Basquiat Page #3

CHRIS:

What? Wait a minute... talk to me.

BASQUIAT:

(about to sob)

Life doesn't... make... sense. This city's

k-killing me. I want my liquid hijack

Marlboros!

CHRIS:

What? Life's beautiful. Depression isn't

permanent. Don't you believe that?

(pause)

What is it – did your girlfriend leave

you?

BASQUIAT:

No! I have a boyfriend. He loves me.

Jean spies an electric pencil sharpener and plugs it in.

CHRIS:

You see? You have someone to live for.

BASQUIAT:

No, I don't. I'm alone. We all are.

Especially here. The world's unjust. The

respect fools get. The disrespect I get.

CHRIS:

What is it you want? Respect? I have

respect for you, just for making this

call. One philosopher said "Sadness is a

sin against the richness of the world."

Think about it. Feel it.

BASQUIAT:

You don't even know me. I want real

respect.

He jams a pencil into the electric sharpener and holds the

receiver right next to it, giving the guy an earful:

RRRRKKKKKKK!!!

ANGLE ON:

CLOSE UP – A speaker. It fills the screen.

We continue to hear:

CHRIS (O.S.)

(beat)

What? What do you want?

BASQUIAT:

(breaking loose)

Fame. My liquid hijack Marlboros and the

moon and the cow that jumped over it.

CAMERA PULLS BACK FROM SPEAKER TO REVEAL:

INT. MUDD CLUB – HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Jean and Benny are on stage with two other GUYS, members of the

band Gray. Everyone but Jean is dressed in some sort of Halloween

costume.

We HEAR the words "Boom, for real" blasting from the P.A. system.

What follows is a continuation, a collage of words from Jean's

"suicide hotline" call –

P.A.

One philosopher said "Give me my liquid

hijack Marlboros. Life's beautiful. You

have someone to live for. What do you

want? RKKKK! That's a beautiful name...

French?

Jean sits in a chair onstage with his band members. Benny plays

the organ. The other band members play percussion and guitar.

It works. The crowd loves it.

The song ends abruptly.

We begin to hear James Brown's "Sex Machine."

Jean looks out into the crowd and notices Gina. She's looking

right back at him from the bar. Pleased to see her face, he says

to himself –

BASQUIAT:

Boom, for real.

We see him walk offstage into the crowd. They meet.

BASQUIAT (CONT'D)

I thought you hated this place?

GINA:

I do.

(beat)

I just said that. I was never here before.

I actually like it.

MUSIC segues into PIL's "Public Image".

BASQUIAT:

Let's get out of here.

He leads her towards the exit. They step out of the club.

EXT. MUDD CLUB – NIGHT

HIGH, WIDE ANGLE

It's raining heavily. Jean motions for Gina to wait under the

entrance. He tries to hail a cab... And another. And another.

A parade of them passes, but each time they slow down, they get a

glimpse of Jean and drive off.

Finally, Gina steps out of the entrance. She raises her hand, and

a car pulls over instantly.

INT. CAB – NIGHT

They scurry into the backseat.

The cab pulls off.

EXT. CHINESE RESTAURANT – NIGHT

Through a steamy, rain-wet window, we see Jean and Gina seated at

a table, dining.

They seem to be having a nice time.

INT. GINA'S APARTMENT – NEXT MORNING

Gina lays in bed. Daylight streams into the apartment. Jackhammers

RATTLE outside. (Music: REGGAE SONG – Errol Scorcher's "Cockroach

in de Corner.")

EXTREME CLOSEUP:

A cockroach crawls from Gina's bedroom across the floor and into

the kitchen where Jean sits naked on the floor, working on a

drawing. It crawls over his drawing towards a cardboard box.

Jean rummages through a cabinet. He finds a can of bugspray. Jean

tears off a side of the box. With cardboard in one hand and

bugspray in the other, he forgets the cockroach.

He's mesmerized by the list of ingredients on the aerosol can.

Someone POUNDS furiously at the door.

Ignoring the pounding, he starts listing the ingredients on the

piece of cardboard, finishing his new drawing by including a

symbol of a cockroach to the left of the list.

LANDLADY:

Miss Cardinale... Open up for me, please!

He gets up and peeks through the security hole. He sees a middle-

aged Hispanic woman reaching to unlock the door. He opens it.

LANDLADY (CONT'D)

Ohhh, Dios mio!

She stares at him levelly.

LANDLADY (CONT'D)

I just want the rent.

BASQUIAT:

Why didn't you say so? Damn! She's asleep!

Jean draws on a piece of paper on the counter next to him. He

hands it to the landlady. It's a a little shack with a big head

next to it that says "'Here' For Rent."

The landlady looks at him like he's crazy. She balls up the

drawing and puts it in her pocket.

Gina arrives in the doorway, wearing a robe. The landlady's

trapped between them.

GINA:

(to Jean)

What're you doing?

The landlady wags her finger at Gina.

LANDLADY:

Next Monday.

Gina and Jean look amused as they watch her leave.

BASQUIAT:

Wanna go get some breakfast?

GINA:

A friend of mine offered me a job doing a

little work installing a show in a

gallery. He's an electrician. I was

supposed to be there an hour ago.

She looks at the bugspray drawing on the floor.

GINA (CONT'D)

Ohh, that's nice.

Jean kisses her neck as she looks at the drawing.

We HOLD on the drawing.

INT. MARY BOONE GALLERY – DAY

White dust sprinkles down onto Jean's face from the ceiling.

Unable to use his hands, he tries to blow the dust out of his

eyes...

His boss, GREG, a mild-mannered hippie electrician, works above

him on the ladder. Jean steadies the ladder. Greg's head is out of

frame.

The gallery is an impressive space under preparations for an

opening.

GREG:

Jean, could you get me a Phillips

screwdriver?

BASQUIAT:

A what?

GREG:

A Phillips head. From the toolbox.

BASQUIAT:

Yeah.

Jean searches through the toolbox. He picks up a screwdriver and

reads the handle: "CRAFTSMAN"

BASQUIAT (CONT'D)

'Phillips head,' right?

GREG:

Yeah.

Jean shakes his head and puts it back. He tries a couple more –

they each say "CRAFTSMAN." He puts them back.

Finally, he finds one with a different handle. It says "G.S.C.

2000."

BASQUIAT:

You don't have any!!!

GREG:

That's impossible. I've got, like, five of

'em!

He comes down off the ladder.

GREG (CONT'D)

You're holding one in your hand!!!

(beat)

You've never done this kind of work

before, have you?

(demonstrating)

See, this is a regular screwdriver, and

this is a Phillips head. The cross

thing... I'll tell you later what all the

tools are so you'll know.

A GROUP of people arrives.

Albert Milo comes into view, tailed closely by Rene Ricard and

MARY BOONE – well dressed, petite, intense, 30. Milo, (also about

30), wears casual clothes splattered with paint. Mary Boone is

engaged in conversation with Milo. Rene chatters away.

Greg climbs back up the ladder. He holds a piece of wire down to

Jean. Jean stares at the group while trying to be invisible.

RENE:

I need to make a call, Mary. You don't

mind, do you?

MARY BOONE:

Certainly not. You can use my line.

Rene picks up the phone.

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