( HOLLYWOOD )

WOODS
[ ☾]

      A young girl, Wendy, is exiting an abandoned house. She is searching with a flashlight, clearly scared. "Mitch? Ashley? You out here? Come on, guys! Where are you? Hello? Hello? Brody!" She screams.

      Brody storms over to her. "Ashley and Todd - they're dead! Wendy, they're dead!" He yells.

      "Brody, pull it together."

      "Pull it together?! We don't have a chance, okay? We have to get out of here now!" Brody yells.

      "No, Brody, we are not leaving. We have got to find my sister."

      "No! No, I am getting out of here right now!" He runs off in the other direction.

      "Brody! Brody, get back here! Brody! God, you son of a bitch!" Wendy hears movement behind her and stops crying. When she turns, she lets out a long, loud scream, but quickly begins to look annoyed.

      It is revealed that the girl is on a movie set. A camera is in her face, with a tennis ball fixed to the top, representing the monster she's supposed to be screaming at. She stops screaming, looking disgusted.

      The director, McG, watches from the sidelines. "Cut! What the hell was that?" He asks.

      The lights come up on the set. A props guy takes the flashlight from the actress playing Wendy, Tara Benchley. A production assistant, Walter Dixon, hands Tara a Snapple. "Here you go."

      "Thanks, Walter." She says.

      McG walks over to Tara, who is shaking up her drink. "It's all good, Tara, that was great. Let's do it again. Uh, maybe try dialing up that scream, huh?" He says.

      "I know. I know. I'm just... I'm having trouble with the tennis ball." Tara says.

      "Oh, that is just for CG registration. Now, when Ivan and the FX guys are done, it is going to look terrifying. Do you wanna look at the concept sketches again? Will that help?"

      An assistant brings over a notebook full of sketches of the monster. "No, that's okay. I'll find it, I'll find it." Tara says.

      "I know you will, pumpkin."

      A set worker walks. "Going again, everybody! Ten-minute reload for camera and sound!" Tara sits in her chair by Rick, the actor playing Brody.

      Another set worker, Frank, is talking to them. "Oh, man, I'm telling you - working alone behind the sets, or after wrap? I catch this weird vibe sometimes." He says.

      "Oh, like what?" Rick says.

      "Like something's watching."

      "Come on." Rick says lamely.

      "Hey, working on a movie like this? Weird crap is bound to happen."

      Rick turns to Tara. "Frank here thinks the stage is haunted. Like, for real." Tara laughs.

      "All I'm saying is, they call wrap, I'd get done, and I'd get out of here. Fast." Frank says and walks away.

      "That guy is definitely off his meds." They laugh.

      Later, Tara is standing in the middle of the "woods", going over her lines. "Brody, come back! You son of a bitch!" She tries practicing the scream, but she can't quite get it. "Brody, come back! You son of a bitch!"

      Again, she tries screaming. Suddenly, she hears someone on the set nearby. "Hello? Guys? Come on, it's not funny. Okay, haha, very funny. Hello? Who's there?"

      She keeps walking among the forest scenery, until she sees a baseball cap fall in front of her. She looks up to the scaffolding and very quickly sees a male ghost, before it vanishes.

      Then, she notices that Frank is dead, lying on his stomach while blood covers his face. She lets out a long, bloodcurdling scream. On the other side of the set, McG and the production crew hear Tara's scream.

      "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

LOS ANGELES

WARNER BROS. STUDIOS
[ ☼ ]

      Sam, Elena and Dean are taking part in the trolley tour of the studio, passing by movie and television sets. "First opened in 1927, the lot has been in continuous operation for eight decades." The tour guide says.

      Dean turns to a kid next to him, eating ice cream. "Hey, you know this is where they filmed Creepshow?" The boy ignores him.

      "Now, to the right, here is Stars Hollow. It's the setting for the television series, Gilmore Girls. And if we're lucky, we might even catch one of the show's stars."

      Sam, looking uncomfortable, turns to Dean. "Come on." He says.

      "Let's finish the tour!" Dean yells.

      Sam and Elena hop off the trolley. "Dean!" Elena yells and Dean hops off as well, and they continue walking around the lot.

      "Sammy, check it out, it's Matt Damon!" Dean yells.

