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Requiem for a Dream (2000) movie script
by Darren Aronofsky & Hubert Selby, Jr.
More info about this movie on IMDb.com
ON THE TV - is Tappy Tibbons, America's favorite television personality. His charismatic personality shines for the entire world to see. His audience cheers wildly. A UDIENCE J uice by Tappy! Juice by Tappy! J uice by Tappy! ooooOOOOH! Tappy's g ot juice! Tappy's got juice! o oooOOOOH Tappy! T APPY TIBBONS T hank you! Thank you vey much! T oday's winner is a flight attendant f rom Washington DC. Will you p lease welcome Mary Suddenly, the plug is pulled. The TV flickers off and we C UT TO: THE PRESENTATION TITLES, THEN C UT TO: INT. SARA'S LIVING ROOM - DAY Harry Goldfarb, young twenties, is an eccentric kid with a seductive smile. He tries to stop his mother, Sara Goldfarb, from locking herself in the closet. M a! Ma! H ARRY C'mon, Ma! Please. S ARA Not again the TV.
H arold.
She slams the door closed and Harry talks to the shut door. H ARRY W hy do you haveta make such a big d eal out of this? Eh? You know y ou'll have the set back in a c ouple of hours. No answer. 2.
H ARRY (CONT'D) W hy ya gotta make me feel guilty? ( frustrated) A hhh... Harry walks across the room to the early eighties TV with ridiculous rabbit ears. Sara locks the door and retreats to the back of the closet. Harry starts to push the set on its stand when suddenly it jerks - almost falling. Harry spies a thick bicycle chain going from around the TV to the radiator. H ARRY (CONT'D) J esus! Whatta ya tryin' to do, eh? Y ou tryin' to get me to break my o wn mother's set? Or break the r adiator? Harry marches to the closet. H ARRY (CONT'D) . .an' maybe blow up the whole house? Y ou tryin' to make me a killer? Y our own son? Your own flesh and b lood? WHATTA YA DOIN' TA ME? Y OUR OWN SON!!! Then, a thin key slowly peeks out from under the closet door. Harry works it out with his fingernail and yanks it up. H ARRY (CONT'D) W hy do you always gotta play games w ith my head for krist's sake? D on't you have any considerations f or my feelings? Why do you haveta m ake my life so difficult? And then, meekly from the closet S ARA H arold, I wouldn't. The chain i sn't for you. The robbers. H ARRY T hen why didn't you tell me? The s et almost fell. I coulda had a h eart attack. Sara shakes her head in the darkness. S ARA Y ou should be well, Harold. 3. H ARRY T hen why won't you come out? Harry tries to open the locked closet door but can't. H ARRY (CONT'D) S ee what I mean? See how you a lways gotta upset me? Harry walks to the TV, unlocks the chain and starts to wheel
t he TV towards the front door. M a? No response. Ma?
He pauses by the closet.
H ARRY (CONT'D) C'mon out? Please, Ma.
Inside, Sara hugs her knees.
Then, he throws up his hands, mumbles H ARRY E h, screw it. - and pushes the set carefully out of the apartment. In the closet, Sara hears the door shut. herself She mumbles to
S ARA I t's not happening. And if it s hould be happening it would be a lright, so don't worry, Seymour. I t'll all work out. You'll see a lready. In the end it's all nice. S MASH CUT TO: BLACK - AND THE TITLE: 'REQUIEM FOR A DREAM' TITLES BEGIN EXT. SARA'S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Waiting for Harry is Tyrone C. Love, young twenties, leaning against the wall, playing skillfully with a yo-yo. Taking his time, Tyrone helps Harry wheel the set to the dingy elevator. T YRONE S heeit, this mutha startin' to look a l ittle seedy, man. 4. H ARRY W hat's the matter, ya particular a ll of a sudden? T YRONE H ey, baby, ah don't care if it's g rowin' hair just so's we get our b raid. C UT TO: EXT. SARA'S BUILDING - BRIGHTON BEACH, BROOKLYN - DAY Lining the front of the building in beach chairs are ten female Yentas absorbing the sun and passing judgement on Harry. Harry says hello and is greeted by a chorus of fake, sarcastic 'hellos' in return. C UT TO: EXT. STREETS OF BRIGHTON BEACH AND CONEY ISLAND
H arry and Tyrone carefully navigate the TV through the streets of the old Brooklyn neighborhood. They go under the elevated train, past the giant, dying projects, across the boardwalk, beneath the shadows of the towering parachute jump and through the cracking and boardedup amusement park. THE TITLES END. A H ARD CUT TO: BLACK ON THE SCREEN IN WHITE LETTERS: 'SUMMER' C UT TO: INT. PAWN SHOP - DAY Old and squat Mr. Rabinowitz shakes his head as Harry and Tyrone push the set into his store. He stands behind a cage of bulletproof glass with all of the pawn shop's possessions. M R RABINOWITZ S o look, the table too already. 5. H ARRY H ey, what do you want from me? c an't schlep it on my back. M R RABINOWITZ Y ou got a friend. T YRONE H ey man, I ain't my leper's s chlepper. Harry chuckles. M R RABINOWITZ S uch a son. A goniff. Your mother n eeds you like a moose needs a hat r ack. The pawn shop owner clucks his tongue and slowly counts out the money. C UT TO: QUICK HIP-HOP MONTAGE: Lighter flicks-liquid on spoon sizzles-tourniquet snapsneedle sucks-hand slaps vein-a thunderous rush of liquid-and finally an ecstatic sigh. INT. TYRONE'S DIVE PAD - LATER Tyrone's pad is run down but it'll do. Tight on Harry backspinning a record on the turntable and halting the beat. Then he lets the other turntable spin and start a new tune. T YRONE S heeit, that's some boss scag, baby.
I
I m ean DYN-A-MITE. H ARRY Y eah, man, something else. Harry calmly watches the record spin. C UT TO: INT. DONUT SHOP - NIGHT - LATER Tyrone and Harry sit at the counter of an all-night donut shop, sipping hot chocolate and eating chocolate Crullers. 6. T YRONE Y a know what we oughta do, man? H uh? We oughta get a piece of this B rody shit and cut it and off it, y a dig? H ARRY T his stuff's good enough to cut in h alf and still get you wasted. We c ould double our money. Easy. T YRONE T hat's right. An' then we buy a c ouple a pieces an' we got s omething' else goin', man. It s ure would be righteous. H ARRY I n no time we'd get a pound of pure s traight from Sal the Geep. N o hassles. h assles. T YRONE That's all I want, no
Just then, a hulking Cop sits down on the stool next to Harry. Tyrone and Harry both fall silent and slowly sip their hot chocolates. Harry looks down at the Cop's gun. from his hand. It's maybe six inches
Slowly, he reaches over and undoes the safety latch on the Cop's holster. Tyrone's eyes fill with fear. The Waitress comes over and gives the Cop his office. W AITRESS C an I get you a Just then, Harry yanks the gun out of the holster. spins around. Harry retreats C OP H ey! Hey! Harry smiles as the Cop charges. Tyrone snickers. Then Harry tosses the gun over the Cop's head. Tyrone catches it. The Cop chases Tyrone. The Cop
7. Harry and Tyrone laugh as they toss the gun back and forth just over the frustrated Cop's head. The Cop slips and falls on his ass and we C UT BACK TO: Reality. Five minutes earlier A nything else? W AITRESS Huh?
Tyrone butts Harry. Harry looks up at the Waitress who stares at him. The towering Cop looks over as well. W AITRESS W ell. N o, no. H ARRY Just the check.
The Cop returns to his donut. C UT TO: INT. PAWN SHOP - DAY Mr Rabinowitz shakes his head as Sara enters. He pulls out a ledger book that is labeled 'Sara Goldfarb's TV'. M R RABINOWITZ G ood evening, Mrs Goldfarb. S ARA G ood evening, Mr Rabinowitz, though I 'm not so sure how good it is. A nd you? M R RABINOWITZ U h, so what can I say? Are you w anting your TV? S ARA Y es, if you don't mind. Sara pulls a crinkled ten dollar bill out of the corner of her blouse and hands it to Mr Rabinowitz. M R RABINOWITZ M rs Goldfarb, can I ask you a q uestion, you won't be taking it p ersonal? Sara shrugs. 8. M R RABINOWITZ H ow many years we know each other? ( he nods his head) W ho's to count? Why don't you tell a lready the police so maybe they c ould talk to Harry and he wouldn't b e stealing no more the TV. S ARA O ooo, Mr Rabinowitz, I couldn't,
H arold's my only child. h ave.
He's all I C UT TO:
INT. SARA'S LIVING ROOM - LATER Sara chains the TV to the radiator again. She turns on the set, adjusts the rabbit ears and watches whatever is on. Sara smiles as she settles into her chair. She cermoniously removes the plastic wrapper from around a box of chocolates. Immediately, she pulls out a chocolate, covered cream and lets it dissolve in her mouth. Her eyes shut in gentle ecstasy. C UT TO: EXT. SEACOAST TOWER - DAY Looking straight up at the thirty-storey building with sharp eyes is Marion. She is beautiful, fresh, and in her young twenties. Harry, with a stack of newspapers under his arm, comes up from behind and kisses her on the neck. C UT TO: SEACOAST TOWER'S FOYER Harry randomly presses one of countless buzzers. Lady responds a moment later. H ello? O LD LADY Who is it? He and Marion try to hold An Old
Harry mumbles into the speaker. their laughter. O LD LADY W ho?
9. Harry mumbles again. THE ELEVATOR - in black-and-white video. A security camera watches Harry and Marion jump around as they head to the TOP FLOOR PING! Harry dips his head out the open doors. He grabs Marion and they dash to the When the buzzer rings we're on -
All clear. STAIRWELL
- where red, bold warnings on the emergency exit roof door threaten alarm if the door is opened. M ARION W hat do we do now? Harry pulls out a wire from his back pocket and shorts the alarm.
T hen, he kicks the roof door open.
White light rushes in. C UT TO:
INT. SARA'S LIVING ROOM Her phone rrrings and Sara leans towards it but she continues to adjust the rabbit ears on her set, torn between the priorty of the two activities. Finally, four rings later, she lunges for the phone and flops down in her viewing chair. She is greeted by a Cheery Voice. S ARA H ello? C HEERY VOICE ( off-screen) M rs Goldfarb? Mrs Sara Goldfarb? I t's me. S ARA Speaking.
The voice is so enthusiastic that she looks over to the TV to see if it's coming from there. 1 0. C HEERY VOICE ( off-screen) M rs Goldfarb, this is Lyle Russel f rom Malin & Block. S ARA I 'm not interested in C HEERY VOICE ( off-screen) W ait, Mrs Goldfarb. I'm not s elling anything. Nothing. I just w ant to offer you a chance to be on t elevision. S ARA T elevision? C HEERY VOICE ( off-screen) T hat's right, Mrs Goldfarb. S ARA L ook, I don't have any C HEERY VOICE ( off-screen) I 'm not looking for money, Mrs G oldfarb. I'm calling to tell you y ou've already won. Your name was s elected from a long list of a vailable contestants. You've been c hosen and you now have an o pportunity to be on television. M e? S ARA On television?
Sara's eyes light up.
L YLE RUSSEL ( off-screen) T hat's right, Mrs Goldfarb. t elevision.
You on
S ARA I n ever thought I'd be on television. I 'm just a L YLE RUSSEL ( off-screen) M alin & Block discovers contestants f or most of America's favorite t elevision shows. 1 1. S ARA O oooooo... Me... me... on... oh I c an't... L YLE RUSSEL ( off-screen) Y es, Mrs Goldfarb, you. C ongratulations! I can't tell you w hy you are so lucky, but you are. C ongratulations! Sara falls against the back of the viewing chair, one hand clutches desperately at the phone, the other on top of her dress. Her eyes bulge, her mouth hangs open. L YLE RUSSEL ( off-screen) Y ou will receive all necessary i nformation in the mail, Mrs G oldfarb. Goodbye and... God bless. Click! Sara tries to catch her breath. She awakens from her ecstasy when the phone beeps its off-the-hook sound. INT. SARA'S BEDROOM - A BIT LATER Sara picks up a framed photo. The picture was taken on Harry's high school graduation day years ago. Harry, in the middle, is an eighteen-year-old in cap and gown. Sara's husband Seymour hovers over Harry's left shoulder. On Harry's right is a younger-looking Sara. She is thirty pounds lighter, has brilliant red hair and wears a red dress and gold shoes. Sara stares at her outfit. Then she rushes to the closet. As she hums a tuneless monotone, she carefully pulls out the last dress on the hook. She ceremoniously removes the dry-cleaning plastic and smiles at her red dress. She puts it on. In the mirror she looks over one shoulder and then the other. She tries to zip up the back, but after half an inch and many minutes of exertion she gives up. On her hands and knees, she searches through mounds of shoes for the special pair. She pulls out the gold shoes and dusts them off. Shakily, Sara puts them on. She smiles at herself in the mirror. C UT TO:
1 2. EXT. ROOF - DAY Harry and Marion throw paper airplanes down on the dying amusement park. H ARRY . .. but why you so hard on your f olks? I mean, they give you the b read for rent, money for the s hrink T hey bug me. h ypocrites. M ARION They're fucking
Harry shrugs - no big deal. M ARION L ike they're in that big house with a ll their cars and money. They pay m e off so they don't have to deal w ith me. They pay off charities to d eal with their racism. Then we'll s ee how liberal they are when I c ome home with a black guy. H ARRY Y ou know what you gotta do. M ARION Y eah. H ARRY Y ou gotta get away from them. M ARION H ow? H ARRY W hat about your clothes? Maybe you c ould sell them. Open a store. M ARION I c an't. H ARRY W hy? M ARION W hen will I have time to hang with y ou? 1 3. A deserved kiss. C UT TO: EXT. ADA'S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS Sara, barely wearing her red dress, knocks on a door. an orange-haired woman Sara's age, answers the door. A DA S o where's the party? Ada,
S ARA P arty, schmarty. This is like all t he parties. When I tell you, y ou'll jump out the window. A DA A b asement window, I hope. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S BEDROOM Ada tries to stuff Sara into her red dress but it ain't happening. A DA W ell, I have a great diet book. S ARA Z ophtic. C UT BACK TO: EXT. EMERGENCY EXIT DOOR Marion grabs Harry's short-circuit wire. Harry, who's already inside, looks at his girl's mischievous eyes. H ARRY M arion! Harry gets it. ALARMS SCREAM!!! Harry and Marion bolt to the TOP FLOOR - where both elevators charge the top floor. 1 4. M ARION T hey're coming. Harry grabs Marion's hand and pulls her down the hallway. Dead end. Harry and Marion squeeze against the doorway -- fighting the urge to crack-up. Then: PING! -- the elevator. A Security Guard charges out. The Guard heads straight He smiles. Then, Marion yanks the wire.
