Oct 11, 2008
A Scene in the HawksTV War Room
INT. STATION “WAR” ROOM - DAY
WES McLAREN, 20, is hanging out in the HawksTV “war” room, which is basically a room with a big center table, a set of three couches, and three desks with three computers. Wes is sitting on one of the couches, playing FIFA 09 on his laptop. He’s dressed in a T-shirt and jeans.
Enter MIA BARNES, 19. She walks over to the couch and drops on it like a sack of potatoes. She is wearing a black cotton dress with red cotton capri tights and flip-flops. She is obviously pretty bothered right now with her day.
MIA
Heyyy...
Wes is still focused on his laptop.
WES
What’s up? How’s class?
MIA
Fuckin’ boring..I hate that class
(pauses)
Hahahaha, you know what I did with Matt during class?
Wes is faking interest, still focused on trying to score a goal.
WES
Obviously not.
MIA
Ha, well, since we both thought this class was pretty sucky, we ended up playing the penis game.
Wes is not looking up from the laptop
WES
The penis game?
Mia is annoyed by the fact that Wes isn’t giving her his undivided attention.
MIA
Wes!
WES
Come on, Arsenal is kicking my ass!
MIA
Ars-sa-what? Anyway, back to the penis game
End of the game, Man U loses to Arsenal. Wes is visibly bummed. Now he has to listen to Mia’s story about the penis game.
WES
(sighs)
Okay.
Mia gets into storytelling mode now that she has Wes’ attention.
MIA
So here we are in class, I’m chatting with Matt on AIM when he suggests that we play the penis game. So pretty much for the next twenty minutes, it was just me and Matthew saying
(in a deep, whispered voice)
Penis.
(in her voice, slightly louder)
Penis.
Wes is entertained but trying not to show it.
MIA (CONT’D)
So yeah, twenty minutes in, he said it too loud and it actually made a couple people look back to see what’s up. But when no one was looking, we were just cracking up.
Wes shows playfully fake pity on her.
WES
Why do I hang out with you?
Mia replies in a sing-song manner.
MIA
Because you love me, jackass.
Wes lets out a short laugh
WES
(sigh) True
MIA
(in a deep, monotone voice)
Penis.
Wes stifles his laughter, but he does show a smile on his face.
FADE OUT.
Oct 7, 2008
The one rule Close-Up will follow
So I make this one promise: Close Up will ONLY cast actors and actresses from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana unless the character being played comes from somewhere outside those four states. This show is set in Texas, and it will represent Texas.
Oct 5, 2008
Character Sketches
Hey, my name is Wesley Nathaniel McLaren, but I just go by Wes. I grew up in a military family and have been everywhere. For example, I was born on an air base in Okinawa. That’s in Japan. Crazy, huh? I’ve lived in Florida, Michigan, South Carolina, California, Oklahoma, Germany and Saudi Arabia until my dad retired and moved us to Shreveport, Louisiana just in time for freshman year in high school. Despite all the moving, our family has stayed together and I’m happy that my family has strong bond.
My dad was Air Force pilot and my mom just stayed at home, but she was always obsessed with photography and filming me and my older brother and younger sister. Pretty much every part of my life is on film, which is sort of how I got interested in keeping a record of everything in my life, whether it was through photography, film, or writing. Mainly writing. I pretty much wrote every chance I got at school, I was even editor in chief of my high school’s newspaper senior year.
Finally, after all the hard work, I get into the University of Central Texas. Look at me, a CenTex Hawk. I really thought CenTex was going to waitlist me or something, because their communication school is bar none, the toughest in the region. My GPA wasn’t the greatest in the world because I was either writing something for the newspaper or working at the local grocery store. Must’ve been the essay. Anyway, as a freshman, I started writing for the newspaper at UCTX, The Hawk’s Call as an entertainment writer. I think its pretty cool, going to movies for free. Writing just sort of came naturally to me, so it was really no big deal every time to write an article.
I like to think that I am a good person. I’ve always been branded as sort of a nerd because I never was able to have a girlfriend. It’s not my fault that I just find myself too busy to have a girlfriend. Or maybe it is my fault? I don’t know, I try not to overthink. Bad for health, or so I’ve heard. But there are times where I just can’t help but think things through. Anyway, yes I do like girls and I try to at least keep my eye on one every chance I get.
