Clampdown

EXT. DAYTIME. A RIVER. OVERCAST DAY. Wide shot of a fast-moving river, this is beautiful... only it isn’t; this image is full of shit. Cans, blood soaked sanitary towels, condoms, syringes and broken bottles decorate the muddy riverbank. A large industrial pipe spews out a grey, lumpy rancid-looking “Jus”. Nice. Let’s look elsewhere, shall we...What do we have here? A skanky crow eating the innards of a dead rat. Fuck that. There must be something nice about this place? Let’s rest our eyes on the water. Oh! The soothing stillness of mother nature. This is more like it...If it wasn’t for the Dead body. She’s young, wearing a once-pretty white dress. Her lifeless blue-grey body is bruised and covered in bone-deep cuts. Her hands are missing, a gruesome sight. Looks like a pretty dead girl met her maker in the worst possible way. Duke (V.O.) “Deadly, deadly! Cold black river Through the land you roam and slither Like a vein, you spread thy blood You leave behind but dirty mud Once you gave your life to many Now, a disease ridden divider for man and penny So keep on flowing, through night and for the moon, For now, a war begins to loom!” CUT TO: CLAMPDOWN INTRO MONTAGE Set to The Damned’s song “New Rose”. Shot in B&W using fisheye and macro lenses to build a distorted, grainy, chaotic and intricate universe of extremes. - Skinheads trashing furniture. - Punks running from cops. - Goths, tongues licking each other. - Mods, smoking in German whips. - A Skinhead beating up a Goth with a baseball bat. - Mod shooting a Punk. - Punks shooting up heroin. - Goth transgenders working the pole. - Sloppy mouths kissing, saliva. - Buff Mods pumping iron. - Punks smashing glass windows, anything. - Mod riding a motorbike fast, people jumping out of his way. - Wasted Skinheads fucking. - Punk strung out in a bathtub surrounded by paraphernalia. - White powder, brown powder, pills, weed, syringes, veins. - Dust cooking on a dirty spoon. - Shitty punk band playing to a violent crowd in a dirty basement. Sweat. Montage ends on a close up of a gun pointing at camera/you. BANG! Welcome to CLAMPDOWN you silly c£$nts! INT. MORNING TIME A dimly lit bedroom in a run-down Victorian two up two down. Posters of random motifs and dark chaotic drawings cover dirty walls. Who lives in a house like this? A stringy naked man lays across an unmade filthy bed; he’s skinny as hell with “RIOT” tattooed across his inverted belly. He’s sort of awake. An androgynous topless woman, dressed in ripped jeans is prepping a syringe. The man on the bed is in need of a little pick me up. She injects the man in a nurse-like manner, gentle and precise. She lights a cigarette and looks out the window. Meet BONES. Leader of THE PUNKS queen of misfits. There’s a knock on the door. BONES Come in. The door opens, a young man with bleached curly hair and pinned eyes enters the room. He wears latex trousers, leather boots, a ripped fishnet vest and a leather jacket. To be honest he looks a bit like a twat. He tries to keep it together but is conspicuously high. He closes the doorway too slow as if closing the door in slow motion is what sober people do. Idiot. PARROT Hey, you ...they said...you wanted to talk to me? Bones looks Parrot up and down in no hurry, she knows he’s fucked and he can tell. BONES Yes. PARROT OK, well ...I’m here. BONES Where have you been? PARROT Just, you know, out...out and about. BONES Who with? PARROT No one special, just...u know, the usual people. Bones takes a deep drag. BONES The usual people? PARROT Yeah the same crowd I always ...as you know...just the same people ...the same every night ...people. Parrot is stoked he managed to string a sentence together. BONES Did you deliver? Parrot takes a deep breath to give himself time to work on his “story”. A terrible strategy badly executed. PARROT I mean yeah, I did, or I was going to but these ...these fucking guys jumped me and I dropped the goods. I’ve been looking for it but ...but yeah, I can’t fucking find it. It was really dark and yeah, I lost it. Honestly Bones, I know how it sounds but...that’s what happened. Bones puts her hand up to stop him waffling on. BONES Parrot, I’ve known you for a long time. You’ve always been a silly little cunt but... I’m running out of patience with you and I don’t like being taken for a mug. I would appreciate it if you could spare me the charade or if you are going to put on an act, at least try a little harder. I will have to cover the cost of the packages you and your half-witted mates have obviously consumed as well as explain to Pretty Boy Johnny that everything will be hunky dory, something I’d rather not do. PARROT Bones I ...I’m sorry, I lost it. I swear I didn’t touch the stuff. Bones put out her cigarette on the window ledge. BONES Tonight... you will not fuck up. You will flog all the products and bring back the correct amount of money. PARROT I swear, it won’t happen again... I promise you, honestly Bones. BONES I’m bored of having this same conversation with you. Get your stupid face out of here. PARROT Come on Bones. Don’t be like that. Please... I ... Bones pulls out a gun, she aims it straight at Parrot’s head. She tickles the trigger. BONES Shut up Parrot, just this once, shut the fuck up and listen to me. You know, it’s almost as if you think I like listening to you go on and on but ...I don’t. I’m pointing a gun at your head and I’m here thinking maybe, just maybe I should just shoot him? Because it’s tiring, I’m tired, tired of having to deal with clowns such as yourself. Tired of liars. PARROT Please ... BONES Leave. Parrot backs towards the door, he stumbles out of the room. Bones put the gun down and pick up the rotary dial telephone. Ring tone. