OLYMPIA CIRCUS - NIGHT
...where the second-rate carnival is parked for the moment
in an Alabama field. To the left, we spot Leonard, 20-ish,
halfway through a bag of peanuts. He's still carrying the
backpack we saw earlier, and scratched up from his trip
through Spectre.
LEONARD (V.O.)
I had just left Ashton, and was on
my way to discover my destiny. Not
knowing what that would be exactly,
I explored every opportunity that
presented itself.
Joining the crowd, he heads into the big-top.
BIG TOP - NIGHT
A troupe of STILT-WALKING FIREBREATHERS finishes their act
to tremendous APPLAUSE.
As the performers clear away, the circus' owner-and-ringmaster
YAJIMA CALLOWAY (50) approaches the stands. He may only be four feet tall, but Yajima has a titanic presence.
YAJIMA
Ladies and Gentlemen, you may think
you've seen the unusual. You may
think you've seen the bizarre. But
I've travelled to the five corners
of the world, and let me tell you
I've never seen anything like this.
From behind Yajima, CARNIES start rolling a massive ball towards
the crowd.
YAJIMA
When I found this man, he was picking
oranges in Florida. His fellow workers
called him El Penumbra - The Shadow -
because when you were working beside
him, he blocked out the daylight. He
could take a whole tree in his hands
and shake off the fruit. I had to
pay his crew boss $10,000 just so I could take him with me.
Yajima comes up to a MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN in the first row, a
quieter moment.
Not to alarm you, Ma'am. But if this
man wanted to, he could crush your
head between his toes.
(she trembles)
But he won't.
(a long beat)
He's not going to hurt her, folks,
because he's our own Gentle Giant.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you,
ELFMAN !
The carnies back away from the ball as a deep DRUM ROLL
begins. A moment, then the ball starts to bulge from inside.
A foot suddenly bursts out from within. GASPS from the crowd.
That foot is massive. In the stands, Leonard looks closer.
Intrigued.
As the drum beat intensifies, a second foot breaks out.
Followed by hands. Shoulders. Finally, the head. This is
ELFMAN.
From a very LOW ANGLE, we look up to see just how massive he is. He seems to fill the Heavens. With his shaved head and
giant club, he seems more ogre than man.
In the bandstands, a YOUNG BOY's jaw drops in awe. Elfman
walks down the row, letting the crowd get a better look at
him. Some reach out to touch him, disbelieving. A tight
spotlight follows him, revealing faces in the crowd.
ELFMAN passes Leonard, who seems unimpressed. He leans with
the spotlight, WHISTLING to get the big man's attention.
He points to the edge of the stands, where his friend is
sitting on the dirt -
TAURUS THE GIANT
stands up, so big the spotlight has to widen just to hold
him. He's a good foot taller than Elfman. There's a GASP
from the crowd, along with nervous anticipation - what will
happen next?
Taurus, stunned, megaphone dangling.
For Elfman, realizing the gig is up. With a resigned
shrug, he rests his club on his shoulder and walks away into
the shadows.
BIG-TOP - NIGHT LATER
As the stands empty, Leonard and Taurus talk to Yajima.
YAJIMA
What's his name? Does he talk? It's not important.
TAURUS
Taurus.
YAJIMA
Tell me Taurus, have you ever heard of the term "involuntary servitude?"
TAURUS shakes his head.
YAJIMA
"Unconscionable contract?"
TAURUS
Nope.
YAJIMA
Great, great. That's fantastic.
LEONARD (V.O.)
I was on that night Taurus met his destiny. And I met mine. Almost.
BIG TOP - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
As Yajima pulls Elfman aside to give him the hard sell, Leonard
notices a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN (16) leaving with her family.
She's wearing a pale blue dress and hat. For no good reason, she
looks back at Leonard.
The two make eye contact. And as they do, all motion FREEZES.
A fiery baton remains mid-twirl, flames locked in place. A
spilled box of popcorn hangs in mid-air, each kernel like a
snowflake. Even the elephant is mid-poop. The circus people and animals were like statue as well as every objects.
Only Leonard is free to move, winding his way between the
frozen bodies, ducking underneath arms to get closer and
closer to this woman.
LEONARD (V.O.)
They say when you meet the love of
your life, time stops. And that's
true.
Lucy and Leo gazes at each other with a few steps of distance.
Leo smiles at her with her gaze strong on him.
What they don't tell you, is
that once time starts again, it moves extra fast to catch up.
Suddenly, everything RUSHES. The crowd becomes a blur, and
the young woman is lost in its wake. Now it's Leonard who's
frozen, helpless in time.
He goes running to her.
DIRT PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Leonard checks in windows as cars pull out, searching for his
fated love. Not finding her, he becomes more frantic, running
down the rows.
CROSSFADE TO THE EMPTY LOT
Elfman is thumbing for a ride. The last pickup truck stops
and lets him climb in back.
As the truck pulls out, it passes a dejected Leonard. He'll
never find that girl, the love of his life.
BIG-TOP - NIGHT
Yajima leans over so Taurus can sign a contract on his back. He
spots Leonard walking back into the tent.
YAJIMA
Hey kid! Your friend just made himself
a star.
LEONARD
That's great.
Yajima hands off the contract to a CLOWN.
(INTRODUCING)
My attorney, Mr. Sagittarius.
LEONARD
Good to meet you.
Mr. Sagittarius HONKS his horn, then waddles off.
YAJIMA
What's the matter with you, kid? I haven't seen a customer so depressed since the elephant sat on that farmer's wife.
(beat)
Get it? "Depressed?"
Taurus chuckles.
YAJIMA
See! The big guy likes it.
LEONARD
I just saw the woman I'm going to
marry, I know it. But then I lost
her.
YAJIMA
Tough break. Most men have to get
married before they lose their wives.
LEONARD
(with absolute
conviction)
I'm going to spend the rest of my
life looking for her. That or die
alone.
YAJIMA
Jesus, kid.
(realizing)
Let me guess. Real pretty, blonde
hair, blue hat?
