What Just Happened? (23 page)

Still 1:
From left to right: Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, John Turturro, and Stanley Tucci.

Still 3:
Robert De Niro and Michael Wincott.

Still 4:
Robert De Niro and Robin Wright Penn.

Still 5:
Bruce Willis and Robert De Niro.

Still 6:
Robert De Niro and Art Linson.

Fade in:

INT. BEN'S APT/BATHROOM

MONDAY

SUPER
: 6:30
PM

A VERY TIGHT SHOT REVEALS two hands positioning a clear plastic tray on a firm counter. The right hand reaches for a small tube and squeezes a white line of goo into the tray followed by another tube which spurts a long orangy goo next to it. A small brush begins to rapidly mix the two substances until the whole mess turns a deep purplish brown
.

TIGHT ANGLE ON MAN'S CHEEK. The right hand is carefully spreading the goo on a five-day growth of graying whiskers. Almost instantly, the gray starts to disappear, turning a purplish brown
.

The phone rings. He lets it go. The answering machine intercepts the call
.

A
NSWERING MACHINE-BEN'S VOICE
: Hello?

A pause forces the caller to talk to the machine thinking Ben is actually on the phone
.

A
NSWERING MACHINE-BEN'S VOICE
: Please leave me a message … BEEP.

M
AN'S VOICE
: That fucking message. It's Scott. Did you read my pages? Of course not. You're probably off to your test screening.

As the camera slowly pulls back, we see Ben counting to himself as he studies himself in the mirror. Despite the fact that years of anxiety have taken it's toll on Ben's face as well as his hairline, Ben seems rather pleased with the dye job in progress
.

B
EN
: (
quietly to himself
) Eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five, eighty-six …

It's time to rinse the stuff out.

M
AN'S VOICE
: (
cont'd
) Don't worry a test screening is just a ‘number.' No one really cares about a ‘number.' Just a matter of life or a slow rotting death. Nothing more hah … (
click
).

ANGLE ON BARE FEET standing next to a shower drain. Water is cascading down his legs as the brown residue washes away
.

Cut to:

INT. CINEPLEX THEATER—NIGHT

SUPER
: 10:00
PM

ON A LARGE MOVIE SCREEN WE SEE a grainy shot of a man, who looks like Sean Penn, climbing up a high hill. When he reaches the top a shot rings out hitting him in the chest. He topples down in a grim heap. Three men approach, guns in hand. Almost lifeless, he refuses to give in. A smallish dog loyally stands next to him
.

S
EAN
: I'm not going to beg.

The three men, casually standing near a car just across the road, impassively eye Sean's struggle
.

ANGLE ON A SHOT OF BEN seated in the back of the theater. His eyes strain to remain expressionless as he intently watches the packed preview audience watch the screen
.

ANGLE ON the screen
.

S
EAN
: You think it's me I care about? It's you I'm concerned with. It's your salvation … ‘Father forgive them, they know not what
they
do.'

TIGHT SHOT OF ANOTHER MAN three seats down the row from Ben, a slick looking Middle Eastern type, Johnny, with a young girl poured into tight black leather clothes on one side and a young ‘hip' looking guy in jeans on the other. Johnny is smiling at the screen as if he were watching a comedy. English is clearly his second language
.

ON THE SCREEN THE GUNMAN points his gun at Sean. The dog barks like mad. He turns his gun on the dog
.

ANGLE ON the screen
—

S
EAN
: No.

ANGLE ON BEN
.

B
EN
: No.

ANGLE ON the screen—THE GUNMAN FIRES, hitting the dog in the head. The dog drops
.

ANGLE ON BEN—He glances imperceptibly to his right, to his left, trying to assess the damage to those seated in his row. He's seen this scene before
.

ANGLE ON THE SCREEN. The large man with the gun shoots Sean three more times. Sean dies. The men casually walk away as the road turns red with blood. Then the image on the screen fades, and the interior lights of the movie theater are abruptly raised. The unfinished film has yet to add the credits
.

ANGLE ON THE CROWDED AUDIENCE. Except for a few people who offer some scattered applause or serve up a few groans, the rest of the preview audience remains silent, reflective and in pain. Actually, they seem to be in a collective state of STUPEFIED HORROR
.

