This script is not really for a jungle movie, as the title implies. It is really a movie about how to make movies with quicksand scenes. Or, perhaps more precisely, a movie about a group of quicksand movie producers figuring out how to do a quicksand scene right. The author has, in fact, never made a quicksand movie, but has experimented with all of the techniques described in the script. This script really ought to be produced.

One more note: The main character in this script is called Christine. It was written, however, before there was a Kristine in the business of making films of this genre, at least so far as I am aware. Thus, the script was not written with Kristine in mind as a producer or performer. But that would not be a bad idea!
 

Scenes 1 through 4 have background music with a fast, heart beat-like beat and a discordant sound.

Scene 1

A small jungle clearing.

Three mean-looking and filthy pirates run into view, stop, and look in various directions as if looking for someone.

Pirate #1: "Where the hell did she go?"

Pirate #2: (pointing to a line of footprints) "Here. This way."

The pirates begin to run again and go off camera.

Cut to

Scene 2

(Another clearing. This one has two paths crossing at right angles.)

A woman in a dirty and slightly torn dress runs into the clearing on one path. She stops at the intersection. She looks back, then left, then right. Then she starts to run again, straight ahead.

Cut to

Scene 3

The same clearing, but the camera is located on the original path.

The woman runs down the path, away from the camera. The shot clearly shows she is running toward a river, which is still a hundred yards away or so.

Cut to

Scene 4

The three pirates run into the intersection. They stop and start looking around hurriedly.

Pirate #3: "Which way now?"

Pirate #2: "I don’t see any signs."

Pirate #1: (Pointing down the path to the right) "Stumpy, you go that way" (Turning to the other pirate and making a slight move toward the left path) "Mondo, come this way with me."

Pirate #2 (Mondo, pointing down the path straight ahead) "What about that way?"

Pirate #1: "There’s nothing that way but quicksand. Go that way and you won't be coming back."

The pirates run down the trails to the right and left.

Fade slowly to black.

Scenes 5 through 6 have background music with a heart-beat-like rhythm that gets louder as events proceed. However, the music is not so loud as to overwhelm the dialogue.

Cut in to

Scene 5

The woman is almost waist deep in a pit of peat. Her face shows horror and surprise (the surprise suggesting she has just plunged in moments before). She tries to remain still but slowly sinks deeper and deeper. She holds he arms above the surface. Occasionally she tries to lunge one way or another but cannot move much. She also starts to scream several times but manages to stifle the scream. She does speak to herself.

"Oh, my God, what a choice. I can scream and then get tortured to death or keep silent and drown in quicksand."

Other dialogue is ad-libbed.

Cut to

Scene 6

A slightly closer view of the woman, now up to her shoulders. As the mud covers her shoulders she is overwhelmed by the horror of her immanent submergence. She can no longer suppress the need to scream.

"Help! Help me! Somebody! Somebody help me! Oh! Oh! Oh please! Please somebody! Help me! Help me! Help!"

The camera zooms in slowly as the mud reaches her neck.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! No! No! Oh! Ooooooh! Noooooo!"

As the mud reaches her chin she slowly tilts her head back. She remains for a few seconds with just her mouth, nose, and eyes above the surface and then quickly disappears below the surface. A few bubbles come to the surface a few seconds later.

Voice of the actress (Christine) playing the scene off screen: "Stop. Stop" (There is a strong note of frustration in the voice)

Cut sharply to

Scene 7

The camera zooms away from a TV screen that still shows the just-finished jungle scene, revealing that we have been watching a movie within a movie.

Cut to

Scene 8

A smallish, partially darkened room. There is a conference table with three chairs, occupied by Christine, Mark, and Ann. Christine is the actress who played the woman in the scene they have just seen, and is also the assistant director. Mark is the writer, and Ann is the director. There is a large screen television on one end of the conference table.

Ann: "Mark, can you get the lights."

Mark:"Sure" (He moves to the switch and the lights come up)

Ann: "Its terrible, isn’t it."

Mark: "Its all right. Its as good as the other we’ve done."

Ann: "That’s not saying much."

