Tài liệu Writing the short film 3th - Part 44 doc

30. INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT Miss Peach enters the living room, which is now bathed in candlelight. Scarlet has beautifully arranged candles all around the room; it is a breathtaking sight. Miss Peach stands in awe. On the table, Scarlet has laid a bea- utiful dinner set for two, the food is simple but inviting. Two place cards sit on each plate. In beautiful italics on one is written “Lady Peach” and on the other “Lady Scarlet.” Miss Peach turns back to Scarlet who has now disappeared. She turns back to the table and sits down. Miss Peach observes the place settings, and surreptitiously, she rearranges the incorrect silverware arrangement. CUT TO: 31. INT. BATHROOM DOOR. NIGHT Miss Peach taps on the bathroom door. Timidly, she whispers. MISS PEACH Scarlet. Scarlet. There is no response. I’m sorry Scarlet. CUT TO: 32. INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT Scarlet sits in front of the mirror. She removes her wig and sits bald. From a large jar Scarlet scoops some cream and smears it on her face, drastically her thick makeup is loosened. MISS PEACH You’re so colorful, my dear, so full of color . . . I probably appear as rather a grey person to you . . . and you’re right. CUT TO: Short Screenplays 291 App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 291 31. INT. BATHROOM DOOR. NIGHT Miss Peach stands close to the door. MISS PEACH You see, I’ve been a housekeeper to a man for over thirty years. Our relationship was overwhelmingly professional in tone . . . though naturally we might discuss informal topics . . . from time to time. Miss Peach pauses. MISS PEACH I came to deliver his love letter. I don’t know this woman . . . you see. All I know is that . . . 32. INT. BATHROOM. NIGHT With a sponge Scarlet rubs and rubs and gradually removes all the makeup. Scarlet stops and begins to listen to Miss Peach. Scarlet takes a drag on her cigarette and stares at her bald reflection. She remains effeminate in features, but without all the makeup, all the glamour is gone. MISS PEACH I gave him the best years of my life. The very best and he didn’t even notice. I suppose you could call me a coward. So you see, I’m in no position to judge your actions . . . I simply envy your courage. Gently and slowly Scarlet removes her loud and glitzy ear rings. 31. INT. BATHROOM DOOR. NIGHT Miss Peach leaves, taking her candle with her. The candle is blown out. CUT TO: 33. EXT. MANHATTAN SKYLINE. EARLY MORNING The sun gradually rises over the building tops. A RADIO UPDATE echoes out. Pull back to reveal Scarlet standing at a window. DISSOLVE TO: 292 Writing the Short Film App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 292 34. INT. LIVING ROOM. MORNING Scarlet stands at a window. The room is lit by the blue light of morning. Miss Peach lies on a sofa fast asleep. Scarlet sits down opposite her; she is dressed simply, but beautifully. Her outfit and hairstyle are feminine, but she has shed all her flamboyance. Her beauty now stems from her pure precision and simplicity. She smokes a cigarette. Miss Peach wakes up. Spread on a chair in front of Miss Peach is a beautiful outfit and an elegant pair of shoes. SCARLET People used to tell me how I could be straightened out. What I needed was a good woman. I said fine, since a woman is the best there is . . . I want to be one, the most beautiful one. 34. INT. LIVING ROOM. MORNING (CONT.) Scarlet looks at Miss Peach and smiles. SCARLET You must realize what you have . . . and enjoy it. If it was up to the rest of the world, they wouldn’t let you. DISSOLVE TO: 35. INT. LIVING ROOM. LATE MORNING We move through the apartment. The dull light of morning highlights the odd object here and there. Candles stand burnt down. All is still. Someone SINGS in the distance. We enter the living room. A dressing table has been set up. Miss Peach sits in front of the mirror. Scarlet stands above and SINGS while she tends to Miss Peach. DISSOLVE TO: 36. INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY Nail polish is placed on some nails. They are filed and trimmed. Eyeliner is placed on some eyes. Mascara on lashes. Lipstick on lips. The tight curls of Miss Peach’s hair are brushed out. Powder on the face. Shoes are Short Screenplays 293 App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 293 slipped on some feet. A dress is put on. Earrings are clipped on. A necklace is delicately wrapped around a neck. DISSOLVE TO: 37. INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY Scarlet continues to tend to Miss Peach. She then goes over to get a scent bottle. Miss Peach reaches for her bag and out falls the letter. She withdraws the envelope and it reads “Mrs Catherine Spencer.” She holds it closely and then looks up at her reflection in the mirror. She is now complete—beautiful and elegant in both style and makeup. She pauses and stares at the letter. She remains silent. Scarlet returns and stands close by. Miss Peach remains silent. She then takes the letter and replaces it. MISS PEACH I’m not Catherine Spencer, I would have liked to have been, but I’m not. Had I been anyone worthy of respect at all, I dare say I would have left Fortley Manor long before this letter was ever written. Miss Peach smiles and puts the letter away. She stands up straight and is a picture of refined beauty. SCARLET Miss Peach your carriage awaits. Miss Peach gives a curtsey and then twirls to show off her attire. She twirls and twirls and twirls and twirls . . . DISSOLVE TO: 38. INT. APARTMENT. NIGHT Classical MUSIC can be heard. Miss Peach continues to twirl and is dressed beautifully and Scarlet simply, as before. Miss Peach’s formal hair is now loose and relaxed, and both Scarlet and Miss Peach have