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| 1. |
EXT. SECONDARY ROAD - DAY |
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WARREN GAIN, 26, stands by the side of the road, hitchhiking, a large backpack strapped to his shoulders. He looks despondent, lost behind a grey curtain of rain. A car approaches. Warren raises his thumb expectantly. The car drives through a puddle, showering Warren's pants with mud. Warren shakes his leg like a sodden dog and looks out towards the empty road with a look that says, "What have I done to deserve this?" |
| 2. |
INT. JOY AND CHESTER'S BEDROOM - DAY |
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JOY FARREL, 29, is packing a suitcase. She struggles to fold the clothes neatly but she's too anxious to get it done properly. JOY, JR., eleven months old, crawls across the floor and grabs a candlestick. She begins to play with it. Joy looks up.
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JOY |
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No! Don't touch that! |
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She grabs the candlestick out of Joy, Jr.'s hands and tosses it onto the bed. Joy, Jr. bursts into tears. Joy picks her up and comforts her. |
| 3. |
EXT.
CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY |
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The wooden frame of a large house is etched against a brilliant blue sky. Construction workers move about the site. CHESTER FARREL, 28, surveys their work. He wears a white hardhat with a Tweety Bird decal plastered to the middle. A foreman named EUGENE, according to his hardhat, is trying to get Chester to look at some blueprints rolled out before them. Chester is distracted, lost in his own world. |
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EUGENE |
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Chester. |
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Chester doesn't reply. |
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Yo! Chester... |
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It's like talking to a mannequin. Eugene takes a cellular phone out of Chester's shirt pocket, flips it open. |
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EUGENE |
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If you'd like Chester's attention, press 1. |
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Eugene makes an exaggerated show of pressing 1. Chester doesn't flinch. |
| 4. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S BEDROOM - DAY |
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Joy, Jr. cannot be soothed. The tears flow. Joy searches for a distraction. She removes one of her earrings: a cluster of fruit. Joy, Jr. is delighted. Her mother is relieved to have bought a few moments of peace.
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| 5. |
EXT.
CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY |
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Eugene perseveres. |
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EUGENE |
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If you really, really want Chester's attention, press 7. |
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Chester is jolted from his reverie. He looks at Eugene as if he's just woken up from a deep sleep, takes the cellular phone out of his hand, starts to dial and walks away. |
| 6. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S BEDROOM - DAY |
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Joy continues to pack. Joy, Jr. happily plays with a small blow dryer. The phone rings. It rings another three times before the answering machine kicks in. |
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ANSWERING MACHINE |
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(JOY'S VOICE)
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Hi, there. Chester and Joy can't make it to the phone. Joy, Jr. is probably chewing on it. Leave a message. |
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CHESTER (V.O.) |
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Hi. (PAUSE) It's me. I want to...(PAUSE; SLIGHT EDGE) Where are you? (PAUSE) I'm sorry. I want to...What happened last night, that wasn't me. That was...(PAUSE) I'm going to make you lunch. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make you lunch. |
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CLOSE-UP of Joy as she absorbs Chester's message. |
TITLES END
| 7. |
INT.
ROADSIDE DINER - DAY |
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Warren sits at a counter stool, wet from the rain, his backpack leaning against the stool next to him. A waitress brings him a cup of coffee. He tries to tear open the small foil covering on a coffee creamer, with no luck. He persists and digs in his nails. The creamer bursts. His shirt is now covered with cream. He drops his head and makes a half-hearted attempt to wipe off the stains. JOIE MOREAU, 25, walks up to him. She looks like a leprechaun with attitude: a shock of green hair, a black leather jacket. She moves his backpack to the side and plants herself down on the stool to Warren's right. She sees the stains and merely smiles. She opens a creamer effortlessly and pours it into Warren's coffee. She takes a spoon and stirs the coffee, taps it on the rim, then puts the spoon down. |
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WARREN |
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I take it black. |
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Joie looks at him quizically. Warren picks up the creamer. |
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WARREN |
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I was going to drink it. Straight up.
(pause)
A shot of milk.