Harry and Marion hold their breath. for the staircase. Then our criminals charge -THE ELEVATOR
-- and in black-and-white video make out all the way down. THEN: EXT. SEACOAST TOWER - DAY Harry and Marion burst out of the front door laughing,
a larms ringing behind them. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S MAILBOX - DAY The mailbox opens and Sara disappointedly peers into the empty darkness. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara sits in her viewing chair watching television and reading her diet book as she slides herself a chocolate. The diet book is called 'Ten Pounds in Ten Days.' She flips through about a hundred pages of introduction until she comes to the words, 'FIRST WEEK.' She stares at the page and suddenly she becomes concerned. She reaches for a chocolate-covered caramel as we read the page with her: B REAKFAST 1 5. 1 hard-boiled egg 1/2 grapefruit 1 cup black coffee (no sugar) L UNCH 1 hard-boiled egg 1/2 grapefruit 1/2 cup lettuce (no dressing) 1 cup black coffee (no sugar) D INNER 1 hard-boiled egg 1/2 grapefruit 1 cup black coffee (no sugar) NOTE: Drink at least 2 quarts of water each day. Sara stares and chews Her eyes focus on the words, 'no' '1,' and '1/2'. They focus on the repetition of meals. They focus on the insanity, searching for the real information between the lines. She hears a giggle and turns to look at the refrigerator. The fridge tremors slightly -- a small mechanical rattle. Defeated, she drops the book and reaches for another chocolate. Her head starts to hang and tears begin to well up in her eyes. But then she notices something on the television. T APPY TIBBONS N ow, let's meet our next winner. S traight from Brighton Beach, B rooklyn, let's give juicy welcome t o Mrs Sara Goldfarb. There she is! Herself dressed in red, her hair gorgeous red, walking across the screen, so slim, so trim, so sexy.
S uch curves.
This is Red Sara.
Our Sara's tears fade as her chin lifts and she begins to smile. She watches Red Sara pose for the television audience. can hear the applause and the wolf whistles. She
She puts the chocolates away and lifts up the book -- new hope. C UT TO: 1 6. INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - MIDSUMMER DAY Bright, summer sun shoots through the window and screams across Marion's living room floor until it slows and falls upon Harry and Marion. They are asleep, fully dressed in each other's arms. The racing sounds of the outside midday summer traffic dissipate and they are alone in a vacuum of melodious heartbeats and deep breaths. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT - DAY Ada strips Sara's hair wth a smelly home-made peroxide concoction at the sink. They're positioned so that they can both watch the TV set from the corners of their eyes. S ARA E ch, what a smell. That's the G awanus Canal? A DA J ust relax, Dolly, you got a long w ay to go. You'll get used to it. G et used to it? m y appetite. They chuckle S ARA W hen's lunch? Bigger laugh. A DA S weetie, we're lucky if we're f inished before supper. S ARA S o long? A DA T hat's right. With you we're s tarting from scratch one. S ARA A nd I thought I would catch a l ittle sun today. S ARA I'm almost losing
1 7. A DA I n a box you'll catch it. You just r elax and think how gorgeous you'll l ook with your red hair. Today the h air, tomorrow the sun. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S KITCHEN Marion straightens up the kitchen. records on his portable turntable. yo-yo. Harry is spinning some Tyrone plays with his
M ARION A nybody wanna waste some time? Marion pulls out three pills. one. Ingestion... Harry and Tyrone each grab
WIDE SHOT of the kitchen in time lapse. The next threeminute scene is actually a three-hour event as Harry, Marion and Tyrone hang out. We listen to them at normal, if not slightly slowed down, speed. H ARRY I 'm starving. T YRONE Y eah, me too, get me a Snickers. H ARRY D amn, Ty, don't you eat anything e xcept Snickers? Y eah, Chuckles. T YRONE Ah digs Chuckles.
M ARION Y ou sure as hell don't know anything a bout eating, man. H ARRY W hat you need is some good noodle s oup. T YRONE S heeit, Pepsi and Snickers'll take c are of anything. H ARRY A nd maybe some bread. 1 8. T YRONE I p refer the type that goes in my p ocket not my mouth. E xactly. j ob -H ARRY Angel told me about a
In the flash of an eye, Harry changes record after record, Tyrone rolls a joint and Marion lights some candles.
T YRONE A j ob! W hat? Hah! M ARION You lose a bet?
T YRONE ( giggles) D amn, this is a righteous chick, Jim. H ARRY N o, we got this idea. Tyrone has t his connection, Brody, with some d ynamite shit. If we can get some c ash together we can get a piece, c ut it up and make a fortune. T YRONE S oon we could get a pound of pure a nd retire. H ARRY W e'd get off hard knocks and be on e asy street. Someone is at the door. pile in. Marion answers it and seven friends
Everyone is in time lapse and everyone is partying. We watch and listen to the evening's festivities until -M ARION W hat's the catch? Suddenly, the racing kitchen clock stops. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S BATHROOM - DAY Sara stares in the mirror, blinking at her ridiculously orange hair. It's nowhere near red. 1 9. S ARA T hat's red? A DA W ell, it's not exactly red but it's a lmost, maybe, in the same family. S ARA T he same family? They're not even d istant cousins already. I t's a red. r ed. R ed? r ed? Y eah. A DA Not a red red, but a
S ARA You're telling me this is a A DA I'm telling.
It's a red.
S ARA T hen what's orange? If this is a
r ed I want to know what's orange. Ada looks at Sara's hair, then her reflection, then back to Sara's hair and then back to her reflection. She purses her lips and shrugs. A DA W ell, it could be a little orange, t oo. S ARA A l ittle orange? It's a little o range like being a little pregnant. A DA ( shrugs) S o what's to worry? a lright. W hat's to worry? t o juice me.
It'll be
S ARA Someone may try
A DA R elax, relax, Dolly. It just needs a l ittle more dye. It'll be a lright for television. 2 0. S ARA A ll day long, I'm getting my scalp s craped and burned and smelling l ike dead fish and I look like a b asketball. A DA R elax. You should learn to relax. T hat's your trouble, you don't know h ow to relax already. I'm telling y ou it's alright. Tomorrow we'll d o it again and you'll look like L ucille Ball. Ada leads Sara away from the mirror. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - DAY (Post-sex) + (pre-sleep) = (intimate talk) H ARRY Y ou know something? I've always t hought you are the most beautiful w oman I've ever seen. M ARION R eally? H ARRY S ince the first time I met you. M ARION T hat's nice, Harry. That really m akes me feel good. H ARRY G ood for your ego, eh?
M ARION W ell, I can't say that it does it a ny harm, but that's not what I m ean. It makes me feel good all o ver, like...well, you know lots of p eople tell me that and it's m eaningless, completely meaningless. H ARRY Y ou mean because you think they're p utting you on? 2 1. M ARION N o, no, nothing like that. I don't k now or care if they are. I guess m aybe they really mean it, but from t hem it just doesn't mean anything t o me. When you say it, I hear it. Y ou know what I mean? I really h ear it. H ARRY S omeone like you could really make i t alright for me. M ARION Y ou think? Y eah. H ARRY I've been thinking... Marion's interest is sparked. M ARION W hat? Harry looks at Marion. He jumps out of bed. H ere. He pulls Marion. W hat? C UT TO: INT. MARION'S KITCHEN Harry in a shirt stands over Marion who's wrapped in a sheet. They lean over a folder on the kitchen table. M ARION W hat is it? H ARRY Y ou remember when I told you about t he store. Well, I've been thinking a bout it. I put together some n umbers and it's not impossible. I t hink you can do it. We should do i t. We can do it together. 2 2. She laughs: M ARION A beat. H ARRY Then he gets the courage.
Harry drifts off.
M ARION H ow long have you been thinking a bout this? N ot so long. h anging out. A pause. H ARRY Since we started
Marion thinks. M ARION I t's a great idea. H ARRY Y eah? M ARION I t is. Let's do it. Let's open it i n the city. How do we start? H ARRY W ell, first me and Ty gotta get m oney for the piece and then -M ARION I 'll get it. H ARRY N ah. M ARION N o, I can. H ARRY R eally? How? M ARION H ow do you think? My fucking p arents.
A laugh.
And then they hug and kiss gently.
Harry pulls his face back a few inches from Marion's. H ARRY I t hink I'm falling in love with you. M ARION T hink? TIGHT SHOTS and QUICK CUTS as Harry kisses the tip of Marion's nose, then her eyelids, then her cheeks and her soft lips, her chin, her neck and lastly her ear lobes. 2 3. Then he whispers in her ear: H ARRY M arion, Marion, I love you. F ADE TO BLINDING WHITE -- THEN: INT. SARA'S MAILBOX - DAY We pull out of the white and into Sara's mailbox. in -- empty. She peeks
C UT TO: INT. SARA'S KITCHEN - DAY TIGHT ON kitchen clock ticking normally. ON Sara's breakfast -- one hard-boiled egg, half a grapefruit and a mug of black coffee. ON the directions in Sara's diet book. ON Sara -- blinking at her 'meal', a sigh. We watch as she tries to enjoy her breakfast. After the food is gone she fills a glass of water. As she sips it, she notices her hand reaching for something -something more to eat. TIGHT ON the kitchen clock ticking real slow. same. Her Timex the
We see her eyes, her lips, her twitching fingers. A quick glimpse at the fridge. says to it: She grabs her stomach and
S ARA S top already. ( then to herself) Y ou'll feel better in the red dress t han a cheese danish. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S BATHROOM Marion throws some cold water on her face. She looks at her naked body in the mirror. She feels lifeless, drab and dead. QUICK CUTS: Tinfoil crinkles, powder sprinkles, lighter flicks, smoke drifts, straw sucks, a pleasure sigh... 2 4. Once again, Marion looks in the mirror. Now she looks alive and glorious. encase her body in a gentle glow. Rays of golden light
She cups her hands under her breasts and smiles as she turns and poses, admiring their size and firmness. 'Not bad,' she thinks. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S MAILBOX - DAY Nothing. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara tries to watch TV but the fridge beckons her. TIGHT ON the kitchen clock, slowly, slowly ticking.
T he fridge shudders. chair and heads out.
Frustrated, Sara grabs her folding C UT TO:
EXT. SARA'S BUILDING - DAY The outside of the building is lined with the old Yentas sitting in beach chairs catching the sun. A few have reflectors and stare up at the sun. Sara exits her building and lets the sun hit her hair. friend Rae says something first. A da told us. R AE It's gorgeous. Her
S ARA T hank you. We're making it a l ittle darker tomorrow. R AE S o why darker? S ARA T o match my red dress. R AE B ut now it's looking like Lucille B all. 2 5. S ARA But soon...I'm on a A DA Y es, she is. Y ENTA #1 C ottage cheese and lettuce? A DA N o. R AE W hat diet you on? S ARA E ggs and grapefruit. R AE O i vay. I was on that once. o f luck, Dolly. S ARA I t's not so bad. R AE H ow long you been on already? S ARA A ll day. A ll day? R AE It's one o'clock. Lots
B ut I'm not. d iet.
S ARA S o, I'm thinking thin. Now, old Mrs. Scarlini pipes up. M RS SCARLINI M y Rosie lost fifty pounds like t hat almost. Y ENTA #1 L ike that? S ARA L ike what? M RS SCARLINI P oof. 2 6. R AE Y ou put her in a sweat box? M RS SCARLINI A d octor. He gave her pills. m akes you not want to eat. It
Y ENTA #1 S o what's so good about that? You m ean I'm sitting here not thinking a bout chopped liver and pastrami on r ye? M RS SCARLINI W ith a slice of onion and mustard. Y ENTA #2 H erring. Y ENTA #1 H erring? Y ENTA #2 Y eah, herring. In sour cream. W hen the sun goes behind the b uilding I'm having a nosh. A DA Y ou shouldn't talk like that when s omeone's on a diet. S ARA E h, big deal. I'll sneak an extra p iece of lettuce. I'm thinking thin. R AE T he mailman... Just then, the Mailman arrives. Sara picks up her chair and follows him into the building. Ada, Rae and the other Yentas follow Sara. S ARA G oldfarb. Goldfarb. I know you h ave something for Goldfarb. M AILMAN L et's see. Not much around here e xcept at the beginning of the
m onth with the social security c hecks. S ARA B ut I'm expecting something -2 7. M AILMAN H ere we go. Something for Goldfarb, S ara Goldfarb. He hands her a thick manila envelope. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT The Yentas follow Sara into the apartment. Yenta #2 flips on the TV, someone else starts a pot of coffee. A DA S o let's see. Y ENTA #1 O pen it, open it. Sara carefully opens the envelope. questionnaire. R AE S o when do you go on? S ARA T hey decide after you send this form. A DA O h, it's so exciting. The other women murmur their excitement, too. Ada takes the application from Sara and places it on the table. A DA O K, OK. You sit, Dolly and just a nswer the questions. Sara, a bit nervous, sits down. Ada gives her a pencil and leans over her shoulder. The Yentas crowd around. A DA N ame? Easy enough. d -f-a-r-b. S-a-r-a G-o-lShe takes out a
S ARA Y ou call that a question? k ind I take six at once.
That
The Yentas laugh as Sara carefully prints her name. A DA A ddress. 2 8. S ARA A b reeze. Sara fills out question after question until:
A DA U h-oh. S ARA W hat? What? A DA D ate of Birth. S ARA S o now you're getting personal. O K, I'll tell you. She fills it in. A DA A ge? S ARA S o now you want me to count for you! A DA M arital Status? S ARA ( smiles) W anting, needing. How about if I w in Robert Redford? A big laugh. A DA S ex? A bigger laugh. S ARA P lease? The biggest. A DA T hat's it, Dolly. Sara holds the paper against her chest and says a short prayer. The Yentas respect her silence. Then she carefully folds it and places it in the selfaddressed envelope. 2 9. She seals it and holds the flap down for many seconds. Then she puts it on her chair and sits on it, just to make sure it's sealed. Next she tosses her head and shoulders at the refrigerator and says to it: S ARA W ho needs you? C UT TO: EXT. SARA'S BUILDING - A MOMENT LATER Sara marches out of the building waving the envelope. The
Y entas follow their friend. mailbox.
