Leaked script to Gritty crime miniseries
Hi everyone, apparently they have already begun making a crime miniseries about Gritty punching that kid? This script just leaked, from the official production… offices. I just wanted to give you the news about it. i didn't write it. Looks pretty fucked up! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I guess you don’t read the news. Anyways, hope everyone has a really good day.
Love,
Audrey
INT. POLICE STATION BULLPEN- LATE AFTERNOON
It is late afternoon, at the police station. One cop is reading an actual newspaper and the headline says GRITTY PUNCHES CHILD, next to a FUCKING GOOFYASS PHOTO OF GRITTY. Another cop is reading ANOTHER newspaper, with a similar headline: GRITTY PUNCHES 13 YEAR OLD BOY, INVESTIGATION PENDING. Another cop is reading another newspaper with a headline that reads "CAN MASCOTS BE VILLAINS?" We hear a narration, as we pan into the CHIEF'S OFFICE.
DETECTIVE (VO)
He was the town’s hero. A mascot like no one had ever seen before. But it didn’t take long for this hero to fall.
INT. CHIEF'S OFFICE
A police chief sits in a dark police room. The detective is pacing.
CHIEF
Sit down, detective.
DETECTIVE
I will NOT sit down.
CHIEF
I said SIT DOWN, detective.
DETECTIVE
I WON'T.
CHIEF
I said SIT DOWN. DETECTIVE!
He sits.
DETECTIVE
Fine. I'm sitting.
(a pause)
There's gotta be an explanation.
CHIEF
He overreacted. You can't argue with that.
DETECTIVE
Maybe it was self defense.
2.
CHIEF
What "self defense"??? The kid PATTED his head.
DETECTIVE
You don’t know how hard of a pat it was. Have you seen the child’s hands?
CHIEF
I-
DETECTIVE
Are the child’s hands strong???
CHIEF
He RAN AFTER THE child. And punched him!
DETECTIVE
Did anyone check Gritty's head? To see if there was a concussion? Maybe he had a head injury.
CHIEF
From what, the kid patting him on his damn head?
DETECTIVE
YES OF COURSE THAT’S WHAT I MEAN.
CHIEF
No, no one checked his head--
DETECTIVE
WELL THEN WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING HERE.
CHIEF
We’re trying to keep the law going good, detective. And the law protects children from being PUNCHED by large orange monsters--
DETECTIVE
He is NOT a monster!
CHIEF
He IS a monster. He was CREATED to BE a monster--
DETECTIVE
He wouldn't do something so violent!
3.
CHIEF
Last week he smacked a trash can on his own ass for 8 minutes. What if his ass had been a child???
DETECTIVE
BUT IT WASN'T!
CHIEF
BUT THEN HE PUNCHED A CHILD.
DETECTIVE
We don't know that!
CHIEF
Why are you so keen on defending this guy, anyways?
DETECTIVE
He's my FRIEND.
The chief takes off his glasses like a manager and sighs.
CHIEF
Get out of my office, detective. You're off the case.
CUT TO:
INT. POLICE STATION BULLPEN- WHERE THE COPS WITH NEWSPAPERS ARE
The detective marches out of the chief's office. He punches every newspaper being read about Gritty and the cops all go "hey geez".
EXT. POLICE STATION BUT OUTSIDE NOW
Fuming, the detective leaves the police station carrying a box of his things. SARAH, a beautiful police woman follows him outside.
OFFICER SARAH
Detective!
DETECTIVE
Hm?
OFFICER SARAH
You forgot something
4.
He smiles. She pulls HIS WHOLE DESK out of the police station. He walks up to her.
OFFICER SARAH
Gonna need this.
DETECTIVE
Can't believe I almost forgot it.
OFFICER SARAH
I'm sorry that happened. What are you going to do?
DETECTIVE
I’m going to find out the truth. and tell the world.
OFFICER SARAH
But you're not on the case, as a cop!
He lights a cigarette, takes a drag, and puts it out.
DETECTIVE
Then I'll find out the truth and tell the world as a regular guy.
OFFICER SARAH
Be careful.
DETECTIVE
He's not a monster, Sarah.
He turns and walks away holding his box of things and dragging his whole desk away from the police station. OFFICER BILL is there now.
OFFICER BILL
Did he just get fired?
OFFICER SARAH
No, just thrown off the Gritty case.
OFFICER BILL
Then why's he got all his stuff?
OFFICER SARAH
Oh he just takes his stuff home with him every night.
They watch him drag the desk into the early evening.
5.
INT. DETECTIVE'S BASEMENT AT HIS HOME - LATER
The detective paces around in the basement, which is his special office for when he is a renegade. Photos of HIM AND GRITTY hanging out are in photo frames on the walls. He studies a BULLETIN BOARD, with PINNED PHOTOS of GRITTY'S HAND, drawings of other hands, the word "PUNCH" just is on a piece of paper. His stares at a photo of GRITTY'S HAND.
DETECTIVE
Could this hand... punch?
He calls Gritty, we see on his phone that he has tried many times. Goes to voicemail. It's on speaker so we hear the outgoing message, which is just Gritty SCREAMING "AAAAAAH". He hangs up, sits down, puts his head in his hands. His phone beeps- a text.
GRITTY (TEXT)
If you want to find me, you know where to go.
The detective springs out of his seat, grabs his coat, and rushes out the door.
EXT. A CLOSED MALL - NIGHT
The detective pulls up to a mall that has been closed for a long time because it's like 11 fucking pm. He walks up to the locked entrance, looks around to make sure no one is watching, and pulls a LADDER out of the nearby flower planter, PUTS IT UP AGAINST THE WALL, and climbs it, then presses his hands upon the wall which moves to reveal a secret passage way. He flops into it and falls into the mall--a Bath and Body Works, to be exact.
