Leader of the Band

Setting: The janitor's closet/ recording studio.

Summer: Are you guys ready for our big gig tomorrow?

Tomika: (excited) Totally psyched!

Lawrence: I was born ready!

Mr. Finn: It's awesome that you set us up with this gig, Summer. (Takes a chip from a plate of chips and takes a bite out of it.)

Summer: I don't wanna take all the credit. Everything we do is a group effort.

Tomika: But you haven't even told us anything about it.

Summer: That's ridiculous, Tomiks. Of course I have.

Freddy: Where are we playing? Summer: At the gig place.

Zack: What gig place?

Summer: The one where we're gigging.

Lawrence: When do we go on? Summer: Right before we play.

Tomika: Did the Ramones ever play there?

Summer: It's entirely possible.

The others stared at Summer in disbelief.

Summer: There. See? Now you know everything.



Cut to close up of Freddy.

Freddy: I don't think the Ramones ever played here.

Cut to wide shot of the band, with their instruments in front of Waldo's Wiener World, a hot dog stand located at an outdoor food court. The School of Rock members are dressed in food costumes. Tomika is dressed as a hot dog, Zack is dressed up as a ketchup bottle, Lawrence is dressed as a bottle of mustard, Summer is dressed as a milkshake, Freddy is dressed up as a hamburger, and Mr. Finn is dressed up as French fries.

Zack: It smells like one of them might have died in this suit.

Tomika: I kinda get why you didn't wanna take all the credit now.

Summer: Well, you guys wanted a gig. It's a beautiful day, we're making music, we get discount hot dogs. (turns to Zack) Zack, solo!

Zack tries to play his guitar, but fails. SFX: [Guitar screeching]

Zack: I can't. I don't have thumbs.

Freddy: This is why so few major bands dress as food.

Lawrence: I'm just worried people are gonna come by and squeeze me. But I always think that.

Mr. Finn: Come on, guys, I've played way worse places. The Dewey Finn Experience once played a bowling alley.

Tomika: What's so bad about that?

Mr. Finn: We were on a lane. They were throwing bowling balls at us.

Summer: (aggressively) Come on, guys, let's shred! Take no prisoners! (rattles her tambourine) A-one, a-two... (normal) Oh, also, we can't leave until we've handed out a thousand of these coupons. (rattles her tambourine, aggressive) Three, four!

The band plays their instruments. Song: Waste Your Time with Me

Tomika: (singing) Everybody's always tellin' me, life is too short--

The band stops playing as the hot dog stand's owner, a man named Waldo who has a paper with the Waldo's Wiener World logo peeking out of his shirt pocket walked up to them.

Waldo: Stop! Stop! Stop! What is that noise? You told me you were gonna play my jingle.

Tomika: We're gonna. We just thought we'd start with a real song, first.

Waldo: (referring to Tomika) Ya thought wrong, Footlong. Now play the jingle or you're fired, okay?

Mr. Finn: (holds up a hot dog.) Guys, I eat here a lot. Don't blow this for me.

Waldo throws the hot dog out of Mr. Finn's hand.

Mr. Finn: Uh-oh!

Waldo: Fries don't eat hot dogs. That's an abomination.

Mr. Finn: Wow...

Waldo looks at the band, displeased.

Waldo: I don't hear singin'.

The band plays their instruments, dissatisfied. Song: Waldo's Wiener World Jingle

Tomika: (singing dissatisfied) Waldo's Wiener World. Waldo's Wiener World. Join us, every boy and girl, at Waldo's Wiener World. Where you gonna go?

All but Tomika: (singing) Waldo's Wiener World!

Tomika: (singing) Where you gonna go?

All but Tomika: Waldo's Wiener World!

Tomika: (singing) Let's all go, (with the band) Yeah, let's all go to Waldo's Wiener--

Tomika: (screaming) Rat!

Tomika takes two steps back. The rat is scurrying behind Tomika's microphone. Summer: A rat? Where?

The band notices that the rat scurried away.

Tomika: Huh? It's gone.

Waldo: That's 'cause there are no rats at Waldo's Wiener World, okay? Not for a week! (laughs) Play the jingle.

As Waldo walked away, the band continues playing.

Tomika: (singing) Let's all go, yeah-- (stops singing)

Band: (singing) Let's all go to...