Victorious, they march to the
Y ENTA #1 I w onder when you'll hear? A DA M aybe they'll send you to Tavern on t he Green, that's where they send a ll the stars. S ARA I 'm eating eggs and grapefruit at T avern on the Green. The ladies laugh as they follow their hero, their savior, their victor. Suddenly, the envelope begins to glow. It glows a brilliant white. At the mailbox Sara kisses the envelope and drops it in the mail slot. She closes the lid and then opens it to make sure it has dropped into the box. And then the ladies huddle around Sara as the blue mailbox begins to radiate and bathe them in a cool blue light. The Yentas 'ooooh' and 'ahhh'. C UT TO: INT. TYRONE'S DIVE PAD
Tyrone is on the phone with Brody's Henchman. Harry sits at the table counting twenties into a small, neat pile. T YRONE D ynamite? Dynamite. Dynamite! A lright, we's on the way. 3 0. Tyrone hangs up. T YRONE B rody's man says it's real fine shit. A lright. H ARRY Here we go. T YRONE H ere we go. H ARRY ( serious) L et's do this right. T YRONE N aturally. Tyrone takes the money and slaps Harry five. Exit Tyrone.
Harry spins some vinyl, rolls a joint, sparks it and takes a few pokes. He starts grooving with the music as his nervousness dissolves. Then something is off and Harry feels it. turntable. He stops the The back
Suddenly, it's a sunny day in Tyrone's bedroom. wall is gone and stretching into the sea is --
T HE CONEY ISLAND PIER Now, strolling with a baby carriage is a woman in a red dress. It's Marion. Harry watches her from Tyrone's apartment. He calls for her but she keeps going. He chases after her.
He's trying to get a glimpse into the carriage. Finally, Marion hears him and she spins around. She smiles and waves. She reaches into the carriage to pick something up. is almost with her. He keeps running. And just as he's about to get a peek, he stops. key in a lock. He spins round and we -C UT BACK TO: 3 1. INT. TYRONE'S DIVE PAD - NOW Tyrone enters the room with a big-ass, shit-eatin' grin on his face. He drops a little package on the table. T YRONE T here it is, Jim. H ARRY H uh? T YRONE T here it is. Harry snaps out of it and he looks at the package. T YRONE S hall we try? H ARRY W ait, Ty. This is our chance to m ake it big and I mean really big. W e don't have to be dealin' in no p etty-ass pieces all our lives. We p lay it right an' we can get a p ound of pure, but if we get wasted w e'll fuck it up. T YRONE R ight, on, baby, ahm not jivin' you. A h doan' want to be runnin' no s treets the res' of mah life in no r ipped sneakers, mah nose runnin' d own to mah chin. All we gotta do i s have a little taste so we know h ow much to cut it. H ARRY F air enough. Palms slap, then: flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... Harry
He hears a
A nd: flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... Tyrone and Harry look at each other with flush faces and hanging heads. They grin at each other. T YRONE S heeit... 3 2. Then they laugh and laugh and laugh. C UT TO: EXT. BOARDWALK - DAY Marion sits in front of the Wonder Wheel watching the summer crowd play. She unpacks the shopping bag next to her. She pulls out some sketch pads, pencils, charcoal and a sharpener. She stares at the blank page. sketch. A moment later, she begins to C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara sits in her chair trying to watch TV. But she can't concentrate. The kitchen clock ticks terribly slowly. So does her Timex. Everywhere she looks in the room steaming hot food appears. Over there, by her plants, is a bacon doublecheese burger. Then over there, by the lamp, is a chocolate-covered eclair. She grabs a glass of water and downs it. She turns to the fridge. at it: S hut up! Suddenly the fridge door becomes transparent. She can see all the produce in her stuffed fridge beckoning her. She turns away and goes into -THE BEDROOM She flips off the light and tries to sleep. She closes her eyes but they pop open. Then slowly her beige ceiling disappears and turns into a clear blue sky with puffy, white clouds. Then it dissolves into a sizzling, juicy pizza-pie. Sara twists and turns. Then the pie turns into a chocolatecovered cherry. Then it becomes a bagel smothered with lox, onions and crowned with a healthy slice of tomato. 3 3. It shudders at her. S ARA She screams
T here's no hope. Sara sits up in her bed and reaches for the phone. She dials. M RS SCARLINI ( off-screen) H ello? S ARA L ouise, it's Sara. I need the n umber of that doctor. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT on Harry looking hollow. H ARRY W hy do you have to see him for k rist's sake? Cut the son of a b itch loose. Marion is dressing herself up in front of the mirror. She looks like a million bucks in a chic black dress. She carefully applies her lipstick. I d on't p arents T hey're t hey're M ARION want him mentioning to my that I have stopped therapy. already pissed at me and thinking of cutting me off.
Marion turns and touches Harry's face tenderly. M ARION S weetheart, I am not going to sleep w ith him. He's got some issue with w omanly blood so I told him I'm on t he rag. He's planning on going h ome after the concert. Harry tries not to sulk, but his chin dips. Then Marion chuckles but Harry doesn't respond. Suddenly, she hugs him and squeals with absolute glee. M ARION O h Harry, you're jealous! Harry half-heartedly tries to push her away but Marion doesn't let him. 3 4. M ARION C ome on, sweetheart, put your arms a round me, come on, please!? P lease!? She lifts his hands and puts them on her shoulders as she snuggles deeper into him. Then she starts kissing him on the ears, eyelids and neck and soon he starts to giggle. H ARRY C ome on, stop, stop you crazy girl o r I'll bite you on the throat. They laugh as they tickle each other and cover each other in kisses.
C UT TO: INT. RAOUL'S CAFE - NIGHT A fancy French pretension -- two plates of frogs' legs, two glasses of Cinzano with twists, and a stunning Marion with a dumpy Arnold the Shrink. A RNOLD THE SHRINK I 'm disappointed that you are i ndisposed. M ARION I s Anita out of town or something? A RNOLD THE SHRINK W hy do you ask? M ARION I 'm just curious if she's ' indisposed'. A RNOLD THE SHRINK ( taken aback) M arion. No she's fine. M ARION C an I ask you something personal, A rnold? A RNOLD THE SHRINK W hat is it? Arnold leans in. Then she fucks with him. She tells him he's got something on his face when he doesn't. She tortures him until all she can do is laugh. C UT TO: 3 5. EXT. PROJECTS - NIGHT Sodium streetlight pops as Tyrone cold lamps by a beat-up bodega. A black hand slaps Tyrone money. The money slides into his pocket. Tyrone's eyes swish left then right. He slips something out from behind the tire of a parked car. And slaps a bag of white powder back. Pop, slap, slide, swish, slip, slap! And again. Again. And again. C UT TO: EXT. OTHER SIDE OF THE PROJECTS - NIGHT Neon crackle as Harry chills outside an OTB. A white hand slaps Harry money. The money slips into his pocket. Harry's eyes swish right then left. He clinks something out of a trash can. And he slaps a bag of white powder back. Crackle, slap, slip, swish, clink, slap! And again. Again. And again.
C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - LATER Harry spins Marion around. H ARRY W e're on our way, baby, we're r eally on our way. M ARION H arry. H ARRY I t was great out there. t hirsty. Everyone's
M ARION I 'm so glad. And baby, I'm drawing a gain. I'm drawing. I can't stop. Marion takes out her sketchbook. She shows him her sketches.
Harry and Marion lean into each other, suddenly hugging each other, kissing, dreaming and believing. C UT TO: 3 6. INT. DOCTOR PILL'S EXAMINING ROOM A Skinny Nurse weight and measures Sara S KINNY NURSE H ow are you? S ARA F ine, that's why I'm here. They both laugh. The Nurse takes Sara's blood pressure.
S KINNY NURSE H ow's your hearing and vision? S ARA I h ave both. The Nurse laughs again. S KINNY NURSE N ow, wait just a minute. The nurse smiles and leaves. A moment later, Doctor Pill enters. He looks at the chart the Nurse filled out and then he smiles at Sara. D OCTOR PILL I s ee you're a little overweight. S ARA A l ittle? I have fifty pounds I'm w illing to donate. D OCTOR PILL W e can take care of that, no problem. C UT TO:
H IP-HOP MINI-MONTAGE TIGHTS of dope being cut, plastic bags being filled, Tyrone and Harry dealing, Marion sketching and sewing, Harry and Marion kissing, Harry spinning tunes, flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh and crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, sigh... C UT TO: 3 7. INT. TYRONE'S CLOSET Harry and Tyrone neatly stuff a shoe box full of money. They put a rubber band around the box and hide it in the back of the closet. Harry gives Tyrone five, Tyrone gives Harry five. C UT TO: INT. EMPTY STORE - DAY In photographs, a straight Real Estate Agent shows Harry and Marion around the empty store. OUTSIDE The Agent snaps a photo of the lovers in front of the store. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S KITCHEN On the table in front of her are four bottles of pills and the instructions. S ARA P urple in the morning. Red in the a fternoon. Orange in the evening. ( to the refrigerator) T hat's my three meals, Mr Smarty P ants. ( then to herself) G reen at night. Just like that. O ne, two, three, four... She pops a purple: a pill cap pops off, pill hits hand, mouth gulps, pill cap snaps on. Then she heads to the fridge and makes herself a smoked fish and cream cheese sandwich on an onion Kaiser roll. She shows off to the fridge as she devours it. Then she makes a cup of coffee: an empty pot tinkles into place, the coffee perks, the coffee drips, and then Sara slurps, slurps, slurps. She picks up the remote and flips on the set but she can't seem to sit down, so she heads outside with her chair. C UT TO: 3 8.
I NT. SARA'S MAILBOX - DAY She peeks in for anything -- nothing. C UT TO: INT. CONEY ISLAND ARCADE Marion and Harry play skeeball. smiles. Harry stops playing. Marion hits a fifty and
H ARRY Y eah, that's what I'll do. M ARION H uh? H ARRY F or my mom. I've been thinking of g etting something for her, you k now, some kind of present, but I d idn't know what to get. M ARION W ell? H ARRY I f inally asked myself, what's her f ix? Television, right? If ever t here's a TV junkie it's the old l ady. I figure maybe I owe her a n ew one anyway with all the wear a nd tear her set got from being s chlepped back and forth to old A be's. M ARION Y ou really love her, don't you? H ARRY I d on't know. I guess so. One t ime I feel one way and the other t ime I feel something else. Most o f the time I just want her to be h appy. M ARION L et's go get it now. H ARRY W ell... M ARION C 'mon. 3 9. H ARRY I d on't wanna deal with salesman... M ARION O h, come on. H ARRY ( gets an idea) W ell, let's push off first. M ARION I t's still early. We shouldn't get
g oing till tonight. H ARRY Y eah, I know, but this is different. A fter all, I was always usin' the o ld lady's set to cop money so now w e'll use a little stuff to get her a s et. Marion doesn't fight him. Then there's the: flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... And: crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, sigh... C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Coffee: tinkle, perk, drip, slurp, slurp, slurp... and Pill: pop, hit, gulp, snap... Sara starts to clean the apartment. Time races by as she intricately cleans every single square inch of the kitchen. She cleans the inside of the fridge and dumps all the food. Next, she moves into the living room and continues to clean. Then everything slows down. Sara collapses into her viewing chair in front of the TV. She tries to watch but she's squirming in her seat. Then she notices something wrong. she heads into -She's not sure what so 4 0. THE BATHROOM In the mirror, she stares at her clenched teeth grinding. She wonders what this means. She shrugs and takes the green pill: pop, hit, gulp, snap... BACK IN THE LIVING ROOM -- Sara sits in front of the TV and watches Tappy Tibbons preach. Slowly she dozes off. C UT TO: INT. TYRONE'S DIVE PAD Tyrone's old pad has been spruced up. It's filled with tons of cool toys. It looks like Christmas morning. Beautiful and very young Alice lies naked in the giant bed staring at Tyrone. He sits naked at his desk playing with flip books. First there's a wacky duck dancing, then there's a crying GI soldier.
A LICE W hy dontcha come back to bed, honey? T YRONE S heeit, plenty time for that, w oman, I got me a cool-ass toy ahm g roovin' behind. Tyrone picks up another flip book and lets things rip. animation suddenly turns into live action and we are following the back of a little boy. The
The boy runs across a black room into the arms of a beautiful woman. The boy is Young Tyrone and the woman is Tyrone's Mother. I t old ya, Ma. Y OUNG TYRONE One day I'd make it.
T YRONE'S MOTHER Y ou don't have to make anything. Y ou just gotta love your momma. The image of boy and mother dies when the flip book ends. Tyrone looks at it sadly. A LICE W hat are you doing, honey? 4 1. T YRONE T hinking about you, baby, and what I 'm gonna do to ya. Tyrone leaps onto the bed and Alice squeals playfully. A LICE D on't do that, Tyrone. s care me to death. You'll
T YRONE O h little momma, I wouldn't want to s care you...I doan' want to scare n obody. All I want from life is no h assles and some peace and h armony...an' I want it from the f inest fox that ever lived. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S MAILBOX - DAY Still empty... C UT TO: INT. SARA'S BUILDING - DAY Pop, hit, gulp, snap and tinkle, perk, drip, slurp, slurp, slurp... The Yentas all rise when Sara comes out and they move their chairs so that she can have her proper seat in the sun. Y ENTA #1 S ara, you know yet when?
Y ENTA #2 A re you hearing anything? S ARA N othing yet. A DA Y ou can bring friends? S ARA H ow should I know? A DA T hey should let you bring at least a s chlepper. Who's going to carry h ome all those prizes? 4 2. S ARA B elieve me, I'll get them home. E specially Robert Redford. For him I d on't need a schlepper. But Sara is having a hard time sitting still. She looks up and down the street for the Mailman and paces around her friends. They watch her with a bit of concern. Then Mrs Scarlini comes out of the building for sunning. Sara grabs her and hugs her. S ARA I l ove you forever. I can't b elieve it but I'm not even thinking o f food. If you put down a big b owl of chicken noodle soup I w ouldn't eat it. Thank you so m uch, Rosie. Thank you! C UT TO: INT. TYRONE'S NEW PAD Alice and Tyrone make some crazy love. bite, mouths scream. Some crazy love. Arms flail, teeth C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara stands in front of the mirror trying on the red dress. The dress won't close. Pop, hit, glup, snap... The red dress gets a little closer. Pop, hit, glup, snap... The dress gets even closer. C UT TO: INT. TAXI CAB - MOVING Harry squirms in the back seat wearing a sharp new pair of slacks, a sports shirt and a pair of new shoes.
