Genre: Thriller/Drama
Premise: A mysterious loner heads to Muscle Beach in 1985 to pursue a career as a competitive bodybuilder. Struggling to transform his physique, he unleashes a darker side of himself as he descends into madness.
About: This script finished #2 on this year’s Blood List, which celebrates the best horror, thriller, and sci-fi scripts of the year. The writer, Stephen Vitale, will also be directing the film.
Writer: Stephen Vitale
Details: 102 pages
I’m conflicted about Apex.
On its face, it’s one of those dark intense character studies that always seem to climb their way onto the Black List. Nightcrawler came to mind. And, of course, Joker.
However, after seeing Joker just a few weeks ago, it’s hard for anything else in the same mould to live up to it. You’re constantly comparing what they did right to what this script did wrong. And that’s not to say it was a bad script. In fact, as I was reading it, a sort of “seeing the Matrix” moment occurred to me where I understood exactly how to write these dark character pieces.
Create a character who’s unable to connect with the world. Then simply give them an unhealthy obsession. With Joker it was comedy. With Nightcrawler it was nightcrawling. With this script it’s bodybuilding. And then you just sort of show them spiraling out of control as the script goes on. I just gave you the formula to get on the Black List boys and girls. So get to it!
But what Apex made me realize is that there are very important areas of these scripts that you have to get right in order for them to work. And Apex makes a pretty big miscalculation early on that keeps it out of the same orbit as those two great scripts.
Caleb is a 28 year old scrawny kid who’s just moved to Los Angeles in 1985 to become a bodybuilder. The guy’s so dedicated he showed up here without a dollar to his name. He immediately heads to a gym called Flexion, run by the famous (to Caleb at least) Barry Yates. Caleb tells Barry he’ll work for free if Barry can teach him how to be a bodybuilder.
For a guy so determined to become a bodybuilder, Caleb knows next to nothing about the craft. So between sweeping the floor, he watches other people work out and takes notes. Also, since Caleb doesn’t have anywhere to sleep, he sneakily outfits the Flexion storage room into an apartment.
As Caleb takes in all the beauty of Los Angeles, he finds himself hating everyone he sees. It isn’t clear why. It may be because he couldn’t get an erection on a date with a ballerina. But, for whatever reason, Caleb becomes enraged at the world. Then one night he kills a homeless man and becomes addicted to killing.
Caleb’s appetite for killing increases along with his size. The bigger he gets, the more he kills. And this is 1985 so it’s like taking candy from a baby. They haven’t even invented DNA evidence yet! Eventually, Caleb starts working construction and can pay for an actual apartment. He ends up moving into a woman’s garage, who he soon learns is a DOM who works out of her living room. Because of the amount of power she displays, she is the only person Caleb respects.
As is usually the case with these serial killer types, Caleb keeps pushing the envelope, getting sloppier and sloppier with his kills. Finally, he decides that he should tackle his “white whale,” a clear stand-in for Arnold Schwarzenegger (hey! A tie-in to yesterday’s review!). But the only way he can get close to him is if he goes to one of Arnold’s big Hollywood parties. Will he be able to take him out in front of all those people? We’re going to find out!
For starters, I liked this concept. I like that we’re getting the first script out of a million about a character moving to Los Angeles NOT for acting, directing, or writing… but for bodybuilding. It was nice to see a twist on that old trope. It immediately helped the script stand out.
And Vitale does a great job setting his world up. He gives us lots of imagery that puts us in 1985 Venice (*STREET ARTISTS arrange items for sale on folding tables. *BREAK DANCERS lay out flattened boxes to set their stage. *ROLLER SKATERS weave around like a traveling party. *SUNGLASS WEARING PIT BULL waddles by with his owner. A constantly evolving circus – can drive a certain mind mad.). You can tell this writer thinks in images. And that’s obviously important for when you’re writing description.
But I immediately started to see cracks. And, again, it’s unfortunate that I’m reading this script with Joker still fresh in my mind because how can it compare? The biggest thing is that they made you care for Arthur in Joker. The world was so incredibly cruel to him that right up until he started killing people, we were rooting for him. And some people kept rooting for him after he killed people. That’s how much effort was put into making sure we rooted for the protagonist.
You don’t get anything like that here. Caleb is pretty much an a#$hole from the start. He doesn’t garner any sympathy from us. He’s judgmental. He’s mean to others. And then he starts getting really mad for reasons that weren’t clear, leaving me to think that the only reason he was mad was because the writer needed him to be for the story to work.
Think about Arthur’s first kill. We don’t question why he killed. We see how cruel everyone’s been to him. We’re surprised it took him this long. Caleb, on the other hand, kills a homeless guy because… I’m not sure. Cause he just felt the need to kill I guess.
It’s so important in character pieces that character actions feel authentic. That’s the allure of character pieces. Is to watch someone encounter obstacles or darkness and to see how they handle it. But that’s the thing. There was no obstacle here. Caleb brought this world upon himself for reasons that were never made clear to the reader.
Let me give you a more specific example about authenticity. Caleb goes on that date with the ballerina, can’t get it up, then goes into the bathroom later in the night and just smashes his head into the mirror. I suppose you can argue that there’s cause and effect here. But it honestly just felt like the writer wanted one of those dream actor moments where they look at themselves in the mirror then break it. It didn’t feel organic.
Compare that to the moment between Arthur and Sophie in the elevator. She’s dealing with her kid, they share a look with each other, and Sophie mimes shooting herself in the head. After they get out of the elevator, Arthur, infused by the rare connection with another human, calls to her after he’s 20 steps down the hallway. She turns around and Arthur awkwardly repeats the gesture, miming shooting himself in the head with a smile.
Notice how one of those moments you can see in a thousand movies. And the other you only saw in Joker. That’s a major professional writing distinction. Veteran screenwriters they find those unique moments instead of relying on the same bag of tricks every other writer has access to.
Finally, you had the voice over. Voice over is a weird device. It seems that only beginner writers and really experienced writers use it. Nobody in between. Most writers know that voice over is a crutch. It’s a cheat way to give the audience information about the character since they can just talk about what they’re feeling. But I still find that unless you’ve been around the block and know the specific instances where voice over works, not to mess with it. Because think about Joker and Nightcrawler. Neither of those movies would’ve worked with voice over. The very fact that we only get to know those characters through what they say and what they do allows them to keep a sense of mystery. You lose that once you go full voice over, like Caleb here.
It’s frustrating. This script has some elements in it that show potential. I know actors love these roles, where they get to transform into a monster both mentally AND physically. Toxic masculinity is an easy sell in this environment, another marketing advantage of this project. But there was something about the execution that was too on-the-nose for my taste. See a mirror, slam your face in it. See a downed pigeon, pick it up, stare at it, snap its neck. We get it. He’s an angry killer. What tends to make these characters interesting is the conflict inside them. Arthur WANTS to connect. But he fails at it. Caleb wants to kill so he starts killing. There’s no resistance in him or from the world.
[ ] What the hell did I just read?
[x] wasn’t for me
[ ] worth the read
[ ] impressive
[ ] genius
What I learned: Think like a director when you’re first describing your world. What are the shots that would sell that world? Vitale showed me how doing so helps paint a picture of the world we’re entering.
What I learned 2: It’s a huge advantage if you can pitch your script as the “X” version of “latest big hit.” The pitch for Apex is one of the easiest I’ve ever come across, even if the writer lucked into it. Apex is “Joker but in the bodybuilding world.” It’s even set in the same time period! Hey, nothing wrong with taking advantage of a little luck!
