Opening Scene

Matthew’s Datsun jumps Pepsi Hill in the late evening, then driving along the lakefront on Kennedy Drive, drag racing?

Alternate Opening Scene – Matthew and major character #1 on the lighthouse pier watching cargo being loaded and unloaded from a ship to the AMC plant, then driving along the lakefront on Kennedy Drive

Opening Credits over Gary Numan or John Foxx music while Matthew drives around Kenosha, use 1980s futurist or AMC-inspired titles (and if this movie gets picked up by Viacom, the parent company of CBS)

Cue opening credits when Matthew drives under the AMC overpass on 52nd Avenue

Opening dialog between Matthew and major character #1 about working at AMC, Matthew’s Datsun, Matthew’s new Telekon suit, new wave music

Frank's Diner

Frank's Diner is one of the more locally colorful places in Kenosha.

I am planning this to be a hang out or meet-up place for major character #1, his father, and his father's friend. Their major topic of conversation will be Frank Zappa. Major character #1 first thought that Frank's Diner was named after Frank Zappa. I might name major character #3's (the father's) friend Frank for a motif.

If major character #2 can't find major character #1 during the day, he's probably hanging out here. Major character #2 and #4 will take Masumi here. She is not impressed by the food but finds the ambiance interesting.

Major Character #1

Family

• Father is major character #3, who he looks up to for advice, especially in future employment
• Born in 1965
• Mother and siblings to be determined

Friends

• Best friends with major character #2, who is one year older than him
• Likes to play simple card games with major character #2 to pass the time
• Friends with his neighbor and classmate, major character #4
• Friends with his father's coworker, who is huge Frank Zappa fan

Hobbies and Interests

• Loves Frank Zappa, especially music from the mid-seventies onwards. He shares this interest with his father, who prefers the earlier years. They often have friendly arguments over which era of Zappa is best. Major characters #1 and #2 often play card games with jazzy Zappa music in the background.
• Likes Pink Floyd as this is an influence from his father, who only likes Syd Barrett-era Floyd. He actually prefers Pink Floyd after Syd Barrett and loves Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. He feels too intimidated to debate his father on this issue as his father is very sensitive about Syd Barrett. His father hates the song "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" whereas he likes it a lot.
• Is a fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus. His favorite movie of all time is Time Bandits. He believes Terry Gilliam will be the next greatest director like Spielberg.
• Unlike his father and his best friend, he doesn't have a car and is not a car enthusiast. He feels as if he should like cars, but is really indifferent to them.

Personality

• Because he hasn't put much time into self-reflection yet, he hasn't developed a strong sense of self. He just has a strong sense of cultural (movies and music) preferences.
• He is a bit shy and reclusive, but is a very loyal friend and son.
• He is a good friend because he's a great listener and finds his friends genuinely interesting.
• He's very interesting in learning more about people, but has a hard time approaching them.

Major Character #3

Family & Background

• Father of major character #1
• Born January 6, 1946, same day as his hero Syd Barrett
• Married at the early age of 18 (in 1964) to his high school sweetheart
• Other children to be determined
• Has a cat named Lucyfur Sam, named after the Pink Floyd song

Career

• Started officially working at American Motors in 1963 at the age of 17, although he helped out his father as "an apprentice" for 3 years before being officially hired by the company
• Because of this, he likes to tell people he's worked at AMC since Kennedy won the elections in 1960
• Likes to take credit for contributing to the design of the AMC Rambler Marlin, which he still drives. He often tells people he meets that he designed the car. To friends and relatives, he'll admit to contributing to the design. In reality, it was only a coincidence that the designer, Vincent Geraci, had similar ideas to him.
• He has a strong work ethic and a stronger loyalty to American Motors.

Hobbies

• Big fan of Syd Barrett as they share the same birthday. Only likes the Syd Barrett-era of Pink Floyd. Holds a grudge against Roger Waters. Likes to sing "Lucifer Sam" aloud to his cat.
• Also is a big fan early Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. He shares this interest with his son, major character #1, and one of his coworkers who owns every album that Zappa ever released, including bootlegs. The Man from Utopia was just released during this screenplay.
• Thinks 1967 was the best year in music history.
• A Green Bay Packers fan. Although he didn't attend the first Superbowl, he did go the famous Ice Bowl of 1966. It was also his son's first Packers game. He took him there as a baby, which his wife strongly protested. "He will thank me for it later!" he replied.
• Also a collector of psychedelic art.
• Although it appears he may experiment with drugs, his only drug of choice is alcohol.

