American Splendor Page #15

CLOSE ON AN AMERICAN SPLENDOR COMIC

The cover depicts a snarling LETTERMAN yelling, “YOU F***ED

UP A GREAT THING!” at a smirking, self-satisfied HARVEY.

JOYCE lies in bed reading the comic, chuckling. HARVEY

cuddles up against her.

JOYCE:

I guess you did it this time.

84.

HARVEY:

Who cares. He wasn’t helpin’ my

sales anyway.

(moving closer)

Baby, don’t go away anymore. I

just can’t take bein’ alone.

Joyce puts the magazine down.

JOYCE:

If you met those kids over there

and saw what they go through, you

wouldn’t ask that of me.

HARVEY:

But if you go again I’m really

gonna lose it.

JOYCE:

It’s not open for discussion,

Harvey. I need this in my life

right now.

She cuddles up close to him.

JOYCE (cont’d)

But I do appreciate the fact that

you missed me so much. C’mere ...

She starts to kiss him. He kisses her back. Her hands

wander down. Suddenly she feels something strange.

JOYCE (cont’d)

Harvey, what is that?

Harvey looks at her and gulps.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - 1980’S - DAY

HARVEY and JOYCE sit in the office holding hands, like two

terrified high school kids. A DOCTOR stands before them.

They just got bad news ...

JOYCE:

I don’t understand, does “tumor”

mean the same thing as “cancer”?

The doctor gently nods.

85.

Joyce covers her mouth. Harvey holds onto his head. He

looks positively dizzy.

.

The doctor starts to talk, yet the words don’t seem to match

his mouth. He looks dubbed. Strange phrases just weave

together, echo and bounce off the wall, making no sense at

all.

... we know the growth is malignant. What we don’t know is

how far it may have spread. Once we have the results of the

biopsy, we can make more informed decisions about treatment

... blah, blah, blah ...

The whole office seems to spin.

CUT TO:

INT. HARVEY’S APARTMENT - 1980’S - LATER

Joyce and Harvey sit on the stoop of their apartment house,

in a daze. The words keep echoing around them. Harvey holds

his head.

DOCTOR #2

... cat scan ... diagnosis ... MRI

... cancer ... cancer ... cancer

...

HARVEY:

How can I have cancer? I don’t

feel sick at all.

JOYCE:

That’s a positive thing.

HARVEY:

My cousin Norman died of lymphoma.

He was twenty-nine. He was a

brilliant oncologist.

JOYCE:

Stop it! You’re not going to die,

Harvey. You’re not.

Harvey turns to Joyce.

HARVEY:

What’s going to happen to you,

baby? Who’s gonna take care of you

if I’m not around?

Joyce stands up, determined.

86.

JOYCE:

Harvey, look at me and focus. We

are going to get through this. I

understand illness. I know how to

handle these things.

HARVEY:

But that’s you. I’m not strong

enough. I don’t know how ta be

positive. I can’t do it. I can’t.

JOYCE:

Yes, you can. And I’ll tell you

how. You’ll make a comic book out

of the whole thing. You’ll

document every little detail. And

that way you’ll remove yourself

from the experience until it’s

over.

Despite Joyce’s passionate pitch, Harvey shakes his head.

.

HARVEY:

I can’t do that. I’m just not

strong enough... I just wanna die.

Joyce folds her arm.

JOYCE:

Fine. I’ll do it without you.

INT. HARVEY’S BEDROOM - 1980’S - DAY

HARVEY and JOYCE lay there quietly, both exhausted. Joyce

turns over so her back faces Harvey. He puts his arm around

her.

ANGLE ON JOYCE’S FACE

A tear drips down her cheek.

CUT TO:

INT. HARVEY’S APARTMENT - 1980’S - DAY

Joyce is straightening up the apartment. The place actually

looks halfway decent.

THE DOORBELL RINGS

87.

Joyce opens the door. A guy in his 30’s named FRED -- Hells

Angels tough guy meets sensitive artist -- stands at the

door. He’s accompanied by a seven-year-old girl, DANIELLE.

FRED:

Hey, I’m Fred. You called me about

the comic book?

JOYCE:

Right -- the artist. Come on in.

FRED:

This is my daughter, Danielle. I

had to bring her along. I hope you

don’t mind.

Joyce leans down and addresses the girl, who holds a toy

horse.

JOYCE:

Hi, Danielle. What’s that you’re

holding?

DANIELLE:

A pony.

It’s immediately obvious that Joyce is great with kids.

JOYCE:

A pony? What’s his name?

DANIELLE:

She’s a girl. Clarissa.

JOYCE:

Oh, I see. Well, I’m Joyce. Nice

to meet both you and Clarissa.

They all walk towards the table which is covered with papers.

FRED:

I’m really sorry to hear about

Harvey. Is he here?

JOYCE:

He’s going to work until next week,

when he starts the chemo. That’s

why I wanna get this project

started now. Once he’s stuck here,

I know he’ll take over.

CUT TO:

88.

EXT. HARVEY’S APARTMENT - 1980’S - LATER

Miserable and in a daze, HARVEY walks up to his front door.

He looks like a man whose days are numbered. When he reaches

the door, he searches his pockets for keys.

.

ANGLE ON POCKET:

Harvey’s hand comes up empty.

HARVEY:

Sh*t!

Harvey tries the doorknob, but it’s locked.

He steps back on the lawn and looks around. Could he have

dropped them? He retraces a few steps.

HARVEY (cont’d)

Damnit!

Harvey yells up at the window.

HARVEY (cont’d)

Joyce, open the door! I lost my

keys again! Joyce!!

ANGLE ON FRONT DOOR

HARVEY’S ELDERLY NEIGHBOR struggles with her shopping cart

through the door.

Harvey pushes past her to get in.

INT. HARVEY’S APARTMENT VESTIBULE

Harvey knocks again. Nothing. Now he punches the door.

HARVEY:

Joyce!! Open the f***ing door!!

Suddenly the door opens. Loud music pours out. But it’s not

Joyce, it’s FRED, the artist.

FRED:

Hey, Harvey.

HARVEY:

Fred?

Harvey just stares at him. Fred opens the door to reveal:

89.

JOYCE and DANIELLE dancing together with the stereo blasting.

They’re having a ball.

CUT TO:

INT. HARVEY’S APARTMENT - 1980’S - DAY

At the kitchen table, HARVEY looks over FRED’S sketches.

JOYCE and DANIELLE are now building a house of cards on the

living room floor.

FRED:

Here are some ideas we batted

around.

HARVEY:

Sheesh. Joyce doesn’t know what

she’s doing. There’s too many

words in these frames. When are ya

comin’ back?

FRED:

Uh, she said something about next

Tuesday, which is fine with me.

Only thing is, I might have the kid

again. My ex-wife’s supposed to

take her, but I don’t have much

faith in her showing up. She is in

worse shape than me these days.

Harvey looks away at Joyce and Danielle playing.

oblivious to the world.

They’re

HARVEY:

Next week my treatment begins. Do

me a favor. Bring the kid with

you.

CUT TO:

CLOSE UP:
A PENCIL SKETCHING

FRED’S PENCIL completes a sketch of Joyce pushing Harvey in a

wheelchair. The word “cancer” appears everywhere, floating

all around the image.

COMIC ART / REAL LIFE MONTAGE

The following montage chronicles Harvey’s illness by cutting

between comic art depicting key events and shots of HARVEY,

JOYCE and FRED creating the book.

90.

The montage is set to the simultaneously dulcet and

discordant tone of Miles Davis’ “Blue in Green” (or something

similar).

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