Tài liệu Writing the short film 3th - Part 47 docx

Laughing, Sheila enters from the kitchen and circles the buffet table.. FOYER/STAIRS—NIGHT Through the rails of the staircase, Julie sits alone, balancing a plate on her knees.. Julie en

Al and Julie glance at each other Al smiles Julie,

uncomfortable, turns away and wedges herself between the chair and table

SHEILA (O.S.) I’m going to go check on the table

TOM (O.S.) Hey, c’mon, just a moment, c’mon Laughing, Sheila enters from the kitchen and circles the buffet table

SHEILA

Hi there Mind if I steal this?

BILL

Go right ahead

She picks something up from the cutting board and

drops it into her mouth, wiggling her bottom to show the sensation of the good flavor She exits to the foyer Al

tears a leg off a chicken

6 INT FOYER/STAIRS—NIGHT

Through the rails of the staircase, Julie sits alone,

balancing a plate on her knees She arranges a

small grouping of doll house furniture displaying a

living room and holiday dinner around her plate as

she eats SOUND of ice TINKLING in glasses is

unnaturally loud; the soft indistinguishable patter of CONVERSATION

SHEILA (O.S.) I’d love to get a picture of that I’d love to get a picture of that

AL (O.S.)

So just who is Julie’s father anyway? So who’s Julie’s father? That’s what I never understood

Headless and footless adult figures pass in and out

of the frame in front of her obscuring and revealing Julie

7 INT DEN—NIGHT

A bar Amber liquid pours into frame as Tom’s hand fills

a tumbler with scotch, ice, and a touch of water Sheila leans very close to Tom and lets her breast brush against his arm as she lifts the glass out of his hand

Julie enters unobserved from the darkness of the corridor behind them to witness the exchange Sheila stirs her drink with her finger and licks her finger Tom and Sheila stand close together and SPEAK under their breath AD LIB

SHEILA

Hi, is that for me? You know what Julie asked me?

TOM What?

SHEILA

If you were the same Tom she met at her birthday party years ago

TOM You’re kidding

(They laugh.)

SHEILA (laughing)

So how’s your wife?

Bill enters unobserved for a moment Sheila notices Bill and crosses to him

SHEILA (turning toward Bill) Thanks for the drink, Tom Can I get you anything, sweetheart?

BILL

No thanks I’m all set

Bill swirls the alcohol in his glass, forces a smile, and pulls away and heads to the bar With Tom and Bill in

the background by the bar, Sheila steps away and lights

a cigarette, inhaling deeply

TOM Great scotch, Bill

BILL That’s nice

8 INT DEN/CORRIDOR—NIGHT (intercut with sc 7)

Al comes from the corridor behind Julie and surprises

her He performs a simple magic trick offering her a

cigarette Julie takes it He lights it for her Julie tries to look natural smoking the cigarette but is made

uncomfortable by Al’s proximity to her

From the living room, Sheila watches Julie smoking with

an air of surprise but does not reprimand her Instead

she smiles at her daughter and blows smoke rings with her own cigarette They exchange smiles

9 INT LIVING ROOM/DEN—NIGHT

Delirious montage of details of the room and the

movement of the guests as the party wears on

10 INT LIVING ROOM—NIGHT

Sheila and Julie dance as Julie hammers away on the

organ She plays very badly The mother and daughter

improvise a raucous R ‘n’ R tune Bill and Al are off to the side in quiet conversation Sheila dances across to

Bill

SHEILA Come dance with me

BILL (smiling, pushes her away) C’mon, c’mon

Sheila dances back across toward Julie, and Tom joins

her in a sloppy dance

BILL Just knock that off; you’re making me crazy Turn

it off Shut that thing off

Julie lifts her hands off the keyboard and the organ dies

JULIE

It is off

SHEILA Take it easy, Bill

BILL Stop that dee-dee-dee shit

Julie gets up and leaves

TOM (O.S.) Hey, Jules, c’mon play for us

11 INT STAIRWELL/FOYER—NIGHT Julie stomps up the stairs A needle drops sharply on the turntable

From the base of the stairs, Al watches Julie’s foot disappear around the banister

