(Post-credits scene for... Well, you'll work it out) INT. FACTORY - DAY Hands place the familiar silver flight case on the table. Open it. A needle enters a vein. Another needle, another arm - and another and another - Four couches arranged around the table. The four remaining members of the team, hooked up to the machine, look at each other. This is the dumbest thing they've ever done, and they've done some pretty dumb things recently. ARTHUR: And the new compound will allow us out of Limbo any time we want? YUSEF: (firm) Yes. (The truth) Probably. EAMES: Well, it can't be any worse than the last time, right? Right...? ARTHUR: No one's ever rescued someone from Limbo. Ariadne's hand hovers over the button. Ready to plunge them into dream-state. ARIANDE: That's what they said about inception. Arthur nods curtly. He trusts her. She presses the button.

INT. DON CORLEONE'S OFFICE - NIGHT A haggard looking Michael slumps in an armchair, as Tom pours a couple of glasses of Marsala. He hands one to Michael, as he sits in the chair next to Mike's. They clink glasses. TOM: Cent'anni. MIKE: Cent'anni. TOM: How was the flight? You look tired. MIKE: It was just like being back in the Marines. Tom allows himself a snigger, but Mike just sits there... gently but impatiently glaring back at Tom. MIKE: How's Pop? TOM: He's good... but he needs his rest more now. Tom leans forward. TOM (CONT'D): That's what I wanna talk to you about... before we go wake him up. (beat) The Don is getting old and the wolves are gathering, Mike. And with Sonny gone, he wants you to take over the family business. MIKE: Why me? Why not you? TOM: You know it can't be me. I'm not Sicilian... hell, I'm not even Italian. MIKE: Okay then, what about Fredo? He's my older brother, he's next in line. Tom glares admonishingly as if Mike should know what a profoundly stupid idea that is. TOM: Fredo's weak, Mike... Nobody respects him. They think he's a coward and a stunato. Tessio and Clemenza would go out on their own... it'd split the family into a thousand pieces... Put Fredo in charge and we'd might as well call Barzini right now and invite him to move into this office. (beat) After what happened with Sollozzo and in Sicily, and with the truce we made to get you back, it has to be you. The family needs somebody strong in charge and you're the only one who can make everybody happy and keep things under control. Mike gazes at Tom, shrugs reluctantly as his fate is set. MIKE: Yeah, you're right. Mike drains his glass of Marsala, as does Tom. They rise as Mike puts his arm around Tom's shoulder. MIKE: But you're still going to be around, right? TOM: Of course. You think I'd leave my little brother all alone? Mike smiles for the first time. All things considered, it's good to be home. MIKE: Let's go say hello to Mama and Pop.

Nice! I am in awe and profoundly jealous of your ability to get to the point so efficiently.

INT. FOX BOOKSTORE – DAY FOX BOOKSTORE is a few days open. JOE FOX and his grandfather take a seat in the coffee corner of the shop, near the children’s department. They get coffee and cake served. JOE FOX: I met her GRANDFATHER FOX: who? Grandfather Fox sips his cappuccino. JOE FOX: Cecilia’s daughter. GRANDFATHER FOX: enchanted was her mother. I dated her once JOE FOX: her daughter too. How am I going to crush a delicate butterfly? GRANDFATHER FOX: You don’t have too JOE FOX: we crush, that’s what we do, everywhere we go we wipe out the local bookstore JOE gazes at the children's department. GRANDFATHER FOX: She has a spell on you too, I still remember Cecilia. I wish I had married her. You should marry her. JOE FOX: I don’t know her GRANDFATHER FOX: who cares. Invite her for a tour in your shop JOE FOX: She’d rather eat me alive GRANDFATHER FOX: how would you know? JOE FOX: she made that clear when I visited her shop with my cousin GRANDFATER FOX: enchanting isn’t it JOEY FOX: yeah. Daisies are her favorites (sight). She thinks she lead a small life. I think, she’s great, though, her books are bit overpriced. GRANDFATER FOX: She told you that? JOE FOX: yes-no, I mean- - she and her shop are perfect GRANDFATHER FOX: ask her out, or, you’ll wonder at the age of eighty how it might have been JOE FOX: I’m the fox in her butterfly eyes GRANDFATHER FOX: aren’t you going to eat that? (takes a bite of Joe’s cake)

Wow, I didn't really think about this at the time I came up with the idea....I was probably just trying to be clever ;-) This is harder than it looks, love the examples above but, once you start thinking about it, you realise that all those great films out there are great for a reason....well lost of reasons, but one of them is the fact that they are well written and they are lean, well crafted stories....that's why we get deleted scenes on the DVD/Blu Ray. My effort....for E.T. Just trying to add a little extra bonding time for Elliott and E.T.....and having written it, I realised that it would still be superfluous, the film is perfect without it...but at least now I feel a little bit of a charlatan for even thinking it needed a new scene. INT. LOUNGE - DAY Elliott leads E.T. into the lounge, sitting him on the sofa and handing him the television remote. E.T. takes the remote and examines it closely. E.T.: Phone home! ELLIOTT: No, not really, but look... He points the remote and turns the television on. E.T. jumps slightly but is enthralled by the moving pictures. ELLIOTT: We can watch loads... He flicks through channels, and E.T. watches intently. ELLIOTT: These are cartoons... for kids... like me. E.T. 's head follows the gaudy creatures dancing on the screen. ELLIOTT: Dad and I used to watch them together on Sunday mornings. E.T. blinks but doesn't move. ELLIOTT: Yeah, he didn't like them much either. E.T.'s large, wise face studies Elliott as his eyes begin to water. He raises his long fingers to Elliott's face. ELLIOTT (snapping out of it): Wait here, I got something else to show you...(slowly) stay... here. E.T. watches Elliott disappear into the other room and then turns back to the television and scrutinises the remote one more time. E.T.: E.T. phone home. Although, on a serious note, trying to think of a scene that you could stick into an existing film that isn't unnecessary is a good little game to play when thinking about your own stories and the scenes within it....are they necessary, do we need them, would the story be hurt if they were cut?

