The Marionette Dance

"Don't Forget About Sister" is about staying true to oneself. It tracks the journey of Lucas Field, lead singer of Low Vs Diamond, as he faces the temptations of a strange world and reaches out to his sister to help set him free.

MONTAGE. Lo-def, gritty, handheld, quick, B&W, sync sound only from actions.

Brooklyn studio: brick walls, futon bed, large multiple pane window, a cat, keyboard, guitar. A musician, Williamsburg hipster, pulls out a clothing bag from his closet that says "Rental". A QUICK MONTAGE of him, face obscured:

Meticulously putting on his rented suit while looking in the mirror.

Feeding his black cat.

Making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As he closes the fridge, we see "Rent Due", a calendar that says "GIG" and a Photo of him as a boy with his sister holding his hand. He stuffs the PB+J in his face, picks up his Guitar and leaves.

Door closes.

BLACK

MUSIC STARTS. Hi-def, stylized, sanitary, bright whites and pastels.

East Hamptons mansion. Think Gossip Girl. A circular gold brick path leads up to it. Lamborghinis and Porsches surround a fountain. Guests arrive.

We see a pair of old sneakers walking up the path; they contrast with the shining yellow gold path. As we pull out we see our musician, carrying his guitar, as he gets to the door.

A female butler opens it. Shock! She looks like a HUMAN MARIONETTE. She moves very mechanically. This is the first time we see our protagonist's face. It is Lucas Field. She looks for his name on the list "BAND" and says "Alright" as the drums intensify and she ushers him in.

LF enters, looks around and realizes that all the people at this party are MARIONETTES! They are walking, talking, laughing, flirting, eating and drinking Marionettes. Stepford wives with Banker husbands. The children have little white frocks on, as if they were all in ballet class. The host parents descend a marble staircase.

LF looks at them just as the phrase "your sister came down from Waterford with a message" starts. As he looks up, he locks eyes with his Sister, 20's beautiful, holding hands with a young boy, Lucas at 8. She's writing in a journal. She holds the writing up for him to see but he can't. Is this an illusion? What is she trying to tell him? She, the little boy, and LF are the only non-marionettes at the party.

The butler quickly whisks LF away to the stage, where the rest of the band already awaits. Close up of the drummer drumming. As we zoom out we see that he is also a marionette, as is the rest of the band. They stare mechanically into space.

As LF sings he sees the marionettes in various mechanical vignettes (see Storyboard). The wine they drink looks like Blue Blood; it is a dark viscose substance. Sin-City-like. His sister appears randomly among them, alone now. She floats through the party, bored by familiar antics, and continues writing in her journal. We see words from the song written on her pages.

Slowly, LF starts to become a marionette himself. He takes a sip of the "blue blood" and one arm is lifted by its elbow; a woman gives him a 100 dollar bill, his other arm becomes attached by strings. Sister is watching. As LF becomes desperate with his transformation (marionette creases start appearing on his face), he reaches out to her. And in a momentous finale, she grabs a knife, runs to the stage, and cuts Lucas' strings in dramatic slow motion.

The other marionettes are shocked. A breach. An intruder. They start to move zombie-like towards the stage, their faces as angry as marionette faces can be. LF looks at his sister. How will they escape? "Sister take me away with you!" She takes her journal and throws it on the ground in front of the stage. She grabs Lucas' hand. They run and jump into the journal from the stage. Falling, falling, falling until POOF, they disappear.

A hand is writing in a journal. A photo of Lucas and his sister, the same one from the fridge in the beginning. The journal closes. THE END.