H e nervously pats down his hair and adjusts his collar. C UT TO: 4 3. EXT. SARA'S BUILDING The Yentas all admire Sara's slim figure until the Mailman approaches. Everyone turns to him--hoping... He grins and shakes his head. M AILMAN W hen I see it I'll be waving it all o ver the place. The Mailman enters the building. A cab pulls up. Harry steps out. intimidating line of Yentas. He stares at the
Sara stares for a brief second not computing this apparition. Then she jumps up and wraps her arms around him, almost knocking him off balance. S ARA H arry! She kisses him and he kisses her. kisses him again. She's so excited she
H ARRY H ey, take it easy, Ma, you'll crush m e. He gives her a quick smile as he adjusts his clothes. S ARA C ome, come inside, Harry. I'll m ake you a pot of coffee and we'll h ave a visit. She grabs his hand and heads to the entrance. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara makes a pot of coffee as she bustles around grabbing cups, saucers, spoons, milk and napkins. Harry stares wide-eyed at his hyperactive mother. to get a word in but can't. S ARA A nd how are you, Harry, you're l ooking so good. You want something t o eat? 4 4. H ARRY N o, Ma -S ARA A l ittle nosh, maybe, or cake, I'll He tries
g o get some if you want, but I d on't have anything in the house b ut Ada will have something, a c upcake, maybe. H ARRY N o -Finally, the coffee is ready and she fills two cups. S ARA Y ou want something to eat? H ARRY ( almost screams) N o, Ma. Nothing. Sit. Sit, for k rist's sake. You're making me d izzy. S ARA Y ou notice something? I 'm slimmer? You notice
H ARRY Y eah, yeah, I guess you are, Mom. S ARA T wenty-five pounds. You believe it? T wenty-five pounds and that's just t he beginning. H ARRY T hat's great, Ma. That's really g reat, I'm really happy for ya. B ut sit down, eh? Sara sits, Harry is bewildered. H ARRY I 'm sorry I haven't been around for a while, Ma, but I've been busy, r eal busy. Sara nods as she clenches her jaw. S ARA Y ou got yourself a good job? Y ou're doing well? 4 5. H ARRY Y eah, Ma, real good. S ARA W hat kind of business? H ARRY W ell, I'm sort of a distributor, l ike. For a big importer. My own. S ARA O h, I'm so happy for you. Sara gets up and smothers Harry with kisses. H ARRY H ey, Ma, easy, eh? You're killing m e. Krist, whatta ya been doin',
l iftin' weights? Y our k new y our t hat S ARA own business. Oh Harry, I when I saw you that you had own business. I always knew you could do that.
H ARRY ( smiles) Y eah, Ma, you were right. I made i t just like you said I would. S ARA S o now maybe you'll meet a nice g irl and have a baby? H ARRY I a lready met one -Sara squeals and squeaks and starts to jump out of her chair. Harry holds his arms up in front of him. H ARRY J esus krist, Ma, don't go ape shit, e h? S ARA I s she a nice girl? Who's her p arents? What -H ARRY Y ou know'er, Ma. Marion. Marion S ilver. Remember, they -4 6. S ARA O h, Silver. Of course. I know M anhattan Beach. He's got a house o n the esplanade. Garment business. H ARRY Y eah, yeah, he's big in women's u ndies. Harry chuckles. Sara is so happy, she can't stay sitting. She refills their cups. H ARRY B efore you go bouncin' all over a gain and make me forget, what I w ant to tell ya is I got you a p resent and -S ARA H arry, I don't want a present, just h ave a baby. H ARRY L ater for that, eh? Will you let m e tell you what I got, eh? Will ya? Sara nods, grins, grinds and clenches. H ARRY K rist, you're really something else t oday. Look, I know... well... ( deep breath)
W hat I'm trying to say is t hat...well... ( shrugs) W ell...I know I ain't been the best s on in the world -S ARA O h, Harry, you're a good -H ARRY N o, no! Please, Ma, let me finish. I 'll never get it out if you keep i nterrupting me. ( deep breath) I 'm sorry for being such a bastard. ( stop -- breathe -- sigh) I w anna make it up. I mean, I know I c an't change anything that's h appened, but I want ya to know t hat I'm sorry and I love ya, and I w anna make it right. 4 7. S ARA H arry, it's -H ARRY I d on't know why I do those things. I d on't really want to do them. It j ust sort've happens, I guess. I d on't know. It's all kinda goofy s omehow, but I really do love ya, M a, and I want you to be happy so I g ot ya a brand new TV set. It's g onna be delivered in a couple a d ays. From Macy's. Sara squeals, but Harry wards her off with his hands. sits down, grins and grinds her teeth. S ARA O h, Harry, you're such a good boy. Y our father would be so happy to s ee what you're doing for your p oor, lonely mother. Harry leans over and gives her an honest, open and perfectly beautiful kiss. S ARA Y ou see that, Seymour? You g ood your son is? He knows l onely his mother is living a lone, no one to make her a see how how all visit... She
Harry feels pretty good as he listens to his mother until something puzzles him. He stops hearing his mother and now he suddenly hears some other, strange sound. What is it? He looks around until he looks at his mother. Suddenly he is filled with surprise, disbelief and confusion. The noise he hears is his mother's teeth grinding. TIGHT ON Sara's mouth. Harry leans across the table.
H ARRY H ey, Ma, you droppin' uppers?
S ARA W hat? H ARRY Y ou on uppers? ( getting angry) Y ou're on diet pills, ain't ya? 4 8. Sara is suddenly stunned. O n? On? She's completely bewildered.
S ARA What is on?
H ARRY H ow come ya lost so much weight? S ARA I t old you, I'm going to a s pecialist. A s pecialist. W hat kind? H ARRY What kinda specialist?
S ARA A specialist. For weight.
H ARRY Y eah, that's what I thought. Y ou're makin' a croaker for speed, a in't ya? S ARA H arry, you alright? ( shrugs) I 'm just going to a doctor. I d on't know from croaker, making -H ARRY W hat does he give ya, Ma? D oes he give ya pills? Eh?
S ARA O f course he gives me pills. He's a d octor. Doctors give pills. H ARRY W hat kind of pills? S ARA W hat kind. A purple one, red one, o range and -H ARRY N o, no, I mean what kind? S ARA T hey're round...and flat. H ARRY ( rolls eyes) I m ean, like what's in them? 4 9. S ARA
H arry, I'm Sara Goldfarb, not A lbert Einstein. How should I know w hat's in them? H ARRY L ook, Ma, does that stuff make you f eel good sort of and give you lots o f pep? S ARA ( nods) W ell, I guess maybe a little. H ARRY A l ittle? Jesus, I can hear ya g rinding ya teeth from here. S ARA B ut that goes away at night. H ARRY A t night? S ARA W hen I take the green one. t hirty minutes I'm asleep. j ust like that. In Poof,
Harry shakes his head and rolls his eyes. H ARRY H ey, Ma, ya gotta cut that stuff l oose. It's no good. S ARA W ho said it's no good? p ounds I lost. Twenty-five
H ARRY B ig deal. Do ya wanna be a dope f iend fa krist's sake? S ARA W hat's this dope fiend? Am I f oaming at the mouth? He's a nice d octor. H ARRY M a, I'm telling ya this croaker's n o good. 5 0. S ARA H ow come you know so much? How c ome you know more about medicine t han a doctor? H ARRY ( deep sigh) I k now, Ma, believe me, I know. Y ou'll get strung out fa krist's s ake. S ARA C 'mon. I almost fit in my red d ress, the one I wore at your high s chool graduation. The one your f ather liked so much. I remember
h ow he looked at me in the red d ress. It's not long after that he g ot sick and died and you're w ithout a father, my poor baby, but t hank God he saw you happy for a l ittle and -H ARRY W hat's with the red dress? d oes that -What
S ARA I 'm going to wear the red dress o n...Oh, you don't know. I'm going t o be on television. I got a call a nd an application and -H ARRY C 'mon, Ma, who's pullin' ya leg? S ARA I 'm telling you I'm being a c ontestant on television. They h aven't told me when, but you'll s ee, you'll be proud when you see y our mother in her red dress and g olden shoes on television. H ARRY W hat's the big deal about being on t elevision? Those pills'll kill ya b efore ya ever get on, fa krist's s ake. 5 1. S ARA B ig deal? You drove up in a cab. Y ou see who had the sun seat? You n otice your mother in the special s pot getting the sun? You know who e verybody talks to? You know who's s omebody now? Who's no longer just a w idow in a little apartment who l ives alone? I'm somebody now, H arry. Everyone likes me. Soon m illions of people will see me and l ike me. I'll tell them about you a nd your father. I'll tell them h ow your father liked the red dress a nd how good he was to us. Remember? Harry nods. Defeated, he stares at the floor.
S ARA A nd who knows what I might win? A n ew refrigerator. A Rolls-Royce, m aybe. Robert Redford. H ARRY R obert Redford? S ARA S o what's wrong with Robert Redford? Harry blinks and shakes his head. to her flow. Bewildered, he surrenders
Sara looks at her entire family and a softness overtakes her.
S ARA I t's not the prizes, Harry. It d oesn't make any difference if I w in or lose. It's like a reason to g et up in the morning. It's a r eason to lose weight so I can be h ealthy. It's a reason to fit in t he red dress. It's a reason to s mile, already. It makes tomorrow a lright. ( close to Harry now) W hat have I got, Harry? Why should I e ven make the bed or wash the d ishes? I do them, but why should I ? I'm alone. Seymour's gone, y ou're gone, I have no one to take c are of. Anybody. Everybody. W hat do I have? I'm lonely, Harry. I 'm old. 5 2. Harry fidgets, his eyes blink, he tries: H ARRY Y ou got friends, Ma. What -S ARA I t's not the same. You need s omeone to make for. No, Harry, I l ike how I feel this way. I like t hinking about the red dress and t he television...and your father a nd you. Now when I get the sun I s mile. H ARRY I 'll come visit, Ma. Now that I'm s traight, my business is going g ood, I'll come. Me and Marion. H onest, Ma. I swear. We'll come f or dinner. Soon. Sara shakes her head and smiles at Harry, trying hard to believe. S ARA G ood, you bring her and I'll make y our soup and a roast. H ARRY T hat sounds great, Ma. I'll give y ou a call ahead a time, OK? S ARA ( nods) G ood. I'm glad. I'm glad you got a n ice girl and a good business. I 'm glad. Sara gets up and hugs Harry, tears welling in her eyes. S ARA Y our father and I were always w anting only the very best for you. I 'm glad, Harry, that you have s omeone to be with. You should be h ealthy and happy. And have lots
o f babies. Don't have only one. I t's no good. Have lots of babies. T hey'll make you happy. Harry does his best to hug his mother. He fights his desperation to get away and holds onto her. Eventually, Sara backs away and looks into his face, smiling. 5 3. S ARA L ook, I'm crying already. h appy I'm crying.
I'm so
H ARRY ( forces smiles) I 'm glad you're happy, Ma. I r eally love ya. An' I'm sorry -Sara waves his apology away -- tosh, tosh. H ARRY I r eally am. But I'm goin' ta make i t up now. You should just be happy. S ARA D on't worry about me. b eing alone. I'm used to
A long silent beat as child and parent smile at each other. Harry looks at his watch. H ARRY I g ot to go, Ma. I have an a ppointment in Manhattan in a l ittle bit. But I'll be back. S ARA G ood. I'll make for you. s till have your key? You
H ARRY ( shows her) Y eah, I got it, Ma. I'd better h urry. I'm late now. S ARA G oodbye, Son. One more kiss and hug and Harry is gone. door for many long moments. Sara stares at the
Then she takes her orange pill -- pop, hit, glup, snap -and washes it down with a fresh cup of coffee. C UT TO: INT. MOVING CAB Harry sits in the back seat filled with worry and concern. Tears well up into his eyes until he can't hold it any longer. He sobs hard, real hard. 5 4. A moment later he collects himself and gets high: flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh...
H arry wipes away his tears. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S BEDROOM Sara zips up the red dress. It closes.
She swings around gloriously and her locked jaw smiles at herself in the mirror. Eyes glow. And she begins to waltz by herself. Humming... H ARD CUT TO: BLACK ON THE SCREEN IN WHITE LETTERS: 'FALL' C UT TO: INT. BRODY'S LIMO Tyrone steps into a white limo with leopardskin upholstery. He exchanges fives with, Brody (late twenties, bespectacled, highly intelligent looking) and his two Henchmen. Brody doesn't speak. He signs to Henchman #1
H ENCHMAN B rody say you coming up quick, kid. T YRONE T hanks, Brody. The Henchman signs back. Then Brody responds.
H ENCHMAN B rody wants to promote you. He w ants to give you some more r esponsibility. Are you interested? T YRONE Y eah, yeah. H ENCHMAN B rody say, you fuck him, I'll kill y ou. 5 5. T YRONE I w ouldn't do that, Jim. Just then, Tyrone notices the driver's door is open. points. T YRONE W here's the -Brody spins just when a White Gunman leans in through the driver's door with a 9mm Glock -BANG! BANG! BANG! Three bullets rip through Brody's body. Blood and guts splatter Tyrone and Brody's dead body collapses into his lap. Tyrone
T he Henchmen pull out their pieces and return fire. One Henchman gets splattered. The other kills the White Man. Tyrone slips and scrambles out of the limo. Gunman lies dead in the street. The White
Tyrone runs! Frantic, with blood all over him, he runs hyperventilating with panic until two Cops give chase. Sirens and lights. They catch him and slam him against the wall. one, cuff wrist two. Cuff wrist C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap... Sara's living room is dominated by a gigantic, towering, black TV. The ominous hulk of technology stares down on Sara who sits in her lazy chair staring at the set's cold, dark screen. Something is wrong. Some coffee: tinkle, perk, drip, slurp, slurp, slurp... Nothing. So one more:
Pop, hit, gulp, snap... C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... 5 6. Crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, sigh... Harry and Marion lean against each other on the floor. They stare up at the ceiling. Sketches and pieces of Marion's clothing lie around them. M ARION O h Harry, I love you. You make me f eel like a person, like I'm me and I 'm beautiful. H ARRY Y ou are beautiful. You're the most b eautiful woman in the world. Y ou're my dream. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap... Sara still sits. She feels nothing.
Coffee: tinkle, perk, drip, slurp, slurp, slurp... Still nothing.
S he picks up the bottles of pills from Doctor Pill and examines the labels. She looks real close. Then she calls Doctor Pill. S KINNY NURSE ( off-screen) D octor's office? S ARA H ello, this is Mrs Goldfarb S KINNY NURSE ( off-screen) N o, Mrs Goldfarb, I'm absolutely c ertain. I've checked again. S ARA A re you sure you didn't give me the w rong pills? S KINNY NURSE ( off-screen) N o. 5 7. S ARA B ut maybe you gave me a smaller one t he last time. S KINNY NURSE ( off-screen) T hat isn't possible, Mrs Goldfarb. Y ou see, they are all the same p otency. The change is in the c olor. All the purple are the same s trength, all the red, etc. S ARA B ut something isn't the same. S KINNY NURSE ( off-screen) Y ou're just becoming adjusted t to hem. At first you get a strong r eaction, but after a while that w ears off and you just don't feel l ike eating. It's nothing to worry a bout, Mrs Goldfarb. Click. Sara stares at the phone and slowly hangs it up.
