty?! They're

clean you know!

131 JEFF: (Timidly) I know.

132 BARB: Get your tie done.

133 JEFF: I can't tie a necktie if it's not a clip-on.

134 BARB: Oh! Go have a MAN do it!

135 MILTON: I'll tie it for you, Jeff.

136 JEFF: (Depressed, embarrassed) Thank you, Milton.

137 MELVIN: We're going to shoot, now. Please, Fernando,

have them take their places!

138 JOHN: (Filtered via walkie-talkie) Melvin, what's

taking so long with those extras, we have an

actual funeral about ready to arrive.

139 MELVIN: They're on their way now, John.

140 FERNANDO: OK, todos ustedes vengan por acá. Jeff, you

will need to stand below the hill with

everyone, and look up to where they're

shooting. Don't move. Just look sad.

141 MILTON: Oh Jeff, I miss the deceased so much; he owed

me a lot of money.

142 JEFF AND MILTON LAUGH.

143 FERNANDO: Jeff. I've told the first Assistant director

you want to direct movies one day. I'll take

you up to meet him. His name is Simon.

144 JEFF: (To audience) Simon was quite different from

Melvin. If the production was a storm, then

Simon was the eye of that storm. He stood with

the camera crew up the hill of the ancient

cemetary. As Fernando led me up to him, Simon

seemed to be smiling down on all of us, like

God smiling upon Job, trusting everyone's

abilities to do their jobs right and knowing

that all would be OK in the end. Simon gave me

a little pep talk, then told me to not wear my

camera during shooting. (Giggles nervously.)

145 He said it would not be... would not be...

something; he used a French word I didn't

know, but the idea was that it wouldn't be

very polite, very appropriate. So, Fernando

kept it in his glove compartment. Fernando had

a nice sports car, and an even nicer wife

tending it.

146 TRANSITIONAL MUSIC.

147 JEFF: Most of the day involved nothing more than

standing around in the hot sun, but I finally

got to see some filmmaking take place. I

looked up the hill to the terrace with the

British flag on the casket. Several featured

actors stood there as a Mexican actor gave an

elegy with fierceness in his voice. The poor

doctor, played by Richard Gere, was killed by

international terrorists. The elegy was a

wake-up call: How could anyone support

international terrorism, especially after that

speech? It sent shivers up my spine.

148 That speech reminds me of another discussion

Paul and I had had at the university:

149 PAUL: Ben Franklin wrote that life is an embryo

state, that we're not really born until we

die. He asked why we should grieve, then,

since death means a new baby has been born

among immortals.

150 JEFF: So, Paul, you're saying we shouldn't punish

terrorists or other killers?

151 PAUL: You shouldn't punish them if you truly believe

what Ben Franklin said.

152 JEFF: But that's ludicrous!

153 PAUL: Well I'm just pointing out the . . .

154 JEFF: (Overlapping) You're saying we should let

murderers continue to kill.

155 PAUL: I'm pointing out people's hypocrisy, Jeff.

156 JEFF: Forget about hypocrisy, think about the

damage terrorists do --

157 PAUL: Jeff, I'm talking about people who believe

life is a cocoon and that death means we've

become a butterfly. How can a murderer be

seen as evil by someone who believes the

murderer pushed a person into a butterfly

state?

158 JEFF: I don't see death that way.

159 PAUL: I'm just pointing out a common hypocrisy. The

people who support capital punishment usually

believe in life after death.

160 JEFF: So you want them to go free.

161 PAUL: (Frustrated) No! I'm just pointing out the

hypocrisy. I wanna know why these people see

murder as such a big deal

162 JEFF: Well it's a big deal to me.

163 PAUL: My point is not that death or murder are good,

but that people can't seem to integrate their

thoughts. They keep contradicting themselves.

