Concept:

CUD is a screwball romantic horror comedy in the tradition of Alligator, Alligator II, Snakes on the Plane, and Lake Placid.

In order to prevent an outbreak of mad cow disease, the addition of left-over cattle parts to cattle feed has been outlawed by the government. In an attempt to keep down costs, the operator of a Central Florida feed factory substitutes human corpses as a new additive. Now the local cattle have now developed a taste for human flesh and reek havoc in and near the town of Bullsville, Florida.

Theme:

Cud is about karma, justice and payback: in the end, we are all deserving of what we receive. The theme can be expressed as:

You reap what you sow.
And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
A man is born alone and dies alone.
What goes around comes around.

Characters:

Jack Farnswood – Jack is a widower farmer trying to scratch out a living from a small farm located in the midst of Florida’s Cattle country--he is bit of a loner and doesn’t fit in with the local big time cattle ranchers. His wife died while giving birth to his daughter, SALLY, twelve years ago and left him to play the roles of both father and mother.

Jack's hard work and kindly nature has resulted in a conventional, stable, and secure home life for his small family of two. For the greater part of the story, his strongest desire is simply to keep his daughter safe. But in the course of his adventures, he unexpectedly meets Dr. Amanda Hollingsworth and falls in love, and comes to understand that only by taking risks do you have a shot at happiness.

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Jack is the somewhat mistrusting, careful-in-life character with a lot of real-world experience who changes and grows due to a relationship with a beautiful, free-spirited, intelligent woman.

Sally Farnswood – Even though only 12, Sally is the woman of the house. She can cook, clean, sew, help with farm chores, and is an excellent student at Bullsville Middle School. Having never known her mother, she is remarkably like her in many ways and Jack is reminded of his dead wife every time he looks at her. She loves the animals on the farm and seems to have a special relationship with all things living and would rather spend time with them than with schoolmates.

She loves her father and hates to see him in his loneliness but being so young, she has no idea what to do about it. She knows a couple of single ladies at church who would be perfect company for her dad and from time to time she suggests that he invites one to dinner but he never takes the advice.

Throughout the story, she shows maturity beyond her years but in the end is able to be the sweet little girl she really is.

Amanda Hollingsworth – Amanda is the head veterinary surgeon at the small Seminole University located about 100 miles north from Bullsville. She is both beautiful and smart and is extremely popular with students and staff. She is dedicated to her work and takes a no-nonsense approach to everything in life.

As a professional, none can compare, but even though she is a beautiful and talented woman, her social life leaves a lot to be desired. The daughter of divorced parents, she is mistrusting of relationships and has never had a real one herself. She goes on occasional dates but can never seem to relate to the yet another blind date that one of her friends has gone out of the way to set up for her.

A strong and determined person, she stands up to opposing forces with courage and intelligence and likes to take control of every situation; which is one of her biggest problems.

F.U. Weaver - F.U. Weaver is the stereotypical rich southern mayor, who maintains strict control over his small town. He owns most of the local businesses, including the Weaver Feed Company and Weaver Beef.

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F.U. Weaver has most of the local politicians and government employees in his back pocket and is able to wheel and deal unhindered. He has recently started a national chain of Bully Burger hamburger stands; mainly in order to dispose of the tainted beef that comes from his slaughter houses.

Sheriff Cooter Walker – the Sheriff is another stereotypical character that does as Mayor Weaver orders. Legal or not. His main job is to serve and to protect the interest of F.U. Weaver first and the citizens of Bull County second. His small department consists of only one bumbling deputy who never gets anything right.

Dr. Ike Browning - Dr. Ike is a kindly old veterinarian who has been serving Bull County Ranchers for over 40 years. In contrast to Amanda Hollingsworth, he knows little about technology or advances in his profession and relies on old tried-and-true remedies to bring sick or injured animals back to health, but even with his old-fashioned methods, his success rate is as high as any highly-trained modern veterinarian.

Chadwick Tanner – Plant Supervisor at the Weaver Feed Company. Chadwick pushes the plant workers (most of them illegal aliens) past normal human standards and is one who gets things done on time. In his twenty years of service, he has never missed a quota or deadline, often exceeding expectations but getting little in reward.