INT. BATH AND BODY WORKS - NIGHT, STILL
The detective looks around the B&BW. The look on his face says "I have done this before and this is not strange to me." He scans the room. He is not alone.
DETECTIVE
I thought you were going to stop coming here.
GRITTY
I come here when I need to think.
GRITTY is revealed to be SITTING ON TOP OF A LARGE SOAP CABINET, practically smushed against the ceiling, just perched up there like a fucked up eagle. The detective sighs.
6.
DETECTIVE
It's not safe.
GRITTY
The soaps soothe me.
DETECTIVE
They're tracking you, you know.
GRITTY
I wanted to see the Christmas lotions before they were put away for Spring!!!!!
DETECTIVE
I didn't come here to talk to you about lotion. I want to help you.
GRITTY
What if I don't want to be helped.
DETECTIVE
What're you talking about?
GRITTY
It's too late for me now, detective.
DETECTIVE
Gritty. No. We can clear this up. I know you're innocent!
GRITTY
And what makes you so sure of that?
The detective scoffs, in disbelief.
DETECTIVE
You didn't actually punch that kid, did you?
GRITTY
Imagine being pat on the head.
DETECTIVE
Gritty. No...
GRITTY
Imagine a child patting you on the head like you were his little cat.
DETECTIVE
Then it was self defense right? The boy hurt you?
7.
Gritty LEAPS down from the cabinet, growling.
GRITTY
(angrily)
THE BOY FREED ME.
DETECTIVE
FREED you? From what?!
Gritty puts his hands behind his back and examines the lotions on the shelves cooly.
GRITTY
For over a year, I have endured the fame of being the big joke guy. Everyone couldn't get enough of me! I was the big sauce--the big laugh maker. I loved it. Marveled in it.
The detective is cautious.
GRITTY
At first, it was the perfect life. The sports men at the games were my friends and we did pranks and I smacked my ass on the trash cans and everyone laughed. They put me on the internet. I was the big hollywood, as they say.
Gritty paces by the soaps.
GRITTY
But when they started having me do special photo ops for kids, marketing me to children, I became less relevant. I became a simple clown.
DETECTIVE
That's not true--
GRITTY
(angrily)
THE CHILDREN BEGAN JOINING IN ON THE FUN thinking THEY could say jokes at ME.
He picks up a soap.
GRITTY
And what can I say?
He crushes the soap with his hand.
8.
GRITTY
I snapped.
The detective walks up to him like he wants to save him.
DETECTIVE
We can get you cleared of this. No cameras got it. There's no evidence.
GRITTY
Not this time.
The detective's eyes widen.
DETECTIVE
Gritty. You're not thinking about... punching again, are you?
GRITTY
It's all I've been thinking about, detective. It's all I've been thinking about for a long time.
DETECTIVE
Gritty, no, don't do this. You're a good guy.
GRITTY
DON'T TELL ME WHAT I AM, DETECTIVE. I'm through with being this town's sports clown! It's time for me to take my rightful place in this world. I'm going to punch and I will not stop punching until every last thing on this planet has been punched--
DETECTIVE
And then what, Gritty, huh? Hm? Then what? You're gonna punch everybody on the planet and then what?
Gritty grins a villainous smile which is actually just his regular face because his face is always the same.
GRITTY
I don't know, detective! That's the best part!
He laughs like a maniac and it is REALLY high pitched for some reason. It's like squeaking. Super disconcerting.
9.
The detective touches his arm.
DETECTIVE
Gritty, you're not a villain.
Gritty PUSHES the detective's hand away.
GRITTY
Stay back! Or I'll punch ya!
DETECTIVE
Gritty, no! We're friends!
GRITTY
I don't have any friends anymore, detective.
DETECTIVE
I was the pastor at your wedding!
GRITTY
My wife left me, she was just in here before you were, we had an identical conversation to this! My wife just signed up to be a cop so she could arrest me herself!
Sirens outside.
GRITTY
Were you followed?!
DETECTIVE
I told you that they were tracking you!
GRITTY
Fine. Then I'll go out there and fulfill my destiny. Not one person will go unpunched.
DETECTIVE
You know I can't let you do that.
GRITTY
Good night, Detective.
DETECTIVE
Gritty, no!
Gritty raises his hand and PUNCHES the detective in the leg.
DETECTIVE
Ow!
10.
GRITTY
One down, whole bunch more to go
DETECTIVE
My little leg!
Gritty leaps out of the Bath and Body Works and out through the little passage way, where he gets stuck at first but then flops out. The cops are like "there he is!" and then you hear a bunch of "ow"s and "hey geez"'s and "he punched me!"s. The detective rubs his little punched leg. The CHIEF and some other cops rush in.
CHIEF
Jesus, detective, are you all right?
DETECTIVE
I'm fine. Just a little punched.
CHIEF
Yeah, me too.
DETECTIVE
I was wrong.
The chief puts his hand on the detective's shoulder like a friend.
CHIEF
Hey. You were just looking out for your friend. I get it.
DETECTIVE
He's going to punch everyone, sir.
The chief looks off into the distance.
CHIEF
Not if we have anything to do with it. I want you leading the case. This isn't over.
The detective looks out into the distance, as well.
DETECTIVE
No. No, it's certainly not.
Pearl Jam's "ALIVE" begins playing as the men look out into the distance. They both know in their hearts that this will be the case that kills them.
FADE TO BLACK. OR IS IT