Christine: "What’s wrong with it."

Ann: "It’s about as believable as our winning an Academy Award. The quicksand looks like water and you’re not struggling. When you go under you look like you’re dunking yourself."

Christine: "That’s because I am dunking myself. I can’t struggle or thrash around with my arms cause I need them to pull myself under."

Mark: "All our films have been like that."

Ann: "Yeh, I know. Christine I know its not you’re fault, I’ve done quicksand scenes myself. I understand the problem but its still a problem…. Mark, we’ve got a good script here but this scene is critical. We’ve got to figure out how to do it right."

Christine: "Well let’s work on it then. I’m perfectly willing to do the scene over."

Mark: "Ann, you’re definitely right about the quicksand being too watery. Why don’t we see if we can solve that problem first."

Ann: "Okay, Mark, why don’t you get on the Internet. Look up things like mud, slurry, ooze, gels, or other words for viscous liquids. Lets find out all the different ways we might make a quicksand pit. Christine, why don’t you and I take a look at all the quicksand scenes we have in the files. We can try to pick out the best ones and then see what they have in common.

Mark: "Okay. Will do."

Christine: "Let’s get started."

Fade slowly to black.

Scene 9

Text title "One week later"

Display title on black screen for two seconds, ten continue for two seconds more after fade in to scene 10.

Fade in to:

Scene 10

In the conference room. Set up as before but without the television.

Christine: "Ann, what have you got?"

Ann: "Well I can find very little for sure about what’s been used by Hollywood, but most of the early films seem to use various combinations of peat moss, leaves, sawdust, or grass clippings in water. When you look at the clips though they’re all kinda watery. A few look like they played around with oil or maybe a polarized lens. Still watery. Its not too bad in black and water and it looks great in stills but its terrible in color."

Christine: "How about more recent stuff?"

Ann: "One or two looked like they might have used little pieces of cork floating on water. Not bad at all if they used enough of it, enough to make a layer about a foot deep on top of the water, but you can see the water underneath when they don’t use enough."

Christine: "Pretty expensive stuff."

Ann: "There were also several films that used what looks like clay of some sort. Its really thick and sticky-looking. Scary stuff, but they seem to have trouble going under I think. Too buoyant maybe. Also, the color seems unlikely in a lot of cases."

Christine: "What do you recommend?"

Mark: "I think we ought to try clay. Its cheap and definitely looks better than the peat moss we used in your scene (gesturing toward Ann) last week. Then maybe we might try mixing the clay with cork or styrofoam or something to give it texture and make it less dense. The trick is going to be reducing the density enough to do a believable submergence without reducing the thickness too much."

Christine: "Okay, let’s do that."

Ann: "There’s something else."

Christine: "Go ahead."

Ann: "I think we need to make the pit deeper."

Christine: "Why?"

Ann: "In the pit we have, I have to crouch a little just to get down to my shoulders. That makes me lean forward just a bit. You can see what I’m doing if you look closely at the clips. Then that position makes it even harder for me to submerge. I just can’t get under if I try to do it slowly. If we made it deeper so I can be still standing straight with the mud at my chin, then I could bend my knees to submerge. It should be a lot easier."

Mark: "Sounds like a good idea. Maybe you could tread with your legs a little to make it look like you’re struggling to stay afloat."

Ann: "I think so, at least if the mud we use doesn’t get thicker with depth."

Mark: "Good point. I found that if we use natural clay soil it will probably have a lot of sand in it that will tend to settle out with time and make it thicker with depth. But if we use pure clay that shouldn’t happen. There’s a kind of clay used in drilling water wells that should work very well and its quite cheap too."

Christine: "How deep should it be?"

Ann: "I think it should be wider too. I’d say we need something like five feet deep and ten across. Then, at the spot you want me to go under we should cut a small hole another foot deep. That way it really will be over my head but I can step on the shelf and stand up whenever I want."

Christine: "Okay, make it so."

Mark and Ann together: "Yes, captain."

