EZ Money - The Script

EZ Money… Isn’t that what we all want? Ha. If only. EZ Money was a short film that I conceptualized and wrote during the summer of 2020, and then shot in December. It’s currently in post-production. I’ve been working as a Cinematographer and Creative Producer on independent films, commercials, and music videos since 2013. Like many other filmmakers and creatives, my work was almost entirely shut down after the pandemic started. When the pandemic hit, I was sad to not be able to work, and I missed being on-set. (Funny enough though, my first gig after months of no work due to Covid turned out to be for a PSA about wearing masks!). I didn’t necessarily mind staying home, however, since it turned out to be such a golden opportunity to recharge, and try to find some humor and relief in an overall grim situation.

When Covid hit, it was something strange and bizarre to all of us. Suddenly, we needed to be extra careful about hygiene, and wear masks. Grocery stores were panic-filled riots as people fought over the last of the toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Hugs, handshakes, and hanging out were now all unsafe. It was a terrifying reality, made only more tumultuous by the myriad of false, or half-baked information floating around on the internet, along with the fact that new information about the virus was being discovered constantly.

Eventually, however, things calmed down, and people began to accept and get used to this new normal, of attempted social distancing in public, and wearing masks. We no longer had to fear getting trampled in supermarket aisles, or not being able to find hand sanitizer… And the film industry was even starting to get back to work, with the unique new position of Covid-19 Compliance Officer. In the wake of the progress made, and the determined resolve of the world to find a way to keep moving on even throughout such a situation, I was determined to create something.

When I sat down to write the script, I wanted to channel some of the feelings about the pandemic into it, without making an on-the-nose pandemic movie. Having to live with the day to day realities of the pandemic, like masks, social distancing, and not being able to see my friends, the last thing I felt inclined to do was make a movie about that specifically. Maybe it’s too soon, and my pandemic angst film will come later on down the line, but for the time being, it was too close to home. I was determined to find the humor in a grim situation, and poke fun at some of the unpleasant feelings and situations the pandemic has been throwing at us. When I sat down to think about it, what really stood out to me was the uncertainty of it all, the feeling of the rug being pulled out from under our lives… And of course the new focus on hygiene!

That feeling was what I wanted to focus on, and find the humor in, which inspired the protagonist, Mr. ‘Kalashnikov’, who finds himself in a situation where he thought he knew what was up, and that he was in control, only to have the tables turned as he finds out that he’s the only one not clued in to what’s right in front of him. The first part of the idea that came to me was the world… And that started with a simple question bouncing around in my head, an old idea that I’d had years ago for a script, but I’d never found the right story for. I often come up with what I think are interesting concepts for a world, or a character, but not every single one has a story. The trick is to find a world that’s both compelling, and that inspires a story, or suits an idea you have. Often, I’ll write down the ‘worlds’ or concepts I create in a notebook, or document on my computer, so that I can refer back to them. I highly recommend doing this as a creative! Having a place to keep track of your ideas is so important. But I digress. A few years ago, the idea for a short film floated in my head… What if there was a laundromat, but, instead of washing clothes, it LITERALLY laundered your money? A fun play on words with the concept of ‘money laundry’, and surely there was a story or two in there somewhere. At the time, I couldn’t come up with the perfect idea for that world, but now, as I sat down to write a short during the pandemic, it immediately sprang back to mind. The timing was perfect… After all, at a time like now, when everyone is worried about hygiene, and getting sick, what would be more appropriate than really satirizing that to an extreme with a laundromat that washed your money for germs?

In this film, our friend Mr. Kalashnikov is out on what he thinks is a routine money laundering (the criminal kind) gig for his boss. However, he ends up learning an unpleasant lesson after he accidentally walks into the wrong sort of laundromat. I loved the idea of mistaken identity with this laundromat concept, and originally, the short was twice as long, and included a second scene, featuring several more criminals mistaking the laundromat for a place to do their business. However, restraint is also key! So often when I write, I find that I write too much, and have to then go through and remove unnecessary extra content, or rein myself in. That’s why it’s so important to get feedback. I have one friend in particular that I send all my work to. He’s a fellow filmmaker, and the harshest critic I know. His style is completely different than mine, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t get a lot of my humor. He never seems to like anything I send him. BUT, that’s exactly why I send so many things I write his way. I know his style and sense of humor are different than mine, and getting the opinion of someone who a totally different viewpoint is always very helpful. I want honesty, and I want my work to be accessible even to people who don’t have the exact same style or sense of humor as I do. Someone with a different eye, who can notice different things, and isn’t biased because they happen to like the concept or humor. I always appreciate his honesty, AND, getting criticism from someone with a radically different view than your own is also helpful in another way. As with any criticism, the hardest part is really understanding it, and being honest with yourself about it. Considering that anyone criticizing or assessing you is doing it based on their own ideas and interpretations, not everyone’s criticism is always valid, or applicable. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to learn as a filmmaker is dealing with criticism. It’s easy to not take it personally, since everyone has different tastes, but what’s really hard is sifting through the various feedback and criticism of your work to find out which notes are truly helpful, and will really work to make your story the best it can possibly be, and which bits of feedback to ignore. After all, not everyone critiquing your work will understand exactly what your intentions were, but even that is helpful. Seeing what people point out about your piece, and even being able to see when someone might have a point about something, even if you disagree with their specific advice. One example of this is on a short that I wrote a few years ago… My friend suggested a new idea for the ending. Their idea didn’t align with the vision I had for the film, but it, along with some of the other feedback I got, helped to show me that I did need to still work on the ending, and find a way to make it as impactful as possible. I didn’t go with my friends idea, but it served as creative fuel for my re-written, punchier ending.

When I sent the script to my friend, he hated the entire second scene, which at first I was disappointed by, since I’d found it so funny, but then, I realized that he was right. Even if we disagreed about the humor of the scene, (I still think that scene was hilarious! He thought it was stupid, and the dialogue was bad.), he was absolutely right that it had distracted too much from my original intention with the short, which was about making fun of the pandemic feelings, and not just a laundromat and mistaken identity. That was when it really came together, and I was able to make a few more edits to really highlight the original vision I’d had for the short, where Mr. Kalashnikov represents all of us, who had our worlds overturned by the pandemic, as he finds himself in a similarly unfamiliar and scary situation.

Even though at that point, I was ready to start bringing on the rest of my crew and had a script that I was happy with, I knew my job still wasn't done. With a script, it never necessarily is. Almost every project I've ever worked on has seen various evolutions of the script over the course of pre-production, and sometimes I've even seen them changed on-set. I had only just started to create the world of EZ Money... and now, to make it come to life, I had to really step into it... It was time to start pre-production.