However, I always make sure that I have a good friend or two around. For example, when I began my sophomore year, I became friends with this freshman girl, Mia Barnes, in my Biology class. She is such a tomboy, so it’s pretty much like I’m hanging out with a guy who gives out good advice. That class was such a joke and Mia and I knew it, so we just either fooled around on our computers or just skipped the class in general. I don’t usually make a habit of missing classes, but that’s the beauty of college sometimes. As long as I keep the GPA at a good number, my parents don’t really complain about footing the bill.
Because of that class, Mia and I are teammates. She’s my Robin to my Batman. My Abbott to my Costello. You get the idea. Anyway, when she joined the student television station, HawksTV, to work on an entertainment news show Close Up, I joined up with her. So now, along with writing for the newspaper, I’m also working on a television show? Amazing. All I can say is that the girls are prettier at the TV station than at the newspaper. I thought I could get a girlfriend through the station, but my parents warned me against having a girlfriend in the “workplace,” so I decided against trying to find one at the station. It’s not like any of them showed any interest anyway.
But yeah, that’s me, Wes. A globetrotting, sushi-loving, Coppola-watching college student who is pulling double duty on TV and in print. I love my life.
MIA BARNES
What’s up, my name is Mia Barnes. No middle name. No nicknames. Just Mia. I’ve lived in Houston, Texas all my life, had the same friends, same neighbors, same neighborhood. So you know I was stoked when I finally graduated so I can experience freedom in the form of college at the University of Central Texas. Yessssss!
I grew up in a pretty weird family. Unless you consider having seven older brothers (including a set of twins) normal. My dad works as some financial thing that I can’t really describe and my mom is a middle school science teacher. Because of my dad’s job, I never had a job. All I had to do was ask my dad, show that I’m responsible enough and done, I get what I want. That is why I’m a bit closer to my dad than my mom, especially since she thinks I’m too spoiled. Psh, whatever.
And then, there are my seven brothers. I was always forced into playing sports with my brothers, mainly because without me, they won’t have even teams. Football. Soccer. Baseball. Basketball. Street Hockey. You name it, I probably played it. And they didn’t take it easy on me either. I didn’t want them to anyway. I like to think I got as many scrapes and bloody noses as I dished out.
Despite the fact that I was known around high school as a major tomboy, I still had a bit of a girly girl side. I was on the dance team, I (regrettably) giggled every time a cute guy would pass by and say hey, and at least once a week or so, I’ll wear a skirt or a shirt that shows off my boobs. Not bad, considering that a majority of the clothes I wore were actually hand-me downs from my brothers. Nevertheless, my closest friends in high school were always guys. The closest thing I ever had to a best girl friend is my gay friend named Adrian. Hahahahaha.
More so later in my high school life, I became more into getting a boyfriend. The girly girl side of me was taking over, and I was completely fine with it. Out with my brothers’s old clothes, in with the dresses, skirts, short shorts, and tight fitting shirts and jeans. I managed to be in two relationships in the last two years of high school after my “feminization,” if that’s even a word. But I still like that a part of me is still that tomboy.
So after graduating at the top of my class, I headed over to UCTX so I can learn how to work in the television and film industry. I took a film class in high school and I really liked it and I felt like that was the thing I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Once I got there, I instantly clicked with a sophomore named Wes in my biology class. We pretty much had the same outlook on life as well as a common appreciation for all things Coppola. You can say that we’re pretty much best friends. But, there’s this one guy I met in my Intro to Media Studies class, Matthew Walsh. Oh my god, he is so cute! I would do almost anything to make him mine…scratch that, ANYTHING. I hear that he actually has a full ride at CenTex or something, so he must be really smart, on top of the fact that he is soooooooo fine. If he loves The Godfather and sesame chicken like me, he is perfect!
I saw a flyer to volunteer for HawksTV, the student television station, and I took particular interest in working for this entertainment show, Close Up. So after convincing Wes to come with me, we both went to the station. It is pretty impressive, complete with professional looking cameras, a decent studio, and some cool people. I was already pretty won over by the station when who do I see? Matthew Walsh. This is going to be an interesting four years.
MATTHEW WALSH
Yo. Matthew Walsh here. When people look at me, all they see is a pretty face. That “oh, he must’ve got everything because of his good looks” attitude. It was never that easy for me.
I was born in San Antonio. I remember very little about my parents, except that they were young and tried to give me as much as they can. However, at the age of six, my parents died in a car accident after going out to a movie theatre while my grandmother babysat me. A couple months later, she passed away and for three years, I was passed from foster home to foster home across Texas. Every time I thought I found a home, child services moved me again.
