"Hot Crossed Lines"
Where GenAI is genuinely hysterical. LMK if this makes you laugh
Hat tip to Aron Sogor for sharing this.
Preamble: Continuing the theme of genAI producing creative works, here is a script for a scene at a local school. Since it’s graduation season, there are many of these going on, and I thought this was funny and inventive.
Setting:
Jefferson Middle School Auditorium — dim lights, velvet seats, squeaky stage.
Front row: band kids nervously tuning.
Back third row left: Chad “Becks” Becker and Willow Skye Summers, high as weather balloons.
SCENE: “HOT CROSSED LINES” INT. JEFFERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL AUDITORIUM – NIGHT Kids squawk and honk through a chaotic prelude. The audience buzzes with camera flashes and whispered judgments. CHAD settles into his seat, wearing flip-flops and a hoodie with a psychedelic sloth. He casually pulls a thermos from a canvas bag labeled “For Tyler’s Lunch.” WILLOW, draped in layers of flowy linen and necklaces, slides into the seat beside him, wafting of patchouli and cacao. CHAD (grinning) This seat taken by destiny? WILLOW Only by vibration. I like your aura — it’s… snacky. CHAD You smell like my ex-wife’s yoga mat. That’s a compliment. WILLOW Thank you. I soaked in reishi and intention this morning. (A small oboe squawk pierces the room. Chad winces.) CHAD That’s either a B-flat or a seagull getting electrocuted. WILLOW Their souls are opening. Let them open. CHAD You got any… soul openers? WILLOW (pulls out a small jar of chocolate hearts) Mushrooms. Microdose. Heart-aligned. Ethically sourced. Named each one after a plant I’ve forgiven. CHAD That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard that makes no sense. (They each pop one. The house lights dim. On stage, the music teacher, MR. BARKER, raises a baton with the look of a man headed for war.) MR. BARKER First number: “Hot Cross Buns.” (The music begins — a cacophony of squeaks and late notes. Chad and Willow lean in like it’s Pink Floyd live.) WILLOW Do you hear that? That’s the sound of collective ancestral grief trying to resolve itself through woodwinds. CHAD No, that’s definitely Jackson missing his note again. God, I love that kid. WILLOW Mine’s the one with the triangle. I told him to strike with intention. (beat) I was once the triangle in a past life. CHAD That tracks. (They nod together in synch, watching the chaos unfold with near-religious awe. Someone behind them whispers “Are they high?”) WILLOW Shhh. The French horn is about to ascend. CHAD I can feel my chakras adjusting. Or maybe that’s the edible. WILLOW Doesn’t matter. You’re opening. CHAD Like a Costco on a Sunday. WILLOW Exactly. ⸻ (Meanwhile, Coach Ron sneaks a flask, Linda silently judges everyone, and Tracy is slowly, visibly melting down three rows ahead.) Cut to the kids on stage. One of them drops a clarinet. Another bursts into tears. The audience claps anyway. CHAD (tearfully) I swear to god, that was beautiful. WILLOW You’re seen, Becks. You are seen.
Discussion
Some parts of the setup were cheap (drugs can make for lazy comedy) but in other parts, the model did very well. The characterization upfront was pithy and clear (“draped in layers of flowy linen and necklace”) and there were some genuinely funny word choices (“wafting of patchouli and cacao”).
The model also came up with some characters all by itself, (Mr. Barker, who “raises a baton with the look of a man headed for war”, Coach Ron, the mysterious Tyler) which took a simple premise and built out a world.
Impressive stuff.