Synopsis:

1. INTRO – TAINTED FEED

Pre-dawn in the town of Bullsville, a small Central Florida town, built by Yankee snow birds during the 1920s as a haven during the cold months. Its dilapidated Victorian-style homes are beautiful in design but were hastily constructed by local underpaid carpenters who didn’t really care if Northerners lived in a well-built house or not.

A white cube van navigates through the early morning fog to the back dock of the Weaver Feed Company.  A pair of disgruntled dockhands assist in the unloading of human corpses which are piled on rolling carts and taken to be mixed in with cattle feed.  

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2. WEIRD DISCOVERIES

Sacks of Weaver Cattle Feed are piled high on the bed of a pickup truck. JACK FARNSWOOD slices open a sack. His pug, cocks his head and watches. He whines as Jack stacks the sacks on the ground. The dog sniffs a bag and starts clawing. He rips open a large hole, crawls into the sack and retrieves a large bone.

A GROUP of COLLEGE STUDENTS search for mushrooms in the dampness of a foggy Florida morning. Kicking cow pies and filling brown paper bags with their purple-stemmed harvest. Suddenly, a scream pierces through the fog. ANGIE, pretty and obviously stoned, is hysterically screaming at a human eyeball partially embedded in a pile of manure staring back at her.

SALLY FARNSWOOD wears iPod headphones and hums “Jesus Loves Me” as she milks BOSSIE, a docile-appearing dairy cow. Bossie’s feed has run out and she hungrily licks the bottom of the wooden feeder. Sally squirts milk into a metal pale in beat with the music. She finishes and stands, patting Bossie’s shoulder. She removes her headphones. Suddenly, Bossie chomps down on and starts gnawing on Sally’s arm. Sally screams and can’t pull her arm from the cow’s jaws. She bangs Bossie’s head as hard as she can but can’t get free.

A shot rings out. Bossie drops.  Jack drops his shotgun and rushes to her. Sally faints across Bossie’s body, blood pouring from her mangled arm.

3. DISEASED CATTLE

Jack, SHERIFF COOTER WALKER, and DR.IKE BROWNING, local vet since 1933, are having a barnyard powwow. Bossie lies beside her soon-to-be grave. A back hoe waits nearby. Dr. Ike is holding a zip-lock bag that contains Bossie’s brain.

Jack’s dog sniffs the hooves of an animal that can no longer swat away the flies. The Sheriff lifts his 10-gallon hat and scratches his bald spot. With the other hand, he scratches belly fat. He thinks it would be in the best interest of the ranching community if Jack keeps quiet about the found bone in the sack of feed and the strange behavior of his milk cow that put his daughter in the hospital. It would devastate the local economy if word got out that Bull County was home to diseased cattle.

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Jack disagrees and in the midst of their argument, a Jeep whips into to driveway and slides to a dusty stop. The door swings open and a slender foot touches gravel. Sheriff Cooter gives a low whistle and changes his mind about issuing a ticket. Jack’s dog rushes to DR. AMANDA HOLLINGSWORTH as if he’s known her all his life. She reaches down and scratches his wrinkled head. The three men can only gawk.

She turns her attention from the contented pooch to the handsome Jack standing over her. He helps her to her feet.  She returns his smile. A moment happens. Jack’s dog whines. Dr. Ike hides the bag of brains behind his back as he introduces himself.

Sheriff Cooter is suspicious of outsiders and isn’t nearly as friendly. Still, he finally agrees to allow her to perform research but on Jack’s farm only. No word of this can get out. Jack hooks the dead cow to a back hoe and transports the body to the barn for an autopsy.

4. CRAZED HERD

Three middle-school-aged BOYS climb a barb-wired fence and sneak up on a small herd of cattle. Young BOBBY creeps up behind the cow and with a jump, leaps on her back, and grabs horns. The cow immediately takes off running. His classmates cheer him on as the old milk cow suddenly starts bucking like a young steer.

The cow races toward the fence and intentionally rakes the boy’s leg against barb wire, ripping flesh from the bone. His friends chase after him, yelling. Bobby can’t free himself from the torturous ride. The remainder of the herd starts to stampede.

Screams of terror and pain fill the countryside as the boys are trampled.

Bobby’s body dangles from a fence line. A cow timidly approaches, pulls a string of flesh from the boy and begins slowly and contentedly chewing her cud.

5. LOCAL GOTHS SUSPECTED

DEENA CONCEPCION LANGLEY, aging WKOW news anchor, reads the lead story about a mutilated dog and two goats with the blood sucked from them. Satanists are suspected of performing black masses.