Fade to black

Scene 11

The scene is at the newly constructed mud pit. The peat has been taken away and replaced with drilling mud (sodium bentonite clay) which is brownish green in color. Strings have been strung between trees and wooden stakes so as to make a cross-hairs over the deepest part. The level of the mud is even with the surrounding ground. Several video cameras on tripods are in the foreground, making it clear that this is a movie set. There are also several tables and chairs, a water hose, and various other props.

Mark: "Go ahead. Camera’s rollin."

Ann steps carefully into the mud pit, sinking to her waist. She holds a stationary position for a few seconds, arms held high, then moves her feet up and down, causing herself to rapidly sink to her chest.

Christine: "Looks good so far. Not watery at all."

Ann continues to move her feet and twist around but is not able to sink much deeper than the arm pits.

Ann: "I’m floating."

Christine: "Okay, put your arms in."

Ann puts her arms down into the mud.

Christine: "Can you get down any deeper."

Ann: "I think I can get down to my neck or so, but that’s probably about it."

Mark: "Try it. Do the scene from the jungle movie."

Ann lifts slightly with her arms to slowly pull herself down.

Ann: "Help! Help me! Somebody! Somebody help me! Help me! Please! Help! Help!"

She is able to pull herself down to about her chin.

Ann: "That’s it. To go any deeper I’ll have to do it quickly. I just can’t do a slow sink any deeper than this."

Christine: "Let’s try a few tests anyway. Just do it as slowly and steadily as you can."

Ann: "Okay" (she concentrates for a few seconds and then starts) "Help me! Help me! Help! Help! Eeeeiiii" (she submerges, stays under for several seconds, then pops back up.)

Christine: "You’re right. Its too fast and jerky. You can clearly tell you’re pulling yourself under."

Ann: "If I had something to hold on to I could do it better."

Christine: "Maybe we could build a frame or something."

Mark: "I have an idea." (He picks up two pieces of wood, each about 4 by 6 inches, that are on the ground). "When I was on the swimming team in high school we used to use hand paddles to work on arm strength. You could pull a lot harder using them." (He offers the pieces of wood to Ann.) "Here, hold one of these in each hand. Use it to make your hand bigger when you pull up on the mud."

Ann: "Hmmm. Might work." (She pulls the paddles down to her sides, then works her way as deep as she can get without using the paddles). "Okay, I’m ready."

Mark: (pushes the record button on the prop camera). "Rollin."

Ann: (repeats her submergence, but this time it is slower and smoother) "Help! Help me! Help! Help! Eeeeiii!" (again she goes under, remains a few seconds, and pops back up.) "Better?"

Christine: "Much better!"

Ann: "Really?"

Christine: "The mud looks much more real and dangerous. Not watery at all. Looking really close, though I think you can still tell you’re pulling yourself down."

Mark: "Christine, I think the only way we’re going to avoid that is for Ann to struggle with her arms."

Ann: "I can’t do that. I need my arms to pull myself down. I’m just too buoyant in here."

Mark: "I know. We need to cut the density of that stuff."

Christine: "How?"

Mark: "Let’s try adding something to really reduce the density. If we can find something light, like styrofoam or cork, but that has enough surface friction to not float up to the surface too fast, we should be able to reduce the density down to close to water, at least in the upper two feet or so."

Fade to black.

Scene 12

Fade in to:

Text screen "A few days later" – display for two seconds over black background. The continue for two more seconds over following scene.

Scene 13

Fade in to

The same scene, location, and cast as scene 11.

Mark: "I’ve added two hundred cubic feet of styrofoam peanuts, chopped up into pieces about the size of pencil erasers. We’ve got the average density down to about 1.2 in the top three feet or so." (He picks up a two by four and uses it to probe the pit).

Cut to

Scene 14

Close up of the two by four probing the mud.

Mark: "As you can see, it still looks thick"

Cut to

Scene 15

Back to previous scene

Christine: "And a bit lumpy too. Some of our regular customers have said they like that."

Ann: "If the density is 1.2 though, I still won’t be able to sink without pulling myself down."

Mark: "You won’t be able to sink for real, no. But I think you should be able to push yourself under instead of pulling."

Ann: "What do you mean?"

