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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Twists And Turns

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. BEDROOM - 23:45 (THE NIGHT BEFORE)


  4. In bed, PETER is in thoughts.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Should I visit an outlying island beach tomorrow? But all lifeguard services have been suspended.


  6. Thinking.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I don't swim, I can focus on songwriting.


  8. Peter sleeps. Later, Peter wakes up. Checking the time, he sees 02:45.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Anything to do with the coffee that I had at lunch?


  10. Thinking of something, Peter jots down some words in Chinese and English on sheet#1.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've just cooked up the lyrics of a possible trilingual song!


  12. Going back to bed, Peter tosses and turns all night.

  13. Act 2


  14. INT. DINING ROOM - 08:15


  15. Peter is having breakfast with KAJI, the family pet.


  16. PETER (V.O.): Feeling unrefreshed, I've no inclination to go anywhere today.


  17. INT. STUDIO - 09:15


  18. Lying on a sofa, Peter checks Yahoo!Finance on his phone screen.


  19. PETER (V.O.): Despite good news, the Hong Kong stock market fell considerably yesterday.


  20. Peter checks his investment portfolio.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The market may rise today. Let me place some "Sell" orders. I need cash to pay the taxman.


  22. Having typed on screen, Peter picks up a 12-string Fender Villager acoustic guitar.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I haven't played this one for a long time. I've many guitars at home.


  24. Peter tunes the guitar with the Guitar Tuna app.


  25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I go to outlying islands, I take the handy ukulele and learn to play it well.


  26. Having tuned the 12 strings, Peter strums the guitar. We hear special rich sounds.


  27. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me use it to compose the melody for the lyrics that I wrote in the small hours this morning.


  28. Playing guitar chords C, Am, F, G7, Peter is improvising a song.


  29. PETER (V.O.): OMG, I'm singing different lyrics as they sound better with the melody being improvised.


  30. Peter jots down his new lyrics on sheet#2.


  31. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Same unique theme, but more emotional. I like the new lyrics.

  32. Peter then taps Voice Memo on his phone screen.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me record my new song.


  34. Abruptly, Peter pauses.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, my heart speaks....


  36. Peter hums catchy notes: Ah...Ah...Ah...Ah...


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A really good tune!


  38. Recording. Peter first hums Ah...Ah...Ah...Ah...and then continues to play other guitar chords.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've got another new melody. It's completely different from the one I improvised moments ago.


  40. After jotting down the song's melodic structure on sheet#3, Peter stares at sheet#2.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've already forgotten the melody. It's done.


  42. Frustrated, Peter puts aside his smart phone and guitar.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): That's enough for today.


  44. Later, Peter plays the piano. We hear the John Lennon song: Imagine.


  45. PETER (V.O.): In "McCartney's 3,2,1", the celebrity says that in the early 1960s, there wasn't any mobile recording machine, but John Lennon could remember their new songs.


  46. Pausing.


  47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He must have higher IQ than others.


  48. As he's about to play another song, Peter stops.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, I've forgotten how to play other songs.


  50. Exhausted, Peter retreats to the sofa.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. BEDROOM - 20:00


  53. Peter works on a laptop.


  54. PETER (V.O.): Two of my stock orders were executed. The Hong Kong stock market has recovered yesterday's loss.


  55. From the radio, we hear: On Dec 1980, John Lennon was shot to death outside his apartment building in New York City. He was 40.


  56. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sometimes, things don't go as planned. They take unexpected twists and turns. It's fortunate that I can still face them.


  57. Thinking.


  58. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What looks like a very bad day can be just clearing the way for good things to come. Let me embrace my tomorrow.


  59. THE END


  60. FADE OUT




















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