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In an interrogation room, Sheriff Cooter grills a defiant TEENAGE GOTH, DONNY WILSON, whose hair has been dyed black, red and silver. His black eyeliner has been smeared with tears. Piercings adorn his face.

After being accused of not believing in God, he insists he doesn’t believe in the Devil either and is merely a poser who joined the local Wicca congregation simply to pick up weird chicks. He is arrested on the charge of being too ugly.

6. WEAVER CATTLE FEED FACTORY

Machines roar and conveyor belts spin as different products are added to cattle feed. Bins labeled with various ingredients release measured amounts into the mix. Alfalfa, grains, ammonium sulfate, barley, broom grass, blood meal, beet, bone meal, brewer grain, brewer yeast, along with other chemicals and ingredients are added to the mix. From a mysterious bin, a glowing substance oozes into the mix.

Further down the line, body bags hang from an overhead conveyor. They swing into place and stop over a vat. A robotic arm reaches out and unzips the bag. A human body is suddenly released and plops into the feed. Large blades slice the remains into particles finer than sand. The gory ingredients are thoroughly mixed before bags are filled and loaded onto conveyor belts.

Suddenly, a switch is flipped and all is quiet. Company Foreman, CHADWICK TANNER, stands atop a work table and calls for attention. F.U. Weaver announces that due to new orders, everyone has to work longer hours, 7 days a week. No sick leave is permitted. No time off for any reason including Christmas. The workers cuss him in Spanish as machines are restarted.

7. MAYHEM ON THE HIGHWAY

Swerving cars. Honking horn.  A HERD of CATTLE are walking head-on through traffic as if on a mission, ignoring on-coming cars. A cow is hit by a semi-truck and is thrown into the ditch, killed instantly.

A LITTLE BOY points from his restraining seat, excited by all the cattle that move past the stopped car. A cow SUDDENLY pokes his head into

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the car window. The boy’s MOTHER screams. She hits the window’s up button. The cow is startled and yanks back its head, breaking glass in the process.

Sirens and blue lights announce the arrival of the Florida Highway Patrol.

A tangled mess of a traffic jam. People laugh at OFFICERS who slip and slide in mud, wet grass and cow poop. An OFFICER uses his taser gun against an unruly cow. She bucks and kicks the Officer to the ground. He checks his head and pulls back a bloody hand.

8. LOVE BLOSSOMS

Sally and Amanda are cooking in a country kitchen. Apple pie bakes in the oven. Sally looks much better now. Her bandages and sling have been replaced by colorful princess-style Band-Aids. She and Amanda work on the kitchen table rolling out dough for biscuits. Sally explains she learned to cook from her mother’s old recipes she once found in the attic.

Jack ENTERS through the back door, kicking mud from his boots and sniffing the air. He is informed he has just thirty minutes to clean up before supper. Amanda’s eyes follow him as he leaves the room. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Sally and they laugh as they pop the biscuits into the oven.

Jack and Amanda share the porch swing. Crickets chirp. Cattle moo in the distance. The stars are uncountable in the reflection of her eyes. Her hand slips into his and she leans in, parting her lips…

9. BULLY BURGER, INC.

Big city sidewalk. F.U. Weaver squeezes himself down the crowded sidewalk to the steps of the NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS of BULLY BURGER, INC. He looks up at the towering BULL STATUE gracing the entrance of the building and notices a pigeon chipping away on mountainous oysters.

He can barely shove himself through the revolving door. Cigar smoke fills the entrance way. Passing PEOPLE are amazed he walks through the

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lobby ignoring the NO SMOKING signs. A SECURITY GUARD APPROACHES and requests that he extinguish the cigar. F.U. replies with a puff of smoke into his face. The Guard goes into a coughing spasm. He gags and spits into his walkie but can’t get out any words.

F.U. surprises the members of a private meeting. He grinds out his cigar on the expensive carpet as he goes to the head of the conference table, turning down coffee and an ashtray. He pulls out a new cigar, takes an offered lighter, burns a report lying in front of him, and fires everyone in the room; replacing them with COWBOY THUGS who enter the room. F.U. brings down a gavel and commences an official meeting of Bully Burger, Inc.

Plans are revealed how tainted meat will be sold to the public without government interference.