It wasn’t until I was nine when an older 50-something year old retired couple took me in and let me live with them in Spring Branch, a little country town outside San Antonio. They had grown-up children who had their own families and they missed being parents, so I took their last name and for the first time in a while, I was happy.
In high school, when I wasn’t driving my parents around, picking up their medicine and doing my homework while they played bingo, I played football as a quarterback and occasional wide receiver. By the beginning of senior year, our team was second-ranked in the state and amongst the top 25 teams in the nation and I was named one of the most underrated college football prospects in the state, with scouts stating that I had “Division I speed with Division III height”.
I was starting quarterback in our first game against another nationally ranked team from Shreveport, Louisiana until an awkward tackle made while I was crossing the endzone tore my ACL, effectively ending my football career.
A week later, my father won a camcorder in a game of bingo, and gave it to me. While my leg was still in a cast, my coach hired me as the team videographer, as I taped all the football games for my former teammates to watch. Utilizing this, my team slaughtered the competition and paved a way to an undefeated, state championship season. It was bittersweet to see my team win the state championship, knowing that there could’ve been more that I could’ve done for the team.
Anyway, outside of football, school was school. I found the classes pretty easy and I never made anything lower than a B. I always liked to hook up more than engage in a relationship. Especially with high school. What good is a relationship when you’re just gonna break up in three weeks, I always believed.
During the spring semester senior year, I had numerous academic scholarship offers from the most prestigious of colleges. Harvard. Princeton. USC. Stanford. The local congressman even promised me that he would see to it that I get appointed to either West Point or the Naval Academy, if I so desired.
With the exception of the military, all the offers were partial scholarships. I didn’t want my adoptive parents, with all they did for me, to spend money I know they didn’t have on my education. I was about to talk to them about going into the military when I learned that the University of Central Texas offered me a full scholarship to their prestigious communication school. I quickly accepted the offer.
So here I am at Central Texas as a freshman in college. I don’t know what I’m going to do after I graduate, but I want to keep close with sports. I volunteered at HawksTV, the student television station, to work on the sports show, Hawks SportsZone, but it interfered with my class schedule. I mean, I find college so easy at times, I could of just skipped class just to do the show, but I felt it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. The only show I could work in is Close Up, an entertainment news show. I just auditioned for host, and I got it.
I like the potential for hook-ups at the station. There are a lot of good-looking girls here. Even this one girl, Mia, who I met in my Intro to Media Studies class I would be down to hook up with. But then I met the one girl who I am convinced that she means more to me than a casual hook-up: Caitlin Santos.Feb 23, 2008
About the Show
MAIN CHARACTERS
Mia Barnes – (Jen) Freshman. Crew member and reporter for Close-Up. Bright, easy-going, yet hard-working, she has a crush on Matt Walsh, which is at first unrequited due to his feelings for Vanessa Santos. Later develops feelings for John Sweeney. Good friends with Wes McLaren and Adam and makes sure that they are informed of her complicated double-life that nobody else knows about.
Jared Moore –(Drew) Sophomore. Producer of Close-Up. He is very over the top and has an almost bipolar approach towards running the show. Was in a relationship with Caitlin Wolff. In a relationship with Sophie Keith, which is usually seen as a hinderance in the show’s progress by many of the crew members. Can't stand being single and will do whatever it takes to be tied down at all times.
Caitlin Wolff –(Loren) Sophomore. Producer of Close-Up. She was in a relationship with Jared Moore freshman year, but broke up due to Jared wanting to date Sophie Keith. Probably the hardest worker on the show despite working in Jared’s shadow, she perseveres dealing with working with her ex, as well as with the girl he dumped her for. Develops feelings for Rick after his romantic attempt to win her heart on Valentine's day.
Sophie Keith –(Hayley) Sophomore. Co-Host of Close-Up, she’s a bit of a ditz, but she does have her moments. In a relationship with Jared Warner. Unlike Matt, she really likes hosting the show. Develops feelings for Rob.
Matt Walsh – (James S.) Freshman. Co-host of Close-Up. The all-American kid with a full ride Communications scholarship, he has an unrequited crush on Vanessa Santos, which leaves him oblivious to Mia’s feelings for him. Secretly hates hosting due to his belief that he's nothing but a "puppet" to the writers and mostly because Jared sees him as a hinderance to Sophie's talent. Although egotistical and totally full of shit most of the time, he is still extremely social and many female crew members find him attractive.
Vanessa Santos – (Melanie) Freshman. A crew member and reporter for Close-Up. Due to religious and personal convictions, she turns down Matt Walsh’s advances, but they are still a very inseparable pair due to the quality of work they seem to make when together.