Mark: "You should be able to get down to your chin pretty easily now. If you still can’t submerge by bending your knees you can sort of claw with your arms (he demonstrates) like you are trying to grasp at anything for support. By just pushing away a little harder than you pull in you ought to be able to push your head under. Then you can pull your arms under slowly."

Christine: "It ought to be a huge improvement if you can do it."

Ann: "Okay, start up the camera, let’s try it."

Cut to.

Scene 16

Switch to view from the camera just turned on in scene 15, set initially at a wide angle and then zooming in at the action begins.

Christine: "Rolling"

Ann steps in very gently and sinks rapidly all the way to her chest. She moves her legs up and down once or twice and sinks just past her shoulders before stopping.

Mark: "Oh my! Very effective!"

Christine: "Now, that’s scary to watch."

Ann: "A bit scary to do too!"

Christine: "Are you all right?"

Ann: "Oh yeah, I’m floating now. Anyway, I can always stand up on the bottom." (She stands up a few inches to demonstrate.)

Christine: "If you stand with your legs straight in the deep spot we made can you get your feet all the way to the bottom?"

Ann maneuvers into position and uses her arms to push herself to her chin. Then she pulls her arms out and rests them on the surface.

Ann: I’m standing straight. My feet aren’t quite on the bottom, it gets a bit thicker down there, but they’re close."

Christine: "Great! Now, see if you can go all the way under just by bending your knees. Keep your arms up in the air."

Ann: "Okay." (She then slowly submerges, tilting her head backward in the process. Her head goes under but part of her arms remain above the surface. She stays under for a few seconds, then stands back up. She wipes the mud from her eyes.) "What do you think?"

Mark: "Much better than anything we’ve done before. We could splice in a shot of you pulling your arms down. It ought to be a really strong scene, especially if you scream for help at the same time."

Ann: "But I’m still not struggling with my arms when I submerge. If we want to really scare viewers with this scene I’ve got to act like I’m really about to drown."

Mark: "You can do what you did before. Reach and grasp like you are struggling but actually push yourself under."

Ann: "It just doesn’t look right when I do that."

Christine: "You got any ideas?"

Ann: "Suppose I wear a weight? You know, the kind of weight belt divers use. If I had just enough weight to be negatively buoyant I could just lift my feet off the bottom and go under. With a little more I might struggle for real with my arms and still go under."

Mark: "Sounds a bit dangerous."

Ann: "Not really, I can still just stand up any time I want to…. Its easy to move my feet under here."

Christine: "It’s worth a try."

Fade to black.

Scene 17

After black screen for two seconds, fade in to

Mark, Christine, and Ann walk toward the mud pit. Mark carries a diver’s weight belt with several lead weights attached. Christine walks around the pit to the camera as they arrive. Mark hands the belt to Ann as they arrive. She puts it on while Mark picks up a ten-foot pole for possible use to help Ann. Christine starts the camera.

Christine: "The camera is recording."

Ann lowers herself carefully into the mud pit. She sinks quickly to her waist, leaning forward on her arms for support. After a few seconds in this position she works her legs as if to run. This causes her to sink but she slows her descent by pushing down with her hands and arms. She sinks fairly quickly to her shoulders, then more slowly. She continues to use her arms to create some lift but gradually sinks lower and lower until neck deep. She briefly stops struggling but her sinking does not stop completely. As the mud creeps up around her chin she begins to ‘push down and recover’ with her arms, causing herself to bob up and down slightly from chin level to somewhat deeper. After several repetitions of this she is barely able to lift her mouth clear and sinks almost to her eyes between lunges. Then she begins to thrash about as she is no longer able to lift hr mouth clear. After a few seconds she goes under completely, although her arms continue to flail above the surface. After a few seconds, she pops back up, standing on the bottom.

Ann: "How was that?"

Christine: "Tomorrow we’ll shoot the jungle chase scene in costume. We’re not going to get it any better than that."

Fade slowly to black.

Scenes 18 through 23

These scenes are identical to scenes 1 through 6 except that scene 23 ends with the submergence and the submergence is done as in scene 17.