JUNE – OCTOBER 2005

I came up with the idea that a mysterious man arrives in town telling people that he is a descendant of the man with no name. He is then hired to carry out justice on a local land baron who runs an illegal immigrant smuggling ring. When faced with certain death the man bails and those who have hired him are severally punished. Shamed by his actions the man returns to make things right. I later ditched this idea because I keep finding myself forcing this idea into the script. It never worked so finally I decided to just write the story and see what happened.

I wrote seven different drafts of the script, the story changing each time. I would ultimately use bits and pieces of each draft on what became Cowboy Smoke. The following is a scene from the earliest draft. I should be embarrassed to show this but it’s important for me to show how far the idea has come. Originally I had three parallel stories, one about a cowboy, a second about a coyote, and a third about a middle-aged guy who left his family to move south and become a cowboy and the three stories were connected by a land baron who ran an illegal immigrant smuggling ring (sound familiar). The following scene introduces the cowboy and his situation: his family is having to sell off their ranch a little at a time and that the cowboy has conflicting ideas with his father on how the ranch should be run.

EXT. FAGAN RANCH - AFTERNOON

A group of Mexican RANCH HANDS herd cattle through a shoot.
Two ACCOUNTANTS with clipboards stand off to side counting cattle as the beast fight their way through the shoot.CODY Fagan, 30, lies under a tree watching the cattle. He’s got blonde curly hair, blue eyes and boyish good looks. He raises a fifth of Jack Daniels to his lips and takes a drink. An old man’s VOICE calls to Cody from behind.OLD MAN (OS)
You gonna sit there all day and get drunk Cody, or are you gonna help them boys load the cattle?

CODY
‘Bout time you said something. What, you been standing there five, ten minutes? Could hear you breathing old man.

OLD MAN (OS)
Are you, or aren’t yuh?

CODY
Those cattle got all they’re gonna get outta me.

Cody cocks his head and turns his gaze up to the tired, wrinkled face of NICHOLOS Fagan, 65. Cody smiles.

CODY (CONT’D)
I was just about to head inside and wash up anyway.

NICHOLOS
Dinner won’t be ready for three more hours.

CODY
I’m a go pay Gloria Kolle a visit.

NICHOLOS
You ought not be fooling around with another mans wife.

Nichols wipes his brow, using the sleeve of his shirt.

CODY
What’s a matter Nicholas, you afraid somebody’s gonna see me.

NICHOLOS
Don’t call me Nicholas. And yes. But the principle of the matter is that it ain’t right, you fooling around with married women and all.

CODY
There you go with them principles of yours.

Cody picks himself up off the ground. Once on his feet he drains the bottle. When finished he sighs.

CODY (CONT’D)
Tell me, was it your principles that made you sell our land?

NICHOLOS
I had no choice.

CODY
You had a choice, hell. You choose to keep them cattle. You choose to keep me from drilling for oil, and now we got nothing, including them cattle.

NICHOLOS
You shouldn’t talk to your father that way.

CODY
You don’t like the truth you should cover your eyes ‘cause it’s all around you. I’m just spelling it out, that’s all.

NICHOLOS
You know what Cody.

CODY
No but I’m sure you’ll tell me.

NICHOLAS
You’re a man without morals and there’s no use in this
world for a man like that.

CODY
Maybe. But it was your morals that lost this land.
(beat)
Ahhh…

Cody pitches the empty bottle and strides off.

Nicholos watches his son. Then:

NICHOLOS
I’m leaving in the morning, Cody.

Cody slowly stops but does not face his father.

CODY
Were you off to?

NICHOLOS
You’re brother and I are heading up to Dallas to stay with your aunt.

CODY
You’re taking Lonnie?

NICHOLOS
You think I’d leave him here with you?

CODY
Probably for the best. He’d only slow me down.

NICHOLOS
I guess he would.

CODY
Well, I’ll be seeing you then.

And with this Cody walks away from his father.

_____________
I look back on that scene now and realize how much it was influenced by HUD starring Paul Newman. I’m glad that none of the above ended up in the final script., it just goes to show that you have to write, rewrite, then write some more. You’ve got to pound out all those bad ideas, those ideas that are not necessarily original - whatever - and make the movie yours.

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