Memoirs/Remember Me Script and Review

Memoirs/Remember Me Script and Review

Warning : There is spoilers, do not read if you dont want to get spoiled


Memoirs (Remember Me)

Genre: Drama Premise: Two college students who’ve experienced recent loss fall in love and heal their fractured families.

About: Landing on last year's Black List with 6 votes, this was just recently picked up by Summit. Also Rob Pattinson of Twilight fame is attached (for context's sake, I knew none of this while reading the script)

Writer: Will Fetters Memoirs is a strange little script that was pushed on me by one of our readers. She kept saying "You gotta read Memoirs. You gotta read Memoirs." I looked at the 50 or scripts I wanted to read *before* Memoirs and said, "There's no way this is happening." Of course I didn't tell her that.

Well after a long day of reading 4 scripts - yes 4 - I was about to go to sleep when I said, "You know what? I still got something in me. Why not?" (sadly, I really did say this out loud) So I grabbed Memoirs and started reading. After 10 pages, something familiar started creeping over me. I felt like I had read this script before. And it was because I *had* read this script before! I had given it a shot six months ago and absolutely hated it. I never made it past page 20.

It's about a guy Tyler (I envisioned him as a sort of Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting type) who pretty much leads a miserable existence. He's depressed about the world. His father doesn't have time for him. He's got a step-father he doesn't get along with. He's got an 11 year old sister with no friends. His older brother died at the World Trade Center. About the only thing he's got going for him is his friend AIDAN, who is so over-the-top, you feel he's written that way just to compensate for the fact that everybody else is so damn depressing. He's still pretty funny though.

Here's their first scene together, after Tyler wakes up with some random girl...

AIDAN

I sold your girlfriend a toothbrush.

TYLER

You sold my who? ...What?

AIDAN

That voluptuous, delightfully oblivious little blondie you left in your bed this morning... I sold her a toothbrush. Got three bucks.

TYLER

...Congratulations?

AIDAN

Are in order, yes. Because that sale inspired our newest business venture - "The SLUT"

Tyler stares blankly.

AIDAN

The 'Single Lady's Universal Tote'

Tyler stares blankly.

AIDAN

It's the one-night-stand travel pack for women. We throw in some make-up, toiletries, cell phone charger, cab numbers. Retail it at S19.95, maybe do an informercial.

TYLER

And you think women would buy this? With money?

AIDAN

Hey one-night-stands happen... It's a part of life... like stubbing your toe. Sometimes you misjudge a corner and bend back your pinky toe, other times you wake up in a freshman dorm wearing a field hockey tee shirt wondering why your balls smell like cinnamon...

Tyler gives him a peculiar look.

AIDAN

And that's completely hypothetical.

(quickly moving on)

Don't underestimate the novelty gift market. Think about it...instead of giving that token slutty friend a ten-inch black dildo for her birthday, you hook her up with "The SLUT." Everyone has a laugh and the implication that she'll probably use it someday remains. What do you say? Are you in?

TYLER

You need help.

Tyler finishes his cigarette.

AIDAN

OK... fine... be cynical... just remember at some point in history two people had a conversation just like this about the light bulb. One of them went on to fame and fortune and the other one probably went to work at Denny's or something.

TYLER

(smiles)

I'm pretty sure they didn't have Denny's in the 19th century.
A funny scene and yet I had no idea what to think because up until this point, there wasn't a single laugh in the script. Did I miss something? When did this turn into Swingers?

Anyway, Tyler and Aidan get into a late night scuffle with some street thugs that results in a police officer pulling a Rodney King and giving Tyler the beat down. Aidan insists he sue but another opportunity presents itself when Aidan finds out that the officer's daughter, ALLY, attends their college. Aidan insists that fucking over the daughter is the perfect way to get back at the officer.

Tyler's reluctant at first but eventually makes his move. The two begin a relationship and start to fall for each other - the conflict of course being that sooner or later Tyler will have to meet Ally's father and the truth will come out. Although the relationship feels manufactured at first, it eventually finds its rhythm, and you have yourself a cute little story about two people falling for each other despite their respective fucked-up-ness. It's not bad but what bothered me is the misstep it made before the relationship even started.