LEONARD
Yes!
YAJIMA
I know her uncle. Friends of the
family.
LEONARD
Who is she? Where does she live?
YAJIMA
Kid. Don't waste your time. She's
out of your league.
As Yajima starts to walk away,
Leonard hurries to catch up with
him. Taurus follows as well.
LEONARD
What do you mean?
You don't even know me.
YAJIMA
Sure I do. You were hot shit back in
Hickville, but here in the real world,
you got squat. You don't have a plan.
You don't have a job. You don't have
anything but the clothes on your
back.
He points to the bleachers, where no backpack is to be found.
LEONARD
(realizing)
Someone stole my backpack.
YAJIMA
Kid, you were a big fish in a small
pond. This here is the ocean, and
you're drowning. Take my advice and
go back to Puddleville. You'll be
happy there.
Getting in front of Yajima, Leonard stops him.
LEONARD
Wait. You said I don't have a plan.
I do. I'm going to find that girl
and marry her and spend the rest of my life with her.
Yajima smiles, amused.
LEONARD
I don't have a job, but I would have
a job if you gave me one. And I may
not have much, but I have more
determination than any man you're
ever going to meet.
YAJIMA
Sorry, kid. I don't do charity.
LEONARD
I'll work night and day, and you
won't have to pay me. You just have to tell me who she is.
Yajima takes a long look at him. Ultimately, there's no way he
can say no. He shrugs.
YAJIMA
Every month you work for me, I'll
tell you one thing about her. That's
my final offer.
Leonard shakes Yajima hand before he can retract the offer.
We move into a MONTAGE:
BIG TOP CENTER RING - NIGHT
CLOSE ON Leonard , smiling nervously. His head is tilted to
the side, and we see why: he's holding it
in a MASSIVE LION's open mouth. The beast's sharp teeth are just poking his skin. If the lion so much as flinches, Leonard
is dead.
The CROWD applauds, which makes the lion antsy. Which makes Leonard antsier.
LEONARD (V.O.)
From that moment on, I did everything
Mr. Calloway asked, and a lot of
things he didn't. I'd go three days
without stopping to eat, and four
days without sleeping.
THE HYDRA - DAY
His eyes droopy from lack of sleep, Leonard mans the whirling
amusement park ride.
LEONARD (V.O.)
The only thing that kept me going
was the promise of meeting the girl who would be my wife.
Nodding off, Leonard falls backward, into the path of the
spinning arms. One of the Hydra cars hits him square in the
gut, throwing him up and away, sailing 200 feet through the air.
FIELD - DAY
Leonard chases a costumed pig, tripping over tent cords,
falling in the mud.
His hunt leads him through the back of a tent, where he's
unwittingly stepped in front of a line of motorized birds.
To the left, CUSTOMERS are shooting with rifles. He dodges
four SHOTS that knock down the birds around him.
He catches his breath, lucky.
Then a half-blind OLD WOMAN pulls her trigger, hitting him
in the shoulder.
BEHIND A TENT - DAY
Taurus the Giant bandages Leonard's arm as well as he can. Taurus is walking past.
LEONARD
Mr. Calloway! It's been a month today.
Yajima stops, looks at the young man. Finally...
YAJIMA
This girl, the love of your life.
Her favorite flower is daffodils.
He walks away. We PUSH IN on Leonard, enraptured by the
concept.
LEONARD
Daffodils.
(to Taurus)
Daffodils!
STABLES - DAY
Leonard shovels shit in the nastiest stables you've ever seen.
But all he can think about is...
LEONARD
(to himself)
Daffodils!
The wonder of it. He goes back to shoveling, a smile on his
face.
LEONARD (V.O.)
True to his word, every month
Yajima
would tell me something new about
the woman of my dreams.
A DARK PLACE - NIGHT
Leonard, lost in quiet reverie, pondering his latest
bit of information.
LEONARD
Yakima walked to him and said some information
YAJIMA
College! She's going to college!
A sudden EXPLOSION as Leonard is shot...
BIG TOP - NIGHT [CONTINUOUS]
...out of a giant cannon.
STABLES - NIGHT
Under a full moon, Leonard feeds the animals.
During he pops a balloon while waiting for Yajima to give answers.
Then YAJIMA arrives
YAJIMA
She likes music
LEONARD
(to himself)
Music! She likes music. I like music
too!
Lost in his dreamy thoughts , Leonard forgets that he's standing at the center of a round metal wired room where short speed cars are roaming over the wired walls.
LEONARD (V.O.)
Over the months, I learned a lot
about the woman I was going to marry,
but not her name and not where to
find her.
That time had come. I couldn't wait any longer.
YAJIMA CALLOWAY'S TRAILER - NIGHT
Under a full moon, Leonard walks up to the battered camper,
and is about to knock when he notices it's rocking. A lot.
Not just that, there's MOANING coming from inside.
But Leonard KNOCKS anyway.
LEONARD
Mr. Calloway!
It's Leonard Bloom.
I need to talk to you.
Suddenly, the rocking and moaning stop. A beat, then the
door handle begins to RATTLE. It seems to be stuck.
Leonard turns the knob.
Suddenly, the door BURSTS OPEN. Leonard is knocked down by a
massive black dog, biggest you've ever seen. It has green
glowing eyes and a lick of fire for a tongue.
Leonard wrestles with the beast, its mouth snapping at his
throat.
Blocking with an arm, Leonard tries to push himself free, but
the creature's hands - it has hands instead of paws - hold
on tight.
Entwined, they roll across the dirt. The other nearby CARNIES
scatter for cover. Mr. Saggitarius pulls a revolver out of
his clown suit. Loads a silver bullet.
Leonard finally succeeds in throwing the beast off. He rolls
to his feet.
The hell hound squares back on its haunches, GROWLING, ready
for another leap. Mr. Saggitarius sheds a clown tear, aiming
the revolver at the dog.
At the last moment...
LEONARD
No, wait!