Tomika suddenly feels something crawling from inside her costume. An audible squeaking sound is heard.

Tomika: What the...?

Band: (singing) Waldo's Wiener World.

Tomika: (screaming) The rat's in my costume!

Tomika shakes uncontrollably. SFX: [Rat squeaking]

Tomika: (screaming) The rat is in my costume!

Tomika shakes so uncontrollably that her mic stand falls down. SFX: [Mic feedback and Tomika yelping] She runs away in fear.

Cut to Summer moving her head to the side, embarrassingly. She smiles.

Cut to wide shot of the band walking out of their set.



Opening Credits



In the classroom, Mr. Finn is teaching the class a physics lesson. He is holding a bowling ball being pulled on a string in a pendulum-like state.

Mr. Finn: Okay, gang. According to Galileo, when I let go of this bowling ball pendulum, gravity will pull it back from me and send it away without any force. So, as long as I don't move, I will be completely unharmed.

Cut to wide shot of the students in their desks. They look at each other.

Mr. Finn: I just have to trust science.

Mr. Finn inhales and exhales before he lets the ball go. After he lets go, he puts his arms up as the ball swings back and forth.

As the ball came close to Mr. Finn, he lets out a yelp.

Mr. Finn: See, folks? Completely unharmed... (As the ball came closer to him, he screams.) Aahhh!!!

Cut to Summer looking at her phone, squealing in excitement.

Cut to shot of the front of the classroom. Tomika stops the bowling ball pendulum as Mr. Finn walks up to Summer.

Mr. Finn: Nice harmony, Summer!

Summer: No! I just got an email from the owner of Gooch's, Gooch himself! He saw our video and wants School of Rock to play a gig!

The students let out some squeals of excitement when they heard the news.

Zack: A real gig at a real club?

Lawrence: Gooch's? Awesome!

Tomika: There's so much Austin history there!

Tomika gets up from her seat.

Tomika: That's where Stevie Ray Vaughan played! And Stevie Wonder! That's where all the best Stevies played. So, where did he see our video?

Summer: "What the Wow".

Mr. Finn: Oh, "What the Wow"! That's awesome and cool! That's so cool and awesome! What is that?

Freddy gets up from his seat.

Freddy: It's a site where they grab the best music videos from around the web.

Zack: I wonder how many people have seen it.

Lawrence hands Freddy his laptop and takes it to Zack's desk. The students walk to the desk to check out the sight.

Freddy: Whoa, 14,529 views. That's a lot.

Summer: Click it one more time. I need it to be even.

Zack clicks a button on the laptop.

Zack: Look at all those comments.

Mr. Finn takes Lawrence's laptop off the desk.

Mr. Finn: Dudes, do not read those comments. People are monsters on the internet.

Mr. Finn takes the laptop to his desk.

Mr. Finn: They say things they would never say in person, like this... (reads one of the comments) "Why is that giant blob jumping around like an idiot?" It could be any of us.

Summer: (reads one of the comments from Lawrence's laptop) "I mean the old guy."

Mr. Finn: (pointing around the room) So, one of the guys, then.

Tomika: (reads another comment) "The guitar player with the bad facial hair."

Mr. Finn: (concerned) Sorry, Zack, I tried to warn you about growin' out that peach fuzz.

Cut to Zack looking at Mr. Finn embarrassingly. Lawrence walks up to the front to talk to Mr. Finn.

Lawrence: It's you, Mr. Finn. You're the giant blob with the bad facial hair.

Mr. Finn: (offended) Ouch.

Tomika: Forget it, Mr. Finn. Most of these are nice. (reads a comment) "This song is why I have ears."

Summer: (reads another comment, gasps) "I love everything about this band. The girl bass player, who is the leader of the band, rocks."

Zack: (gets up from his seat) Wait. What?

Tomika: You don't think I rock?

Zack: No, I know you rock, but leader of the band? There's not really a leader.

Summer: Right.

Zack: I mean, if there were, it'd be me.

Summer looks at Zack, questionably.

Zack: I'm the lead guitarist. It's in the name.

Tomika: Yeah, like "lead" singer.

Freddy: Actually, I think it's me. I count us into every song.

Summer: Guys, I really don't think this matters.

Zack: Uh, you're only saying that because you're the back-up singer.

Summer: Actually, I'm the manager.