She drops two pills in her hand. She stares at both pills -shrugs and pops them: pop, hit, gulp, snap... Then a small grin invades her face. She flips on the TV to Tappy: T APPY TIBBONS N ow let's meet our next winner. S he's a beautiful woman with a w inning sense of humor and a m agical smile. Straight from B righton Beach, Brooklyn, let's g ive a juicy welcome to Mrs Sara Something's happening.
G oldfarb. And there she is! Red, red, red. The audience loves her. Sara smiles at Red Sara.
T APPY AND AUDIENCE J uice by Sara! Juice by Sara! J uice by Sara! ooooOOOOH! Sara's g ot juice! Sara's got juice! o oooOOOH Sara! 5 8. But back in the real world, the fridge shudders. stares at it, concerned. Sara C UT TO: INT. HOLDING TANK - NIGHT Tyrone, terrified, holds onto the bars for dear life. Junkies and winos that seem more like ghosts and giant rats taunt him. Until: G UARD ( off-screen) L ove...Love, Tyrone C. Sevent hree-five. Get your shit together a nd come on. C UT TO: EXT. CONEY ISLAND STREET - MOVING Harry and Tyrone rap as they scam the streets searching for a connection. They eye other junkies suspiciously. T YRONE H ow much? H ARRY T hey got most of our cash. u p for consortin'. T YRONE S heeit. H ARRY A ngel says it's a war between the I talians and the Blacks. He says S al the Geep is keeping all the s hit down in Florida until guys l ike Brody are all knocked off. T YRONE S heeit. H ARRY N o one's got a thing. T YRONE E xcept Big Tim. H ARRY W ho? 5 9. You're
T YRONE H e's holdin' a nice taste. H ARRY H ow much? T YRONE S ome say a piece, others a truckload. S hit. H ARRY Let's go see him.
T YRONE H e's holdin', but he's not sellin'. H e's only givin' up for pussy. H ARRY W hat? T YRONE T he only habit that muthafuck have i s pussy. He hooked on that thang. A h told'im ah give'im all he want, b ut he say ahm not pretty enough f or'im. Just then, a white van screeches to a halt at the corner in front of them. The side door slides open. Two white guys toss a dead black guy into a city garbage can. The van screeches off. of the can. The black guy's sneakers poke up out
Harry and Tyrone turn around and quickly exit the scene. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT M ARION W ell, why don't we just stop using? Harry, Tyrone and Marion stare at each other for a moment, the implication of Marion's question slowly, through much resistance, sinking in and registering. H ARRY Y eah, I guess we'd better. C UT TO: 6 0. INT. SARA'S MAILBOX Still nothing. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap... Sara starts to circle around the lazy chair. tighter circles. Tighter and C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT
W e pan the apartment and see Harry, Tyrone and Marion trying to do something, anything but nothing. But everything is real slow and every moment is real painful. The kitchen clock is almost moving backwards. We see their eyes. Their sweating lips. Their twitching fingers. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S MAILBOX Nope C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap -- and again -- pop, hit, gulp, snap... Sara stops pacing. Out of breath, she towers over the phone. She dials 411. Her mouth races after her speed-drenched mind. C OMPUTERIZED OPERATOR ( off-screen) W elcome to Bell Atlantic. Number p lease? M alin & Block. S ARA Manhattan.
C OMPUTERIZED OPERATOR ( off-screen) P lease hold for your number. Suddenly, the fridge shudders. Sara jumps. C UT BACK TO: 6 1. INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Finally Marion stands up: M ARION I t's three already. We're making a b ig deal out of nothing. T YRONE ( a bit too willing ) Y eah, we can stop using. We proved i t. Right now. M ARION H arry, it's stupid to panic and t hink the world's coming to an end j ust 'cause we can't score any s olid weight. H ARRY O K, fine. Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... And: Crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, sigh...
A nd then again: Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT Harry and Marion twist and turn in their bed. are covered in sweat. The sheets Harry
Finally, Marion bolts up in bed gasping for breath. turns on the light. H ARRY Y ou alright? M ARION ( nods) M ust have had a bad dream, I guess.
C UT TO: 6 2. INT. MARION'S KITCHEN. Harry fills a glass of water. He notices that the spot where he normally shoots up in his inner arm is sore and red. C UT BACK TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion is still panting when Harry returns with a glass of water. M ARION M aybe we should dip in now. H ARRY I t's all we have. M ARION T yrone will score in the morning. H ARRY I t's a bitch out there. M ARION I t'll be fine, sweetheart, I just k now it will. A long beat. Y eah, I guess. H ARRY I'll get the stuff.
M ARION I l ove you, Harry. Relief. sigh... For now. Crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap.
S ara downs a cup of coffee and goes to the phone. Out of the corner of her eye she watches the fridge. dials a number. She 6 3. C OMPUTERIZED OPERATOR ( off-screen) W elcome to Malin & Block. If you k now your party's extension, please e nter it now. For the directory p lease press four, one, one. Sara presses 411. C OMPUTERIZED OPERATOR ( off-screen) P lease enter the last name of the p erson you are trying to reach. R ussel. S ARA Lyle Russel.
Sara starts to press some numbers. C OMPUTERIZED OPERATOR ( off-screen) W e're sorry, there's no one in the d irectory with that name. Please w ait for an operator. A moment later an operator answers. W OMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) M alin & Block. S ARA L yle Russel. W OMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) I 'm sorry, but I don't have his n ame listed on my directory. S ARA T he television. W OMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) W hat television? I d on't know. S ARA I want to find out.
W OMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) H old on a second. 6 4. Then, a loud shudder! The fridge is vibrating. doesn't know what to do. A NOTHER WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) Sara
C an I help you? S ARA I w ant to speak to Lyle Russel. A NOTHER WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) W ho's that? S ARA H e called me and said I was going t o be on a show and -A NOTHER WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) J ust a minute. I'll connect you w ith the programs department. Sara waits as the phone rings and rings and the fridge continues to vibrate unnaturally. T HIRD WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) C an I help you? S ARA I w ant Lyle Russel. T HIRD WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) L yle Russel? Are you sure you have t he right number? S ARA H e's putting me on a show. T HIRD WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) A s how? What show? Still on the phone, Sara slowly walks over to the fridge. T HIRD WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) I 'm afraid I don't understand. If y ou can't tell me -6 5. S ARA H e called me and said I'm going to b e on TV and he sent me papers. I s ent them back a long time already a nd I still don't know when -T HIRD WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) O h, I understand. Just a moment. Some more clicks. Sara can barely stand. As she gets to the fridge, it slowly stops vibrating. Sweat is building. F OURTH WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) C an I help you? Carefully, Sara examines the fridge. time talking. She's having a hard
F OURTH WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) H ello? S ARA L yle Russel. F OURTH WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) W ho? S ARA L yle Russel? F OURTH WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) A re you sure you have the right d epartment? And then, suddenly, the entire fridge quakes violently! Sara drops the phone and runs to her bedroom. On the phone: F OURTH WOMAN ON PHONE ( off-screen) Hello? C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT - LATE MORNING Marion expectantly watches Harry on the phone. up. Harry hangs 6 6. M ARION W ell? H ARRY T yrone hasn't found anything. M ARION N othing? H ARRY N othing. M ARION W hat are we going to do? H ARRY I d on't know. M ARION W ell, you have to do something. I t's your fault we don't have s omething for the morning. H ARRY W hat are you talking about? M ARION Y ou were all hot in the biscuit to g et off last night. H ARRY T hat's all bullshit. M ARION
H ello?
Y ou didn't have to and we could h ave had something now. H ARRY W hatta am I gonna do? Just sit and w atch you push off and not go myself? M ARION T hen, just don't put all the weight o n me, that's all. And leave me a lone. Pissed beat. H ARRY I 'm gonna go meet Ty. C UT TO: 6 7. INT. TYRONE'S CLOSET Harry and Tyrone open the shoe box. in it. They grab the last cash
H ARRY D on't worry. We'll fill it up a gain, man. Things'll get better s oon, then we'll be puttin' the b read back in the box. C UT TO: EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT Harry and Tyrone wait by a payphone on an abandoned street corner. H ARRY I g otta call my mom. I just don't k now what to do with her. T YRONE A hm glad ah doan't have no one l aying that kind of heavy motha s hit on me, Jim. You honkies are t oo much with that guilt shit. H ARRY K rist, you ain't kiddin', man. s ometimes think we'd be better w ithout moms. I
T YRONE A h doan' know, man. Mah mom died w hen ah was eight, but I remember s he was one groovy woman. She have s even kids, Jim, an she was all big l ike an' all the time singin' and s milin'. She have a big chest like t his and she used to cuddle me, J im, an' ah remember how good it f elt in there an' how sweet she s mell. You know, she sing an' it m ake you feel good all ovuh, jus' l ike dope. Small laugh in the freezing cold. Then, a Snot-faced Dealer
r ounds the corner and nods to Tyrone. INT. SARA'S APARTMENT The phone rings! Sara sticks her head out of the bedroom. 6 8. She looks at the fridge. It's quiet and still. to the lazy chair and flips on the TV. Then she answers the phone. H ARRY ( off-screen) H ey, Ma. How ya doing? S ARA ( scared) O h, Harry. H ARRY ( off-screen) I w anted to say hello, and that I 'll visit soon. Suddenly, the fridge hops, making a smashing noise. Sara sinks into her chair. Sara lets out a small scream. H ARRY ( off-screen) You -She sneaks
M a?
S ARA C an you come now? For a little w hile? H ARRY ( off-screen) M a, I'm tied up. I got a lot of i rons in the fire and I have ta be a round to take care of'em. The fridge hops again. S ARA ( at fridge) S top it! ( to Harry) N ot even a little visit? H arry. Come over. Please,
H ARRY ( off-screen) H ey, Ma, will you lighten up and s top playin' those guilt games with m y head? The fridge shakes and quivers like it's laughing. 6 9. S ARA P lease, Harry... C UT TO: INT. CITY STREETS - SAME
H arry takes a deep breath into the phone. corner, smiling. H ARRY ( into phone) L ook, Ma, I don't want to hassle y ou, okay? I loveya and I'll see y ou soon. Take care. S ARA ( off-screen) H arry, it's all confusing and --
Tyrone rounds the
Harry hangs up and the two of them rush off. C UT TO: EXT. UNDER THE BOARDWALK - NIGHT Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... T YRONE S o you want to hear the news? H ARRY W hat news? T YRONE T he good news and the bad news. H ARRY S hoot. T YRONE T he good news is that in a couple o f days they'll be prime on the s treets. H ARRY ( psyched) R eally! ( suspicious) W ho told you? 7 0. T YRONE A ngel says Sal the Geep has sent w ord to let go a couple a keys for t he Christmas season, he being a g ood Christian an' not wantin' a nybody to be wantin' during this g lorious season. H ARRY Y ou believe it? T YRONE I d idn't until I heard the bad news. H ARRY Y eah... T YRONE T he price is doubled and you have t o cop for weight, at least half a p iece.
H ARRY H ow much? T YRONE T wo. H ARRY F uckin' insane! T YRONE W hat you gonna do? The man ain't g oin' to lay no nickel bag on you, t has foe damn sure. H ARRY W here we gonna get two? C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion can't believe what Harry just suggested. M ARION Y ou mean Arnold? H ARRY W ell your parents won't even take y our call. M ARION I h aven't seen him in months. 7 1. H ARRY He's still callin', ain't
S o what? h e?
M ARION Y es, but I don't know. Marion stares into Harry's eyes -- pleading. H ARRY L ook, I don't know what else to do. T his is our last chance to get back o n track. We won't have ta scuffle a nd make that freezing scene every d ay. We need the bread. M ARION G etting the bread is not the p roblem, Harry -H ARRY T hen what's the problem, fa krist's s ake? M ARION I j ust don't know what I'll have to d o to get it. Harry gets it. Marion gets it. But for Harry, this is too important. He gets down and holds her hand: H ARRY L ook baby, this is our last chance t o get back on track. We'll be
b ack in bizness in no time. We'll s tart moving again and we'll start s aving again. It'll happen, Marion. Marion looks into him. Then, she gives him a gentle nod. C UT TO: INT. DOCTOR PILL'S EXAMINING ROOM Doctor Pill smiles while Sara looks around wild-eyed. D OCTOR PILL W hat seems to be the problem? w eight is doing fine. S ARA T he weight is fine. I'm not so g ood. The refrigerator -7 2. Suddenly, she looks around terrified. D OCTOR PILL S omething wrong? S ARA T hings are all mixed up. l ike -Confused The
D OCTOR PILL W ell, that's nothing to worry about. He scribbles out a prescription. D OCTOR PILL J ust give this to the nurse and m ake an appointment for a week. Now, Sara is alone staring at the paper. It reads 'VALIUM'. TIGHT ON paper. C UT TO: INT. RAOUL'S CAFE - NIGHT A dimly lit caf. sleeve blouse. Arnold is worried. M ARION N o, no, I've just had the flu f orever it seems like. A RNOLD THE SHRINK A re you depressed? M ARION N o, it's nothing like that. Just b een very busy. I've been designing n onstop. A RNOLD THE SHRINK T hat's wonderful, I'm glad to hear y ou've been productive. He smiles and touches her hand. Marion wears lots of make-up and a long-
A RNOLD THE SHRINK T o be perfectly straight, I was s urprised to hear from you. Is s omething wrong? 7 3. M ARION N o, why? A RNOLD THE SHRINK T hat's usually the case when s omeone calls whom you haven't h eard from for a while. M ARION N o, everything's fine, but I do h ave a favor to ask. He smiles and leans back into his chair. His smugness bothers her so she grabs her fork and stabs it into the back of his hand. Blood spurts out and she screams: M ARION Y OU SMUG SONOFABITCH! A moment later, everything is back to normal. fantasizing. A RNOLD THE SHRINK ( grin) A f avor? What is it? M ARION I n eed to borrow some money. C UT TO: INT. ARNOLD THE SHRINK'S MANHATTAN CRASH PAD In the bedroom, Marion slowly takes off her clothes. dying and almost crying. She's Marion was
Arnold, big smile, big erection (for him), watches her. A RNOLD THE SHRINK M ay I ask why? M ARION C ould you turn off the light? A RNOLD THE SHRINK W hy do you want the light off? M ARION I j ust do. A RNOLD THE SHRINK Y ou never did before. 7 4. M ARION P lease, Arnold. Shrugging, he remote controls off the light. Arnold creeps up behind her and starts planting kisses on her.