Leonard moves just as Mr. Sagittarius FIRES. The bullet catches
Leonard in the shoulder, knocking him down.
The carnies GASP.
Licking its chops, the dog approaches the helpless Leonard,
who feels the ground around him, looking for some kind of
weapon. He finds only a small stick. He waves it at the dog,
ready to strike it.
Like magic, the dog's whole demeanor changes. It bounces
excitedly, ready to play fetch.
Seeing an opportunity, Leonard throws the stick as far as he
can. The dog bounds after it,
SMASHING DOWN THREE CARS.
It returns a beat later with the flaming stick, which it
drops at Leonard's feet. Its tail whips back and forth.
LEONARD
It was that night I discovered that
most things you consider evil or
wicked are simply lonely, and lacking
in the social niceties.
Leonard throws the stick again. The dog takes off in a new
direction.
FIELD - PRE-DAWN
Exhausted from playing fetch all night, Leonard throws the
stick into the woods. The still-spry dog goes after it. It's
gone for a long time, long enough that Leonard becomes
concerned.
He follows it into the woods.
WOODS - DAWN
Yajima Calloway stands up behind a bush, buck naked and hairy.
He still has the stick in his mouth, which he takes out as
Leonard approaches.
YAJIMA
Didn't kill anything, did I?
LEONARD
A few rabbits, but I think one of
them was already dead.
YAJIMA
That would explain the indigestion.
Leonard tosses him his jacket to cover his privates.
YAJIMA
I was wrong about you kid. You may
not have much, but what you got, you
got a lot of. You could get any girl.
LEONARD
There's only one I want.
A beat.
YAJIMA
Her name is Lucyra Templeton. She's
going to Auburn. The semester's almost
over, so you better hurry.
LEONARD
( with a smile)
Thank you.
YAJIMA
Good luck, kid.
Leonard walks away. Then starts running. He has to get there
as soon as possible.
Yajima sits down and scratches his ear with his foot.
BIG TOP - DAY
{Everyday song}
Leonard shakes Taurus's giant hand. They hug.
LEONARD (V.O.)
After saying my goodbyes, I hopped
three trains to get to Auburn that
afternoon.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY - DAY
We DESCEND ON the main quad, to find Leonard Bloom dunking
his head in the fountain.
He changes out of his grubby shirt into a new one, just out
of the package. It's the mid-1960's, but by the conservative
dress of the passing STUDENTS, it could be any era.
SORORITY HOUSE - DAY
Leonard stands with a bouquet of daffodils in front of a half-
open door. Through the crack we can see the edge of a YOUNG
WOMAN, talking in hushed tones with another girl.
{Song Pause}
Finally, a decision is reached. The door opens to reveal the
woman of Leonard's dreams, Lucyra Heart Templeton. She's
effortlessly beautiful, pure and simple as sunlight.
He can't believe he's finally reached her. He half-laughs,
nervous. That makes her laugh, not sure what's going on.
LEONARD
You don't know me, but my name is
Leonard Bloom
and I am in love with you.
I've spent the last three years
working to find out who you are.
I've been shot and stabbed and
trampled a few times, had my ribs
broken twice, but it's all worth it
to see you here, now, and to finally
get to talk to you. Because I am
destined to marry you. I knew that
from the first moment I saw you at
the circus. And I know it now more
than ever.
ON Lucyra, overwhelmed. All she can finally think of to say
is...
LUCYRA
I'm sorry.
LEONARD
Don't need to apologize to me. I
mean, I'm the luckiest person you're
going to find today...
She puts her hand on the door frame. On her left ring finger,
we see a diamond.
LUCYRA
No I'm sorry, I... I'm engaged to be
married.
ON Leonard as his heart falls 20 floors. He tries to suppress the reaction, put on a brave front.
LEONARD
Oh.
LUCYRA
But you're wrong. I do know you, at
least by reputation.
Leonard Bloom
from Ashton. See, I'm actually engaged to a boy from Ashton. Natsu Price. He
was a few years older than you.
FLASHCUTS TO
CREEPY OLD HOUSE - THE GATE - NIGHT
Young Natsu Price shines his flashlight on Leonard.
VARIOUS H.S. ATHLETIC COMPETITIONS 93
Recapping earlier football, baseball and basketball
highlights, we find Leonard beats Natsu every time.
THE STREET CORNER / ASHTON PARADE
A smoking Natsu Price crushes his cigarette as Leonard leaves
town.
BACK TO:
SORORITY HOUSE - THE DOORWAY
Leonard is dumbstruck. With all the strength he can muster...
LEONARD
Well. Congratulations. I...I'm sorry to
have bothered you.
Leo gives the daffodil flowers to her.
He turns and walks down the front steps.
She stares at him with her heart aching a bit.
She stays in the doorway for a few beats, feeling genuinely
horrible for what's happened. But eventually as she goes back
inside and about to close the door, giggle's come from inside as her sorority sisters
get to the bottom of this.
LUCYRA
Stop it. It's not funny. Poor boy.
Leading to Leaonard as he walks away, tears just starting to form.
LEONARD (V.O.)
Fate has a cruel way of circling
around on you. After all this work
to leave Ashton, the girl I loved
was now engaged to one of its biggest jerks.
He exits doorframe , leaving only the sorority house in the
background.
LEONARD (V.O.)
There's a time when a man needs to
fight, and a time when he needs to
accept that his destiny is lost,
that the ship has sailed, and that
only a fool would continue.
A beat. Leonard steps back TO DOORFRAME, looking at the sorority
house.
LEONARD (V.O.)
The truth is, I've always been a
fool.
He turns in circle , runs forward shouts up
LEONARD
Lucyra Templeton! I love you! And I will marry you!
SORORITY HOUSE FOYER - DAY
Lucyra opens the front window of her room to see Leonard and her SISTERS peer out through the curtains.
Is this guy crazy?
Crazy in love.
LECTURE HALL - DAY
The tweedy ECONOMICS PROFESSOR continues his explanation.
Lucyra isn't paying a lot of attention.
