Thomas the Obscure

by Caveh Zahedi & Jason Atkinson

EXT. ROME. DAY: Establishing shots of Rome: The Coliseum. The Forum. The Castel St. Angelo. St. Peter’s. The Trevi Fountain.

INT. TAXI. DAY: John Peters, 33, and his wife, Anna, also 33, are in the back seat of a taxi traveling through Rome. A cross hangs from the rearview mirror. Anna takes John’s hand. He turns to look at her. They smile at each other.

EXT. ACADEMY GATE. DAY: The taxi pulls up in front of the American Academy in Rome. It is a magnificent gated villa with a fountain and an impressive courtyard. The taxi driver gets out and opens the trunk. John and Anna emerge. They gaze at the Academy.

JOHN: Can you believe we’re actually going to live here for the next twelve months?

ANNA: No. I’m pretty sure we’re going to wake up any minute in our crappy one-bedroom in San Francisco.

The taxi driver removes four suitcases from the trunk and deposits them on the sidewalk.

TAXI DRIVER: 33 Euros.

John takes out his wallet and pays the driver.

JOHN: Grazie. (Thanks.)

TAXI DRIVER: Grazie a lei. (Thank you.)

The taxi driver gets back in the cab and drives off. John presses the buzzer on the gate. The gate opens. They go through the gate. It shuts behind them.

EXT. ACADEMY COURTYARD. DAY: A gatekeeper is seated in a small booth. John approaches him.

JOHN: Hi, my name’s John Peters. I’m one of the new fellows.

GATEKEEPER: Yes, I know who you are.

The gatekeeper picks up a phone and dials a number.

GATEKEEPER (into the phone): John Peters has arrived.

The gatekeeper hangs up the phone.

GATEKEEPER (to John): Up the stairs and to the left.

John and Anna drag their suitcases past a fountain. As they do so, the
fountain suddenly turns on.

JOHN: Wow.

John and Anna stop to admire the fountain.

JOHN: How cool is that?

After a moment, John and Anna continue up the stairs to a second gate.
John presses a button on the second gate. The gate opens. They go through
the second gate. It shuts behind them.

EXT. INNER COURTYARD. DAY: John and Anna climb the stairs of
an inner courtyard filled with ancient ruins and statues. John notices a figure
with two heads.

JOHN: Who do you think that’s supposed to be?

ANNA: That’s Janus, the God of time. He has two heads because he can see the past and the future simultaneously.

JOHN: Really?

ANNA: Yeah, Ovid writes about him in The Metamorphoses.

JOHN: It’s so cool that you know this stuff.

INT. ACADEMY FRONT OFFICE. DAY: John and Anna enter the front office. Gianpaolo, a 33-year-old Italian man, is seated behind a desk. He stands up.

GIANPAOLO: You must be John.

JOHN: Yes. Hi.

Gianpaolo reaches out his hand.

GIANPAOLO: I’m Gianpaolo. Welcome to the Academy.

They shake hands.

JOHN: Thanks. This is Anna, my wife.

Anna reaches out her hand.

ANNA: Hi.

They shake hands.

GIANPAOLO: Welcome.

INT. STAIRWELL. DAY: Gianpaolo is walking up the stairs. John and Anna follow him, carrying suitcases. They pass Massimo, a cleaning person in an all-red uniform, mopping the stairs.

GIANPAOLO: Scusi. (Excuse me.)

MASSIMO: Prego. (No problem.)

He smiles at John and Anna. They smile back.

INT. MAIN HALLWAY. DAY: Gianpaolo is leading John and Anna down a hallway. He stops in front of a door.

GIANPAOLO: Your bedroom.

The names “John Peters and Anna Peters” are written on it. Gianpaolo takes
out a key and inserts it in the lock.

INT. JOHN AND ANNA’S BEDROOM. DAY: The door opens and John and Anna walk in, followed by Gianpaolo. They look around. Anna goes to the window. Anna’s POV of two people, Sophia and Phillip, having sex in the room across from theirs. She turns away.

ANNA (to John): You can see right into the other people’s rooms.

INT. HALLWAY. DAY: Gianpaolo stops in front of another door.

GIANPAOLO: Your studio.

Gianpaolo takes out a a key and inserts it in the lock.

INT. JOHN’S STUDIO. DAY: The door opens and John and Anna walk in, followed by Gianpaolo. The room is empty except for a desk with a mini-DV deck and a white Mac laptop.JOHN: Wow, an editing system. Anna goes to the window. We see Anna’s POV of the outer courtyard.

ANNA: Check out the view.

John approaches the window. He notices a scantily clad woman standing onthe sidewalk across from the Academy.

JOHN: Not bad.

INT. BAR. DAY: Gianpaolo is showing John and Anna the bar.

GIANPAOLO: This is the bar.

Gabriel, the bartender, is cleaning a glass.

GABRIEL: Buongiorno.

JOHN: Buongiorno.

ANNA: Buongiorno.

John notices a large number of painted portraits on the wall.

JOHN (to Gianpaolo): Who are all those people?

GIANPAOLO: Those are past fellows.

EXT. GARDEN. DAY: Gianpaolo is showing John and Anna the garden.

GIANPAOLO: This is the garden.

Jacopo, a gardener dressed in an all-green uniform, is digging a hole with a
shovel.

INT. CRYPTOPORTICUS. DAY: Gianpaolo is showing them the crytoporticus.

GIANPAOLO: This is the cryptoporticus.

JOHN: What’s a cryptoporticus?