SCREENPLAY : ROB OR ROBOT

By
JOE PARKER

Copyright: Joe Parker 2013

[email protected]

INT. DAY TO EVENING - OFFICE

Office location. Dreary and dull. Workers situated in rows
of small cubicles. Time lapse of people working and leaving
to go home until only one person remains. Seen from above.
Blinds are closed but some light leaks through. Day to
evening shift reflected in Office lighting.
CUT TO:
INT. EVENING - ROBS CUBICLE
Focus on ROB, established by a name tag worn, seated and
typing at his desk on a 90s looking computer. Sunken
shoulders and a permanent frown, his demeanor is of a down
and tired worker. He is balding, wearing square spectacles
and a white collared shirt. His dull tie shows evidence of
being gradually loosened and Rob has a slight coffee stain
around his mouth. His glasses slip down numerous times and
he pushes them back up instantly.
CUT TO:
Robs BOSS approaches from behind. He is dressed in a bright
purple suit, black hair slicked to one side and an orange
tie. He slaps Rob hard on the back, speaks in an arrogant
tone then exits.
BOSS
I wish I had more of you.
CUT TO:
INT. EVENING - OFFICE WALLS
Office interior is shown in more detail. Walls with slogans
include Cogs in the Machine and Worked Like Robots.
Portraits of The Boss are also present around the office in
smug and menacing poses. These are purposely over-the-top
and exaggerated.
CUT TO:
INT. EVENING - OTHER DESKS
Pan of the other employee desks in the office. We see a
variety of pictures, family photos and small oddities on
each until we see one only piled up with work. The camera
pans slightly past it and then cuts back. The computer is on
with a black screen filled with green text. This is Robs
desk.
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - WATER COOLER
Rob stretches his arms in the air and slowly gets up. He
walks over to the water cooler located at the other side of
the room. His trousers are high and ill-fitting. Suddenly,
there is a sound of power failing, a second of anguish on
Robs face, close-up, then darkness.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - COMPUTER SCREEN
In the darkness Rob can be heard scampering back towards the
screen. The sounds of his knee banging against his desk,
draws opening and objects being searched through. There is
suddenly a bright light shining on his face, cutting through
the darkness. Rob is holding a torch. The light is powerful,
Rob blinks and is slightly blinded. He shines it towards his
computer, which no longer contains any text. His glasses are
askew, face pained and his pen in his pocket slowly leaks as
he stares despondently at the screen. In a mad panic, he
types the keyboard and shakes the monitor but to no avail,
his work is no longer there. He regains his composure and
looks puzzled. The torch is now held beneath his chin. On
the computer screen, knocked at an awkward angle, is a
flicker of light. He taps the screen. He realises it is a
reflection and turns around quickly.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - DARKNESS - BOSSS OFFICE
The flicking light is shown as a Do Not Enter sign. The
lights and power come back on, lighting up the room the sign
is placed in. It is above a door. The room belongs to the
Boss, clearly larger in grandeur to the other cubicles with
wood and glass panels separating it from the outside. Rob is
looking at it from his desk, intrigued. He has ignored his
computer screen and lost work. He walks towards the Bosss
office.
CUT TO:

3.

INT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE BOSSS OFFICE

Rob tries to open the door to the room, turning the handle.
It is locked. He presses his nose against the glass pane in
the door. He pulls at the handle again though this time much
more aggressively. From inside the room, looking out, we see
the pane steams up and Rob fails to open the door, but not
much in the room is seen.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - THROUGH OFFICE AND BEHIND DOOR
Back outside with Rob, he wipes away the steam on the pane
and looks through intently. The camera follows his gaze
through the door. The office contains non-extraordinary
items such as a plant, cloak stand and wooden desk. The
camera carries on moving forward and through the second
door, underneath the Do Not Enter sign...Darkness.
FADE TO BLACK:
INT. TIME UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE
The room has exactly the same layout as the last, though
with a few individual differences. The water cooler no
longer contains water but a thicker, oil substance. All the
surfaces have a metallic shine and the room has an unearthly
light. Photos of the Boss in menacing poses have been
replaced with a Robot with the same poses while the slogans
now read Well Hire Humans, Theyre Cheaper. The metallic
shine leaves the room feeling cold. There is a wire coming
from the door that, once followed, along the same layout as
the first office, leads to a plugged in figure next to a
desk, where Robs would be.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT TO UNKNOWN - BOTH OFFICES
The Do Not Enter sign flashes and sparks once more time,
causing Rob to jump backwards.
QUICK CUT:
The figure also jumps up. He is a ROBOT but with many
similarities with Rob. They have the same hairline and
style, though the Robots is wires that spark. The Robot is
also wearing glasses that slide down and thus corrected.
There is a similar dull tie worn and instead of a coffee
(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