      "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not Matt Damon." Sam says.

      "No, it is."

      Elena looks over. "Well, Matt Damon just picked up a broom and started sweeping." She says.

      "Yeah, well, he's probably researching a role or something." Dean says.

      "I don't think so." Sam notices a sign. "Hey, this way. I think Stage 9 is over here."

      "Come on, man, let's keep going this way." Dean says.

      "No, come on, we've gotta work." Sam says and Dean sighs. "Dude, you wanted to come to LA."

      "Yeah, for a vacation. I mean, swimming pools and movie stars, not to work."

      "This seem like swimming pool weather to you, Dean? I mean, it's practically Canadian." Elena says.

      "Yeah. I just figured that after everything that happened with Madison, you could use a little R-and-R, that's all."

      "Well, maybe I wanna work, Dean. Maybe it keeps my mind off things." Elena says roughly.

      "Okay, okay. All right. So, this crew guy - he died on set?" Dean asks.

      "Yeah, rumors spreading like wildfire online saying the set's haunted." Sam says.

      "Like Poltergeist?" Elena asks.

      "It could be a poltergeist." Sam says.

      "No, no. I was thinking the movie Poltergeist." Dean says and Sam shrugs. "You know nothing of your cultural heritage, do you? It was rumored that the set of Poltergeist was cursed. That they used real human bones as props. And, like, at least three of the actors died in it."

      "Yeah, it might be something like that

      "All right, so this crew guy - what's his name?" Dean asks.

      "Frank Jaffey."

      "Frank Jaffey - he got a death certificate or a coroner's report or anything?" Dean asks.

      "Well, no. But it's LA, you know? It might not even be his real name. But the girl who found him said she saw something - a vanishing figure." Sam says.

      "What's the girl's name?"

      "Tara Benchley."

      "Whoa, whoa, Tara Benchley? From FeardotCom and Ghost Ship, Tara Benchley? Dude, why didn't you say so?" Dean asks.

      "So now, you're suddenly on board?" Elena asks.

      Dean becomes serious. "Oh, I mean, I'm just a fan of her work. She's very good." He walks away

STAGE 9 MOVIE SET
[ ☼ ]

      One of the studio execs for the movie, Brad, is talking to McG and the producer, Jay. "No, look, don't get me wrong. Everyone at the studio loves the dailies, myself included. We were just wondering if it could be... you know, a little brighter." Brad says.

      "Brighter?" Jay asks.

      "Yeah, Jay. More color. McG, you know what I'm saying, you're the master of that stuff." Brad says.

      "Brad, this is a horror movie."

      "And who says horror has to be dark? It's sort of depressing, don't you think? Brad notices Sam, Elena and Dean enter the set. "Uh, excuse me, Green Shirt Guy." Dean points to himself. "Yeah, you. Come here."

      Dean exchanges a look with Sam and walks to Brad. "Can you get me a smoothie from Kraft?" Brad asks.

      "You want a what from who?"

      Brad scoffs. "You are a P.A.? This is what you do?" Sam quickly walks over to "save" Dean.

      "Yeah, yeah... uh, one smoothie coming right up." Sam says. They walk away.

      "What's a P.A.?" Dean asks.

      "I think they're kind of like slaves." Sam says. They give Brad a thumbs-up.

      "They'll let anybody in this business, huh?" Brad says.

      McG walks by and sees Elena. "Oh my god. You're gorgeous." He says.

      "Who me?" Elena asks.

      "Yes you. Have you ever thought of acting?" McG asks her. "We're shooting a Pepsi commercial and we need a new drag face."

      Elena exchanges looks with Sam and Dean. "Uh-"

      "We need hair and makeup over here!" McG yells. "And get the wardrobe department!"  He grabs Elena's arm and drags her along.

      Later, the cast and crew are getting ready to resume shooting. Dean sets down the tray of smoothies he had gotten and starts to go up the stairs to the scaffolding.

      Suddenly, the lights on set go down, and the actors begin their take. "Why don't we take it from, "Come on, it'll be fun." And, action!" McG says.

      The actors are now standing inside the abandoned house, and 'Wendy', played by Tara, has a book open in front of her. "Come on, it'll be fun." She begins reading from the book in very choppy Latin.