One thing I don't like is when an important decision is made by someone other than the main character. In this case, Aidan pushes Tyler to date Ally to fuck over the officer. Tyler reluctantly agrees and, of course, later falls for Ally. When the difficult decision comes on how to tell Ally that he knew her father from before, it doesn't have nearly the punch it would've had had Tyler been 100% responsible for starting their relationship. This way it's wishy-washy.

The spot he's in is kinda his fault but kinda not. You never want this. Always have your protagonist driving the story. It makes him stronger and it makes the story stronger. Now up to this point I was thinking, "Why did she want me to read this script so bad? It's just a basic love story." There was nothing about the script that stood out. And then............the ending came.

I am a SUCKER for a good ending. I loved The Sixth Sense. I loved The Others. I love anything that makes me rethink the movie I just saw. For its ending alone, Memoirs gets bumped from a "worth the read" to an "impressive". Even though I'm telling you it's coming, you won't figure it out. Trust me. So don't even try. I'm not even sure it completely fits with the story.

But it's so shocking that you can't help but..........well, run out and tell someone about it. Someone told me. Now I'm telling you. Check out Memoirs. It very well may shock you. :) edit: Lest I mislead you, this script has nothing to do with ghosts. [ ] trash [ ] barely kept my interest [ ] worth the read [x] impressive [ ] genius

What I learned from Memoirs: I said it right at the end of the review. The ending of this script bumped it up from something I probably never would've mentioned to anybody, to something I'm now reviewing on my site and would encourage you to check out. Twist endings are tricky and they're hard to pull off.

But if you have a script idea with a good one, write it, because there's nothing quite like a reader finishing a script and going, "Holy shit." They absolutely have to tell someone. Now! Here's a real-world example for you. The reader who suggested this to me would not leave me alone about it. Talk about the ultimate marketing tool.

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Twilight' Star Robert Pattinson Lands Lead Role In 'Remember Me'

Twilight' Star Robert Pattinson Lands Lead Role In 'Remember Me'
Film tells the story of star-crossed lovers plagued by family tragedy.
While Robert Pattinson is deep into filming the "Twilight" sequel "New Moon" for Summit Entertainment, the studio has tapped the 22-year-old British star for another project about star-crossed lovers.

Pattinson will play the lead role in "Remember Me," a story of a young couple whose burgeoning relationship is complicated by a succession of family tragedies that test their bond, according to ScreenDaily.com. The makers of the film, which had previously been titled "Memoirs," have not yet settled on which actress who will play Pattinson's love interest.

Emmy-winning director Allen Coulter ("The Sopranos," "Damages") will direct, and Jenny Lumet, who penned the script for last year's critical darling "Rachel Getting Married," is working on a draft of the screenplay.

After "New Moon" wraps in May, Pattinson will head to New York to shoot "Remember Me," which will finish in time for the actor to begin filming the third "Twilight" movie, "Eclipse," in August.

Summit is staying tight-lipped about plot specifics, but co-chairman and CEO Patrick Wachsberger likened "Remember Me" to "Love Story," the classic 1970 romance starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal.

Landing the "Remember Me" lead marks the first major role for Pattinson since he rocketed to public adulation for his portrayal of vampire Edward Cullen in the "Twilight" franchise. He had been signed to appear alongside Rosario Dawson in "Parts per Billion," but was forced to drop out due to his "New Moon" commitment. Pattinson will next be seen in May's "Little Ashes," the Salvador Dalí biopic he shot before "Twilight." His "Twilight" co-star Kristen Stewart has already landed some meaty roles since the vampire series became a big box-office success, including a turn as real-life rocker Joan Jett in "The Runaways."

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Just The Facts- The Memoirs/Remember Me Script

Ever since a Hollywood Reporter article mentioned that Rob was considering a project entitled “Memoirs”, people have been searching for information on the movie. The Hollywood Reporter described the project like this:

“Memoirs,” based on an original screenplay by Will Fetters that will be rewritten by Jenny Lumet, who penned “Rachel Getting Married,” tells of two lovers whose new-found relationship is threatened as they struggle to deal with family tragedies.

That’s tempting and interesting, but it’s not a lot to go on. We were going to wait to do this article until we knew for sure Rob had signed for the part, but since the sides are being discussed in various forums, we decided to go ahead.

Pattinson Anonymous are fortunate to know someone who has read the original screenplay for “Memoirs” by Will Fetters and she was willing to provide us with a basic cast list and answer a few questions.

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