a content expression on their faces. Delicately and tentatively the pair waltz elegantly around the room. Miss Peach limps, 294 Writing the Short Film App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 294 but hardly. Miss Peach and Scarlet continue to dance. The music finishes, and they come to a stop. They hesitate and then move closer together. Behind them we see the city lit up. They hesitate as if they’re about to kiss. Suddenly there is a sound of energy being CHARGED. The lights in the apartment flicker on, and then off, and then on again. Under the bright lights Miss Peach and Scarlet break their embrace. The spell ends and all is revealed. They shift awkwardly, embarrassed by their intimacy. CUT TO: 39. INT. HALLWAY OF APARTMENT. NIGHT Miss Peach and Scarlet begin to leave the apartment. Scarlet gathers her bag, and before exiting Miss Peach removes the letter from her purse and places it in the frame of a mirror. Miss Peach pauses with her hand and then looks up at her reflection, which is youthful and content. She smiles. 40. INT. ELEVATOR. NIGHT The HUM of the elevator as it glides down. Miss Peach and Scarlet stand side by side. They are SILENT and do not communicate in any way. It’s as if they are total strangers to one another. The elevator stops and in gets an ELDERLY MAN. OLD MAN They promised us back in ‘65 that it was the last time. Well twenty-seven hours I was trapped in my apartment. It’s a disgrace. I say hang the lot of them. The elevator comes to rest on the ground floor. The old man gets out, followed by Scarlet and Miss Peach. CUT TO: 41. INT. LOBBY. NIGHT The lobby of the apartment block is busy with postblackout activity. Miss Peach turns to Scarlet. For a moment they smile. Scarlet’s expression changes as she observes something of interest over Miss Peach’s shoulder. Short Screenplays 295 App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 295 SCARLET Goodbyes were never my thing. Scarlet smiles and walks past Miss Peach and wanders toward a handsome-suited man across the lobby. Miss Peach watches as Scarlet introduces herself, asking the man for a light. Miss Peach decides to leave and walks slowly toward the exit. DOORMAN (calling) Miss Spencer! Can I help you. Miss Peach swings around, responding to the name Catherine Spencer and is faced with the back of an elegantly dressed WOMAN who carries some luggage. Miss Peach freezes and watches as the woman stands waiting for the doorman. Miss Peach begins to approach and then stops herself. She looks up and sees Scarlet watching her. The doorman picks up the woman’s luggage and begins to carry it toward the elevator. The woman hesitates, tidies herself, and follows the doorman. Scarlet gives Miss Peach a wave of her hand. Miss Peach smiles and turns away, briskly walking out the front door. FADE OUT 296 Writing the Short Film App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 296 SLEEPING BEAUTIES by Karyn Kusama CAST OF CHARACTERS IRIS—a sixteen-year-old girl. Iris is still a bit awkward, a little uncomfortable with her developing body. She is remarkably mature in some ways, a girl with a detailed imagination and a feverish sense of her future. She is a talker. LUCY—Iris’s fifteen-year-old sister. Lucy is very fresh looking and has an unusually mature beauty for her age. She and Iris look much alike, but some- how Lucy seems more at ease with her appearance. Lucy respects Iris’s opin- ion of everything. Lucy is the less articulate of the two girls, but is comfortable letting Iris be the “leader.” MAN—a very nebulous character in some ways. Between the age of nine- teen and twenty-five years old. He must have strong features. It would be preferable if he was pale and of a medium height. He must have longish and finely textured hair. He is the type of person who wears nothing but jeans and John Deere t-shirts. He wears cowboy boots because they are practical. He probably worked in a gas station at one point in his life. He may have committed some small-scale crimes as well, but nothing worthy of a major newspaper. He is from a small town—there isn’t a single clear-sounding radio station for miles and all the kids hang out at the 7-Eleven off of the interstate. Until he was about eighteen, he had never seen a James Dean or Marlon Brando movie. He has, however seen almost every Elvis movie, somewhat by default. His voice is low, with a slight drawl. He doesn’t talk much, unless he’s got a six-pack with him, and then he’s always got a story and needs to prove that he saw it first. DESCRIPTION OF LOCATION Large three-story house in a quiet suburban area. Spacious backyard with high, full trees and a large open area in the center. Iris and Lucy share a room on the top floor, preferably at the very side of the house. The only apparent light comes from their room; no one else seems to be home. From their large bedroom window they can hop onto a wooden trellis that runs down the side of the house. The bedroom itself is relatively large, with two parallel beds, a large win- dowsill, a cluttered vanity table with a huge round mirror, a small night table, a lamp, an overhead light, and a chair or two. The room should not look especially contemporary at all, there should be a strange sense of isola- tion from the outside teenage world. There are no posters on the wall, and no fan magazines on the floor—only odd antique knickknacks, cheesy sou- Short Screenplays 297 App-B.qxd 9/27/04 6:02 PM Page 297 . dance. The music finishes, and they come to a stop. They hesitate and then move closer together. Behind them we see the city lit up. They hesitate as if they’re. content expression on their faces. Delicately and tentatively the pair waltz elegantly around the room. Miss Peach limps, 294 Writing the Short Film App-B.qxd 9/27/04