V ery gently, she begins to cry. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Harry scratches some vinyl. He takes the LP and frisbees it into the wall. It shatters! Then, he collapses onto Marion's couch, picks up the remote and flips on the set. He tries to watch but he keeps looking at the clock. Then, he hears the sounds of sex. He looks up on the TV and sees Marion fucking some dude with a hairy back. So, Harry lies on the ground and reaches for something under the couch. Then: flick, sizzle, snap, suck, rush, sigh... The image on the set slowly starts to dissolve back to the normal TV show. Harry, a bit more comfortable, reclines on the couch and nods. C UT TO: INT. ARNOLD THE SHRINK'S MANHATTAN CRASH PAD - HALLWAY At the front door Arnold, wrapped in a sheet, hands Marion some money. She leaves and he quickly locks the door. Down the hallway and into -THE ELEVATOR -- as anger, disgust and who knows what else billow up inside her. Her eyes begin to tear. Then -ON THE STREET -- she leans against the building and vomits. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion crawls out of her winter clothes and joins Harry on the couch. 7 5. They sit on either side of the couch not looking at each other. C UT TO: INT. TYRONE'S NEW PAD Tyrone, in his bikini underwear, stares at a picture of his mom. Alice is gone. He looks at the window. S heeit. It's night-time and it's sleeping. T YRONE
T yrone starts to get dressed. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S BEDROOM - NIGHT Pop, gulp, hit, snap... Sara puts on some make-up. Her hand is not steady and her work is far from perfect. The lipstick is lopsided. The mascara is caked on one set of eyelashes. In the red dress, with very little energy, she spins in front of the mirror. She starts a dumpy version of a waltz. Very slowly. Her eyes are sunken and dark-ringed. Flesh hangs from her upper arms and neck. C UT TO: INT. MODERN SUPERMARKET - NIGHT Harry and Tyrone stroll the aisles with an empty shopping cart. They eye other customers, most of whom are junkies trying to act nonchalant and making believe they're shopping. In actuality they're just trying to figure out what the fuck's going on. T YRONE Y ou dig the action, man. H ARRY Y eah, I feel like I'm dreamin'. T YRONE I w atch your back, you watch mine. 7 6. H ARRY W hat are we supposed to do? T YRONE I d on't know. All they said was be a t Waldbaum's. Just then, they round a corner and spot a Pony-tailed Junkies walking into the back loading area. They follow. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion impatiently circles the apartment. She's very anxious. C UT TO: INT. SUPERMARKET LOADING AREA - LATER Harry and Tyrone join a mass of smoking junkies in the back of the supermarket. Everyone is crowded in by the towering boxes of produce and canned goods. H ARRY E veryone and their mother. A moment later, the steel roll-gate starts to open. junkies turn to look. All the
T hen, an eighteen-wheeler starts backing into the loading dock. 'IRVING'S FLORIDA ORANGES' is painted onto the truck. When the truck stops at the dock, two White Heavies emerge from the front cab. They wear ski masks and carry glistening machine guns. Sitting behind a table in front of the crates of oranges is a distinguished Bald Man sporting a white fur coat. He is flanked by two other heavies with masks and machine guns. The junkies applaud! truck. The two men unlock the back of the
The Bald Man pops open two steel suitcases on the table. Harry, Tyrone and all the junkies push forward. The men with guns try to control them. C UT TO: 7 7. INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion, still circling, starts searching the apartment. She rips open her bureau, flips through clothes and unknowingly tosses her clothing sketches. They slowly drift to the floor. C UT TO: EXT. SUPERMARKET LOADING AREA - LATER Harry and Tyrone push their way to the front. A few lucky junkies hand the Bald Man money and get their dope. The heavies scream at the junkies to calm down or they're outta here. Then suddenly, Harry spots a Gap-toothed Junkies pulling a gun. The men with the machine guns see him and pull out their guns. Harry grabs Tyrone and starts to pull him away when suddenly: Bang! Gap-tooth's gun goes off. It hits some oranges behind the Bald Man. The heavies let loose. Bullets everywhere! Harry and Tyrone head for the supermarket in front. are blowing up around them. Boxes
The Bald Man slams the steel suitcases closed and starts pulling the truck doors closed. Harry and Tyrone charge into the -INT. SUPERMARKET - SAME -- with a bunch of other junkies. They rush down an aisle when the Pony-tailed Junkie gets nailed in front of them. He slides across the linoleum leaving a trail of blood behind him. Harry and Tyrone leap over the dead body and rush -OUTSIDE
- - just in time to spot the eighteen-wheeler whiz by. Some of the junkies give chase. Harry thinks about it but Ty stops him. Instead, they quickly duck out. C UT TO: 7 8. INT. TYRONE'S OLD DIVE PAD Tyrone puffs on a cigarette while Harry paces. H ARRY S tupid fucking junkie. Fucked. We a re fucked. That's the last shit f or miles. T YRONE M uthafuckas going back to Florida, s itting on their asses in sun while w e're up here ass-deep in snow. H ARRY What are we gonna do now? ( then an idea) H ey. What would happen if we went d own there to cop? D amn it. T YRONE N ow you're talking -- sunny F.L. H ARRY Y eah. Everybody's up here scufflin' t o stay alive and gettin' ripped o ff or knocked off, and nobody's t hought about goin' right to the f uckin' source. T YRONE Y ou're serious? H ARRY W hy not? T YRONE W hat the fuck you talkin' about? G oin' up to the muthafuckin' room c lerk at some hotel an' askin' for a c onnection? H ARRY C 'mon, Ty, get with it, eh? You t ellin' me you can't nose our some d ope when it's around? T YRONE Y ou are serious. Tha's here, man. T he Apple's mah neighborhood. What t he fuck ah know about Miami? Them m uthafuckin' Italians ain't sittin' a roun' jus' waitin' for me to show u p, Jim. 7 9. H ARRY D ope smells the same there as it d oes here.
T YRONE Y eah, but it's a long-ass walk, man. H ARRY N ot if you're drivin'. Look man, i t's colder than hell and those s treets are hotter'n a bitch. A fter tonight...shit. Guys are g ettin' knocked off like they're g ivin' away season tickets for e very dead fiend. T YRONE T hat's no lie, Jim. H ARRY M an, we got nothin' to lose, and we g ot to do it now while we still h ave a few bucks. T YRONE I f it's such a good idea why ain't s omebody else thought of it? H ARRY B ecause they're assholes. And t hat's just it. Nobody else has t hought of it. It's wide open and i t we get there before anyone else w e can name our own price amd sit b ack an' be cool and have those f ools scufflin' the streets for us. T YRONE L as' summer was a ball, Jim...Seems l ike a thousan' years since las' s ummer. Sheeit. H ARRY I t'll be back like that, but only b etter. This is the kinda set up y ou dream about. T YRONE ( starts to give in) Y ou know, Angel can probably get us a s hort if we promise him some d ynamite scag. 8 0. H ARRY Y ou think? T YRONE ( gives in) T hat muthafucka can dig up anything, e ven the daid. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Sara peeks her head into the living room, all the shades and curtains are drawn. She quietly tiptoes to the window and peeks out through the side of the shade. Then she tiptoes over to the front door. Very carefully,
s he removes the tape over the peephole. empty. She retapes the peephole.
The hallway is
Suddenly, the fridge lurches at her. It slides a good foot towards her. She jumps and runs to her viewing chair. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion rips through the apartment as she searches for something, anything. She sinks to the floor and starts to sob. walks in on her on the floor. M ARION ( gets up, screams) W here have you been? I've been w aiting all night. H ARRY W here the hell do you think I've b een? M ARION W here's the score? H ARRY S ome dumb-ass junkie -M ARION D id what? You fucked it up! t ell me you fucked it up! Don't 8 1. H ARRY I d idn't fuck it up. Me and Ty h ave a plan. M ARION A p lan!? I don't want another p lan, I want my stuff! H ARRY W hat the fuck's wrong with you? M ARION M e!? You promised that everything w as gonna be OK. I fucked that s leazebag -- I put myself through h ell for you. So what the fuck do y ou have for me?! H ARRY W hat do you want from me? I don't h ave anything, nothing, there's n othing out there. M ARION I d on't give a shit. You loser. Y ou fucking loser, I want you to c ome through for me. H ARRY Y a think I'm playin' fuckin' games, f or krist's sake? You wanna have s ome extra stuff? Just then, Harry
H arry calls Tyrone. He grabs the picture of him and Marion in front of the store. H ARRY W e were hipped to a dude that's h olding some weight, but he ain't s ellin'. T YRONE ( off-screen) Y eah. H ARRY G ive me that guy's number. w ho likes broads. T YRONE ( off-screen) B ig Tim? What for? 8 2. H ARRY J ust give me the number, for k rist's sake. T YRONE ( off-screen) O K, OK. Nine three four... H ARRY Y ou worried so goddam much... Harry hangs up on Ty and hands Marion the number on the back of the photo. H ARRY H ere, go fix yourself up with'im. Y ou won't have to wait so long, and I w on't have ta freeze my ass off i n the fuckin' streets. M ARION F uck you. H ARRY N o, fuck you! Harry charges out of the apartment. We float out of focus. Marion stares after him. C UT TO: INT. SARA'S APARTMENT Pop, hit, gulp, snap. towards her. The fridge lurches another foot On the set The guy
She grabs the giant remote and flips on the TV. is Tappy Tibbons: T APPY TIBBONS N ow let's meet our next winner. S he's a beautiful woman with a w inning sense of humor and a m agical smile. She's really gonna w in your heart. Straight from B righton Beach, Brooklyn, let's
g ive a juicy welcome to our very o wn Mrs Sara Goldfarb. Red Sara marches out to applause. 8 3. T APPY AND AUDIENCE J uice by Sara! Juice by Sara! J uice by Sara! ooooOOOOH! Sara's g ot juice! Sara's got juice! o oooOOOOH Sara! R ED SARA T hank you. Thank you. Oh Mr T ibbons, it's -T APPY TIBBONS T appy, please. The fridge lurches again! TV: O K, Tappy. h ere. She tries to ignore it and watch
R ED SARA It's a pleasure to be
T APPY TIBBONS W ell, it's a pleasure to have you. A nd that is one gorgeous outfit you h ave. R ED SARA O h thank you, Tappy. I just want t o say hello to my husband, Seymour, a nd my beautiful successful son, H arold. Hello, Harold. I hope y ou're happy. I hope you're in l ove. Please come and see me and b ring Marion, won't you? The fridge slides closer. She fights not to look.
T APPY TIBBONS H ah hah. I'm sure he'll be here s oon. It's time to start now, are y ou ready? O h yes. R ED SARA I'm ready, I'm ready. T APPY TIBBONS A fter you... Tappy motions towards the camera as the audience begins to applaud. And then, Red Sara disappears. Sara hears something.
She looks to her right and sees Red Sara standing in her living room. Sara is shocked. 8 4. S ARA W hat are you doing? Red Sara doesn't answer, she just huffs and humphs as she
i nspects the apartment. W ho are you? S ARA What do you want?
Red Sara continues to ignore her as she looks down her nose at the apartment. Then Red Sara waves at Tappy Tibbons. R ED SARA T appy! T APPY TIBBONS O h, I thought you'd never ask. E xcuse me, everybody. Tappy disappears from the screen. Red Sara in Sara's living room. And now he too is with
Sara sits in her chair, dumbfounded. She starts to get more and more upset as Tappy and Red Sara laugh at her furnishings and chatchkas. S ARA W hat do you expect? I'm all alone. C ould you do better? It's an old b uilding. Ten years no painting, m aybe more. Red Sara and Tappy walk behind Sara's chair towards the windows. S ARA I 'm old. Alone. You don't u nderstand. I'm trying. I'm t rying. Please, please, I'll e xplain. Now, Tappy and Red Sara laugh as they point at the TV. Sara looks over. On the TV she sees herself in her viewing chair. A giant, fanatic audience surrounds her -- laughing and pointing. Then there's a giant C-R-A-C-K!!! as Sara's walls split apart. Suddenly, she's on a television set. Two TV cameras slide in on her. A Make-up Artist and Sound Man bum rush her. The man tries to put a mic on her while the woman tries to touch up her face. 8 5. S ARA Please, leave me alone!
N o!
No!
The studio audience is going bananas laughing at her. Cameras and TV cables stretch across the floor. Then the First Assistant Director by camera one cues her: F IRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR R eady, Mrs Goldfarb, three, two, o ne... He points at Sara and a bright spotlight falls on her. Suddenly, Tappy and Red Sara lead a cha-cha line around Sara's lazy chair. Various weirdos, freaks and girls in bikinis join in.
S ara is terrified. The fridge leaps towards her. red dress. She sinks to the floor. Sara cries onto her wrinkled
She crawls to the TV and begs:
S ARA O h please... please... let me on t he show... please... please... any s how... please... The partying gets louder and louder. Red Sara is French kissing Tappy Tibbons in Sara's lazy chair. The fridge is only a few feet from her. F eed me, Sara. Tappy joins in: F eed me. T APPY TIBBONS Feed me. R ED SARA Feed me.
Now the other freaks in the room and the studio crew: F eed me. F REAKS AND CREW Feed me. Feed me.
And now, the audience on the TV is chanting it: F eed me. A UDIENCE FEED ME. FEED ME. 8 6. The fridge towers over her. Suddenly, metal is tearing and the fridge has a mouth. Freon sprays out of its opening. The giant metal mouth lurches at Sara threatening to bite her. Sara screams and bolts out of her home leaving the front door to her abandoned apartment wide open. H ARD CUT TO: BLACK ON THE THE SCREEN IN WHITE LETTERS: 'WINTER' C UT TO: EXT. BRIGHTON BEACH AVENUE - DAY Sara manically marches down the street. The world shoots by her. A train roars by on the elevated tracks up above. C UT TO: INT. PONTIAC VENTURA CROSSING VERRAZANO'S BRIDGE - NIGHT Harry and Tyrone ride in a beat-up 1972 Pontiac Ventura 2. Harry drives. TIGHT ON the car tuner. blasts on the radio. Tyrone spins the dial. Hip-hop
Then Tyrone turns on the heat.
