Big Girls Don't Cry...
From the desk of Isabella Flanagan. Another update on The Jukebox at The Diner Compendium
Hi everyone, the Scribe here. I Just wanted to share something with you and give you a small update. As I've hit the halfway mark in the 2nd draft of The Jukebox at The Diner Volume One, it’s clear I will probably end up finishing the second draft of all the books before I publish any.
So while updates here will be few for quite some time, there will be fun things to share. Of course, this is Isabella’s doing. Having her narrate the novels has been a game changer. The other is something I hoped for but wasn’t sure would be the case.
However, when I sat down to write the pilot script for The Jukebox at The Diner Volume One, I started to see more of the story come to life. Below is the first 11 pages of the very first draft of the pilot script for The Jukebox at The Diner Volume One.
I’m in another round of Screenwriting As A Pro with James Dalessandro, and if the reactions in class were any clue, I think it’s going pretty well. Here’s a little challenge for you. Who do you think I’d cast as Isabella?
In other news aka the Zepparella story I’m working on, it’s slowly moving forward. I have tickets to see them as well as Gretchen’s trio at The Great American Music Hall on November 9th.
If all goes as planned, I’ll be there the night before to spend some time at City Light Books and Vesuvio because I’m almost to Campfire Tales. Oh, that’s where Charlie meets Maria. He’s in City Light Books, hears her singing, and finds her in Kerouac Alley.
I think it would be cool to write part of it on location. I’ll at least share some photos after the show. I also got the illustration for the story back from Amelie, who’s also considering illustrating The Jukebox at The Diner. That however won’t be public until the story is.
That’s all for now, I’ll hand it over to the boss. Seriously, I’m so not in control here.
=j
I had this whole update ready, letting you know how the drafts were going, but I just got the first few pages of the first script for The Jukebox at The Diner Volume One: Episode One. It’s titled “Hot To Go!” and omg, I know how it ends, Mrs. Bouvier, but I’m balling. - Isabella
THE JUKEBOX AT THE DINER VOLUME ONE
EPISODE ONE: HOT TO GO!
WRITTEN BY JASON MORI
FADE IN:
EXT. AERIAL SHOT - BEFORE SUNRISE
A Ford Maverick winds through the turns of a mountain road. Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” is playing on the Maverick’s stereo.
Isabella Flanagan, 25, recent UT, Austin graduate and editor at Flanagan Press, her father’s publishing company, is driving to meet CHARLIE JONES at Ed’s Diner.
EXT. ED’S DINER - BEFORE SUNRISE
The red neon of the roadside diner ignites. The “R” has gone out, but the lowercase “ed’s” still lights up. The BUZZ of the neon is noticeable.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
Somewhere between Fort Collins and Spokane is what my Godfather Charlie Jones used to tell people when they asked where the Diner was. I remember driving there for the very first time, in a beat-up ’71 Ford Maverick, a little over 40 years ago in the Summer of 2023.
INT. ED'S DINER - BEFORE SUNRISE
From the black and white tile floor to the chrome that wraps around the booth tables and counter, Ed’s Diner looks like it’s made from materials stolen from the inventory of a 50’s Detroit auto manufacturer.
Against the west wall is a 1953 Wurlitzer 1500. Six booths, 3 against the front window, are covered in red vinyl, with white tabletops and chrome wrapping, including the table stand.
4 chrome stools with red vinyl seats face the counter, that match the tabletops, looking towards the kitchen through a counter window.
Two swinging doors lead to a stainless steel sink and dishwashing machine, and the entrance to the kitchen is to the right as you walk through the swinging doors.
MONTAGE - A TYPICAL MORNING AT THE DINER
A - BACK SINK
B - KITCHEN
C - DINING ROOM
(A) CHARLIE JONES, 50’s, with shoulder-length hair, and a build like a Nordic Viking, is washing dishes at a stainless steel sink.
(B) The diner’s owner, retired Army Mechanic ED JACKSON, 70’s, is flipping scrambled eggs on a grill.
(C) MAGGIE WEST, thin, blonde hair, looks in her 30’s despite her actual age (40’s) is polishing silverware at the counter. She’s wearing a vintage pink waitress outfit she found in the broom closet that was leftover from before Ed arrived.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
Ever since Charlie moved near the Diner, my father, once a year, would drive out to see Charlie and pick up the drafts of the young adult novels Charlie had been writing under a pseudonym. You might know that pseudonym. Margaret Apple.