164 JEFF: Ok, I gotchya. I agree totally.

165 JEFF: (To audience:) Back on the movie set, we

finally had our lunch break, during which I

walked to the top of the hill where the camera

crew had moved to. One young English guy wore

a U.S.S. John Kennedy deck cap. I asked how

he'd gotten it, and he said he had shot a

segment of "60 Minutes" aboard the American

ship. He seemed detached from the whole

experience, like he'd rather talk about

something else. Years later I Would find that

to be a common attitude among the typical film

professional. Finally, a guy wearing shorts

asked me,

166 JOHN: So, you want to direct films, do yah?

167 JEFF: (To John) Yeah, I do. Of course, I have no

illusions about it; I suppose I'll never get

the chance... You know, the real world and all.

168 (To the audience) At the time I thought that

man might have been the Director of

Photography, but after years of thinking about

it, I'm certain it was John Mackenzie, the

director. Since I was never very close to any

of the shooting, I never got to see who was

saying "Action!"

169 Later, as we were preparing to shoot a

different scene, Barbara went around to check

the costumes. She came up to me and I

stiffened nervously. She straightened my

collar a little, then leaned over close to me

and whispered in my ear:

170 BARB: I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier.

171 JEFF: (To Barbara) That's OK. I understand things

were pretty hectic.

172 (To the audience) For the rest of the day,

whenever she looked at me, she smiled. It was

the warm kind of smile that seemed to say

"Thank you" as much as it said, "I'm sorry."

173 TRANSITIONAL MUSIC.

174 JEFF: I saw this tall man with big sunglasses and

curly hair. He was kicking the sand and

twirling this cain around in his hands. Well

anyone with a cain must be Michael Caine, so I

mosied over to him, trying to make it look

accidental. He had been standing all alone,

probably as uncomfortable in the hot sun as I

was. When I got close to him, I said, "It must

be hard work to be an actor." He replied,

"Yes, it's also a lot of waiting around." Then

he walked away from me.

175 JEFF GIGGLES.

176 JEFF: Well, I wasn't angry, and I wasn't too hurt;

I've become too good at rationalization to be

hurt that easily. And I've rationalized about

it for years. For instance, perhaps he's shy.

Perhaps he's been bothered by strangers so

often, many of them obnoxious, that he just

doesn't want to deal with it anymore.

177 Another explanation escaped me, though. Years

later, Mr. Caine was a guest on Larry King

Live. Larry said, "I suppose it's a lot of

waiting around between takes." Michael began

to answer "Yes, it --" Then he stopped

himself. "Actually," he said, "I'm working

very hard -- trying to decide what I'm going

to do in the next take."

178 That was funny because it felt almost as if

he'd remembered his encounter with me -- or

with someone whose face he couldn't quite

remember -- and was trying to explain why he

walked away in such an apparently rude manner.

(Pause) Remember I said I had "rationalized"

about why Michael Caine had walked away from

me? Well, that reminds me of another chat Paul

and I had. We were both Psychology students,

and were often given to discuss that subject:

179 PAUL: A hundred years ago, Jeff, they used to beat

up mental patients. Then counselors started

putting people on guilt trips for normal

reactions to pain like rationalization. Now

they use statistics as a weapon. They say

things like, "90% of people from families like

yours are like this and that, and since you're

telling me something different, you must be a

liar."

180 JEFF: So what I hear you saying, Paul, is that the

history of counseling is a history of

replacing one barbarism with another.

181 PAUL: Sort of. Only I'm trying to decide how much of

it is barbarism and how much is laziness. I

suppose counselors find it easier to read

statistics than to really get to know their

clients. So, it's just copping out at best --

182 JEFF: And barbarism at worst.

183 PAUL: But it has to change, and that's my goal for a

psychology career. What's you goal, Jeff?

184 JEFF: Just to earn money while I try to become a

writer and filmmaker.

185 JOHN: (Filtered) Fernando! Get that American in the

gray suit. Make him stand with the chauffeurs

by the end limousine. When Michael walks by, I

don't want them to look at him; they're too

busy talking. In fact, they're telling jokes.

(Sudden inspiration) Fernando -- they're

telling dirty jokes about dead people!

186 JEFF: So I took my place, started telling dirty

jokes in Spanish, and waited for the word

"Action!"

