Being John Malkovich Page #18

Lotte appears in the back of the theater, an out-of-breath

figure in shadows. It is too late. She runs from the

theater.

CUT TO:

INT. BACKSTAGE - CONTINUOUS

Maxine watches, somewhat amused. She turns and heads for

the exit.

CUT TO:

EXT. NEW JERSEY TUNPIKE - NIGHT

A dejected Craig walks along the shoulder. He is wet and

cold. We hold on him for a long while until he eventually

merges with the landscape.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

EXT. MANHATTAN STREET - DAY

CHYRON:
LATER THAT WEEK

Something is wrong. It's a typical midtown street, but

everything is painted gray: the buildings, the streets,

the sidewalks, the cars. People walk along the streets,

carrying gray briefcases, wearing gray jumpsuits. Nobody

talks, nobody smiles. Gray birds fly silently in the sky.

There is no noise whatsoever. There are several movie

theaters on the block. All marquees advertise John Malkovich

movies. Around the corner comes Malkovich. He is floating

about ten feet off the ground on an enormous, bright red,

jeweled throne. He wears a gold crown and purple silk robe

and smiles condescendingly, majestically. Floris sits on his

lap. She is dressed in an orange satin gown. Nobody on the

street looks up.

MALKOVICH:

(fifty voices)

Greetings, my lowly subjects.

FLORIS:

Great things, my lonely subtext?

MALKOVICH:

(rolls his eyes)

Boy, be careful what you wish for.

(to Floris)

Never mind, dear. Just enjoy the ride,

will you?

Floris shrugs, picks at her finger nails.

MALKOVICH (CONT'D)

(to the people on the street)

I am bored. You will dance for your

king now.

Without pause the entire street of gray clad people breaks

into a meticulously choreographed production number. Totally

silent, totally joyless, but exquisitely executed. We see

that Maxine is one of the anonymous dancers. Her face is

void of expression. Malkovich laughs.

MALKOVICH (CONT'D)

Faster! Faster, my little trained

monkeys!

The crowd dances faster and faster. Older people fall over,

exhausted, clutching their hearts. Nobody stops dancing to

help, nobody dares.

CUT TO:

EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY

Bird's eye view of the park. It's all painted gray. Every

tree, every leaf. There's no sign of life. The camera moves

in, through some gray trees and gray brush to:

A LUSH GREEN OASIS CAMOUFLAGED ON THE TOP AND SIDES WITH GRAY PAINT

This place is filled with life: Colorful birds, lizards,

cats, a rooster. All the animals are active, happy, but

totally silent, as if they know the precariousness of their

position. Lotte and Elijah sit among them. These are the

animals that she freed earlier. Lotte and Elijah hold hands

and look into each other's eyes. We see that they both wear

gold bands. They are husband and wife. Elijah signs.

ELIJAH (SUBTITLES)

Must you take this terrible demon

on yourself, my love?

LOTTE:

Yes. I'm the only one. I have to enter

Malkovich and destroy him from the

inside. If not me, who?

ELIJAH (SUBTITLES)

If there was any way I could go in

your place. But I'm only a monkey

and...

LOTTE:

(puts finger to his lips)

Hush, sweetheart.

Lotte slips into a gray jumpsuit. She stuffs a homemade bomb

on her pocket. She and Elijah kiss passionately, then

embrace.

LOTTE:

(to the animals)

I'll be with you always, my friends.

Who knows, maybe if I'm lucky, I'll

rejoin you with wings and a beak.

ELIJAH (SUBTITLES)

Wings and a halo, my darling. Wings

and a halo.

Lotte turns quickly. This is too much to bear. She descends

into a storm drain. The animals stop what they're doing.

PARROT:

(softly)

Good-bye. Good-bye.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MERTIN-FLEMMER BUILDING - DAY

A man-hole cover lifts. Lotte pokes her head out. The coast

is clear. She emerges. Assumes the dead-eyed expression of

the others, and enters the building.

CUT TO:

INT. ELEVATOR - DAY

Lotte watches the floors change. After seven, she presses

the emergency stop button. The elevator jerks to a halt.

She picks up the crow bar in the corner, pries open the

door. The 7 1/2 floor is gone. Nothing is there but pipes

and wires and beams. She climbs out onto the floor.

CUT TO:

INT. BETWEEN FLOORS - CONTINUOUS

Lotte searched the floor for some sign of the portal. It

is nowhere to be found. There is a noise behind her. She

turns with a start. It's Craig, ragged and ill-shaven.

LOTTE:

My God!

CRAIG:

I'm so glad you're safe. You look

really wonderful.

LOTTE:

I'm in love. For the first time.

It's funny, but when it happens to

you, there's no question.

CRAIG:

He's a lucky man.

(beat)

Do I know him?

LOTTE:

It's Elijah.

CRAIG:

The iguana?

LOTTE:

The monkey.

CRAIG:

Oh, right. As long as you're happy.

I'm sure he's a better lover than I

ever was.

LOTTE:

A better friend.

CRAIG:

(beat)

I'm sorry for everything.

LOTTE:

(pecking him on the cheek)

It's okay, Craig. It all worked out,

in an odd sort of way.

CRAIG:

You came up here looking for the

portal?

LOTTE:

Yeah. I was going to kill him from

the inside.

CRAIG:

And yourself too in the process. God,

you're so beautiful. Why couldn't I

see that before?

LOTTE:

You saw it once. Now you see it again.

That's life, isn't it? And you were

up here to try the same thing, weren't

you?

CRAIG:

I suppose. But they got here first,

the lousy bastards. So now it's all

over, I guess.

LOTTE:

I don't know. There's a small

community of us. We have a place they

don't know about. We're happy. We'll

keep trying to figure out a way. Come

stay with us. Join the struggle.

CRAIG:

You'll have me, after all I've done

to you?

LOTTE:

People make mistakes.

CRAIG:

I'm through with puppets, Lotte.

I just want you to know that.

LOTTE:

I know.

CRAIG:

I'd like to be a farmer. I want to

help things grow, to encourage life.

Do you and your friends need a farmer?

LOTTE:

Sure. We could really use a farmer.

We'd be grateful for the help.

(beat)

Also, I think, you know, if you

wouldn't mind too terribly, a little

puppet show every once in a while,

would do a lot to lift our spirits.

You know, if you wouldn't mind too

terribly.

Craig's eyes well up with tears. Lotte looks at him sweetly.

LOTTE (CONT'D)

Oh honey. It's gonna be okay.

She puts her arm around him and leads him toward the

elevator.

CRAIG:

I love you, Lotte.

We come on very close to Craig's arm as he lifts it to put

it around Lotte. We see a thin almost invisible filament.

We follow it up, and discover that Craig is now a

marionette being controlled from above by an emotionless

Mantini in a gray jumpsuit.

MANTINI:

(in Craig's voice)

I can't wait to see where you and your

friends live, Lotte.

LOTTE (O.S.)

It's beautiful, Craig, like Eden.

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