EXT. AERIAL SHOT - BEFORE SUNRISE
A Ford Maverick winds through the turns of a mountain road. Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” plays.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
Every freaking time my father, MICHAEL FLANAGAN, drove to the Diner, his car, either his own or a rental, would break down. The same thing almost happened to me, but after 15 years of hearing my father’s hilarious tales upon returning, I was prepared. That Maverick I was driving was analog. Stick, had to roll the windows up by hand, no A/C, and I had to leave Austin Texas in late June, by the way!
INT. FORD MAVERICK - BEFORE SUNRISE
Back seat view of an 80’s era Alpine stereo cassette deck. Isabella’s right hand reaches down, revealing friendship bracelets on the wrist including one for Charlie, turns up the volume, and then shifts gears.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
That’s right, the “Flanagan Press Princess” bought that car, changed the oil, the plugs, the cap and rotor, the spark plug cables, and set the timing all by myself. I did let the professionals take care of the tires and brakes, then drove across the country from South to North to finally meet Charlie at the Diner. I always wondered why he made me wait until almost my 25th birthday, but once I got there, I knew why. Just like Charlie, I would have rarely left.
EXT. AERIAL SHOT - BEFORE SUNRISE
A Ford Maverick winds through the turns of a mountain road. Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” plays.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
This song by Kelly Clarkson always reminds me of James Patterson’s Where The Wind Blows and the Maximum Ride series it inspired. I remember singing it while Charlie read me the scene where Max escapes the laboratory she was born in and flies for the first time. Hold on, I need to sing along with Kelly.
INT. FORD MAVERICK - BEFORE SUNRISE
View of the cassette deck. Isabella’s right hand reaches down, revealing another friendship bracelet for MARGARET APPLE, turns up the volume, and then shifts into a higher gear. Isabella sings along with Kelly.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (SINGING)
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly / I'll do what it takes 'til I touch the sky / And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change / And breakaway
EXT. WIDE TURNOUT ON A VISTA OVERLOOKING A VALLEY - SUNRISE
Isabella pulls the Maverick over at a turnout to get a view of the valley
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
Charlie started writing The Jukebox at The Diner the night before I arrived. It was a dark and stormy night. Inspired by a bolt of lightning and an Eddie Rabbit song, he wrote the first draft of “45 Jukebox”.
INT. FORD MAVERICK
Isabella’s right hand turns off the stereo, ejects the cassette, and grabs a black leather jacket. You hear a door OPEN and SHUT.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
What’s amazing to me looking back is these 3 volumes of stories only cover the first year, from my arrival at the Diner at the end of June 2023 until June of 2024, when my dear friend and rock star MADDISUN arrived at the Diner with her brand new single “Feelin’ It Again” in tow. So much happened in that year.
EXT. WIDE TURNOUT ON A VISTA OVERLOOKING A VALLEY - BEFORE SUNRISE
A hawk lands and is perched on a branch of a Douglas Fir tree across the road on the mountainside behind Isabella, watching her stretch and take in the valley.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
A punk rock band was formed, my Dad got married again, and I finally told the true story of “The Chicken Hawk Shakes A Tailfeather” Only one of those things happens in this first volume, but trust me, there’s plenty of adventure. First, it was my coming out party as Margaret Apple, and second, I had the best and craziest birthday that year!
EXT. WIDE TURNOUT ON A VISTA OVERLOOKING A VALLEY - SUNRISE
Isabella spreads her arms out like wings and sings part of “Breakaway” to herself.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (SINGING)
Out of the darkness and into the sun / But I won't forget all the ones that I love / I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change And breakaway
The sunrise slowly pushes the shadows out of the valley.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
There are two state routes that for a short distance run parallel on each edge of the valley where the Diner used to be. There’s a road that runs between the two, with a train crossing for the tracks that run parallel to the state route in the East.
EXT. WIDE TURNOUT ON A VISTA OVERLOOKING A VALLEY - SUNRISE
The hawk watches Isabella stretch and take in the view while the sun rises.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
After about a mile through small hills, the road levels and there’s a small county Sheriff’s building and an access road that leads to a private cabin behind it that was built by former Sheriff JOE WEST. His daughter, Maggie, is amazing; you’ll meet her right away; she lives at the cabin and waitresses at the Diner.
