A Bucket of Blood Page #10

WALTER:

Better!

Carla gets up -

CARLA:

Come on!

Maxwell claps his hands twice, not getting up -

MAXWELL:

All hands!

Cuff and Link follow Carla -

DISSOLVE TO:

INT CARLA'S APARTMENT - DAY

Walter, Cuff, and Link carry an OBJECT covered by a sheet - Maxwell

watches -

LINK:

Man this is heavy!

CUFF:

Yeah what's this, Murdered Elephant?

MAXWELL:

Put it in the middle of the room!

CARLA:

When did you make this, Walter?

WALTER:

Uh, last night. It doesn't take me

very long.

The men put the object down, out of breath -

CUFF:

Well let's see it, man!

Walter undoes a string and lifts off the sheet to reveal -

ALICE, naked and seated in a chair, clutching at a scarf around her

throat -

Everyone stares at it in awe -

CARLA:

Walter...I can't believe it.

MAXWELL:

I'm honored to know this man.

WALTER:

So you think it's nice?

LINK:

Man, she's beautiful.

WALTER:

(to Carla)

You think she's better than Murdered

Man?

CARLA:

Well I can't say that Walter! She's

incomparable. They're both great.

MAXWELL:

I'm...moved. I'm moved to write

about this!

(Beat)

Tonight, at the Jabberjaw, I will

recite a new poem, and we'll

celebrate in your honor!

Maxwell puts his hand on Walter' shoulder -

Carla then kisses Walter, a peck on the lips - Walter is

flabbergasted -

INT JABBERJAW - NIGHT

A LOUD BAND wraps up a song, and the singer CRASHES into the drum

set - people applaud -

Walter sits in a big wooden chair with a paper CROWN on his head and

a paper STAR on his lapel, looking a little tipsy - in one hand is a

GOBLET, in the other a PLUNGER -

Art and a new UNDERCOVER COP stand at the entrance of the club -

ART:

Alright, let's split up and keep

a low profile. You hear anything,

you let me know.

The undercover cop nods, and heads off -

ART:

I'm going to get to the bottom

of this...

Carla approaches Walter with a bottle of CHAMPAGNE -

CARLA:

More champagne, your majesty?

WALTER:

Here here...

Carla pours some into the goblet -

CARLA:

Where where...

WALTER:

There there...

The goblet overflows -

WALTER:

That's good...

Carla sits down next to Walter on the edge of the stage - Walter

leans over to her with a drunken smile on his face -

WALTER:

May I please have another little

kiss?

CARLA:

Walter! Jeez!

WALTER:

(smile fades)

Sorry...

Carla laughs - Walter smiles again and Carla puts her head against

his arm -

Leonard surveys the crowd from another part of the room -

Maxwell then heads to the stage where Walter is sitting and raises

his hands -

Scattered applause erupts -

MAXWELL:

Order! Order!

The crowd quiets down as Maxwell puts his hand on Walter's shoulder

-

MAXWELL:

Walter...

(booming voice)

The bird that flies now pays

later through the nose of

ambidextrous apathy -

Walter strains to understand -

MAXWELL:

Necrophiles may dance upon the

placemats in an orgy of

togetherness -

Walter looks around the room as Maxwell gathers steam -

MAXWELL:

The highway of life cuts sharply

through the shady ghettos and the

ivy-covered tombs, and laughter

rains from every capsule in the

star-spangled firmament -

Cuff, Link, and Mayolia listen from an adjacent table -

MAXWELL(O.S.)

And in the deep freeze it is the

children's hour -

Maxwell punches holes in the air with his finger -

MAXWELL:

And no one knows that Duncan is

murdered and no one knows that

Walter Paisley is born -

Maxwell slaps his hand on Walter's shoulder, spilling some of

Walter's champagne - Walter smiles and looks at Maxwell through his

drunken haze -

MAXWELL:

(getting louder)

Duncan knows...Tuesday sunrise

knows...alley cats and garbage cans

and satellite dishes, and you and I,

and the nude descending the staircase,

and all such things with souls, we

shall hear that Walter Paisley is born!

Walter looks at Maxwell with a half-smile, completely lost -

MAXWELL:

(loud)

Ring rubber bells! Beat cotton

gongs! Strike silken cymbals! Play

leather flutes -

Leonard listens with a blank expression on his face -

Art slouches at a table and looks at Maxwell like he's a jerk - he

shifts, unable to take much more of this -

MAXWELL(O.S.)

The cats and cans and you and I

and all such things with souls,

we shall hear that Walter Paisley

is born!

Maxwell raises his clenched fists -

MAXWELL:

And the soul become flesh - Walter

Paisley is born!

Maxwell stands back - people applaud, and Maxwell bows his head and

leaves the stage -

Cuff claps enthusiastically - Link slouches behind him, half-

clapping - Mayolia seems too moved to clap -

CUFF:

That was cool, man, that was cool.

MAYOLIA:

That was the greatest rap I ever

heard!

CUFF:

It sent me.

Cuff then turns to Link -

CUFF:

What did he say?

LINK:

Didn't you hear him?

CUFF:

No man I'm on my own plane.

Walter sits onstage by himself, still holding his plunger -

Maxwell sits down at a table with Charlie and two attractive girls -

CHARLIE:

Maxwell that was magnificent.

Maxwell slugs back the rest of his champagne -

1ST PRETTY GIRL

You're really...eloquent.

Maxwell clunks the glass on the table -

MAXWELL:

Walter deserves every word of it!

1ST PRETTY GIRL

Makes me so glad I'm aware.

Maxwell puts his hand over the girl's hand -

Carla approaches Walter, who reels a bit in the chair - he has a sad

look on his face -

WALTER:

Did you hear what he said?

CARLA:

Yes Walter.

WALTER:

All about me...

Carla nods and smiles -

WALTER:

It's true, isn't it?

CARLA:

Every word...

Walter slowly smiles -

DISSOLVE TO:

INT JABBERJAW - NIGHT

The crowd has thinned out, people are leaving -

Walter polishes off the dregs of a bottle of champagne as Leonard

watches him -

LEONARD:

You better hold off on the

bubbly.

WALTER:

Yeah, why?

LEONARD:

You might talk too much.

WALTER:

Yeah and what would I say?

MAXWELL(O.S.)

Are you two grinders ignoring us?

Walter staggers over toward Maxwell, who is sitting with Carla,

Charlie, and the two attractive girls -

WALTER:

Oh not me Maxwell, I wouldn't

ignore you.

He puts his hand on Maxwell's shoulder -

WALTER:

I know what it is to be ignored.

CARLA:

Tell us what you're going to

make next, Walter.

WALTER:

(reeling)

I'm gonna make the most wildest

wittiest things you ever seen...

gonna make big statues and li'l

statues, tall statues n' short

statues...

Walter takes his crown off -

WALTER:

I'm gonna make statues of nobodies

and statues of famous people, statues

of actors -

(looking at Maxwell)

and poets...and people who sell things

on television...and a statue of the

mayor, and some rock singers and

their instrument friends...

The group listens to Walter -

WALTER:

An' everyone will say Walter let

me shake your hand...it's a real

pleasure to have known you...

MAXWELL:

(applauding)

Here here!

The group claps -

Leonard watches in the background as Walter polishes off his glass -

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT STREET - NIGHT

Walter staggers down the street -

WALTER:

Alley cats and garbage cans...they

know that Walter Paisley is born...

Walter removes the star from his lapel and continues to stagger down

the street -

WALTER:

Ring rubber bells, beat cotton

gongs, strike silken cymbals...

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