She's rubbing her temple with her forefinger .
He switches on the overhead projector without looking at it.
There's a TITTER from the STUDENTS, but he doesn't notice.
A classmate nudges Lucyra, who looks up. Written on the
projector is "I Love Lucyra Templeton." She's horrified and excited at the same time. Lucy laughs along with her classmates and then covers her blushing face with her hands .The professor finally notices what's
written there.
QUAD - DAY
Walking along with few girls and holding her books, her fellow girls gasps at something to the sky and Lucyra shakes her head up, disbelieving. Looking up to the blue sky, where a giant sky-written heart
floats in the wind.
I LOVE LUCY
The girls chuckled while Lucy blushed with a giggle. Her blond hair blooming as she looks up the sky again with a big smile.
LUCYRA'S BEDROOM -
THE NEXT MORNING
At her Sisters' prompting, a just-woken Lucyra looks out the
second-story window . She walks to the window and opens it to find the lawn filled with countless daffodils
TEN THOUSAND DAFFODILS.
Lucyra smiles at the handsome young man who has planted so many daffodils for her , Leonard.
Leo stands amid the sea of flowers. He's waited there for six
hours.
SORORITY HOUSE - DAY
Lucyra walks out to him. She's smiling, confused, joyful and
scared. All down Greek Street, STUDENTS are coming out to
see the display.
LUCYRA
( With a bright smile )
Daffodils?
LEONARD
They're your favorite flower.
LUCYRA
How did you get so many?
LEONARD
I called everywhere in five states
and explained this was the only I could get my wife to marry me.
Out of nowhere, a joyful tear drops down Lucyra's cheek. She wipes
it off.
LUCYRA
You don't even know me.
LEONARD
( gazing at Lucy with passion in his eyes for her )
I have the rest of my life to find
out.
Lucyra smiles with satisfaction to Leonard .
From down the street...
A MAN'S VOICE
Lucyra!
LUCYRA
( In a worried voice)
It's Natsu . Promise me you won't hurt him.
LEONARD
If that's what you want, I swear to it.
The adult NATSU PRICE arrives. He's 230 pounds of football-
playing, Skynyrd-loving, fraternity-proud muscle.
And he's pissed.
A gang of his BROTHERS walk behind him.
NATSU PRICE
Leo!
LEONARD
Natsu.
NATSU PRICE
What the hell are you doing? This is my girl. Mi...!
LEONARD
( Looking back at Lucyra)
I didn't know she belonged to anybody.
Natsu Price decks him, knocking him almost down. Leonard gets right back up, he puckers his own nostril in pain , but makes no move to defend himself .Lucyra covers mouth in panic as she watches.
Unfazed, Natsu slugs him again.
LUCYRA
Stop it!
NATSU PRICE
(ignoring)
What the matter, Leo? Too scared
to fight back?
LEONARD
I promised I wouldn't.
A beat. Natsu shrugs, fine. Then proceeds to kick Leonard's ass
nine ways to Sunday.
LUCYRA
(shouts)
STOP IT!
( Screaming in a heartbreak)
Natsu,Stop..!
LEONARD (V.O.)
While I took the beating of a
lifetime, it was Natsu Price who was ultimately defeated.
As the ass-whupping continues,
FRATERNITY HOUSE BATHROOM - DAY [FLASHFORWARD]
Sitting on the can,
Natsu Price pinches a loaf while reading a bunny magazine.
LEONARD (V.O.)
All the physical activity had worsened
a congenital valve defect. Put simply,
his heart wasn't strong enough.
Natsu Price squeezes down hard, trying to shit the unshittable.
Suddenly, with a puking face, Natsu grasps his chest with his hand , falling to collapse face-first on the tile.
WITCH'S HOUSE / GATE - NIGHT [FLASHBACK]
The same image of Natsu's dead face on the tile is reflected
in The Eye.
THE SORORITY HOUSE - DAY
The thrashing continues. Leonard somehow fights his way back
to his feet, ready to be knocked down again. The flowers surrounded them were crushed due to Natsu punching Leonard and knocking him to the flower damaged ground.
Natsu pulls Leonard by his shirt face was already bruised and blood tainted .
Leonard
( Groans in pain )
Hnnh
Lucyra
( Shouts Angrily)
Natsu!
Natsu is about to slug Leonard again when he turns.
Lucyra pulls off her engagement ring. There's an audible
AHH! from her sisters and fellow girls, and an OHH! from Natsu's brothers.
LUCYRA
( Pointing the ring at Natsu with a stern look )
I will never marry you.
A beat. Natsu stands stunned, his mind reeling.
Leonard, whose eyes are swollen almost shut, keeps waiting for the next punch. Where is it? What's going on?.Then his bruised eyes fall on her.
NATSU PRICE
What? You mean you love this guy?
Lucyra looks at Leonard's wounded face.
Leo gazes at her as her eyes meet with his though bruised.
Then she turns her face to Natsu with an angry look.
LUCYRA
He's almost a stranger and I prefer him to you.
She hands him the ring. Leonard smiles in his blood mixed teeth and turn to Natsu. Natsu punches Leonard which makes him fall to the ground but with a huge grin.
Lucyra,with an angry face,
points her pulled out ring to him.
He tries to snatch the ring but misses, then tries to snatch the ring again and grabs it with a pissed off look . Another beat, then Natsu storms off.
But not before decking Leonard one last time.
Leonard was almost unconscious due to getting beaten and bruised.
Lucyra leans over Leonard's broken body. His side head lies on the damaged he somehow managed to lean up, see her with bruised eyes and smile at her with blood tainted teeth.
LUCYRA
How can I convince you to stop getting hurt?
LEONARD
Go out with me.
He smiles, his teeth bloody.
LUCYRA
( With a joyful smile)
Okay.
The daffodils glow in the daylight as the two looks at each other with a sense of passion.
As the crowd of students APPLAUDS and CHEERS, The scenery crane up above the flowered battlefield.
LEONARD (V.O.)