EXT. FORD MAVERICK - MORNING
Isabella gets back into the Ford Maverick
INT. FORD MAVERICK
Rear seat view of Isabella’s right hand turning the ignition and starting the Maverick, grabbing a cassette, putting it in the Alpine stereo, and turning it on. Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go!” plays, and Isabella counts in with Chappell.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
Five, Six… Five, Six, Seven, Eight…
EXT. AERIAL SHOT - MORNING
The hawk on the Douglas Fir tree flies off, offering a bird's eye view of the Maverick as it drives towards the Diner.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
So, what’s so special about this particular roadside Diner? First, there’s the jukebox. It’s a 1953 Wurlitzer 1500. Do you know Rudolf Wurlitzer’s story? It’s pretty cool. His family had made instruments for generations, and he brought that knowledge with him to America. While it was Rudy’s sons who invented the jukebox, I’ve always felt that our jukebox had a little part of Rudy’s soul. It became part of our family. I wish I knew how it got to the Diner. It’s the only thing that we don’t have paperwork for. I should also mention that it doesn’t have a serial number.
EXT. AERIAL SHOT - MORNING
The Ford Maverick turns off the state route, crossing the train tracks and heads west towards the Diner.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (V.O.)
The second thing that makes the Diner so special is the people. Ed Jackson, it’s his Diner, Maggie, SHERIFF EARNEST PRESLEY, and DEPUTY JOEY STRONGBULL. And duh! Charlie of course! I’m glad we can finally share with the world what a mystical and fantastical place the Diner was, and how it changed my life the moment I arrived. This is where my journey began.
INT. FORD MAVERICK
Isabella sings along with Chappell Roan’s “Hot To Go!”
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (SINGING)
It's like a hundred ninety-nine degrees!
The radiator hose blows, and steaming radiator fluid obscures the windshield as the Maverick pulls into the Diner.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN
Oh, come on, that’s hella lame! I’m like right there!
EXT. ED'S DINER PARKING LOT
The hawk lands on the neon road sign of “ed’s” Diner and watches the Maverick pull into the parking lot.
INT. ED'S DINER
Inside the Diner, Maggie turns on the neon “Open” sign and notices a car pulling in with radiator fluid steaming out from under the hood.
MAGGIE WEST
Coming in HOT, Ed!
The dishwasher, Charlie, rushes out of the kitchen wearing thick rubber dishwashing gloves, carrying a fire extinguisher under his right arm, and heads out the front door of the Diner to the parking lot.
EXT. ED'S DINER PARKING LOT
The hawk watches the scene unfold from the top of the neon road sign.
CHARLIE JONES
Pop the hood!
The hood unlatches and Charlie lifts the hood, hiding the driver from view.
INT. FORD MAVERICK
Rear seat view. Isabella’s right hand turns up the volume of the Alpine stereo and Isabella sings along to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Girl I’ve Always Been”
ISABELLA FLANAGAN (SINGING)
I get down with crooked men but I am the girl I’ve always been.
CHARLIE JONES
Mouse?
EXT. FORD MAVERICK
The driver's side door of the Maverick OPENS. Underneath the door, a pair of well-worn vintage black Converse All-Star high-top shoes touch the ground. The door SHUTS.
The camera pans up to reveal Isabella, wearing cutoff jean shorts, and a University of Texas basketball jersey, with the number 9 on the front. Isabella takes off a pair of cheap white truck stop Wayfarer knockoffs and smiles.
ISABELLA FLANAGAN
Hi Charlie!
FADE TO BLACK
THE JUKEBOX AT THE DINER VOLUME ONE
EPISODE ONE: HOT TO GO!
Sounds of an OCEAN STORM, unidentified voices SCREAMING. A Marine distress call is being made.
BLACK SCREEN - AUDIO ONLY
UNIDENTIFIED MAYDAY RADIO CALL
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is the SS' Mary’s Lamb. Coordinates are longitude 41.5047, latitude -69.6121. There are four people on board. We’ve lost our second engine and are unable to outrun the storm. Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
A teenage girl’s voice can be heard in the background
UNIDENTIFIED TEENAGE GIRL
Max! Max! Get topside, we need to...
The radio signal turns static.
CUT TO:
INT - GREYHOUND BUS - NIGHT
AMANDA ADAMS, 30’s, light brown hair pinned up, in her Army Captain’s uniform, is having a nightmare. She shifts her position in her sleep.
