Great Again
After falsely reporting a hate crime, Wendell believes he’s being followed and harassed by a mysterious man.
But will anybody believe him this time?
You know you’ve read something great when it keeps resonating with you days later, and such is the case with the timely new short by experienced writer Michael J. Kospiah. Great Again tells the story of Wendell, who in a moment of madness decides to claim that two white guys in MAGA hats mugged him, in broad daylight, in Harlem… when CCTV footage clearly shows that he’s lying.
Wendell meets his eyes with him – he takes a moment to nod.
DETECTIVE RUIZ
Two white guys wearing MAGA hats in the middle of Harlem?
On a Friday night?
On Malcolm X Boulevard, of all places?
Lotta people out.
Wendell reads the doubt on the detective’s face.
WENDELL
I’m not lying.
DETECTIVE RUIZ
Wendell… we have surveillance footage of the incident.
It was one man, not two… and he was black.
Fuck. Caught red-handed, Wendell doesn’t know what to say.
But in this case when Wendell cried wolf, it appears that he may have accidentally woken the wolf up, as he starts to see a malevolent figure in a MAGA hat following him everywhere. Did I mention that the mysterious figure has a large knife? No, well you can understand why Wendell is so spooked by his shiny new stalker.
His girlfriend, Lisa, isn’t convinced by his sightings of the Maga hat man, she never see’s him despite Wendell seeing him just moments before. But things really escalate when the MAGA hat man follows them home and knocks on their door. Lisa is close to calling the Police, but a once again not finding any sign of the stalker she refuses to pander to Wendell’s paranoia.
Wendell jumps back, Lisa appearing behind him.
LISA
What’s wrong?
He looks out the peephole again.
WENDELL
It’s him again, the weird-looking
motherfucker with the MAGA hat!
Call the cops!
He turns, faces Lisa — she has her arms crossed.
WENDELL
He’s got a fucking knife!
Still unsure, Lisa takes out her cell phone. But before dialing, she looks out the peephole for herself. She turns back to Wendell, puts her phone away.
LISA
There’s nobody there.
That’s enough for Wendell who takes matters into his own hands and stalks out of the house with his gun to confront the man in the hat… only to find his petrified neighbour staring down the barrel of the pistol.
When the Police arrive, matters take a turn for the worse and we are presented with an ending that is both a tragic twist and yet somehow inevitable.
Great Again, is certainly of the now, touching on racism, fake news, Black Lives Matter and the Jussie Smollett case. It weaves its themes expertly and deftly giving you reason to pause, think and consider. Something you’ll find yourself doing repeatedly in the days after you’ve read it.
The characters are well drawn, their world compelling and their dialogue authentic. This fantastic script deserves to be filmed.
Award-winning screenwriter with one feature produced and a further four features optioned or in pre-production. In addition to features, over forty short scripts produced/sold/optioned - including ten filmed. Also occasionally pens screenwriting articles, interviews with writers and filmmakers, and even a short story or two. You can find out more at www.anthonycawood.co.ukRead more
I'm an award-winning screenwriter, playwright and comedy writer based out of New York City. My first produced feature film, "The Suicide Theory" won the Audience Award at the 2014 Austin Film Festival as well as the Grand Jury Prize (Best Picture) at the Dances With Films Festival in Hollywood.The film was picked up for distribution in the US and Canada by Freestyle Releasings and was released in theaters on July 10, 2015. After its theatrical release, the film enjoyed a...Read more