4.

stain, one of rust by the Robots mouth. The magnetic name

tag is titled ROBOT and placed where Robs is. The Robot
is typing at its desk, just as Rob was, glasses slipping
every now and then. It has a similar negative demeanor like
Rob, hunched in his chair.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - ROBS DESK
Rob walks back to his desk. He beats against it with his
fists. He has a name plate which is half obscured behind his
workload which reads Rob Ot. The rest of his last name,
Otterman, cant be seen. Angrily he pushes the chest high
papers over, causing them to fly around the office. Behind
them, along with his name plate now seen in full is a photo
in a frame. There is a young boy in it; along with his proud
parents, next to a model rocket and holding a toy Robot,
same as the one in the other room. There is a banner saying
County Fair 1st Prize. The young boy is Rob with square
glasses and a giant grin, wearing a rosette. There are words
at the bottom, Aim For The Stars. Rob stares at the photo,
pondering what might have been. And then puts it down.
FADE TO BLACK:
INT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE BOSSS OFFICE
Objects are shown hitting against the Do Not Enter door,
over the office walls. There is the tip tap sound of pens; a
bounce of a rubber, a splat of a banana, a crack of a ruler,
a ping of staples and then finally, after a little pause, a
thud of the stapler against the door.
L CUT:
INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE
The Robot hears a loud thump against the same door but in
the other office, also separated by a larger cubicle where
its Boss would be and where the wire leads through. It spins
round on its chair, which is attached to its body. The plug
is seen to be pulled out (in the background) as the Robot
wheels out to investigate. Close up of wheels moving...
MATCH CUT:

5.

INT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE BOSSS OFFICE

...to a close up of wheels moving. Pull away to reveal Rob
speeding towards the first door on an office chair. He is
crouched, hiding behind the back rest. It slams against the
locked office door while Rob goes head first through the
glass pane and crashes into the room. He sits up, dazed and
confused, with the plant on his head, soil crumbling down.
CUT TO:
INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE
The Robot is outside its Bosss office. It doesnt even
check to see if it is locked but nonchalantly rides up it,
causing it to give way under the weight and collapse. The
Robot graciously bounces a little and carries on into the
room. Again, this is very similar to Robs Bosss Office but
with the same metallic layer as earlier, including the
plant. The Robot wheels to the second door where it heard
the thud, above it is a Does Not Compute sign. He listens
against the door whilst its glasses slip again. The door
makes no second sound so the Robot swivels round and goes to
turn back.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - BOSSS OFFICE - ROBOT BOSSS OFFICE
Rob sits up, he is now outside the second door. He looks
nervously at the damage he has caused in the office and
decides he has nothing left to lose. He grabs the handle and
pushes hard into it, twice, hard with the side of his
body...
L CUT:
... The Robot swivels back round, hearing two sounds. It
again approaches the door. It also puts its hands on the
handle. There is a mirrored shot above, separated down the
middle by the door, Rob on the left side and the Robot on
the right. This is paused for a few seconds, Rob pushes and
the Robot pulls....
FADE TO BLACK:

6.

INT. NIGHT - SECRET ROOM

Rob flies forward into the room. We only see his face as he
looks on in amazement as he sits up. The camera slowly pans
round as Rob walks in. The room is small, dark, lined with
filing cabinets at the sides, 3 brooms scattered across the
floor and at the end, there is a giant window the size of
the far wall. Behind it, is the most beautiful City view;
grand buildings alive with shining lights, a park with
street lanterns weaving through and stars in the night sky,
glittering as far as the eye can see. Rob presses against it
in awe. There is no Robot.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHT - OUTSIDE BOSSS OFFICE
Rob runs back through the mess, looks back and smiles to
himself. He picks up his photo, pulls of his tie and leaves
the main office for good. It still takes him two attempts to
get through the door in his overzealous exit. The tie is
show last, lying on the floor.
FADE TO BLACK:
INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER SECRET ROOM
The Robot is on its side and lifts itself back up. It has
been hit with 3 brooms. It enters the room, again lined with
cabinets but with no window or view at the end. The Robot is
dejected, shoulders sunk and exits. As it leaves to go back
to its work station, it notices it is no longer plugged in,
the wire that came out earlier is sparking on the floor. It
picks it up, goes to put it in, hesitates, and then raises
its arms in the air, swirling and spinning with glee. The
Robot rips off its boring magnetic tie, sticks on a yellow
bow tie with white dots. It slicks back its wired hair and
then wheels its way to the exit, again, riding up the door
until it breaks.
CUT TO CREDITS:
INT. UNKNOWN - OTHER OFFICE
The Robot speeds back in, steals the oil cooler and exits
again, leaving behind a trail of black substance.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

THE END