Who Was THAT Chick?

I was driving home from work, stuck in mind-numbing rush hour traffic, and as I robotically released the brake-hit the brake-release the break-hit the brake, I looked to the right at the woman in the minivan beside me. She lit a cigarette, took a pull, rolled down her window, and blew the smoke out. She looked at me, we locked eyes for a split second, then we both turned back to the winding road of traffic ahead of us.

For whatever reason, the last scene, or at least I think it’s the last scene, in “Training Day” popped into my mind. The scene were Alonzo(Denzel Washington) stops at deserted traffic light and finds himself beside a woman in an SUV. The woman is seemingly lost  in her own world, and  Alonzo watches her light a cigarette. The traffic light turns green, and when Alonzo tries to pulls off, he is boxed in by black SUV’s, and ultimately executed by gun-toting masked men. Was she a decoy, or an innocent bystander? I don’t, can’t tell from the film.

But, the next thing to pop into my mind was a question. If she was a decoy, who was THAT chick? Not that “chick” in particular, but the women who play the decoy role in general. Who are they? What do they get out of it? Are they paid to do it? Are they forced? Is it a job? A professional decoy? How do they feel about it? Do they have children? Are they married? Are they able to sleep at night knowing they’ve lured countless victims to their deaths? How does it effect them?

Since I was stuck in traffic, I had nothing but time to think about and I couldn’t stop. By the time I made it home, I formed a basic storyline and decided to make it my next screenplay project. Researching such a subject should be very interesting. The whole concept is intriguing to me. I can’t wait to start working on it, but I have to finish “Shotgun” first. FOCUS, FOCUS ,FOCUS!

Isn’t it funny how and where inspiration pops up? What’s the story behind your most recent inspiration?