I, ROBOT - Daily Script

1 I, ROBOT by Hillary Seitz FADE IN: 1 On a 1 A FLICKER. Of LIGHT. Off to the side. Just barely. Noticeable. we s A SOUND. Something Then. A DISEMBODIED VOICE. Muted. We can t quite make out What it s saying. As it gets LOUDER. And LOUDER. When we finally. DISEMBODIED VOICE You are in CUT TO: 2 INT.

2 SPOONER S APARTMENT - CLOSE ON 2 DEL SPOONER S FACE. His eyes, snapping open. His face, covered in sweat. PULL BACK to REVEAL him lying in bed. Sheets, tangled around his legs. Alarm clock, playing something relentlessly cheerful. Spooner slaps it off. Sits up. Wincing. Bends his RIGHT ARM. Stiff. He reaches for a BOTTLE OF PILLS. Shakes out a couple and swallows them. Trying to forget. That dream. You are in He rubs his hands over his face.

3 Gets out of bed. His apartment, basic. Unremarkable. Bearing the signs of someone who lives alone. Shades drawn. A little messy. 3 INT. SHOWER - MORNING 3 Spooner turns his face into the jet of water. 4 INT. BATHROOM - MORNING 4 Shaves with a razor. Using his left hand. Knicks the cleft of his chin. Shit. 5 INT. KITCHEN - MORNING 5 Stares down at the single egg in a saucepan.

4 Waiting for it to boil. 2. 6 INT. HALLWAY - MORNING 6 Heads down the hallway. Looping a knotted tie around his neck. Kicks some neglected mail from the door and reaches for the handle. Takes a deep breath 7 EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - MORNING 7 ..steps outside. Into the flow of COMMUTERS heading for the elevated trains. Elbow to elbow. A river of humanity. Spooner moves along, like everyone else.

5 Suddenly. His shoulders tense. That feeling at the back of his neck. He turns and A ROBOT . Just behind him. Humanoid in design, but still obviously a machine. Metal and synthetic casings covering hydraulic muscles. The thing senses his stare. Looks up with a muted ROBOT (metallic voice) Good day, Spooner. Speeds up his pace. Weaving through the crowd to lose the ROBOT . We now realise this is THE FUTURE.

6 Towering apartment buildings block the sun. The street packed with traffic. PEDESTRIANS wearing their computers like form-fitting portable offices. Spooner throws a look at his surroundings: Up high an INDUSTRIAL ROBOT rolls down the side of a building cleaning windows. A WORK CREW of oddly-shaped RUBE GOLDBERG ROBOTS efficiently repairs the street. No human supervision. A ROBOTIC CLEAN-UP CREW. Lumbering along the sidewalk. Scrubbing, sweeping. Emptying Humanoid ROBOTS dotting the crowd.

7 Following their owners. Walking slowly, deliberately. Carrying boxes. Groceries. Briefcases. Stamped on all the ROBOTS SIDES, a LOGO: III LAWS SAFE. Spooner stops to wait at a light with other PEDESTRIANS. Directly in front of him, a LITTLE GIRL clutches her father s neck. She smiles big at Spooner. Front teeth missing. LITTLE GIRL Hi. 3. SPOONER Hi. But it s not her father.

8 It s her ROBOT CARETAKER. The ROBOT turns. Looks at the girl. ROBOT You are not allowed to talk to strangers. Spooner, disgusted. Has had enough. He steps off the curb Just THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL swivels around. Training its large digital EYE on him: TRAFFIC LIGHT Please return to the sidewalk. Spooner dodges several cars on his way across the street. TRAFFIC LIGHT Please return to the The traffic signal, tracking him.

9 TRAFFIC LIGHT You are in violation of city ordinance Spooner throws up his hand. Flipping it the bird just as SNAP! It takes his picture. CUT TO: 8 MONORAIL - MORNING 8 Spooner stepping onto a sleek, densely packed TRAIN. Looks down at his feet. A trampled flyer on the ground. From the Anti- ROBOT League: METAL MONSTERS SECRET FACTORY REVEALED!

10 A ROBOT gets up. To offer him his seat. Spooner. Turns his back on him as we PULL BACK from the window to 9 EXT. CITY SCAPE/MONORAIL - CONTINUOUS 9 The TRAIN hurtling toward DOWNTOWN. Soaring, gravity-defying OFFICE BUILDINGS dominate the skyline. Older buildings wedged among the new. All protected by huge glass and steel shields. As we get closer congested roads and freeways begin to disappear below ground into a series of subterranean tunnels.