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He puts the creamer to his lips and tilts his head back, as though swallowing a shot of whiskey. The waitress arrives with another cup of coffee. She stares at Warren, wondering just what the hell he's doing. She puts the coffee down in front of Joie. Warren takes her black coffee and slides his cup over in its place. |
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JOIE |
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You don't have a chance. |
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Now it's Warren's turn to offer a quizzical look. |
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JOIE |
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I saw you out there, trying to get a ride. |
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WARREN |
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Forty-seven. |
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Joie continues the volley of quizzical looks. |
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WARREN |
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Forty-seven cars went by. Forty-seven cars. Sixteen trucks. Two motorcycles. And an old man on a bicycle who warned me to start thinking about my arteries before it's too late. |
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JOIE |
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Know what you need? |
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Warren shrugs. |
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JOIE |
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These. |
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She cups her breasts. Warren stares at her breasts, then looks down at his milk-stained shirt. He comes up empty-handed. |
| 8. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S GARAGE - DAY |
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Joy finishes strapping Joy, Jr. into her car seat. She steps out of the car. We see it is a vintage automobile: a stunning, 1954 Cadillac, fire-engine red with white interior, in mint condition. It is parked next to a late-model car. Joy settles into the driver's seat of the Cadillac, straps her seatbelt. A moment later she steps out. She speaks to her daughter through the back door window. |
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JOY |
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One last thing. |
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| 9. |
EXT.
CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY |
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Chester walks over to Eugene, who's poring over some blueprints. |
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CHESTER |
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I'm going home for lunch. |
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EUGENE |
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Joy cooking you something special? |
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CHESTER |
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I'm going to make her lunch. |
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Eugene feigns over-the-top shock and surprise. |
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EUGENE |
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What's the occasion? |
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A long pause before Chester answers. |
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CHESTER |
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We had a...a disagreement. |
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EUGENE |
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You guys fight? |
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CHESTER |
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We didn't fight. |
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Eugene is anxious to preserve the peace. |
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EUGENE |
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You argued. |
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CHESTER |
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Things got out of hand. |
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EUGENE |
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And you want to make it up to her. |
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CHESTER |
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I want to make her lunch. |
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EUGENE |
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I understand. Completely. |
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| 10. |
INT.
ROADSIDE DINER - DAY |
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We're back at the diner. Warren and Joie have moved from the counter stools and now sit across each other at a booth, finishing their coffee. |
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WARREN |
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I wasn't supposed to be travelling on my own. |
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JOIE |
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The Mother Ship leave you behind? |
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WARREN |
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We had planned to go together. We'd been planning this trip for a long time. Hitching all the way to Montreal, then taking a train to New York. |
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JOIE |
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But she was abducted, right? Little green men? |
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She senses Warren has reopened a wound. |
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JOIE |
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You guys break up? |
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WARREN |
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On the contrary. |
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JOIE |
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She wanted to get married. You got cold feet. (BEAT) You're all the same. Fear of commitment. |
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WARREN |
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She didn't want to get married. It wasn't like that. |
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JOIE |
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They should have a name for it. When commitment leaves your throat all swollen. Like one of those phobias. Commitphobia or something. |
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WARREN |
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Com-mit-phobia? |
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JOIE |
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No good. Sounds like you're afraid of comets. |
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WARREN |
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She's the one who backed out. She's the one who said she'd come with me. |
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JOIE |
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But she changed her mind. |
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WARREN |
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She had her mind changed. |
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JOIE |
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They take her old mind out and a put a new one in? |
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WARREN |
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She made a choice. |
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Warren taps the table with a finger to emphasize his point...and ends up with a butter-covered finger. Joie moves the butter dish to the side and hands him a napkin. |
| 11. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S HOUSE - DAY |
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Joy has set the table for one. She places the candlestick on the plate, as if it was the first course. It is the same candlestick she grabbed out of Joy, Jr's hands. |
| 12. |
EXT.