Personality & Relationships

• He suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder - mainly about his contributions to American Motors
• He expects his son, major character #1, to go along with his ideas and plans of following in his footsteps to work at AMC
• Relationship with his wife is to be determined
• He believes his son's friends look up to him

Major Character #4 - Kimberley Kozak

Background and Family

• Intends to enroll at Ripon College, accepted in the winter, would like to major in physics
• Partially modeled after the character Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks
• From a working class family that lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Kenosha
• Father works at Kohl's (supermarket)
• Mother works in insurance
• Has a younger brother who is adopted from South Korea
• Her family hosts Masumi, an exchange student at Tremper, for one month

Relationship with Major Characters #1 and #2

• Has been neighbors with major character #1 since childhood
• Thinks major character #2 is too self-absorbed
• Thinks major character #1 has more potential than as an assembly line worker at AMC
• Thinks major character #2 is not realistic in his career dreams
• Always encourages major character #1 to find a better life
• Has no romantic interests in either characters

Motivation

• Wants to study science at Ripon College
• Postpones her social life at high school for one at college
• Has perhaps an unrealistic vision of life in college, such as being surrounded by deep-thinking open-minded scholars
• Wants to travel the world

Major Character #2 - Matthew Savaglio

Car Enthusiast

• Has no loyalty towards AMC cars.
• Drives a Datsun 280 ZX
• Wants to buy a 1984 Chevrolet Corvette
• Better at driving cars than repairing them (that's why he doesn't want to work at AMC)

New Wave Image

• Wears clothing similar to Gary Numan's Telekon suit
• Fan of British new wave synthpop artists like Gary Numan, John Foxx, and OMD
• Has dreams or fantasies about riding one of the lightcycles from the film TRON.
• Buys his first CD (Herbie Hancock's Future Shock) but doesn't have a CD player
  

Job/Hobby

• Works at The Spot drive-in as a temporary job
• Wanted to work at Andy's drive-in because they showcase vintage automobiles
• Longs for a career in driving
• Gets an opportunity to participate in a race at Wilmot Speedway in Kenosha County
• Also participates in demolition derbies
• Was disappointed by attending a monster truck rally in West Allis, WI

Relationships

• Best friends with major character #1, who is one year younger, they've been friends since Lincoln Junior High School
• Acquaintance of major character #4, thinks she is a meddler in #1's life, thinks #1 is wasting his time with her if they are not dating, thinks she is a little snobby
• I am still developing his relationships with others

Personality

• Somewhat reclusive
• Strong work ethic
• A little obsessive about his new wave image
• Nerdy sense of humor - jokes about Star Wars & Knight Rider
• Emotional personality still needs to be developed more so as not to become a two-dimensional comic book character

Name

• I just did a web search for the name and found that there is a real Matthew Valeo from Kenosha.
• It's not too surprising, but I'm open to changing the family name if legal issues arise.
  
• I'd like to keep an Italian surname because I believe there can't be a screenplay about Kenosha without an Italian-American in a major role.
• I think the surname is suitable because an automotive website comes up first when I google "Valeo."

Pleasant Prairie Power Plant

The billowing smoke from the Pleasant Prairie Power Plant can be seen from miles and miles around Kenosha. When flying from Madison to Chicago, I could see the smoke from Kenosha during the entire flight on a clear winter's day. The geography confirmed that it was from Pleasant Prairie. I'd like the polluting smoke to be like a minor character in the background of many outdoor scenes.

I'd like some kind of conflict or realization to take place on the railroad tracks to the power plant. Perhaps it is a challenge with a train. I'm not sure yet.

Character arcs

For #1
Act 1: The perfect world - loves Kenosha, looking forward to working at AMC
Act 2: Trials - AMC future looks uncertain, develops a crush on a Japanese exchange student
Act 3: Rebellion - yearns for a life outside of Kenosha

For #2
Act 1: The perfect world - loves Kenosha, has high hopes for a career in driving
Act 2: Invitation - gets his big break when invited to race at Wilmot Speedway
Act 3: Disappointment - does well at Wilmot, but nothing comes out of it, looking for the next big break

For #3
Act 1: The perfect world - loves Kenosha and his career at AMC, looking forward to promotion
Act 2: Small success - a promotion in title, but little in pay
Act 3: No change – works longer hours, sees less of family, denies that AMC's future is short

Minor Characters

Masumi, Japanese exchange student – only in Kenosha for a month, thinks major character #1 is nice but is not interested in him, thinks Kenosha is very boring, from the city of Kumagaya (compared to Kenosha in size by the US Department of Defense during WW2, plus I have spent plenty of time in both cities)

Tall guy - his height is overemphasized by his Sting-like spiked hair, peculiar character who only says "So," "No," and "I don't know."

Major character #2's friend - also a coworker at AMC, apparently the biggest fan of Frank Zappa in Kenosha, has all of his albums including bootlegs, likes to hang out at Frank's Diner, possibly named Frank for the motif

The Downtown Mall

The downtown still exists, but the outdoor mall no longer does. It was only there for a few decades, including the time of this screenplay. By the late 1980s, downtown Kenosha was as lively as this photograph. I remember it being slightly more lively in the early 1980s because JC Penney's and other retailers used to be there until Regency Mall made downtown Kenosha even more obsolete.

It's not too far from the more photogenic Library Park, but the downtown mall will better contribute to the mood and theme of the film. I'd like a few scenes to take place here.

Major Characters

#1 - a senior at Tremper, intends to work at AMC after graduating
#2 - friend of #1, graduated from Tremper the previous year, works at The Spot drive-in on 75th Street and 22nd Avenue
#3 - father of #1, narcissistic, assembly line worker at AMC for 23 years, looking forward to a promotion soon
#4 - classmate and neighbor of #1, already accepted to Ripon College, introduces #1 to Masumi, has most potential for success among the major characters