Scripts

The Zamboni Driver
by Scott Teel

Logline:
Tired of watching last-place sports stars earn millions, an NHL Zamboni driver asks for a 5-million-dollar contract and becomes a hero to the working class, regular joe.

Synopsis:
Sick of watching losing sports stars earn outrageous salaries, a fed-up, underpaid Zamboni driver requests a $5 million contract and then loses his job, but not before he becomes a media sensation and hero to millions in the working class.  

This romantic comedy follows Ansel Taylor, Zamboni driver extraordinaire for the Buffalo Sabers hockey team (whose players get paid millions, yet lose each night).  Taylor, who does his job quite well, lives paycheck to paycheck, and feels that his good work deserves the millions, but is repeatedly and nastily turned down by the Buffalo Sabers' Vice-President.  To make matters worse, his ex-girlfriend, who dumped him because of his low salary, is soon dating that very Sabers’ VP simply because he makes a lot of money. Now Taylor has to prove his worth to both of them. But it is Ellen, the sports photographer he begins seeing, who ultimately proves that money doesn’t talk to everyone.

Taylor steals the show when he tells David Letterman why he’s asking for the $5 million contract and ends up suffering a 20% pay cut as a result. But Taylor becomes a media sensation and attendance at Saber games increases. Fans come to watch their hero clean the ice rather than watch their team lose. In a sense, they are lifting themselves up with Taylor, proving that one man can make a difference.

Unfortunately, Taylor pulls a media stunt that gets him fired. To top that off, he’s about to be thrown out of his apartment because he can’t pay his rent, further proving that, indeed, it is money that makes the world go ’round.

Then Ellen moves to Atlanta to accept a dream job with Sports Illustrated. Where Taylor would rather be rich for the sake of being rich, Ellen intends to leave her mark on the world.

© 2005 Scott Teel