      While she is doing so, Dean makes his way up the scaffolding. He takes out his EMF meter and scans the area, but nothing happens. Meanwhile, Tara is trying her best to read the Latin, but is barely getting through it.

      "Maybe we'll finish this up tomorrow." McG says. "I got a Pepsi commercial and photoshoot to do."

      Tara breaks character. "Oh my God, I hate you so much right now." She says.

      "Cut!" The cast and crew all begin laughing. "Very nice."

      A few minutes later, Sam joins Dean at the Kraft services table. "So?" He asks.

      "No EMF anywhere."

      "Great. So, what do you think?" Sam asks.

      "Well, I think being a P.A. sucks. But the food these people get, are you kidding me? Look at these things." Dean picks up a sandwich. "They're like miniature Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They're delicious." He holds one of them out to Sam.

      "Maybe later."

      Dean shrugs and takes a huge bite. "What'd you find out about the dead crew guy?" He asks.

      "Frank Jaffey was just filling in for the day. Nobody here knew him or where he lived or anything." Sam says.

      "Oh, great. So you found out about as much as I did." Says Dean.

      "No, not quite-"

      Walter approaches. "Hey, guys." He says.

      "Oh, hey." Dean says and watches Walter walk away with a sandwich. "They're wonderful!"

      "Listen, I did dig up some stuff about Stage 9's history." Sam says.

      "Yeah?"

      "Yeah, four people died messy here over the past eighty years. Two suicides and two fatal accidents." Sam says.

      "Any one of those could be a vengeful spirit."

      "Yeah. We've just gotta narrow it down more." Sam says.

      Dean smiles as he notices Tara walk onto set. "I'll get right on that." Dean walks over to Tara, grabbing a call sheet from one of the set workers as he walks by. Nervously, he steps up to Tara. "Are you supposed to get one of these?" She looks up at him and smiles, noticing his good looks. "I don't really know what I'm doing."

      "First day?" She asks.

      "Yeah. My big break." Dean says and Tara laughs. "You know, I know it's really uncool to say this, but I'm a big fan. I loved you in Boogeyman."

      "Oh, God, what a terrible script. But thank you." Tara says.

      "Yeah." Dean pauses. "You found him, right? The dead guy?" She goes quiet and looks away. "I'm sorry, you probably don't even wanna talk about this."

      "No, no, actually. It's okay. Nobody around here really brings it up very much. I think they're all scared I'm gonna have some kind of breakdown." Tara says.

      "That must have been awful. What happened?" Dean says.

      "It was horrible. There was all this blood coming from his eyes and from his mouth. And, uh... I saw this, um..." She stops, embarrassed.

      "What?"

      "I saw this shape. To tell you the truth, I don't know actually what I saw. I just know I saw it."

      Walter approaches and hands her a Snapple. "Here you go, Tara."

     "Thanks, Walter." He walks away.

      "So, this crew guy, Frank - did you know him?" Dean asks.

      "No, not that well."

       "It's funny, it's like no one around here actually knew the guy." Dean says.

      "I've got his picture."

      "You do?" Dean asks.

      Tara begins smiling. "Yeah. I take Polaroids of all the crew. It's just one of those things you do to kill time on set." She flips through a binder until she finds his picture. "Right there."

      Dean looks at it closely and notices something. "Son of a bitch."

ST. JAMES RESIDENCE
[ ☼ ]

      Elena was stuck at Warner Bros. doing her commercial and photoshoot so she had to stay behind. Dean and Sam appear at a door and knocks. A man opens it to see Sam and Dean outside. "Gerard St. James?" Dean asks. The man, who looks exactly like Frank, nods.

      "Yes."

      "You're still alive. And you're not Frank Jaffey." Sam says.

      "Uh, no." Gerard says.

      "You were Desert Soldier Number Four in Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn?" Dean asks.

      "I was."

      "I knew I recognized you. I am a huge fan. I mean, your turn as a tractor crash victim in Critters 3?" Sam asks.

      Gerard looks surprised. "Critters 3!" He yells.

      "Wow. Yeah." Dean says.

      "Well, please, come in." Gerard says. They enter the house while he brings them coffee.

