Friday, April 4, 2014

CONSTANTINE Pilot Script Details Revealed


It's been about a month since we got our first look at Matt Ryan in the NBC pilot Constantine, with only sparse information about the actual pilot itself.

Shock Till You Drop posted some interesting new details yesterday, claiming they've read the actual script by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer.  They described the script as "a fun read" with "a bit of a playful edge to it" and made comparisons to Fox's Sleepy Hollow and The CW's Supernatural.  Without spoiling everything that happens, they listed these ten items of interest...
  1. The pilot takes place in and around New York City (which I don't think has been known about until now).

  2. When we first find John, we learn he has voluntarily checked himself into a psychiatric clinic. He's haunted by an incident in which he lost a 9-year-old girl to a demon who has dragged her soul to Hell. This incident has a significant impact on his life and it's that is driving him. He checks himself out of the hosptial after six months to find something sinister is afoot in the realm of the supernatural.

  3. John's a clever wise-ass. His business card reads "Exorcist, Demonologist and Master of the Dark Arts," but as he tells his doctor, he should replace "master" with "petty dabbler" because he hates to put on airs. He also doesn't like to talk much about his past; he masks his emotions with wry humor.

  4. We won't see John in his classic trenchcoat right away, but he gets there.

  5. An angel – Manny [Harold Perrineau] – has been assigned to John to help ease his soul into damnation. John hates angels.

  6. Liv Parsons [Lucy Griffiths], a young woman who works at a rental car facility, gets caught up in John's world when she discovers something is after her. Liv's deceased father, Jasper, knew John and John owes a debt to him.

  7. Papa Midnite – an imposing Cuban man who can dream the future – is ailing when we first find him. He's doing a lot of cocaine because he has to stay awake.

  8. Expect to meet "Chaz" [Charles Halford], John's driver who is a tall, sensitive, quiet type yet is quite knowledgeable about the supernatural himself.

  9. The pilot is brimming with possessions, ghosts (Liv discovers a way to see the dead) and demons and the story does an adept job at not losing its audience in the mythology. Liv is our conduit to John's world of rituals, pendants, black magic and more and handles the exposition well.

  10. The foundation is set for a long-lasting partnership between Liv and John. Now that she's aware of the world beyond ours, she wants to use her knowledge to help others. But is John willing to assist her?
As Hellblazer comics fans know, the incident involving the nine-year-old girl is a reference to Astra, an abused girl who conjured a monster that took revenge on the adults who tormented her but the monster refused to leave.  Constantine and several of his occultist friends attempted to destroy the creature by summoning a demon of their own, but the demon remained out of their control.  After destroying the creature, the demon tormented Constantine's friends and took Astra to Hell.  Constantine suffered a nervous breakdown as a result and was committed to Ravenscar Psychiatric Hospital.
 
Papa Midnite will be the "Big Bad" if the pilot is picked up for a full series.  The character was previously portrayed in live action by Djimon Hounsou in the 2005 film Constantine.
 
 

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