Wes McLaren – (Will) Sophomore. Crew member and reporter for Close-Up. A recent transfer who is also a part of the student radio station and newspaper. He is either in the middle of things or completely out of the loop. He is humorous and a bit lazy, but he has a seldom seen serious side and also gives good advice to those who seek it. Has a “no dating in the station” policy, only because it hasn't happened; wouldn't mind getting thrown into the mix if he got some action. Good friends with Mia Barnes and Dustin Jameson. Usually well connected with other crew members. Usually Dustin’s wingman at parties. Has a crush on Nicole Marquis.
Dustin “D.J” Jameson –(Jason) Sophomore. Crew member and reporter for Close-Up. A bit of an oddball character, he has an androgynous quality about him that makes everyone except Wes McLaren believe that he’s gay. He is very frustrated at how guys like Matt Walsh could get girls with very little effort. Has a crush on both Mia and Rachel. Usually Wes’s wingman at parties. Total Lightweight.
Brett Mitchell –(Chris S.) Sophomore. Head writer for Close-Up. Like Jared, he is also very over the top, but he still is hard-working despite the fact that he’s usually involved with a theatre or extensive film project. Despite his over-the-top persona, he has a very different attitude in private. He is good friends with a majority of the characters.
Rachel Guerin – (Renée) Sophomore. Director for Close-Up. An east-coast transplant, she is the technical brain of Close-Up. Is in love with Prof. Eric Greenhalgh, but has some feelings for fellow crew member John Sweeney. Later becomes infatuated with Brennan Manning as John develops feelings for Mia.
RECURRING CHARACTERS
Adam Warner –(Sam) Freshman. A writer and reporter for Close-Up. He works with Brett on writing for the show. Despite having full knowledge of all the social drama happening within Close-Up as well as having his own social dramas, he doesn't make it common knowledge. Probably the most trustworthy and reliable character on the show, usually watching out for other Close-Uppers.
Allison “Allie the Closet Op" Ortega –(Nancy) Freshman. A closet op (person who handles the equipment) for HawkSTV. Usually very quiet and tends to talk to only Wes. Very little is known about her and she is always referred to as "Allie the Closet Op".
Rick Holland –(Brandon) Senior. Entertainment Director for HawkSTV. Oversees all of the entertainment programs, but works with Close-Up the most due to the young leadership. Often works as a personal counselor for the show and as a somewhat third producer for Close-Up. Has feelings for Caitlin, but its unknown if she returns them.
Brendan Manning (M-H/McGill) - Freshman. From Australia. He develops feelings for Rachel's eye when he starts working for the show midway in the semester.
Dana O’Reilly – (Lea/K-Shan) Freshman. Fashion reporter and crew member for Close-Up. A foil to Sophie Keith, despite some similarities and being Sophie's best friend/sometime co-host. Is little known with fellow crew members despite being involved in a high profile interview. Knows how to play guitar. Total lightweight, but nobody would ever think about taking advantage of her because she is so innocent.
Rob Malinowski –(Matt I.) Sophomore. Writer and on-air crew member for Close-Up. Joins midway in the semester. Quiet guy who develops feelings for Sophie.
John Sweeney – (Greg) Junior. Tech Director for Close-Up. Has feelings for Rachel Guerin, but has no idea if she reciprocates. Is a few years older than everyone, thus he sometimes feels that the younger guys cramp up his style. Develops feelings for Mia.
Nathan Gill -(Sidd) Senior. Station director of HawkSTV. Likes Close-Up but thinks that the crew is weird. Gives Rick advice on how girls, especially since he knows that Rick is in love with Caitlin. Randomly inserts himself into situations to make light of the awkwardness.
Prof. Eric Greenhalgh – (Steinbaeur) Popular film production and studies professor at Central Texas University. A young 30-something film prodigy who teaches as sort of his “day job” as well as participating in different film projects. Rachel Guerin is in love with him. Taught or is currently teaching a majority of the Close-Up crew in FPS 318 "Study of Image and Sound". Usually gives out media-related advice, as well as personal advice.
UNSEEN CHARACTERS
Prof. Julian Steinhauser - Unseen film production and studies professor at Central Texas University. Teaches FPS 305 "Introduction to Film Production and Studies". Everyone on the crew had to take the class, and no one liked it.
Nicole Marquis – Wes’s unseen crush. He rarely sees her, and when he does, he usually questions whether it was really her. Met her when she visited KCTH (CTxU’s student radio station)