ANGLE ON BEN. His face is now frozen. His eyes don't blink
.

ANGLE ON a few business people in the back row, STUDIO PEOPLE. They start to get up slowly and make their way out into the lobby. Whatever their reactions are, they're not going to reveal them yet
.

Seated next to Ben is Dawn, late twenties, looking every bit the brainy and ambitious development girl. She leans forward and pats Ben on the shoulder, offering comfort. Johnny sits back composed, seemingly unaware that things might not be going so well
.

ANGLE ON THE POLLSTER, unctuous, hurried, determined to do his job no matter what. He comes down the aisle with a box of cards
—

P
OLLSTER
: How about that, ladies and gentlemen? Huh!! We're going to ask you to remain in your seats while we pass out these cards. We greatly appreciate your taking the time to give us your thoughts—you're all very much a part of the filmmaking process and we value whatever it is you have to say.

Many start to leave, ignoring the Pollster
—

Ben watches them leave, waits a beat, then gets up and starts in the opposite direction
—

P
OLLSTER
: Keep in mind that this is a test screening—there are still technical issues that'll be improved in postproduction. Since this
is
a work in progress, your comments are of great significance.

INT. THEATER LOBBY—NIGHT

Various groupings—studio people, agents, managers—having conversations, making dinner plans, etc. Thin lipped smiles pasted on each face as they await the ‘preview numbers.' People gesture to Ben and pantomime that they'll be calling him later. Ben nods
.

Ben's young assistant, Carl, a ‘filmie,' comes over
—

C
ARL
: Hey, so when they're done in there you want me to put the cards and the numbers in your car?

B
EN
: You can, but you know how I feel, I don't really pay much attention to the numbers.

C
ARL
: You don't think they're relevant?

B
EN
: Who knows, Carl, we're here to lead.

C
ARL
: Right. Sure.

Ben tunes out and keeps moving through the lobby
.

C
ARL
: Hey, I noticed right before Sean Penn gets killed some of those shots were taken straight out of the
Third Man
. So cool. You know the way the dog winds between his legs. It's the same thing with Harry Lyme and the cat. It's an homage but he's also building upon what Carol Reed has already done—

B
EN
: Tell me this later.

C
ARL
: Okay.

Ben tries to duck in the bathroom. Coming out of the bathroom is Johnny with his hip friend. Ben is given a big bear hug. His face is shoved in Johnny's chest
.

J
OHNNY
: (
thick Israeli accent
) Thank you for allowing me to be part of this. Fantastic! Big foreign upside.

He finally lets go of Ben, who returns an awkward smile. He speaks in Hebrew with another man, then turns to Ben
.

J
OHNNY
: Ben, I'd like to introduce you to Jimmy.

They shake. Johnny whispers in Ben's ear
.

J
OHNNY
: He wants to invest in the next one.

B
EN
: That's good. Where did he get his money?

J
OHNNY
: Hair.

B
EN
: Oh, hair.

J
OHNNY
: He has more than seventy shops.

B
EN
: Johnny, that's very good to know. I'm going to think about that.

INT. CINEPLEX MEN'S ROOM

As Ben comes out of the stall he overhears two men discussing the movie. He ducks behind a wall. One man, Dick Bell, is an agent whose smartly dapper manner camouflages his sweaty desperation. The other guy is in marketing
.

S
TUDIO MARKETING GUY
: Whoa! That thing fell off the screen.

D
ICK
B
ELL
: I thought the girl was very, very, very good, didn't you?

Ben hesitates, stays in the stall
.

S
TUDIO MARKETING GUY
: Please. Blood. Body parts. Heartbreaking sadness. How am I supposed to sell this thing?

D
ICK
B
ELL
: Let's be positive. This could be the year for ‘
grief
.'

S
TUDIO MARKETING GUY
: Grief for whom? They shot the fucking dog in the fucking head!

Ben decides to show himself. An awkward moment. Ben confidently walks to the basin
.

S
TUDIO MARKETING GUY
: Hey, Ben.

B
EN
: Good to see you, Bob.

Slightly embarrassed, Bob leaves. Dick stays
.

B
EN
: Dick, what are you doing here?

D
ICK
B
ELL
: I represent the girl. She's going to be a star.