H ARRY T hank you, Angel. T YRONE A h sure hope this mutha works. c ould use some heat. Ty sparks a joint. T YRONE H ow long will it take? H ARRY W e'll make it in a day, easy. T YRONE C alifornia, here we come. H ARRY I t's Florida. 8 7. T YRONE I k now, Jim. I just feel like b reaking out into song. Hands slap five. Harry cringes when Tyrone hits his hand. C UT TO: INT. D-TRAIN SUBWAY CAR - MOVING Sara sits on the subway. Her hair sticks to her wet face. She turns to the strangers across from her. S ARA I 'm going on television. I 'll find out when. Today Ah
It's New York: of course she's ignored. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion sobs into the phone. the couch. She shreds the upholstrey on
M ARION F lorida!? Florida!? When's he g onna be back? A NGEL ( off-screen) I d on't know. A few days. M ARION D ays!? What am I supposed, to do? Y ou gotta help me! A NGEL ( off-screen) I t's dry -M ARION I c an get you money, from my parents.
A NGEL ( off-screen) M oney means shit. P lease. Angel! M ARION Please! 8 8. A NGEL ( off-screen) I t's a drought. I ain't got nothing. P lease! Angel! M ARION Please! C UT TO: INT. MALIN & BLOCK - RECEPTION AREA A Secretary looks up, startled. In front of her is Sara. Sara's hair and body are wet and she is wobbly. The Secretary stares at Sara, not knowing what to do. S ARA W hy aren't you calling me? I have t o know when I'm going to be on t elevision. I'm Sara Goldfarb and y ou should tell me when I'm going t o be on television. S ECRETARY J ust sit for a moment. I'll ring t hem. Sara wobbles to a chair. She's confused and disorientated. Some office women come out from inside the office and huddle around her. Some security guards appear as well. Sara tries to stand but she falls over amd lands back in the chair. The women tell her to stay seated. S ARA I n eed to know when maybe you lost m y card, please, Dolly, you'll look a nd let -O FFICE WOMAN G et her a cup of soup. Tell Mary t o call an ambulance. Just relax, M rs Goldfarb, everything will -S ARA ( cries) I t's not the prizes. I'll give t hem away to the poor, I just want t o be on the show. I'm waiting so l ong to be on with my Harry and g randson -8 9. The Secretary returns with a mug filled with soup. S ECRETARY
H ere, Mrs Goldfarb, sip this. O FFICE WOMAN S ometimes it takes awhile to get c alled for a show, Mrs Goldfarb. C UT TO: INT. PONTIAC VENTURA ON JERSEY TURNPIKE - DAWN Tyrone drives. TIGHT ON the tuner. alternative rock. The radio plays
T YRONE S heeit, the heater is just fine. I g uess this ain't goin' to be such a b ad trip. H ARRY Y eah, it's no big thing. T YRONE ( checks odometer) W e's a couple a hundred miles c loser to Miami, Jim. Let's stop a t the next pit and take a taste. H ARRY Y eah. Betta drop a few dexies too a nd get some coffee. T YRONE R ight on. C UT TO: INT. MALIN & BLOCK - RECEPTION AREA A crowd watches Sara babble. Two Paramedics arrive.
P ARAMEDIC ( to his partner) L ooks like shock. ( to Sara) C an you walk? S ARA I 'm walking across the stage and y ou should see my Harold on t elevision. We're giving the p rizes away. I just want to be on t elevision. 9 0. P ARAMEDIC ( to women) D o you know her name? O FFICE WOMAN #1 W e think it's Sara Goldfarb. S ARA T he announcer is calling my Little R ed Riding Hood, call Seymour and t ell him to pick me up at the b eauty parlor. I've got the red d ress I wore at Harry's graduation a nd the gold shoes.
P ARAMEDIC ( gently) O kay, Mrs Goldfarb, let's just take i t nice and easy. Here we go. And the paramedics help poor Sara to her feet. They head to the elevator. Sympathy from the staring office women. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion stares at Big Tim's number. up the phone and dials. B IG TIM ( off-screen) Y eah? Marion hangs up. A long beat. B IG TIM ( off-screen) Y eah!? M ARION ( nervous) H i... Big Tim lets go a big laugh. C UT TO: INT. AMBULANCE - MOVING Sara is strapped to a gurney. She mumbles to herself. 9 1. S ARA O h, Harry. I'm going to be on t elevision. C UT TO: INT. PONTIAC VENTURA PARKED IN HO JO LOT Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap, rush, sigh... Tyrone leans against the driver's door -- high. Harry rolls up his sleeve. Right in the crotch of his arm is a nasty hole from shooting too much. It's infected and rings of red surround it. S heeit. T YRONE How long you got that? H ARRY A f ew days. T YRONE T hat don't look too good, Jim. H ARRY I t don't feel too good either. But a l ittle stuff'll take care of that. Then she dials again. A moment later she picks
T YRONE D on't shoot in there. H ARRY I 'll blow it if I don't. Fuck it.
Flick, sizzle, snap, suck, slap -- break from the montage. For the first time we see a TIGHT CLOSE-UP of a needle going into the hole, then we end the montage -- rush, sigh... C UT TO: EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING ENTRANCE A security camera studies Marion as she waits at the front door. Buzz! Marion pushes the door open and enters. C UT TO: INT. BELLEVUE HOSPITAL Sara, on her gurney, is pushed through crowded corridors of a hospital. The noise and chaos reach her in surreal muffled tones. 9 2. She's mumbling to herself -- dreaming of being on television. Then she's slid into the emergency room. Young, serious Doctor Spencer shines a light into her eyes. Sara tries to smile. N o emergency. D OCTOR SPENCER Take her to psyche. C UT TO: EXT. BIG TIM'S APARTMENT Big Tim's door opens wide, revealing an even wider Big Tim. Big Tim is big in every way. His body is big, his smile is big, his laugh is big and even his apartment is big. B IG TIM C ome in. He steps aside and Marion enters the huge living room with a grand view of Prospect Park. Big Tim takes her coat. H ave a seat. ( meek) N othing. B IG TIM O h, you strictly a dope fien'? Marion is startled by Big Tim's comment. M ARION O h, maybe I'll have a little c hartreuse. She recovers. B IG TIM What would you like? M ARION
B IG TIM Y ellow or green? M ARION ( surprised) O h, ahhh...yellow. Big Tim joins her with the drinks. He takes out a hash pipe and sparks it. Marion is offered the pipe and she takes a few pokes. 9 3. B IG TIM W hat's your name? M ARION M arion. Big Tim's laugh is loud, deep and happy -- a presence of its own. B IG TIM W hat you know, Maid Marion. L ittle John. Big Tim pulls Marion into his chest. I'm She lets him.
B IG TIM Y ou know what I like best about p atty chicks? Marion smiles as she relaxes into him. B IG TIM T hey give good head. Black broads d on't know nothing about giving h ead. I don't know why. Might be i t has something to do with some a ncient tribal custom. Big laugh from Big Tim. He pulls Marion up to him and kisses her. After a beat, she kisses back. Then, he backs off. B IG TIM B etter save some of that energy. She lies down on his stomach. Gently he turns her head around as he pulls out his penis. She stares at Big Tim's joint knowing what she's supposed to do but not being able to do it. Her insides tremble and knot. B IG TIM I k now it's purty, baby, but I d idn't take it out for air. He nudges her and she grabs it and starts kissing it. Suddenly, she stops. She's going to be sick. Big Tim laughs his big laugh and points to the bathroom. B IG TIM T hat way. C UT TO: 9 4.
I NT. BIG TIM'S BATHROOM Marion finishes barfing. She washes her face and mouth in the sink. She looks up at herself. She's trembling. She shuts her eyes and we cut to -BLACK We hear Marion breathe deeply. She collects herself.
Into the BLACK rushes streams of RED. When she opens her eyes we are back in THE BATHROOM Marion fixes her hair and smiles at herself. C UT TO: INT. BIG TIM'S LIVING ROOM Big Tim laughs as Marion emerges from the bathroom. M ARION S orry. Must have been the c hartreuse. B IG TIM W elcome back. Marion's smile turns into an eager grin. gets on her knees. B IG TIM Y eahhhh, little bo-peep done foun' h er sheep. Big Tim laughs his big laugh as we -C UT TO: INT. PONTIAC VENTURA SOMEWHERE ON I-95 - HEADING SOUTH Tyrone drives while Harry squirms. His arm hurts like hell. TIGHT ON tuner. The radio plays country and western. T YRONE I t old you to stay away from that a rm, man. H ARRY I g otta call Marion. 9 5. Tyrone watches the odometer changes from 599 to 600. T YRONE W ell, it'll be long-distance now. T hat's six hundred. We six hundred d amn miles closer to Miami. H ARRY Y eah. We're also six hundred miles a way from New York. He chuckles as she
A fraid now, Tyrone looks out the window. foreign and strange -- almost alien.
The landscape is C UT TO:
INT. BIG TIM'S BATHROOM After sex, Big Tim opens the door and leans up against the doorway. Naked, he watches Marion as she finishes getting dressed. Marion can't look at herself in the mirror or at Big Tim. B IG TIM Y ou know, baby, I can fix it so you c an pick up a real, nice taste. T hough it's more like play, baby. S unday night we're having a g athering, all good people -M ARION ( smiles) N o, I couldn't. I'm busy. n ot really hooked.
And I'm
Big Tim laughs his big laugh and tosses her some bags. B IG TIM Y eah, I know. But I'm tellin' ya', i t's a real nice taste. Marion quickly grabs the bags and starts putting them in her purse. B IG TIM W hat the fuck you doing? M ARION ( startled) N othing, I'm... 9 6. B IG TIM D amn! ( laughs) D amn, I got me some kinda virgin. N ow you gotta be kidding ol' Tim, y ou just got to be. M ARION I d on't kn -B IG TIM Y ou mean you not going to count w hat's there but you just going to b e puttin' it in your pocketbook a nd just walk out in the street? D amn! You sure haven't been around l ong, baby. M ARION ( flushed) I 'm not exactly a naive school g irl, I... I... I've been all t hrough Europe an'... an'... and I 'm just not -B IG TIM S heeit, ain't nothing to be ashamed
o f, baby, we all gotta get down w ith it for the first time. I a in't bad rappinya. I just don't w ant to see you get ripped off. S heeit, you earned that baby and y ou sure as hell don't want to d onate it to some purse snatcher. He laughs. Marion smiles.
B IG TIM L ookit, there be one place you can s tash ol' doogie without you w orrying about it be accidently g etting in the wrong hands, you dig? A in't no purse snatcher or mugger g oing to rip you off there, baby. As Marion catches on she flushes and nods her head. Big Tim laughs his big laugh as he wanders into the living room. B IG TIM I 'll see you Sunday, Maid Marion. 9 7. Then Marion lifts up her skirt and does the deed. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Sara is strapped to a hospital bed. She sobs to herself.
The grey ward is packed with twice as many beds as there should be. Patients wander around in straitjackets. Screams of agony and pain barely reach her ears. Doctor Spencer addresses Sara and tries to calm her. D OCTOR SPENCER M rs Goldfarb. Please try and a nswer me. When did you start t aking the pills? S ARA W hen? The summer... Oh, this s ummer. I got a special place in t he sun. Ada fixed my hair. D OCTOR SPENCER Y ou started in the summer. Last s ummer? OK Mrs Goldfarb, everything w ill be alright, we'll fix you up i n no time. S ARA ( grins) Y ou're a good boy, Harold. And for a moment, Doctor Spencer is Harry -- golden smile and all. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S BATHROOM
W e look down on Marion's back from above the tub. She is bent over, her head beneath the water between her knees. She holds her breath for an eternity... Then, we look into her face as she screams. shoot to the surface. Air bubbles C UT TO: EXT. I-95 - MAYBE GEORGIA C UT TO: 9 8. INT. PONTIAC VENTURA Tyrone still drives. There's a preacher screaming gospel on the radio. Harry squirms as he grabs his arm. He's wincing in pain.
H ARRY M an, I can't cut it. I gotta do s omething about this arm. T YRONE L et's see what it looks like. Harry winces as he very carefully rolls up his sleeve. The area around the hole is white and raised. Even worse, the area around the white is slightly green. Also, a wide, dark red streak reaches down his arm towards his hand. They both stare at it for a moment. H ARRY O h man. T YRONE S heeit, that be the ugliest m othafucka I've ever seen. H ARRY I g otta call Marion. T YRONE L et's find a hospital first. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD A needle puntures Sara's arm. that spills out. The Nurse wipes off the blood Real slow.
In a surreal moment, the world slows down.
Sara's tongue sticks to the top of her mouth. She pries it off with a rattling smack in her brain. Her mouth is dry and small drops of foam form on the sides of her chapped lips. C UT TO: 9 9.
I NT. SOUTHERN DOCTOR'S EXAMINATION ROOM To try and disperse the pain, Harry marches around the examination room. The pain is excruciating. A grey-haired Southern Doctor comes in. S OUTHERN DOCTOR W hat's the problem? H ARRY M y arm, it's killing me. The Doctor looks for a moment. Then, he grabs Harry's arm and looks at it. Harry winces in pain. S OUTHERN DOCTOR I 'll be back in a minute. The Doctor leaves. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion stares at an empty pile of bags in front of her. Then she stares at the photo of her and Harry in front of the store. Next, she flips it over and looks at Big Tim's number. A moment later she picks it up and dials Big Tim. B IG TIM ( off-screen) Y eah!? M ARION ( nervous) H i... Big Tim lets go a big laugh. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Two Male Attendants enter with a tray of food. with each other and barely notice Sara. They joke
They try to lift Sara up but she can't support herself. Then they try harder and they shove her into a sitting position. One of the attendants puts some food in her mouth. She tries to swallow, but her throat isn't working. 1 00. A TTENDANT ( slow motion) S -w-a-l-l-o-w! S-w-a-l-l-o-w! But the food just dribbles out the side. As they continue their conversation about the Jets, they grab her and force the food down her throat by holding her nose and keeping her mouth shut. Her eyes blast open in terror. in her ears. Her head beats thunderously C UT TO:
I NT. MARION'S APARTMENT Marion puts mascara on her left eye. clothes. Then she puts on some C UT TO: INT. SOUTHERN DOCTOR'S WAITING ROOM Tyrone fills through an old copy of Fortune Magazine. tries to ignore all the white folks gawking at him. Then he spots a pair of boots standing in front of him. Next, he spots the gun and baton. Tyrone looks up into a towering Highway Cop's stern glare. Cuff one wrist, cuff the other. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT TIGHT ON Marion's right eye as she carefully applies mascara. She puts on some more clothes. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Doctor Spencer towers over Sara. concerned. He reads her chart and is He
D OCTOR SPENCER Y ou have to eat, Mrs Goldfarb. If w e're going to get you healthy a gain, you have to eat. Try to w ork with the attendants. I'm g oing to try some new medications. T hey should help us. 1 01. He pats her on the shoulder and walks away. Sara tries to call for him, to make any noise, to plead, to do anything. But she can't. A moment later, the two Male Attendants come for her. They grab her and move her into a wheelchair. Restraints for her arms and legs are slapped on. They grab a clear plastic tube. They cover it with lubricant. Then they try to slide it into her nose. Sara struggles until one attendant grabs her head and whacks it flat against a head rest. A TTENDANT O K, Miss, just relax. We're gonna t ry to help you to eat. Pinned, they slide the tube into Sara's nose, down her throat and into her stomach. Then the feeding begins. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT
T IGHT ON Marion's lips as she puts on lipstick. smacks her lips together.