      There are pictures lining the walls of Gerard, merely an actor, portraying various characters. "Yeah, it was the producers. They brought me up for the day to play Frank." He says.

      "Just to fake your death?" Dean asks.

      "Well, rumors of a haunted film set, free publicity, especially when you're making a horror movie. It's already all over the Internet." Gerard says.

      "Yeah. We know." Sam says.

      "These days, it's all about new media, building buzz. They say I'm the new LonelyGirl."

      "Who?" Dean asks.

     "And the ghost Tara saw?" Sam asks.

      "Projected on a screen of diffusion."

      "Isn't that kind of cruel? Messing with their heads like that?" Dean asks.

      "Hey, I just play the part. I don't write the script. Speaking of, I'm playing Willy in a dinner theatre production of Salesman at Costa Mesa, all next month." Gerard hands Dean a flyer. "You get a free pepper steak with the coupon."

      "Now, wait a second. If you're seen in public, won't that ruin the hoax?" Dean asks.

      "Oh, please. Frank and Willy? Totally different characters."

      Sam fakes a smile. "You know what? Thanks very much, Mr. St. James. It was just nagging at us. But we're very glad... you know, you're alive and well." He says.

      "Absolutely." Dean says as Gerard shakes both their hands. "Hey, I wanted to ask you...what was it like working with Richard Moll?" He turns to a confused Sam. "Metalstorm. He was Hurok, King of the Cyclops people."

      "Gentlemen's gentleman." Gerard says.

      "Yeah?" Dean chuckles, brandishing the theatre coupon. "All right. Pepper steak."

STAGE 9 MOVIE SET
[ ☼ ]

      The actors playing 'Mitch' and 'Kendra' are filming in the abandoned house. "When we read from that book, we must have brought them back. Back from hell." Mitch says.

      While 'Kendra' delivers her line, Dave, the sound guy, receives a staticky feedback through his headphones, distorting the dialogue.

      "It doesn't matter. We're not going anywhere until we find Wendy and her sister. Got it? Good. Now let's get busy." Mitch continues.

      "Cut! Very nice." McG says.

      "No good for sound. I'm getting some kind of feedback." Dave says. The cast and crew sigh.

      "Another costly sound delay. All right, we're going again for sound, people!" A sound guy says.

      "Thank you!" Dave yells.

      On another area of set, Brad is talking with McG and the writer, Marty. "No, no, look. It's a great scene, really, dynamite. But I've still got a few...not problems, just questions." Brad says.

      "Like what?" McG asks.

      "Well, for one thing, the rules aren't really landing for me. Like, the kids do this Latin chant, and that makes the ghosts show up?" Brad asks.

      McG nods. "Yeah."

      "See, but if the ghosts are in hell, how do they hear the chanting? I mean, what do they have, super-hearing? It's a logic bump. The rules don't track." Brad says.

      "Marty, you're the writer."

      "What if I throw in an explainer?" Marty questions.

      "Yeah, that'd be super. Excuse me, I've gotta check some messages." Brad leaves, focused on his Bluetooth

      "Suits." McG says.

      Brad wanders off to another area of set, alone. While looking at his Blackberry, he notices a woman behind him. She is in ghostly white make-up from head to toe, dressed in a robe.

      She is wearing dark lipstick and has black marks on her neck, clearly formed by ropes. She doesn't say anything, but smirks at him. "Has McG seen this? I like the whole body paint, black-and-white thing. But gee, I don't think those neck wounds are really gonna read on camera. They need to be red. You know what I'm saying?" Brad begins calling to the other end of set. "Hey, Jay? I need to speak to make-up right away."

      The woman moves closer and taps him on the shoulder. He turns back around to face her. "Yeah?"

      The woman, still silent, takes off her robe in front of him. Brad watches as she turns and walks up the stairs to the scaffolding. Brad smirks. "Be right up."

      A few minutes later, the actors have resumed filming."When we read from that book, we must have brought them back. Back from hell." Mitch says again.

      "But I don't understand. If they were in hell, how could they hear our chanting?" Kendra asks.

      "They must have super-hearing!" Mitch yells.

      Suddenly, the ceiling of the abandoned house caves in, and Brad falls through, hanging from a noose. The actors scream and run off set. Brad's Bluetooth falls to the floor as he hangs there, dead.