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Hello. BONES It’s Bones. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY I was just sitting here wondering when you would call me. We’ve got a little mess on our hands, have we not? Hand him all the information Bones, anything to get this over with as quickly as possible. BONES I’ve already sent someone on their way to pick up another package for delivery. There’s really nothing more to discuss here. I’ll cover the cost. BONES braces herself for the sycophantic rhetorics. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY I like you Bones and you personally never cause me any grief but, your gang is full of pillocks. Don’t you get tired of the hogwash? Don’t you wanna fuck em all off? BONES Sometimes, but family is family. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Blood isn’t always thicker than water. BONES I think you’ll find, it pretty much always is. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Not if it’s diluted with all that brown you lot do. My drugs. You’re a soft touch, you are. BONES Are we done? PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Not yet. I have a very cross customer on my hands because of this. Here we go ... BONES What do you want Johnny? PRETTY BOY JOHNNY My client wants an extra package free of charge, for the inconvenience. Money, money, always want more fucking money. BONES I bet. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY I tried to sweet-talk him you know, use my charm and that but he was having none of it. What a fucking dick. BONES Johnny, naturally I will send you the money for it. I would never want you to cover for a mistake of one of mine. It just wouldn’t be right, would it? PRETTY BOY JOHNNY I’m glad you agree. BONES I do. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Well... I guess that’s all in order then, like nothing ever happened. Business as usual, Bob’s your uncle. BONES Yes. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Always a pleasure. BONES Always. CUT TO: INT. MORNING. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY’S OFFICE IN THE HARBOUR WAREHOUSE. Johnny hangs up. He’s sat at his large mahogany desk, still wearing his morning robe. Opposite him, his closest friend and confidant, Fat Gary. Gary really is fat, it’s not one of the clever ones where he is skinny but people call him fat, nah, Gary is proper fat. The office is tidy and clean, everything in its the place, very OCD. Meet PRETTY BOY JOHNNY. Leader of THE MODS and King of the harbour. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY You have to keep a keen eye on those people Gary. They’re not running a clean shop. FAT GARY They’re fucking scum. Dirty junkie vermin. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY You’re not wrong Gazza. FAT GARY Line em up, shoot them all. We don’t fucking need them to run our sales. Gary, always fired up, like a Pit-bull in a dog fight. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Now is not the right time. FAT GARY With all due respect, what’s holding you back? I fucking hate that soapy lot, just give me the green light, I’m ready to go Johnny. It would be my pleasure, a treat. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY I love your enthusiasm but, there’s an Eco system to this, it’s more fragile than a nans’ hip, but it seems to be ticking along nicely. Johnny didn’t conquer the harbour by being stupid. FAT GARY For now. Pretty Boy pours himself a cuppa. Milk only, no sugar, he’s sweet enough. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY For now, is good enough. If things change, we change. FAT GARY I’m tellin ya’, they’re a liability. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY You said you wanted to talk to me about something before the phone rang? Johnny was just about to take a first sip on his tea. FAT GARY It’s Duke. Johnny sighs and puts the cup down. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY What about him? FAT GARY He’s jittery as hell and he wants to see you. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Why? FAT GARY I don’t know, he wouldn’t fucking say, he said he wanted to talk to you face to face. I told him you’re a busy man but he was having none of it. Johnny lifts his cup towards his mouth. FAT GARY He’s here. Johnny puts the cup down again, admits defeat. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY He’s here now? FAT GARY He’s waiting on the bridge for ya. He’s been there for over an hour. Morning cuppa ruined. What a shit start to the day. PRETTY BOY JOHNNY Get the twins ready. Meet me downstairs in bit. I/E. JOHNNY’S GAFF. SOUNDTRACKED BY - GENE TOONS “WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT” MONTAGE - Johnny in his birthday suit. - Brushing his teeth, flossing, grins to his reflection. - Shaves and slaps on Brut eau de toilette, Fancy! - Walk-in wardrobe, rows of suits, shirts, scarves, boots. Immaculate. - Johnny picks an outfit. - Gets dressed. - Polished boots on. - Checks himself in the mirror. Sharp. - He walks out the front door, FAT GARY and THE TWINS are