Marion
Marion in front of the full-length mirror is dressed to the hilt. She makes last minute corrections to her outfit when the phone rings. Nervous, she answers. M ARION H ello? C UT TO: INT. SOUTHERN JAIL PAYPHONE AREA - MARION'S APARTMENT INTERCUT: Harry in pain on the telephone. H ARRY M arion. H arry? M ARION Oh, Harry. 1 02. H ARRY O h, Marion, I've been thinking a bout you. You're OK? M ARION W hen you coming back? S oon. W hen? H ARRY S oon. Everything's going to be a lright. M ARION W ill you come today? H ARRY Y eah, soon. Just wait for me. I 'll be back soon. You'll wait, r ight? Marion doesn't answer. M arion. M ARION Y eah. H ARRY J ust wait. M ARION I w ill, Harry. H ARRY She closes her eyes. H ARRY H ARRY You're holding out right? M ARION Marion sits by the phone.
I 'm coming, Marion. I am. s orry. I'm real sorry. I k now, Harry. A long beat. Silence. M ARION I know.
And I'm
Slowly Marion hangs up.
BY THE PAYPHONES -- Harry hangs up. His sobs turns into his pain. turns into his misery. His pain 1 03. IN MARION'S APARTMENT -- Marion hangs up and wipes away her tears. She catches her image in the mirror and quickly finishes her mascara. Then: Crinkle, sprinkle, flick, drift, suck, sigh... C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - HALLWAY Sara is still strapped to the wheelchair. smiles at her. D OCTOR SPENCER M rs Goldfarb, are you alright? Sara can't respond. She can only look. tries to be positive. Doctor Spencer Doctor Spencer
D OCTOR SPENCER M rs Goldfarb, we've tried several m edications and you don't seem to b e responding. I believe we've c ome to a point where we need to t ry some alternative methods. W e've had excellent results with t hese techniques in the past. So i f I can just get your John Hancock, w e'll get underway. Doctor Spencer hands Sara a pen. sign. Somehow, she is able to C UT TO: INT. HOLDING TANK Harry is withdrawing in pain on his bunk. bars, sweating and dying. J esus krist. H ARRY I need a doctor. Tyrone is at the
T YRONE ( through bars) M y friend needs a doctor. H e needs a doctor. H ARRY I w on't make it.
Please.
1 04.
T YRONE ( to Harry) J ust hang tough, baby. t ough. P lease!
Just hang
H ARRY Please, Ma! Help me. T YRONE ( through bars) Please! H ARRY
H elp!
P lease, Maaaaaa! C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - HALLWAY Sara is quickly unstrapped from her wheelchair. She's lifted up and placed onto a gurney. Her head hangs, lifeless. Then she's strapped down. C UT TO: INT. BIG TIM'S LUSH PAD TIGHT ON Marion's hand knocking on Big Tim's front door. TIGHT ON Big Tim's famous smile: M aid Marion. B IG TIM Welcome. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - HALLWAY Sara is wheeled quickly through the halls of the asylum. C UT TO: EXT. HOLDING TANK Tyrone tries to keep Harry in line with all the convicts but Harry can barely stand. A Court Doctor, followed by two Guards, moves from prisoner to prisoner. Bored to death he looks into each prisoner's eyes with a mini-mag and says: C an you hear me? C OURT DOCTOR Can you see me? 1 05. Each prisoner responds: P RISONER Y es, sir. The doctor checks a box on a piece of paper. C OURT DOCTOR O K for work. The Guards chuckle.
C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - HALLWAY Sara continues her trip on the gurney. heart. Terror enters her C UT TO: EXT. HOLDING TANK Now it's Tyrone's turn. C an you hear me? C OURT DOCTOR Can you see me?
Tyrone nods. That isn't good enough, and so a guard whacks him in the back of the head. G UARD S ay 'sir', nigga. God damn New Y awk dope fien' niggas. Learn some m anners. C an you hear me? Y es, sir. G UARD G ood boy. They chuckle. The doctor moves down to Harry. His eyes are glazed over. C OURT DOCTOR Can you see me? 1 06. G UARD S ays he's got something wrong with h is arm. The doctor yanks Harry's sleeve up. H ARRY ( scream) M a... Harry collapses. The guards laugh at him as they pick him up. Lightning pain: C OURT DOCTOR Can you see me? T YRONE
Harry can barely stand. C an you hear me?
G UARD Y our mommy isn't here. The doctor looks at Harry's arm. The guards grab their noses and almost yack from the smell. C OURT DOCTOR I d on't think you'll be putting any m ore dope in that arm. G UARD D amn, it smells worse than he do. C OURT DOCTOR B etter get him over to the hospital.
I d on't expect he'll live out the w eek. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - SHOCK THERAPY ROOM Sara is unstrapped from the gurney. Then she is lifted off the gurney and laid on a table. Next she is strapped to the table. She tries to struggle but the hands are too many, too strong. C UT TO: INT. BIG TIM'S LUSH PAD We hear twenty men cheer as we glimpse into the room. They're all wearing suits and holding flashlights. TIGHT ON Marion's shocked face. TIGHT ON Big Tim's knowing smile. TIGHT ON cigars in strangers' mouths. TIGHT ON male hands clapping. TIGHT ON empty faces of five other pretty women checking out Marion. 1 07. B IG TIM ( whispering to Marion) T hey be six of you cuttin' up an e ntire piece. Marion looks at him. B IG TIM A n' it be real good. Marion accepts it. Then...
TIGHT ON Big Tim's famous smile: B IG TIM S how time. The men shine their lights on Marion's clothed tits, her privates. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - SHOCK THERAPY ROOM Someone sticks something between Sara's teeth. The people around her talk casually and laugh occasionally. She tries to look around but her body is immobile. She can make out shadows on the edges of her vision but mostly all she sees are the lights above her. Then she feels two cold metal discs placed against her temples. C UT TO: INT. EMERGENCY OPERATING ROOM Harry is thrown onto an operating table. gone in a blink of the eye. His clothes are
A s erious and focused Emergency Doctor steps in. E MERGENCY DOCTOR W e're taking it off at the shoulder. L et's move here people, otherwise w e lose him. Harry remains semiconscious as the Anesthesiologist sticks a mask over his face. Everything starts to go white. up a circular saw. The Emergency Doctor starts 1 08. Before everything is gone, Harry witnesses the doctor cutting into his shoulder. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Sara's heart pounds in her ears. Technician interrupts her: T ECHNICIAN ( off-screen) O K, ready and one. S MASH CUT TO: BLINDING PRIMARY RED We hear a crowd cheer! C UT TO: INT. BIG TIM'S LUSH PAD In slow motion and tight close-ups we experience the orgy with Marion. There's nipples, tongues, sex toys, eyes closed in ecstasy, men's glares, men's smiles and the like. The images aren't sexy, they're scary. One of the girls holds up a double-headed dildo and says: G IRL W hat should we do now? A Pervert screams out: P ERVERT A ss to ass, ass to ass! Marion complies and the flashlights shine. starts a chant: P ERVERT C um! Cum! The other men join in as the pace quickens. P ERVERT AND ALL THE MEN ( building in pace and volume) Cum! CUM! CUM! CUM!! CUM!!! 1 09. Then the Pervert She tries to scream, but a
C um!
M arion is at first afraid. Then, she closes her eyes. Her lips start to quiver. Big Tim's smile gets wider and wider and wider. And then Marion comes. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD - SHOCK THERAPY ROOM Sara's arched and stiffened body looks as if fire has just shot through her body. Her eyes are almost popping out of her head as her mind screams AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... She settles for a moment on the table. Her heart does not beat, her lungs do not breathe. A moment later, the breath returns. Then the heartbeat slowly emerges. And then, the Technician: T ECHNICIAN O K, ready and two. S MASH CUT TO: PRIMARY RED A crowd cheers! Then we fade to: PRIMARY BLUE Then we -C UT BACK TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Once again Sara tries to scream in pain. Flames seem to sear every cell of her body and her bones feel like they are being twisted and crushed. Smoke simmers off of her hair and skin. As her body settles, it happens one last time: T ECHNICIAN O K, ready and three. S MASH CUT TO: 1 10. PRIMARY BLUE The crowd cheers once more. D ISSOLVE TO: EXT. CONEY ISLAND PIER The pier stretches off into the beautiful sea. red dress walks a baby carriage. A woman in a
N ow we're on Harry, looking healthy and vibrant. for Marion! But she doesn't hear him and she keeps walking. after them.
He screams He runs
When he gets close, he suddenly stops. Marion turns around. He reaches to hug her. But, as he does we are in -BLACK Harry gets terrified. M arion? He starts to scream for Marion.
H ARRY Marion?!
He steps backwards off the edge of a cliff and rushes headfirst into a concrete sidewalk as he screams: H ARRY M ARION! And we -C UT TO: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM An Angelic Nurse looks down upon Harry. Tubes stick into every part of him. His eyes are half-open. She wipes the sweat from his brow. H ARRY M arion. A NGELIC NURSE I t's alright. Don't worry. You're i n a hospital and you're going to b e just fine. H ARRY M arion. Marion. 1 11. A NGELIC NURSE W ho's that? She'll be sent for. S he'll come. She loves you and s he'll come. Then Harry opens his eyes fully. He is an adult and he is calm. H ARRY N o. A NGELIC NURSE N o? H ARRY N o. She won't. A NGELIC NURSE S he'll come. H ARRY N o. She won't. For a moment he understands.
A nd then Harry starts to cry. As we float up high above his bed we watch him curl into a ball. C UT TO: EXT. JAIL MACHINE SHOP Tyrone drills holes into metal plates with an oversized machine. He dry heaves and fights to stay in his seat. Laughing Guard snickers at him. C UT TO: INT. MARION'S APARTMENT At the foot of Marion's couch are the torn and smeared sketches of Marion's designs. Marion comes in through the front door. She walks across the sketches and sits on the couch. She has lipstick smeared across her face. She pulls out a large bag of dope and stares at it. Happily, she fondles the bag. Then, she hugs it tight against her bosom. Slowly, she curls up into a fetal position, content. C UT TO: 1 12. INT. JAIL DORMITORY The work gang collapse onto their individual bunks. sweaty and dirty, does the same. Tyrone, A
He fights the cramps in his stomach for as long as he can until he passes out. Then, Tyrone and his bed dissolve into the past. Tyrone rests in his mom's generous arms. Finally, it is peaceful. from his eyes. Young
Tyrone's mom brushes the tears
T YRONE'S MOTHER H ow's your tummy feel? Y OUNG TYRONE I t's mostly gone, Momma. I doan' n eed no more medicine. T YRONE'S MOTHER T hat's my big boy. He looks up at his mom as she starts to sing 'Hush little baby'. Y OUNG TYRONE Y our breath be all nice an' sweet, M ommy. She hugs her son tight. T YRONE'S MOTHER T he sweetness be in you, child, the s weetness be in you. C UT TO:
I NT. PSYCHE WARD - VISITING ROOM Ada and Rae sit in the corner of the room stunned by their surroundings. Mounted on the wall is a television. Tappy Tibbons is on. No one is watching. Sara shuffles towards them and they barely recognize her. Her grey roots match her grey skin which matches her grey gown. Ada starts taking food out of a large shopping bag. 1 13. A DA W e got some lox and cream cheese a nd bagels and blintzes with sour c ream and some danishes and pastrami a nd chopped liver on rye with m ustard and onions and a container o f tea and... How are you, Dolly? But Sara doesn't answer. She can't. They put their hands on their friend's shoulders but nothing seems to reach her. Then they notice that water is dripping down Sara's leg and onto the floor. Sara has urinated on herself. C UT TO: EXT. BUS STOP Ada and Rae sit waiting for the bus on a grey day in front of a grey building. Tears flow from their eyes. They hug each other. C UT TO: INT. PSYCHE WARD Sara lies on her bed. A tiny smile emerges on her face.
We get closer and closer to her until we go into the blackness of her pupil. Deep in the blackness we see another world. It is a world of PRIMARY BLUE. And sucking us into the blue is the roar of a crowd. And there with a giant smile is good ol' Tappy in black tie. He looks into the camera and says: T APPY TIBBONS A nd our next winner is that d elightful personality, straight f rom Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, p lease give a juicy welcome to Mrs G oldfarb. Red Sara steps out and joins Tappy. She's overwhelmed.
T APPY AND AUDIENCE J uice by Sara! Juice by Sara! J uice by Sara! ooooOOOOH! Sara's g ot juice! Sara's got juice! o oooOOOOH Sara! 1 14.
T APPY TIBBONS A nd Mrs Goldfarb, that's not it. I 'm delighted to tell you that y ou've just won the grand prize. R ED SARA R eally? Y es! T APPY TIBBONS How does it feel?! R ED SARA I feel wonderful. This is great! And they start to
I t feels great. I f eel amazing.
The audience goes crazy, they love it. chant: W e love Sara! The chant continues... T APPY TIBBONS T hey love you, Sara. I l ove them. R ED SARA Oh, I love them. A UDIENCE We love Sara!
T APPY TIBBONS N ow let me show you what you've won. Y our prize has a sweet smile and h is own private business. He just g ot engaged and he's planning to g et married this summer. Will you p lease give a juicy welcome to Mrs S ara Goldfarb's one and only son -H arry Goldfarb! Harry walks out from back. The audience are out of their seats, screaming at the tops of their lungs. Sara is gushing! T APPY AND AUDIENCE J uice by Harry! Juice by Harry! J uice by Harry! ooooOOOOH! Harry's g ot juice! Harry's got juice! o oooOOOOH Harry! Harry walks out and hugs his mother. R ED SARA O h Harry, Harry, Harry. I love y ou, Harry. 1 15. H ARRY I l ove you too, Ma. They hug and they hug as the audience scream their applause. A smile fills Sara's beautiful face. complete love. Happiness. Total and
Except for the truth, the nagging reality. It means tears for Sara and her sparkling eyes well up with fantastic, warm tears.
B ut they don't damage her glorious smile. FADE TO BLACK CREDITS ROLL
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