As it turned out, Lucyra was able to keep her same date at the chapel.
Only the groom had changed.
As the MUSIC reaches a crescendo with daffodils glowing on the couple.
And Lucy married Leo.
GUEST ROOM - NIGHT [PRESENT]
ASUKA
I thought you said you didn't have a church wedding.
LEONARD
Well, we were all set to, but there
was a complication.
He reaches for his glass of water, but Asuka already has
it for him. She watches him while he slowly drinks the entire
glass, thirstier than he imagined. While he's drinking.
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT [CONTINUOUS]
Leonard, back from the grocery store, reaches the top of the
stairs. He hears voices coming from the bedroom.
ASUKA (O.S.)
Is it the medicine that's making you
thirsty?
LEONARD (O.S.)
Truth is, I've been thirsty my whole life. Never really known why.
Leonel quietly approaches the door, not exactly sneaking, but
not exactly announcing his presence. The door is open with Leonel a few inches, letting him look in on his father and his wife.
INTERCUT HALLWAY / BEDROOM
LEONARD
There was one time when I was
eleven...
ASUKA
(gently)
You were talking about your wedding.
LEONARD
I didn't forget. I was just working
on a tangent. See, most men, they'll tell a story straight through, and
it won't be complicated, but it won't be interesting either.
ASUKA
I like your stories.
LEONARD
And I like you.
Asuka laughs at his flirty words.
He doesn't let the moment linger with undue sentimentality.
There's a story to be told.
LEONARD
Now. The thing about working for a circus is you don't have a regular address, and after three years I had a lot of undelivered mail.
In the hallway, Leonel shifts to a new position, letting himself
listen to the story one more time.
LEONARD
During the four weeks I was in the
hospital, the postmaster finally
caught up with me.
HOSPITAL - DAY
Bruised and bandaged, Leonard sorts through a big bag of mail
with help from Lucy . He rips open an official-looking
letter. Reading it, his face drops.
FLUTE and DRUM, music rising to a military cadence.
LEONARD (V.O.)
It turned out that while my heart
belonged to Lucyra, the rest of my body belonged to the States Government.
ARMY AIRPLANE - NIGHT
With a buzz cut and paratrooper gear, Leonard squats with a
dozen other SOLDIERS. The noise of the ENGINES is deafening,
but Leonard is engrossed in an Asian phrasebook.
LEONARD (V.O.)
A hitch in the Army was up to three
years at that point, and having waited
three years just to meet Lucyra, I
knew I couldn't survive being away
from her that long. So I took every
hazardous assignment I could find,
with the hope of getting my time
down to less than a year.
The JUMP LEADER yells...
JUMP LEADER
GO! GO! GO!
One by one the men jump out, their chutes clipped to a main
line. When his time comes, Leonard leaps...
...but he's stuck. His cord is caught up in the assembly.
He twists and struggles, trying to free himself. Looking
down, he can see the white parachutes disappearing into the
darkness. They're already long gone.
Digging a knife out of his pocket,Leonard gets to work cutting
through the cable. It finally POPS. Leonard jumps from the
plane.
OUTSIDE STAGE - NIGHT
A THOUSAND CHINESE SOLDIERS sit, bored, watching the
equivalent of a U.S.O. show.
A CHINESE VENTRILOQUIST is on stage with his Communist puppet.
We have no idea what they're saying to each other, but every
act is fundamentally the same.
The EMCEE comes on to usher him off the stage before he's
finished. The Ventriloquist protests, but finally gives in.
The Emcee makes a "shoot him in the neck" motion to one of
the ARMED GUARDS off-stage.
HIGH ABOVE THE STAGE - NIGHT
We LOOK DOWN with Leonard, who is drifting right for the stage.
He can't steer. He's helpless.
But then,a BLAST of fireworks from the sides of the stage.
The lights go out as a DRUM ROLL 's just enough cover for Leonard to remain unseen.
He lands with a CLANG on the lighting catwalk above the stage.
He barely grabs on, disconnecting his chute just as the
curtain goes up. Leonard looks out at the sea of excited
soldiers. Every one of them would kill him. He's the legless
cricket left on the anthill.
ON STAGE
The curtain rises to reveal GEMI (27) at a microphone. She's
as gorgeous a woman as you'll ever see.
She stands with her hips turned in profile. Her body is a
knockout, dress cut to reveal skin. The soldiers are on their
feet, WHISTLING and HOLLERING.
UP ON THE CATWALK, Leonard is surprised by an ENEMY SOLDIER.
The two men begin to SCUFFLE.
MUSIC starts, a vampy torch song. Gemi sings melody while an
off-stage voice carries perfect harmony.
GEMI
Sometimes a girl can feel so alone
Without a lover to call her own.
Sometimes it's so bad, she wants to
explode.
Wants to grab the first man she sees
and tear off his clothes.
A ROAR from the soldiers. She knows what they want.
Still fighting, Leonard jumps for a pole on the far side of
the catwalk, sliding down it to end up
BACKSTAGE.
His determined opponent follows him down.
GEMI
But she won't.
No, she can't.
She needs a special special different
unusual man.
Because that girl,
Who looks like me,
She has wants, but she has needs.
GEMI
(speaking)
Any of you got needs?
The soldiers ROAR LOUDER, STOMPING on the bleachers.
Backstage, the two men are still fighting.
GEMI
(chorus)
I've had twice the adventure,
Cried double the tears.
Two times the bad times in half the
years.
I need a strong man, because I've
got
Twice the love to give.
For the first time, GEMI turns, and now we see why she was
standing in profile. Gemi is one-half of SIAMESE TWINS.
Her identical twin is MINI, who's been singing harmony all
this time. They are two separate women who join at the waist,
one set of perfect legs beneath them.
Leonard sees the twins from behind, does a double-take. It
costs him a punch to the jaw.
GEMI
Say hello, Mini.
MINI
Hello Gemi.
GEMI
(to the crowd)
I'm Gemi. She's Mini. She's the good one.
(closer)
I'm the bad one.