12 INT LANDING/MASTER BEDROOM—NIGHT

At the top of the stairs, a light is burning in the large master bedroom on the bedside table next to a bottle of whiskey and a tumbler; the bed is unmade An informal wedding portrait of Sheila and Bill is on the nightstand

A rifle rests in the corner of the room

Julie lingers in the doorway a moment She enters and closes the door behind her She pushes over the photos

on the bedside table and jumps on the bed where she discovers her mother’s nightgown

BILL (O.S.) Just a little while ago you were nothing, you know, you were nothing Just a woman in a bar with a little snotty-nosed kid, a little snotty-nosed kid

SHEILA (O.S.) What is this story you’re telling me? A little Biafra here

Sheila and Bill laugh

SHEILA (O.S.)

I was perfectly fine

BILL (O.S.)

I understand it was a hell of a job That was real—

working for the president One hell of a job I mean

it was fine, I’m not saying anything—c’mon—you were working in a bar Give me a break

SHEILA (O.S.)

I happened to grow up five blocks from that bar

I know all the people It’s not a sleazy place

BILL (O.S.) I’m just saying that it’s not exactly brain surgery, that’s all

SHEILA (O.S.) Good Lord! I wouldn’t exactly call yourself a brain surgeon

She pulls her shirt over her head and holds the

nightgown up

13 INT BATHROOM—NIGHT

SOUNDS of the PARTY continue downstairs: MUSIC,

VOICES, GLASSES CLINKING mingle with the rushing

WATER Water pours from the tap; bubbles form on the surface of the water Julie’s foot plays with the tap as it fills the tub

SHEILA (O.S.) One invention and you’re sitting pretty

BILL (O.S.) That’s right, we’re sitting pretty

SHEILA (O.S.)

Oh yeah, well, we’ll just see about that You’re getting pretty tight, aren’t you? Counting every penny

Julie sits in the bubbles up to her neck Her dry

hair hangs over the edge of the tub She picks up a

lipstick from the edge of the tub and applies it using the side of the tube as a mirror She admires

the fractions of her face that she can see in its reflection

14 INT DEN/BAR—NIGHT Sheila leans against the hearth framed by a rack of rifles She lets out an exasperated sigh over the sound

of her own voice arguing with her husband

BILL (O.S.) It’s not every penny It’s thirteen hundred dollars

I have a right to ask my wife

15 INT BATHROOM—NIGHT Julie slowly slides herself into the water She thrashes around under water blowing bubbles to the surface

Underwater the argument turns to mush

BILL (O.S.) I’m just asking I have a right to ask my own wife about the goddamned money

16 INT LANDING—NIGHT

A bottle is knocked over

SHEILA (O.S.)

I resent, I resent that you call my daughter

17 INT BATHROOM—NIGHT (CONT.) Julie reemerges from underwater and the sound returns

to normal

BILL (O.S.) What did you call me that for just think of who you’re talking to

SHEILA (O.S.) You’re drunk

BILL (O.S.)

Oh yeah, so what are you the Virgin Mary you’re

so sober?

17 A SPECIAL EFFECTS SHOT OF GLASS tumbler with ice fills with scotch

18 INT BATHROOM—NIGHT

In a three-way mirror, apricot satin shimmers as Julie

slides a luxurious nightgown, several sizes too large,

over her head The voices downstairs vanish as she is

enraptured by her own sensuality A loud CRASH is

heard downstairs

19 HARD CUT TO:

A tumbler of ice and scotch CRASHES to the ground

20 INT BATHROOM—NIGHT (CONT.)

Julie turns sharply at the SOUND

21 INT FOYER—NIGHT

Julie comes out of the bathroom and runs to the

landing Seen from high above through the bars of the

staircase Tom is between Sheila and Bill The figures

pass in and out between the rungs of the banister Bill

taunts Sheila

SHEILA Get your stomach out of the way

BILL Fuck you

TOM Don’t, Bill, c’mon

SHEILA

I still have a few good years on you

BILL Fucking few, baby, few fucking years, baby Sheila spits in Bill’s face and laughs

BILL Fucking whore