SECONDARY ROAD - DAY |
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Warren and Joie are now standing by the side of the road, hitching. Joie is scratching her name into the dirt with a twig. |
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WARREN |
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Is that your name? |
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JOIE |
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That's my name. |
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WARREN |
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You been hitching a long time, Joie? (He pronounces it as if it was French: jwah). |
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JOIE |
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Joy. It's pronounced "Joy". (BEAT) I was s'pposed to fly. |
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WARREN |
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Where to? |
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JOIE |
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Newfoundland. My parents, they wanted me to fly. Even offered to pay my way. At first, I was gonna walk. Take my sweet time. But that wouldn't be fair to my brother. So I told them I'd hitch. Give 'em a bit of grief. |
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WARREN |
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That's the plan? To give your parents grief? |
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JOIE |
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They've got plate loads of grief. They don't need any more. (BEAT) Grief's not the right word. (BEAT) Piss 'em off a little. The way I've been pissed off. |
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WARREN |
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We've all had our fair share of being pissed off. |
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JOIE |
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Yeah, well, my pissed off is bigger than your pissed off. |
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Warren is reluctant to tread much further. |
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WARREN |
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Okay. |
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A yellow Volkswagen beetle pulls up to the side of the road. The driver is Craig, a thin-haired, fair-skinned man in his mid-30s who looks like he just stepped out of a highschool yearbook. He leans over and rolls down the window. The window rolls down a crack, then jams. Craig battles with the stubborn window while trying to maintain his composure. He finally gives up and swings open the passenger door. |
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CRAIG |
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I'm taking the scenic route to Montreal. |
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Joie sizes Craig up, taking in the oversized pinetree airfreshener dangling from the rearview mirror. |
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JOIE |
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I'm taking a chance. |
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Craig doesn't know what to make of the remark. He looks at Joie, who hesitates, then gives him a green-light smile. Craig steps out and puts Joie's bag into the hood. Warren watches the proceedings. |
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JOIE |
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You coming? |
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Warren hesitates, then picks up his bag. It doesn't fit into the hood. Craig squeezes it into the cramped back seat, where Warren is told - thanks to Joie's body language - to make himself comfy. The Beetle pulls away. |
| 13. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S GARAGE - DAY |
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Joy, visibly nervous, starts the car. She shifts gears, accelerates...and reverses into the garage wall. We hear glass shattering and a "thunk." Joy, Jr. starts to cry. Joy is beside herself with fear and concern. She steps out of the car and walks to the back to assess the damage. A minor mishap - a broken taillight, a small dent - but it's enough to disarm Joy. |
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JOY |
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(under her breath) |
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He'll kill me! |
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| 14. |
EXT.
INSIDE CRAIG'S VOLKSWAGEN - DAY |
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Classical music wafts through the Beetle as Joie pores over a stack of black and white photographs. As Craig waxes enthusiastic about his project, we see the occasional photograph of a low-budget motel. |
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JOIE |
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You stayed in all these? |
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CRAIG |
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Research.
(pause)
For a book I'm writing.
(pause)
You probably think a motel is just a motel. Most people do. Most people are wrong. A motel is a mirror of the human condition. A waystation in life. In one night, in one motel, you might see a newlywed couple. A prostitute. A salesman. A vacationing family.
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WARREN |
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All in the same room? |
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CRAIG |
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All under the same roof. |
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JOIE |
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I like this one. |
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Joie holds up a picture. We see it is a motel shaped like a whale. |
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CRAIG |
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Jonah's Journey. The honeymoon suite's in the fin.
There's more.
(to Warren)
Can you hand me that green binder?
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Warren struggles to excavate a large binder from the mess in the back, and hands it to Craig. Craig places it in Joie's lap. Clearly, she is not thrilled at the prospect of thumbing her way through Craig's idea of a good time. |
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CRAIG |
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No publisher yet, but I have a title. No Vacancy: The Culture and Meaning of Motels. I open with an overview of motels. The history. The impact. The economic spin-offs. Like the factory where they make those inhuman bars of soap. Then the photographs. And essays. An essay for each photograph. An incisive, insightful paragraph. No more than a paragraph. That's the challenge of a photo-essay. Knowing when to end the text and let the image take over. I'm not the world's greatest photographer, but I think I've captured the spririt, the essence of each motel. I believe in essences. Or at least the notion of essences. |
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| 15. |
EXT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S DRIVEWAY - DAY |
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Chester eases his pickup into his driveway. Their house is a large, modern, suburban home. |
| 16. |
INT.
JOY AND CHESTER'S HOUSE - DAY |
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Chester walks into the house, carrying groceries in one hand and cold beer in the other. He's greeted with silence. His face begins to register concern. He hangs his hardhat on its customary hook, takes off his muddy boots. |
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CHESTER |
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Joy?
(pause)
Joy? |
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