As the MUSIC builds towards the climax, Leonard finishes the
fight, knocking the guard out with a right hook.
As Gemi and Mini reach the last chorus, they strike a final
pose in the shape of a heart, their arms forming the arches,
their backs forming the curves.
Leonard slips behind curtains, trying to get away.
The soldiers are SHOUTING for an encore, lighters waving.
The curtain slowly lowers, revealing
LEONARD'S PARACHUTE.
The APPLAUSE dies, replaced by a concerned RUMBLE. The Emcee
yells for the Guards to search.
ON STAGE
Gemi has no idea what's happening. Mini reaches into her
cleavage to pull out her eyeglasses.
DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT
As ARMED GUARDS search the halls below the stage, Gemi and
Mini shut the door to their dressing room. At the closet,
they start to change outfits. Off-stage, their personalities
become quite apparent: Gemi is brash, bitchy and ambitious,
while Mini is quiet, sweet and bookish.
In Chinese, subtitled...
GEMI
How could you miss your cue? You
make me look like a fool, out there
alone.
MINI
You weren't alone.
Gemi HUFFS, turning her back on her sister.
Mini reaches deeper into the closet to find a new dress,
exposing Leonards hiding place. She GASPS. Gemi turns to
look.
GEMI
Who the hell are you?
LEONARD
(in Chinese)
I'm not going to hurt you.
GEMI
Damn right you're not.
(yelling)
GUARD!
Mini grabs her, a hand over her mouth, but it's too late. A
rifle-toting GUARD looks in.
Pretending to be her bitchy sister -
MINI
Tell your men not to bother us! And
lock that door!
The guard obeys. Gemi shakes her sister off. Desperately
flipping through his Asian phrasebook, he finds...
LEONARD
Please, I need your help.
GEMI
What makes you think we'll help you?
Leonard pulls a photo out of his flak jacket. It's Lucyra.
CROSSFADE TO-
LEONARD (V.O.)
Over the next hour, I described my love for Lucyra
Heart Templeton, and
the ordeal that brought me before
them. As it had always been, this love was my salvation. It was destined
to be.
Hearing the story, Mini wipes away a tear. Even Gemi is a
little affected.
LEONARD (V.O.)
We put together an elaborate plan
for escape, involving a whaling ship
to Russia, a barge to Cuba and a
small, dirty canoe to Miami. We all
knew it would be dangerous.
GEMI
And what are we supposed to do when
we get to America?
LEONARD
I can get you bookings. I know the
biggest man in show business.
MINI
Bob Hope?
LEONARD
Bigger.
TEMPLETON FAMILY HOUSE - DAY
Lucyra checks the mail, hoping for a letter from Leonard.
LEONARD (V.O.)
And so the twins and I began our
arduous journey halfway around the
world. Unfortunately, there was no
way to send a message back to America.
A black car pulls up. Two ARMY OFFICERS get out.
LEONARD (V.O.)
And so it was no surprise that the
Army believed I was dead.
Hearing the news, Lucyra CRIES OUT.
LUCYRA
No God.
She sobs and the pain of her shout
makes church bells THE TEMPLETON HOUSE - DAY
After a few months passes
Lucyra hangs sheets to dry on the clotheslines, forming a
tunnel of fabric.
LEONARD (V.O.)
After four months, Lucyra had gotten
over the worst of the nightmares.
When the phone rang, she didn't think
it was somehow me calling her. When
a car drove past, she didn't get up
to check out the window.
Pulling a dress out of the basket, Lucyra looks up to see
A MAN'S SILHOUETTE
on the sheet in front of her. She freezes, watching the shadow
ripple across the white fabric, blowing so softly in the
breeze. She knows it can't be him. He's dead.
She turns away. With all the strength she can gather, she
hangs up that dress and digs another one out of the basket.
Looking up, she sees not a shadow but Leonard himself standing
before her. She GASPS, disbelieving, but his hand is real as it softly touches her cheek.
It is destiny.
Without another moment's hesitation, he rubs her cheek as he puts his lip on hers and she kisses him.
Leo and Lucy shared their longed passion as the kiss deepens.
CROSSFADE TO BRIGHT SUNLIGHT
filters through soft sheets. We're under the covers, where a
man's hand traces the curves of a woman's bare back. A beat,
then she turns over in bed, revealing her to be
ASUKA.
She blinks slowly, just waking up. Leonel is watching her.
He's been up for a while.
LEONEL AND ASUKA ROOM - DAY
.At night,.where the couple stays cocooned under the sheets, a kind
of limbo. A kiss good morning. Legs entangling. Neither wants
to get up.
ASUKA
I talked with your father last night.
LEONEL
Did you?
A look to say, should I be worried?
ASUKA
You never told me how your parents
met.
LEONEL
They met at Auburn.
ASUKA
What about the details? How they
fell in love. The Circus. The War.
You never told me any of that.
LEONEL
That's because most of it never
happened.
ASUKA
But it's romantic.
(A beat.)
LEONEL
(non-committal)
Mmm.
ASUKA
Mmm, what?
LEONEL
Mmm, what. I know better than to
argue romance with a French woman.
He moves his head out from under the sheet. She follows him
to the "outside."
ASUKA
Do you love your father?
LEONEL
Everyone loves my father. He's a
very likeable guy.
ASUKA
(repeating)
Do you love him?
Leonel doesn't want to answer yes or no.
LEONEL
You have to understand. When I was
growing up, he was gone more than he
was here. And I started thinking -
maybe he has a second life somewhere
else. With another house, another
family. He leaves us, he goes to
them. Or maybe there is no family.
Maybe he never wanted a family. But whatever it is, maybe he likes that
second life better. And the reason
he tells all those stories is because
he can't stand this boring place.
ASUKA
But it's not true.
LEONEL
What is "true?" I've never heard my father say a single true thing.
Off her silence...
LEONEL
Look, I know why you like him. I
know why everyone likes him. But I need you to tell me I'm not crazy.
ASUKA
You're not.