10. BULLSVILLE FUNERAL HOME

In a back alley behind the funeral home. A hearse and a van are parked back to back. A Cowboy Thug passes a SADDLEBAG full of MONEY to the FUNERAL DIRECTOR, MARVIN MASON. The Funeral Director nervously looks up and down the alley and peers into the bag.

LABORERS toss 5 body bags from the hearse into the van, moving as fast as they can. A body rolls from the tailgate to the pavement. It lands with a plop. Stacked nearby are bags of leftover cow parts. A WEAVER SLAUGHTER HOUSE logo is printed on the side.

The Cowboy gives a wide grin. The Laborers pull down the tail gate and jump into the cab.

He jumps into the van and stomps the gas. The Funeral Director drags a heavy sack of dead meat through the rear door of the funeral home, leaving a trail of cattle blood staining the asphalt.

11. MAD COW

A picture-perfect Florida morning:  GATORS croaking. The fog is lifting. A crane swoops low. A horse is tied to a fence and a single cow munches grass and contentedly chews her cud.

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Down the fence line, JULIUS CARR, RANCHER, is stretching a break in the barb wire. He cranks the fence stretcher tight and pulls out a pair of side cutters.

The cow goes down for another bite of grass. GLOWING FANGS are revealed as she opens her mouth. SUDDENLY, she lifts her head and sniffs the wind and snorts. Julius is concentrating on twisting together two stubborn strands of wire.

She stomps the earth and transforms from gentle milk cow into a charging death machine, heading straight for the rancher as he continues bent over his work. The wire is pulled tight. He gives it one more twist. SUDDENLY, the wire snaps and whips across his horse. Julius’ hand has a tear across the palm. He starts for his horse and notices the charging milk cow.

His horse is bucking to get free. The cow gets between them, blocking his path. She stops and paws the earth as if she’s in a bull ring. She proudly raises her head and displays her fangs. Burning red eyes reflect hell’s ancient fire. Thick cud oozes from slobbering cow lips that glow a fluorescent green and burns grass where it drips. She rears back on two hind legs and moos.

Julius eyes the rifle holstered in the horse’s saddle. The horse is terrified of the cow and is frantically trying to free herself and causing barb-wire cuts on her forelegs. Julius eases over to the other side of the fence and creeps along the line toward the horse. He tries to calm her. Julius pulls the rifle from its holster and fires a shot at the cow. He misses. The cow stops in her tracks. He frees the horse and they race toward the barn.  In the BACKGROUND the cow follows them in, just out of range.

Julius gallops into the barn, leaps off the horse and rushes to slam the door. Just before it closes, we can see the crazy cow just coming over the crest of the hill.  Out-of-breath, he pulls the saddle off the horse and closes

her in a pen. He finds a box of bullets in the saddle bag and reloads his rifle.

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He looks out the window and sees nothing. He goes to another and slowly cracks it open. Everything is silent, save his own heavy breathing. He thinks he hears a sound just outside the barn door and places his ear against it and holds his breath while listening.

The cow has her ear pressed against the barn door exactly opposite of Julius’ ear. She holds her breath as she listens.

Julius goes back to the open window and pokes his head outside for a good look. REAR ANGLE: SUDDENLY, Julius’ legs flare straight out and kick wildly as he gives his final scream.

A single cow contentedly chews her cud. A nearby swamp bird sends out a morning cry. And Julius Carr’s headless body bleeds across a splintered window sill.

12. COW TIPPING

A carload of TEENAGERS are skipping school, drinking beer, and mooning cows. Somebody’s daddy’s car zips down the two-lane highway at 90 miles an hour flying past citrus grooves and cow pastures. Cattle and sheep raise their heads as if they are disturbed by the bee-bop music that disrupts the countryside tranquility.

STANLEY DILLARD, barely 17 years old and driving drunk, steers with one hand and sips beer with the other, bobbing his head in rhythm with TuPak. He knows all the words.

A cow is standing dead center of the road just ahead. Stanley slams on the breaks and swerves, just missing the animal. The boys let out a whoop in unison. Stanley regains control of the car and slows down considerably. He puts a hand over his heart. He stops the car and they decide to go back for a little cow tipping.In the back seat, ALVIN CHARLES squeezes his fat butt back into the car and pulls up his pants.