INT. BEDROOM, BILL'S BEACH-SIDE HOME - MORNING Bedroom fit for a Sultan. We see through the open bay window overlooking the beach, its golden sands, deep blue water and crystalline sky. It's a beautiful morning. Bill stands in silhouette on the deck, gazing to the horizon, phone to his head. Elle Driver lies in bed, barely covered by 1000 count egyptian cotton, listening with the concentration of a safe cracker. A book titled "Venomous Snakes Of The World" lies next to her. We hear Bill hang up the phone, his footsteps as he returns to the bedroom. BILL (O.S.): Well, ain't that a thing. ELLE: What? BILL (O.S.): She's been lying in a coma the whole time... in that same Pasadena hospital where B.B was born. We hear Bill's laugh, a mix of admiration, annoyance and disbelief. Elle quickly sits up, smirks wickedly. ELLE: Let me do it. Let me finish what we started. BILL (O.S.): Let her sleep. She's earned it. Elle rubs her head just above her eye-patch. ELLE: Let me kill Pai Mei's perfect little student. BILL (O.S.): Are you still sore about that? Baby, if you want to be happy you need to learn to let things go. ELLE: It's not about the eye. It's about me and her. Always was. While's she's still alive, while she still exists, I'll always be number two. BILL (O.S.): Well, there is that. ELLE: I promise you, she won't feel a thing. BILL (O.S.): All right... you can take the jet. Buoyantly happy, Elle opens her arms to invite Bill back to bed. ELLE: You won't regret it.

This was a tough one, wasn't it? Because great films typically have a sense of completeness. Any suggestions for scene-writing prompts for next week? I've got a bunch, but always open to suggestion.

I kind of liked this one, precisely because it was so difficult... not only were we trying to add to a classic movie that needs no addition, but subconsciously what we wrote is going to be compared, however unfairly, to the original writers. Under those circumstances, it's not possible to do anything but come up short. That said, I imagine that if you're being hired to do a re-write this exercise encapsulates exactly one of the kind of things you'd be doing. So for precisely that reason, imho this round was especially valuable.

As for scenes, how about writing a scene with background music, where the lyrics of the song chosen act as a narration for the scene? For example, The Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane" being played during/over a high speed car chase scene, with action beats being punctuated by the words of the lyric ("They didn't see the stop sign.")

Scott, I didn't think for one moment that my scene was contributing to the movie You've got mail. I felt awful when I was writing it, a little voice screaming: Don't do it. This exercise was good to experience how it feels when you overwrite or write unnecessary scenes. As for scenes, write a scene with a set-up and a pay-off.

Scene prompt: Write a scene where the main character is an important historical figure.

I'm sorry, I'm writing in so late but this one got me stuck. Here is my attempt: INT. BEACH - NIGHT Joel has finally ran out of the beach house. It crumbles behind him. He touches his lips, remembers this moment which never happened. He turns around and screams. JOEL: What is there in Monthauk? Huh? You erased me and now I erase you. There is nothing for us in Monthauk. Two arms surround him from behind and CLEMENTINE's head gently lands on his shoulder. She hugs him tight. CLEMENTINE: What better do you have to do? JOEL: Nothing. I've go nothing left. I love you Clementine and you leave me what? Me? You know there's nothing I can do with myself. My life with you was not always happy but it was a life. Please. Don't go. Clementine's hands retrieve slowly towards the ocean. Joel turns around but it's too late. She's gone. JOEL: I don't want to be alone again! He looks at the darkness ahead then turns to the only light in sight, the bond fire. He resumes his walk. His pace accelerates slightly as the fire seems to disappear as well. JOEL (To himself): Meet me in Monthauk. Monthauk. Monthauk. The fire slowly dies in the distance, he panics. JOEL: Hey! Wait! I gotta go to Monthauk, I gotta go- The fire is gone. He stops, looks around. Nothing. He's alone in the dark. JOEL: Hey, don't leave me here. Don't leave alone. Hey! He turns and turns and turns again until, out of nowhere, Carrie faces him with a smile, the bond fire right next to them. CARRIE: Ready to go? Joel turns back to where the house was. JOEL: Monthauk. Sure, yea.

Scott, happy birthday to you, too, since you're one of the forces behind The Black Board. To celebrate its birthday, I was thinking of a scene writing prompt with birthday or any kind of celebration as theme.

For a scene prompt, how about: write a scene where a regular situation morphs, or is jerked into, an ordeal.

[…] so much writing to do. This is my response to Scott Myers’ “September is Scene-Writing Month: Day 9” (September 13th) prompt: “Take a favorite film and add a scene that adds to the narrative [suggested by Mark […]

EXT. BEACH - DAY A man in his forties sits in the sand beside his ten year old daughter. MAN: And that's why now, when you're twelve, you can train along side of the boys and learn the ways of the Ngati Konohi. GIRL: Because of Pai riding a whale. MAN: Because she believed in herself. Even when others did not. GIRL: You did not. MAN: That's right. GIRL: You tried to stop her. He nods. GIRL: Why father? MAN: Tradition, the way of man-- the way of our village-- I let it come before the way of the spirits. I could not hear them for the fear of this change. GIRL: The spirits kept her from drowning. MAN: The whale nudged her up to the surface and to the shore.She was chosen-- the miracle of our generation. The spirits have spoken. GIRL: And now girls can learn to fight, to make boats, to fish. MAN: And to ride whales.