My Last Real Summer, Matthew's Project : Movies : Amazon Studios

My Last Real Summer

Scott Bergman is upset. His parent have split. His mother's dating a jerk. Now he's been dragged to San Francisco for the summer, hundreds of miles from home. But when Scott befriends an elderly neighbor, he uncovers a secret about the most fantastic prison break in history.

Synopsis: Scott loves to ride bikes and fish. But his family situation is bad. In the 1970's divorce isn't common, but Scott's parents did it. Scott's mother begins dating a jerk named Chris, which Scott barely tolerates. But when his mother decides to take Scott to San Francisco with Chris, Scott feels his summer is gone.

In San Francisco, Scott rides his bike to explore. He meets other kids: Noble, a pudgy, wise-cracker, and Celine, a stunning blonde with gorgeous eyes. Scott shows off his riding skills to impress his friends. Completing an incredible jump, brings Scott to the attention of bullies Byron and Cody. When they push around Scott's new friends, Scott unleashes his anger on the bullies. The friends run and hide in a backyard. Scott makes eye-contact with the yard-owner, who helps them escape from the bullies again.

Later Scott and Noble head to Celine's. Noble and Scott arrive, watching Celine and her sister, Claire argue. Celine is leaving. She walks with Noble and Scott, then turns around and hides, pulling them with her. They watch as a Byron pulls up in a Trans Am. They marvel why Claire would date Byron, then head for Noble's. Scott finds Noble has the an awesome tree-house. In the tree-house, they laugh, joke, and play cards.

Scott arrives home. Jan (his mother) and Chris scold him for being late, having no idea where he was. Chris and Scott square off. Scott reacts badly. Jan yells at Scott. Scott voices his frustration, with the trip to San Francisco. Scott leaves. He runs aimlessly, and finds himself in Richardson's yard again. There's a light in the shed. Scott looks inside and finds a motorcycle, half together. Scott's startled when Richardson appears in the doorway, in a wheelchair.

Richardson wheels his chair to the bike, begins to work on the engine and talks with Scott - who's intrigued. Richardson invites Scott to supper. Over the meal, Richardson offers Scott a job - doing errands for him. They form a friendship, and Richardson takes Scott home.

Richardson explains the job to Scott's mom, who thinks it a good lesson in responsibility and agrees. As Richardson leaves, Scott locks eyes with a passing motorist, detective Rick Delgado. Scott gets a unsettling feeling.

The next day, Noble and Scott walk down the street. Delgado appears. Intimidating, he warns Scott about Richardson. When Scott questions the detective, Delgado raises his voice. Scott is curious. Later, Noble explains Delgado and Richardson have history.

Noble uses the 'mystery' to coax Celine to his house, during a phone call. As Noble talks, Scott notes how Noble reacts to Celine, and suspects Noble has a crush. Scott suggests they go to the library to research the 'mystery'.

Noble's mother Anna drops the three youths off at the library. The three split up, Celine checks the microfishe, and Scott and Noble check old newspapers. Scott and Noble find an article describing how Delgado, and up-and-coming young detective was reprimanded for making an allegation against Richardson. Delgado claimed Richardson was Frank Lee Morris, the only man to escape from Alcatraz.

Scott and Noble meet back up with Celine, who's found information regarding Delgado. He had a stellar career before Richardson. Morris, if alive, could be around Richardson's age. She also states Morris has a genius IQ, has headaches, and likes grapes. Scott doesn't know if Bob is Morris, but suspects his friend is hiding something.

Scott brings Richardson groceries, and finds the old man's living room rearranged with a boxing bag hanging from the ceiling. Richardson teaches Scott how to defend himself against the bullies. Over the next few days, he teaches Scott to box, and overpays Scott for the errands. When Scott mentions the overpayment to Bob, Bob says that Scott earned the extra by being honest. He says, "Earn the extra every day."

Scott arrives at the tree-house and invites his friends to the movies. Excited, they head to the theater, deciding to see King Kong. The friends enjoy the movie, and secretly Celine holds Scott's hand.

Scott leaves the theater after the show to do more errands for Bob. Noble smiles triumphantly.

Later, Richardson gets a headache and asks Scott to get some aspirin. Scott remembers the info on Morris and accuses Bob of being Morris. Richardson asks Scott to leave, denying everything. Scott believes he's made a big mistake.