CUT TO:
FLASHBACK
15 YEARS AGO
EXT. THE ATLANTIC OCEAN OFF THE COAST OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
After their boat sinks, four people are tied together in a massive North Atlantic storm off the coast of Massachusetts. 16-year-old Amanda is performing CPR on her dead brother MAX ADAMS, 18, who has just floated to the surface after going down with the boat. A beacon attached to Amanda’s life vest is flashing.
AMANDA ADAMS
Just a little more time is all we’re asking for!
Amanda is screaming the lyrics to Corey Hart’s “Never Surrender” over the storm to keep her father conscious. An open wound is visible on her father’s head.
AMANDA ADAMS
Just a little more time could open closing doors!
Her Father and Uncle joined her in chorus:
AMANDA ADAMS, HER FATHER, AND UNCLE
And nobody wants to know you now! And nobody wants to show you how!
CUT TO:
PRESENT DAY - HWY 287 SOUTH OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
INT. GREYHOUND BUS - NIGHT
Amanda wakes from the nightmare and shifts in her seat again. She stares out the window at the Colorado landscape and then closes her eyes.
EXT. LEVERETTE POND. BROOKLINE, MA - DAWN
CUT TO:
FLASHBACK
15 YEARS AGO
4 AM
MAX ADAMS, 18, US Army recruit, jogs along Leverett Pond before sunrise, then across Daisy Field and Jamiacaway to Bynner St.
INT. ADAMS RESIDENCE ENTRYWAY
Max jogs up the stairs of his family home, enters, and quietly walks upstairs past pictures of his family. Photos are hung along the wall. He touches his great-grandfather’s Union flag at the top of the stairs and stops outside his sister Amanda’s room. He slowly opens the door and sneaks in.
INT. AMANDA’S BEDROOM
Before Sunrise, Amanda is woken up by her brother MAX ADAMS, 18.
MAX ADAMS
Wake up Mrs. Bouvier, I think I’ve got something to say to you!
AMANDA ADAMS
That you’re a resounding pain in my ass?
Amanda looks at Max, and then up at the Corey Hart poster on the wall above the headboard.
EXT. COTTON CANDY STAND AT MASSACHUSETTS STATE FAIR - DAY
FLASHBACK
EARLIER THAT SUMMER
Max finds his 16-year-old sister Amanda in line at a cotton candy stand. Max carries a rolled-up poster he’s won at the BB gun shooting gallery.
MAX ADAMS
Don’t ask.
Max hands Amanda the poster.
AMANDA ADAMS
Don’t tell.
Max heads off without another word. Amanda gets her cotton candy and heads to a restroom.
INT. PUBLIC RESTROOM
Inside one of the stalls, Amanda lays her cotton candy on her lap and unrolls the poster. It’s a Corey Hart “Never Surrender” poster. Amanda starts laughing. A girl in the stall next to her asks a question.
RANDOM BATHROOM STALL GIRL
Hey, can I get some of what you’re on? I promise I won’t tell!
AMANDA ADAMS
(laughing hysterically)
CUT TO:
INT. AMANDA'S BEDROOM
Max pulls her bedspread off like a magician pulling a tablecloth out from under a full plate setting. Amanda is wearing her grey “Fergalicious” shirt, the one where Fergie’s holding a lollipop.
MAX ADAMS
Move it, Mrs. Bouvier, big girls don’t cry.
CUT TO:
PRESENT DAY
INT. GREYHOUND BUS
Amanda looks out the window at signs for Boulder on the highway and continues staring at the Colorado landscape. Amanda sees her reflection in the window as she wipes the early beginnings of tears from her eyes.
AMANDA ADAMS (WHISPERS)
Suck it up, Mrs. Bouvier, big girls don’t cry.
So you’re probably asking why Max calls Amanda “Mrs. Bouvier”. Well, according to the scriptwriter, when he was looking up Corey Hart info, he found this on facts.net:
So instead of calling Amanda “The Future Mrs. Hart”, he went with Bouvier. Pierre Charles Bouvier is the singer of Simple Plan, but if you were Amanda’s older brother, Max, you’d probably do the same thing when discovering facts.net got a fact wrong. It’s a tiny little thing, but so funny! I love it. Ok, here’s the updated page! - Isabella
Um, for old-time sakes? The Jukebox at The Diner Will Return…