St. Nick

TITLE: St. Nick WRITER: Aaron Heinrich FORMAT: Action Feature LOG LINE -- St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children, returns to Earth intent on stopping child abusers and sex traffickers - no matter what it takes. COMPS: The Punisher, Sound of Freedom WHY THIS STORY NOW: St. Nick is informed by the actual history of St. Nicholas. It is not a religious movie, but makes the most of the possibility that St. Nicholas, as the patron saint of children, could return to Earth to do what God won’t – avenge abused and trafficked children. There are no scenes of actual physical or sexual abuse in the script, but the intent of both by individual perpetrators is obvious. So, there is still the satisfaction of seeing them get the punishment St. Nick doles out. Since St. Nick is not a warrior saint, (St. Joan of Arc and St. George are) he must learn to fight. So, St. Nick learns that if he’s going to make a dent in the problem, he must become merciless – “vengeance is mine” becomes his mantra. In the Beginning St. Nick convinces God that he needs to do something about the growing abuse of children. God relents and allows Nick to returns to Earth as an immortal on a timeline. If St. Nick's not ready to return to heaven by midnight, December 6, the day he died nearly 1900 years ago, he'll remain on Earth and die again. Until then, he can be wounded, but can’t be killed. His only weapons are a bullet proof red leather jacket, a heavy wooden staff, and a bolas. Keep in mind, the real St Nicholas was from Turkey, so he’s not white, jolly or over weight. He arrives on Earth on Halloween, still dressed as a 4th century priest. It might as well be a costume as he steps out from a Catholic church and joins the trick or treaters in a LA suburb. After an initial run in with an abusive dad leaves St. Nick beat up and bruised, the angel Gabriel visits Nicholas the next morning in his cheap hotel room and reminds him he might be immortal, but he needs to learn to fight. Gabriel leaves him a card for a boxing gym run by Constantine, the former Holy Roman Emperor and the first to convert to Christianity while St. Nick was alive. Constantine is an immortal who has managed to keep a low profile since returning to Earth over 100 years earlier. He reluctantly agrees to give St. Nick a place to stay and to teach him to fight, but he refuses to go along with his mission. It’s not his fight. In the meantime, we meet Roy Kiser, the owner of the largest DIY hobby store in the city, and the biggest trafficker of drugs, children and teens. He uses the hobby tools in the store to exact his cruelty on anyone who fails or questions him – glue guns, Dremel tools, needle nose pliers. Not So Holy Nights…and Days As St. Nick becomes a proficient fighter, he begins to avenge one child after another with more confidence. Sometimes he hears their calls in the night. He saves a girl who mouths ‘help me’ while in the back of a car driven by one of Kiser’s men. Another is a foster girl about to be sexually abused by her foster dad. He stops a girl from getting kidnapped at a mall. Each time St. Nick stops an abuser, he leaves a simple note on them – Vengeance is mine. As St. Nick’s victims pile up, Kiser and the cops – good and bad – want him off the streets. A teenage street kid named Amber who knows Constantine clues St. Nick in on Roy Kiser’s trafficking network and the crooked cops that work for him. With December 6 getting closer, and the holidays in full, St. Nick realizes bringing down Kiser is the only way he can help save more kids before his time is up. So, he gets a job as a Santa in Kiser’s store to scope out his operation and set a plan for bringing him down. Since he’s always dressed like Santa Claus in public during a time when there are lots of Santas, he’s too hard to single out. Without the costume, he’s a fit 50-year old. Constantine warns him that he’s taking on something too big to change. Sooner or later, Kiser or the police will catch him. People are bad, some are evil. That’s humanity. St. Nick can’t change that in the few weeks he has left. St. Nick tells him he has to try. Maybe his actions will get others to do the same or get enough people to think twice before harming a kid. But St. Nick’s plans are put into overdrive when Kiser’s men kidnap Amber with the intent of selling her and two other teen girls to international sex traffickers. Now more is at stake and the clock’s ticking since Amber and the two girls are set to be shipped out before midnight on December 6. December 6 Constantine finally relents and decides to help St. Nick free Amber and take down Kiser. He enlists the help of a biker club that helps abused kids, and Amber’s street gang. Together, they launch an all-out attack on Kiser’s hobby store. Kiser doesn’t know what’s coming, but he’s got too much muscle to make it an easy fight. But St. Nick, Constantine and their group are committed. They bring the fight to every part of Kiser’s store and the adjoining warehouse. Holiday decorations become weapons – wreaths around necks, garland to trip people up, scissors to stab – or shatter and explode. As all of Kiser’s men are killed or badly beaten, the fight comes down to St. Nick and Kiser. St. Nick wins but is left bloody and badly beaten. Constantine finds and frees Amber and the other girls but is mortally wounded. It’s finally his time to go for good. Just before midnight December 6, St. Nick stumbles out of the burning store and falls to the ground, about to die one more time. Before a nearby clock strikes midnight, the world goes still and a hand reaches out to help Nicholas to his feet. It’s God ready to take him home. But St. Nick isn't ready to go. So, God makes him a deal. St. Nick can stay on Earth as an immortal, continue avenging children, but it will be up to God to decide when he comes back to heaven. St. Nick takes the deal and rides off on his motorcycle away from the city as the cops arrive on the scene of the burning building and the dead and wounded scattered in and around it. ‘Vengeance is mine’ is written in white frosted spray paint on the asphalt of the parking lot. THE END