LEONEL
I need you on my side.
ASUKA
I am always on your side. And I think
you should talk to him.
GUEST ROOM - DAY
The family finishes eating breakfast off TV trays set up
around the bed. For his part, Leonard is looking better.
Certainly not recovered, but there's an optimism to his
expression. And for the first time, he's actually hungry.
He watches as Lucyra puts the cap back on the syrup.
LEONARD
Did I ever tell you about how...
LEONEL
(interrupting)
Yes.
Leonard is startled.
LEONEL
The maple tree and the Buick. We
heard it.
LEONARD
(ASUKA )
I think someone hasn't.
ASUKA
The tree fell on the car, spilling
the syrup, which attracted the flies,
which got stuck to it and flew off
with the whole car.
A beat.
LEONARD
(undeterred)
But the real story is how I got the
car. You see...
LEONEL
(interrupting)
Dad?
LEONARD
Son?
LEONEL
Can we talk?
Lucyra SNAPS the cap back on the syrup.
LUCYRA
I'm going to get started on dishes.
ASUKA
I'll help you.
Both women quickly gather plates.
Leonel and Leonard both smile. The women clearly want this to
happen. It settles for a beat after they leave.
LEONEL
Do you know much about icebergs,
Dad?
LEONARD
Do I? I saw an iceberg once. They
were hauling it down to Texas for
drinking water, only they didn't
count on an elephant being frozen
inside. The woolly kind. A mammoth.
LEONEL
(interrupting)
Dad!
LEONARD
What?
LEONEL
I'm trying to make a metaphor here.
LEONARD
Then you shouldn't have started with
a question. Because people want to
answer questions. You should have
started with, "The thing about
icebergs is..."
LEONEL
(frustrated)
The thing about icebergs is you only
see 10 percent of them. The other 90
percent is below the water where you
can't see it. And that's what it is
with you Dad. I'm only seeing this
little bit that sticks above the
water.
LEONARD
(joking)
What, you're seeing down to my nose?
My chin?
LEONEL
I have no idea who you are because
you have never told me a single fact.
LEONARD
I've told you a thousand facts. That's
all I do, Leonel. I tell stories.
LEONEL
You tell lies, Dad. You tell amusing
lies. Stories are what you tell a
five-year old at bedtime. They're
not elaborate mythologies you maintain
when your son is ten and fifteen and
twenty and thirty. And the thing is,
I believed you. I believed your
stories so much longer than I should
have. And then when I realized that
everything you said was impossible -
everything! - I felt like such a
fool to have trusted you. You were
like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny
combined. Just as charming and just
as fake.
LEONARD
You think I'm fake.
LEONEL
Only on the surface. But that's all
I've ever seen.
LEONARD looks away, angry and disbelieving.
LEONEL
Dad, I'm about to have a kid of my
own here. It would kill me if he
went through his whole life never
understanding me.
LEONARD
It would kill you, huh?
Finally -
LEONARD
What do you want,Leonel? Who do you
want me to be?
LEONEL
Yourself. Good, bad, everything.
Just show me who you are for once.
LEONARD
I have been nothing but myself since
the day I was born. And if you can't
see that, it's your failing, not
mine.
BACKYARD - DAY
With a skimmer pole, Leonel cleans the leaves and debris out
of the pool, but it's a fool's errand. The pool has long
since gone native, a shiny slick of algae on the surface,
slime covering the cemented rocks.
Suddenly, an underwater shape RIPPLES against the water's
surface. Leonel is so startled that he drops the pole, which
disappears into the murky water.
A beat. He looks around, relieved that no one saw that. He
casually walks away.
BASEMENT STORAGE AREA - DAY
The doors open to reveal Lucyra, Leonel and Asuka, staring
into the mouth of oblivion. The storeroom is a museum of
hasty decisions and half-finished projects: partially built
outboard motors, dead bonsai trees, Frankensteinian
lawnmowers. We also find boxes of products Leonard used to
sell.
Clearing a path, Lucyra leads Leonel to a roll-top desk, its
ribs covered in dust. Two beaten metal file cabinets sit
beside it.
LUCYRA
Your father decided he needed to
have an office, and it wouldn't do
to have it in the house. You'll know
better than me what's important.
With some effort, Leonel forces up the desktop. With a HISS, a
neighbor's cat makes a run for it. Leonel's getting used to
being startled.
BASEMENT STORAGE AREA - DAY [LATER]
Leonel, Lucyra and Asuka have worked through two trash
bags of papers to throw out. Looking through a new file,
Lucyra makes a small sound. A memory.
LEONEL
What is it?
Lucyra hands Leonel a yellowed telegram. He shares it with
Asuka.
LUCYRA
It was during the war. Your father
went missing. They thought he was
dead.
Leonel can't believe what he's reading.
LEONEL
That really happened?
LUCYRA
Not everything your father says is a
complete fabrication.
A beat, then LUCYRA stands.
LUCYRA
I'm going to check on him.
ASUKA
I need to lie down for a bit.
LEONEL
Go.
Asuka kisses him, then follows Lucyra. Leonel re-reads the
telegram, still bewildered.
Looking for a place to put it, he tucks it into a strange
mechanical hand on the desk. It clamps down automatically.
Leonel smiles, a memory. He hasn't thought about this device
in years. We slowly PUSH IN on the telegram, held in the
hand.
Leonard's VOICE begins as a memory...
LEONARD (V.O.)
After the war, the sons of Alabama
returned home, looking for work.
Each had an advantage over me. They
were alive, while I was - officially -
deceased.
DOWNTOWN OFFICE - DAY [STORY]
Leonard shakes hands with his new boss, a TOUPEED MAN. The
company is called "Confederated Products." The OFFICE LADIES
all love Leonard.
LEONARD (V.O.)
With my prospects few, I took a job
as a travelling salesman. It suited
me. If there's one thing you can say
about Leonard Bloom, it's that I am a
social person.
COUNTY FAIR - DAY
On a low platform, Leonard pitches a brilliant new product to
the crowd.