Upset, Scott picks a fight with Chris. He wants to run away, and packs things. The phone rings. It's Celine. She's got a plan regarding the Richardson 'mystery'. Scott smiles and calms down.

Noble's father, Ansel agrees to take the kids to San Quentin prison. He's pulled strings as a prison guard, allowing them to talk with Charlie Butts.

The kids meet Charlie, who seems a bit...off. He takes credit for the escape plan, but gets upset when the kids pose the possibility that Frank completed the escape. His eyes betray his words, as he screams nobody could've made it.

Scott finds Bob's not home. Scott begins to walk home, but is blindsided by Byron and Cody. They beat him. Scott stands and runs. He finally ends up in Richardson's backyard. The bullies find him and threaten him. A standing Richardson comes to his rescue before he passes out.

Scott wakes. Richardson is patching his wound. Scott's head begins to clear. Scott confronts Bob. Frank Morris is revealed. Frank recounts what happened the night of the escape from Alcatraz. John and Clarence Anglin died trying to save each other from the water. Their sacrifice made his survival possible. He met up with a family friend on the mainland, burned his fingers to mask his prints, and was able to lose his records by gaining access to the County Records building.

Richardson calls Scott's mom, and explains Scott passed out on his couch. She agrees to let him sleep there. The revelation between Frank and Scott makes their friendship stronger. When Frank learns that Scott AND his friends suspect, he gets anxious.

The next day, Scott finds Celine in the tree-house. Celine and Scott share a kiss. Noble, sneaks up, & sees his two friends kissing and talking about how Richardson is Frank. Noble sneezes. The Jig is up. Noble runs off, upset. Celine tells Scott to warn Frank.

Noble, in Delgado's car, recounts what he heard. Delgado grins.

Scott shows up at Frank's. Frank is revving the engine of the now assembled motorcycle. Scott apologizes. Frank is relieved. He decides to turn himself in. The two friends leave on Frank's bike.

Delgado forms a group of officers to bring Frank in, when Celine rides up. She hands Delgado a piece of paper and explains Frank will give up if Delgado arrives at the location alone. When Celine leaves he forms his own plan.

Claire tells Byron that Scott and Richardson will be at William's Bridge at 9pm. He kicks Claire out and leaves in a rage.

At William's Bridge, Scott waits. Byron shows up first. Scott stalls, claiming Bob is close and has a rifle. Byron threatens Scott, Frank appears, a pistol in hand. Byron stops cold. Delgado arrives by himself and tells Byron and his pals to leave. Delgado and Frank face off. They argue. Scott realizes Frank's gun is empty and learns Frank's plan - suicide by cop.

Frank smirks. Delgado fires. Scott jumps, Frank stumbles over the railing and falls. Delgado screams. Frank disappears into the bay. Other police arrive. They find Delgado screaming and Scott bleeding. It appears Delgado shot an unarmed kid. The officers take him away.

Scott and his mother ride the bus back to Virginia.

6 years later, the graduating class of Linton Hall Military School stands in formation. Scott, at a podium, is dressed in uniform. He addresses the class. As Scott finishes and dismisses his class, Frank steps from behind a tree. Frank mouths, "Earn the extra every day."

As Scott leaves school, he's handed a letter from Celine and smiles. They pull away, toward a hopeful future.

Latest Work

Creator: Matthew Furman
Genres: Thriller and Suspense, Kids and Family
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5.0 stars

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Creative Notes:

Special thanks go out to my new screenwriter-friend Richard J. Stachura who provided some good insight about my previous version of the script. Even though this appears as the 2nd draft, this is really the 7th. Continuous improvement can't be bad, right? Fixed a scene heading error and modified the ending so as not to appear similar to another family film. Thanks everyone for the feedback!

All Work

Creator: Matthew Furman
Genres: Thriller and Suspense, Kids and Family
See credits
4.9 stars

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Creative Notes:

After conversing with the actor Larry Hankin (one of the stars from Ecape from Alcatraz), I decided to add content where the kid-gang meet with Charlie Butts (Larry's character) and discuss the possibility of Morris being alive. It's a gripping scene. In this third revision, I've also added more backstory to both Noble and Celine's characters.