Christmas Stories - Nutcracker - P. A. Nolte

1/ The Mouse King grips his bleeding side.  He wheezes for air, somehow managing to keep himself upright.  His sword is above his head, shaking in his dying grasp.  On the ground below him, Clara is backed against an ornate balcony.  She is terrified.

Nutcracker (OP): CLARA!

2/ In the background, the Prince completes his transformation. He is a wooden sculpture in the form of a man.  Petrified while screaming bloody murder.  In the foreground, the Mouse King swings downward, more reliant on gravity than anything else.

3/ A mere inch away from Clara's hand, the blade connects with the solid floor of the balcony.  The Mouse King's feet are off-balance.  He begins to topple.

4/ Clara tucks into a ball, squinting her eyes shut as tightly as possible and leaning away from the heaving mass of dying rodent.

5/ Clara's eye's open just a smidge.

6/ Clara has risen to her feet and peeked over the edge of the balcony.  Below her, into the pink mists that obscure everything else, plummets the Mouse King.  He makes no sound.

7/ Clara is still at the balcony.  Tears well up in her eyes.  Over her shoulder, standing amid the petrified forms of her friends, is Drosselmeyer.

Christmas Stories - The Dark Claus - Perry Kent

Panel 1

Exterior, night. Batman slips out of a window and onto a roof in the dead of night. There is a blanket of snow lying across the roof. A few more windows can be seen.

[NO COPY]

Panel 2

A light flicks on in one of the windows as Batman creeps away along the roof.

1. YOUTH #1 (lit up window): Hey, did anyone hear anything?

Panel 3

Batman launches a grappling hook as more windows light up from the inside, spilling their light onto the snowy rooftop.

2. YOUTH #2 (window): Whoa! Look at all the presents under the tree!

3. YOUTH #3 (window): Those weren't there earlier.

4. YOUTH #3 (window): Would you shut up and let us sleep.

5. SFX (grappling hook): Pssh!

Panel 4

Batman swings past a banner using his grappling hook. The banner reads "Saint Pancras Youth Home" and a smaller sign under that says "Sponsored by the Wayne Foundation".

[NO COPY]

- END -

Christmas Stories – 12-20-16 – MK Stangeland, Jr.

(1 Panel)

Panel 1: Two small trees, similar to the one CHARLIE BROWN adopts from A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS, after it’s been spiffed up. A stick sits between to connect them, which WOODSTOCK is sitting on.

To the left stands SNOOPY, who is looking at the display with one hand to his chin in a pondering fashion. WOODSTOCK looks in SNOOPY’s direction.

SNOOPY: (Thought Balloon) No, I’m not sure it works as replacement for a pear tree.

(END PAGE)

Christmas Story-Yard Santa-David Press.

PAGE ONE.

1.1:

            CLARK GRISWOLD is at the end of his driveway. He’s dressed in winter gear, with a snow shovel down at the ground pushing fresh accumulation to the edge of the driveway. The pile of snow has been pushed there by large neighborhood SNOW PLOWS.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.2:

            A SNOW PLOW drives by just as Clark pushes the pile to the edge of the driveway. The plow showers Griswold with snow.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.3 INSET:

            Clark’s face is screwed up—he’s pissed.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.4 CUT TO:

            Clark is standing in the middle of his yard. He’s stepping down on a pump that will inflate a GIANT SANTA CLAUS. One of those obnoxious yard ones like this one: http://www.airartinflatables.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Inflatable-yard-christmas-santa-claus-3.jpg.

Clark is really struggling to blow it up. He’s hunched over and grunting while he presses down hard on the pedal that will expand the Santa Claus.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.5:

            The inflatable Santa bursts apart, sending Clark flying back towards the gutter, about to disappear off panel.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.6:

            He’s on his back in the snow pile, spread-eagled, like he’s making a snow angel.

NO DIALOGUE.

1.7:

The snow plow comes around again and dumps more snow on him, burying everything except his head in snow.

1. GRISWOLD:                         I give up.

Why Christmas Stories?

One of my family’s traditions is to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation every Christmas. Written by the great John Hughes, the movie follows the hijinks of the Griswold family [Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, et al.] and is a source of tremendous fun.

Over the years there have been quite a lot of movies of hilarious Christmas fun including Bad Santa, but National Lampoon’s Christmas will always be the best one of the bunch. So this week’s task is to adapt a Christmas Story of your choice. I’m going to go with the Griswolds, and I hope you select something that is fun for you. Happy holidays!