LEONARD
I've travelled from Tennessee to
Timbuktu, and if there's one thing
people have in common, is we could
all use a hand around the house.
Leonard sets down a contraption, which looks something like a
metal lava lamp. Like a flower, it unfolds to reveal five
fingers and a thumb. This is the Hand Around the House.(TM)
LEONARD
Why, with this product you can...
QUICK MONTAGE as he demonstrates:
LEONARD
Open a jar. Open a letter. Scratch
yourself while wearing mittens. Hold
a book. Hold a baby. Hold the dog
away from kittens. It's strong enough,
you can do a handstand with no hands
at all.
Indeed, a remarkably agile Leonard is able to support his
entire weight on it. The crowd APPLAUDS.
LEONARD
You can use it to point out important
information. Or dangers. Or beautiful
women.
The hand points a finger at an HEAVYSET MAN IN OVERALLS.
LEONARD
We're still working on that one.
The crowd LAUGHS.
A COUNTRY ROAD - DAY
Leonard drives, his hand out in the wind.
LEONARD (V.O.)
Soon I added other products, and
other cities, until my territory
stretched from the coast to western
Texas.
TRAILER PARK - DAY
Leonard kisses his pregnant wife goodbye, as much in love as
ever.
LEONARD (V.O.)
I could be gone for weeks at a time.
But every other Friday, I'd put all
the money I'd made into an account
set aside for a proper house with a
white picket fence.
He waved his hand to his beloved from the outside of home as drove off in a car .
HORIZON SAVINGS LOAN - DAY
Establishing this Texas institution, then come...
HORIZON SAVINGS LOAN - DAY
The bank is busy with the lunch-hour crowd. Taking his place
in line, Leonard fills out a deposit slip.
As the line snakes around through the ropes, the man in front
of him gets a look at Leonard.
THE MAN
Leonard? Leonard Bloom?
The man is none other than...
HIBIKI WINSLOW
It's me. Hibiki Winslow.
LEONARD (V.O.)
I was astonished to see the greatest
poet of both Ashton and Spectre all
the way out in Texas.
The men shake, disbelieving this lucky coincidence.
LEONARD
I don't believe it!
HIBIKI WINSLOW
I want you to know, when you left
Spectre it opened my eyes. There was
a whole life out there that I was
not living. So I travelled. I saw
France, and Africa, half of South
America. Every day a new adventure,
that's my motto.
LEONARD
That's great, Hibiki. I'm happy for
you. I can't believe I helped.
He's genuinely proud.
LEONARD
So what are you up to now?
HIBIKI WINSLOW
I'm robbing this place.
Reaching the front of the line, Hibiki pulls two pistols
out of his coat, FIRING both into the ceiling.
SCREAMS all around. The skinny SECURITY GUARD makes a
halfhearted reach for his gun, but Hibiki waves him off.
The guard takes out his gun and slides it over.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
(to Leonard)
Would you mind grabbing that?
There's nothing threatening about his delivery - he might
as well be asking for a Budweiser. Still, Leonard senses it
would be best to do as he says. He takes the guard's gun.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
(to the crowd)
Now, I want all of you to lie down.
I'm gonna be cleaning out the cash
drawers, and my associate here is
going to handle the vault.
(pointing to a Teller
Woman)
You help my friend, okay?
The TELLER WOMAN nods.
Leonard, not sure what to do.
He has a gun, but he
truly doesn't want to shoot Hibiki. The Teller Woman is
already waving him to the back.
He decides he better go.
AT THE VAULT - DAY
The Teller Woman is crying as she works the combination.
Leonard feels horrible.
LEONARD
Look, I'm really sorry. I just don't
want anybody to get hurt.
TELLER WOMAN
It's not that, it's just...
She pulls open the vault door.
THE VAULT - DAY
The inner sanctum of the Horizon Savings and Loan holds
exactly one folding chair. Nothing else.
TELLER WOMAN
...there's no money. We're completely
bankrupt.
LEONARD (V.O.)
It turned out the savings and loan
had already been robbed - not by
armed bandits, but by speculators in
Texas real estate.
TELLER WOMAN
(dead serious)
You gotta promise you won't tell
anybody.
:
LEONARD'S CAR - DAY
Leonard drives the getaway car, though truthfully they're
going just a little over the speed limit. No one's following
them. It's an empty country road for miles.
Hibiki HOLLERS with body-tingling joy as he counts the money.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
Sixty. Eighty. Four hundred dollars!
Not bad for just the drawers. Let's
see what you got from the vault.
Leonard winces, but doesn't say anything yet. Digging through
the vault bag, Hibiki is surprised to find only a single
deposit envelope. He rips it open, revealing just a little
cash inside. Even some dimes and pennies.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
This is it? The whole vault.
LEONARD
'Fraid so.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
Leonard, it's got your deposit slip
on it.
Caught, Leonard has to confess...
LEONARD
Look, I just didn't want you to go
empty-handed. There's something you
should know, Hibiki. You see, the
reason why...
Leonard continues his narration...
LEONARD (V.O.)
I told Hibiki about the vagaries of
Texas oil money and its effect on
real estate prices, and how lax
enforcement of fiduciary process had
made savings and loans particularly
vulnerable.
Hearing this news, Hibiki was left with one conclusion:
TEXAS ROAD - DAY
Hibiki leans in the driver's side window.
HIBIKI WINSLOW
I should go to Wall Street. That's
where all the money is.
Leonard looks over at Hibiki , the reality sinking in.
LEONARD (V.O.)
I knew then that while my days as a
criminal were over, Hibiki's were
just beginning.
The two men wave at each other as Leonard drives off. At the
last moment, Hibiki calls out:
HIBIKI WINSLOW
Leonard, thank you for the hand!
He's talking about his Hand Around the House. And
Hibiki for a beat, dreaming of his future.
LEONARD (V.O.)
When Hibiki made his first million
dollars, he sent me a check for ten
thousand. I protested, but he said
it was my fee as his career advisor.