They do a quick U-turn in the middle of the highway. Smoke pours from the tires. They near the cow and park in a ditch on the side of the road. The exit the car and meet in the bushes next to the shoulder.

The cow ignores their presence and continues gazing stupidly in the opposite direction, contentedly chewing her cud.

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They creep up the side of the ditch and prepare to make a dash.

SUDDENLY, a pickup truck appears around the corner and blows his horn at the cow. He slows as he passes her. The boys duck low, laughing and taking deep swigs of beer.

The cow ignores the truck and continues chewing her cud in defiance. The driver gives his horn another blast and punches the gas, leaving the cow in exhaust smoke.

Stanley finishes his beer and tosses the empty to the grass. The boys jump up and race across the highway. They slam into the side of beef with all their might and bounce back. Alvin hits pavement with a thump.

The cow ignores their efforts and continues concentrating on chewing cud, daydreaming of some distant pasture. Alvin struggles to his feet. His fat ankles can barely support his weight.

They line up like linemen on a football team. They all get into their favorite stance. They hit the side of the cow with every ounce of muscle in their bodies.  SUDDENLY, the cow topples over on her side. The boys cheer and give each other celebratory high fives.

The cow lies perfectly still with her legs straight out and stiff. The boys cautiously approach her body. Johnny reluctantly gets down on his hands and knees and slowly bends over the cow’s face. Her eyes are glazed over with death’s dullness.

Johnny leans in and puts his ear to the cow’s nostril. He turns to look at the other boys. SUDDENLY, the cow snaps back to life and bites down on Johnny’s neck. He is dead before he hears the snap. His friends leave him there and race terrified back to the car.

The cow jumps to her feet, snorting and stamping on Johnny’s body. The boys jump into the car, slam the doors, and roll up the windows. The boys are breathing so heavy the windows are fogging up. Stanley’s hands shake as he attempts to place the keys in the ignition. He turns over the key. The starter refuses to engage, grinding slower and slower. The gas gauge indicates empty.

They see the cow leveling her gaze in their direction.

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She paws the pavement and makes her charge. The boys scream for their lives. The cow slams into the driver’s door and the car topples over on its side much in the way they did her. Screams of terror are silenced as the cow kicks in the windshield and pokes in her head.

13. COW POND

Young, soon to-be-wedded couple, JACOB and NELDA, is having a picnic. They sit next to a picturesque cattle pond toasting their future. Jacob pours beer into plastic Champaign glasses. He passes on to her.  She smiles and raises her glass. He swallows the beer in one gulp and starts stripping down. Nelda eyes the pond. Cattle are munching around its edges.

He leaps into the pond butt naked. A cow raises her head with mild interest. She reluctantly takes off her pants and top and dives in. He playfully splashes her when she comes up. He goes underwater to get away as she chases. He swims up behind Nelda. Suddenly he sees a set of cow legs paddle by. He comes up gasping for air. Nelda is waiting with a spray.

About fifty feet away, a cow tail slices the water, sticking straight up like the fin of a shark. Nelda squeezes up close to him. The tail circles around them. They start to swim for shore. Other cattle ENTER the water. The radius tightens.

SUDDENLY, Nelda stops still. Nelda senses that her legs have disappeared. She screams then quickly sinks. Jacob doesn’t look back. He gulps a deep breath and dives under. The water churns as if a piece of meat was dropped into a pool of starving Piranhas; then all is still.

A PAIR of MIGRATING DUCKS land on the pond. A Bass leaps high. Cows graze contentedly on the grassy banks and blood sloshes up to the shore. 

14.  HUNGRY HERD

Cattle hungry for human flesh roam the countryside, breaking into homes, destructing County Fairs, and disrupting rodeos.

Through it all Jack, Amanda and Sally develop a family-type relationship as they work to conquer the evil bovines.

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15. RESOLUTION

Jack leads a posse of cowboys into the swamp and roundup the snarling herd into the Bullsville corral. The cold night has caused a citrus freeze warning and burning tires send out an eerie light into the frosty darkness.

The cattle bunch together for warmth. A fire truck stands by and at Jack’s signal; FIREMEN completely hose down the animals. Soon the herd is nothing more than a block of frozen beef.

Jack, Amanda and Sally sit at a table at the local Bully Burger Restaurant. Jack is amazed at how fast Sally can put away such a large burger. She turns and smiles at him with glowing fangs…