187 I still waited . . . . I heard nothing.

188 Someone walked by, so I swung my head around

to see who it was. Michael Caine limped by

with his cane, fully in character. He got in

his jeep, drove 100 feet, got out, walked back

to his starting place, twirling his cane like

a baton while some guy backed the jeep up to

its starting place. This happened about four

times. Each time, I looked. I had the horribly

sick feeling that I had killed the entire

funeral scene.

189 After the shooting, Fernando and I ate dinner

at the hotel. We B.S.'d and hammed it up,

pretending to be English. He told me that he

and his wife are in the restaurant scene in

"Under Fire." Gene Hackman is in there,

Fernando comes in with his actual wife, and later,

he's escorted out just before a bomb goes off.

He gets a close up when they escort him out.

When I finally got to see "Under Fire," it was

really funny because he looked different: he

was a business man in this bright white suit.

190 Anyway, on my way back to Puebla, I wondered

what my classmate, Paul, at the university,

would say about my ruining the cemetery scene

of this multi-million dollar movie. It was

good to have friends, and a friend would be

supportive. But I began to fear that my search

for buenas nuevas, or good news, might be

undermined if I told Paul the bad stuff --

until I realized that the day was fun never

the less: I got to be in a major motion

picture, after all.

191 JEFF: The next morning, I ate my breakfast in the

school cafeteria, determined not to brag.

Still, I was so excited about my adventure,

that I couldn't quite compose myself.

192 When I noticed the other students not smiling

as I told about the movie, I felt ashamed of

myself. Perhaps I WAS only bragging.

193 When I sat in the classroom, I pulled out my

books and looked out the open door into the

courtyard. Puebla gets much colder than

tropical Veracruz this time of the year.

194 In December, the leaves even change color and

fall off the trees. Mexican workers rake them

up. Spring arrives days later, with beautiful

young blades of green, tender and fragile,

peeking through from buds. On the two

volcanos, the snow is bright and thick, though

it always seemed to melt by mid-afternoon.

195 I looked at another student, who looked at me,

not smiling. I wondered where Paul was; I was

so anxious to tell him about the movie.

196 JEFF: (To student) Where's Paul?

197 STUDENT: Jeff, Paul is dead.

198 SILENCE, FOLLOWED BY TRANSITIONAL MUSIC.

199 JEFF: Class was put aside as everyone shared

information about the events: Paul and his

girlfriend had been swimming on the tropical

island, Isla Mujer. Paul had been caught by an

undertow. His body hadn't yet been found, and

wouldn't be for another two days. I remembered

the film set, of the fun I'd had, and how

unimportant my mistakes that day now seemed;

they had, after all, caused no one to die.

200 Three days later, The American students sat in

a Catholic church in Cholula, listening to the

priest. I understood only very little of what

was said, but I seem to remember every word as

though it had been spoken in English. Somehow,

being there with the others, and with the

local community, made the world a little

smaller, a little closer.

201 TRANSITION MUSIC.

202 JEFF: When I finally saw "The Honorary Consul,"

which had been re-titled "Beyond the Limit," I

was disappointed to discover that the funeral

scene had indeed been cut. But it seemed

obvious that it was done to change the slant

of the movie from being a political thriller

to being a sex-thriller.

203 More importantly, I realized that I had BEEN

there, and that it had been a very fun

experience in which I got to laugh and meet

wonderful people. If I had screwed up on the

set, it was really insignificant after Paul's

death. I learned that the most important thing

is life itself, and thanks to Paul, I learned

to find the good news -- las buenas nuevas,

which often times is simply life itself.

204 JEFF: (To man on phone:) And that's my story about

"Beyond the Limit." So, do I get to be an

extra in "Autumn Death"?

205 MAN: (Filtered over phone) Actually, I'm looking for someone who does

less talking.

206 JEFF: Uh... Well, uh-uh... I-I-I -- If I -- If...

ah-h-h, ah-h-h...

207 MAN: (Filtered) That's better. You get the part.

THE END

208 ANNOUNCER: This radio drama is dedicated to Mike

LaPoint, who was a kind and gentle friend.