Big Eyes Page #29

MARGARET:

finishes penciling. She leans back, satisfied with the

composition. Then, she reaches for... the PAINT.

She unscrews a tube and squirts it on the palette. She rests

it on her lap and starts mixing a flesh tone...

THE JUDGE:

gapes at Walter, befuddled.

WALTER:

feels all eyes on him. He has to do something.

Hesitantly, visibly shaking, he rises from the table.

Margaret notices this.

110.

Walter braces himself, trying to look confident, then takes a

step. Suddenly -- he SQUEALS.

WALTER:

OW!

Walter contorts his face in AGONY.

He grabs his shoulder.

JUDGE:

Mr. Keane! Are you all right?

WALTER:

No -- it's --

(GRIMACING)

Ah shoot! My old shoulder injury just

flared up. I've got a bad muscle --

I've been taking medication for the

inflammation...

Walter shrugs pathetically --

WALTER:

I -- I don't think I'll be able to

paint today.

THE JUDGE:

is astonished.

WIDE:

The courtroom reacts.

MARGARET:

peers at Walter, knowingly.

She's not surprised. This was his only way out.

A look between them -- and then she c*cks a half-smile and

turns back to the canvas. She squirts out some white oil

paint, then begins painting the eyes.

WALTER:

sinks down in his chair, beaten. All life gone.

He stares at the emerging canvas, eyes wide, and we PUSH INTO

WALTER'S FACE. He is witnessing the end of his empire... the

destruction of everything that makes him who he is.

We push in TIGHTER... TIGHTER... until the screen fills with

his two eyes.

111.

Big. Sad. And filling with tears.

CUT TO:

EXT. FEDERAL COURTHOUSE - DAY

The doors open, and Margaret comes tumbling out, victorious.

She has WON!

She's surrounded by Jane, her friends, and a MOB OF REPORTERS.

They all SHOUT:
"Mrs. Keane! Margaret! Congratulations!!"

MARGARET:

Thank you! Thank you so much.

REPORTER #2

What are you going to call the

painting?

She smiles, clutching the finished Waif.

MARGARET:

"Exhibit 224."

They all ROAR with laughter. A Reporter does a stand-up:

REPORTER #1

The jury found in favor of Margaret

Keane on all points. She won on

charges of defamation, emotional

distress, damaged reputation --

IN THE BACKGROUND

Walter drifts out, disheveled and lost. He stares hazily...

angrily at the crowd.

WALTER:

What a group of idiots... a quagmire

of incompetence...

(RAMBLING)

This doesn't change a thing!

We slowly PULL AWAY, leaving him tiny in the shot. Forgotten.

BACK AT MARGARET

She hugs Jane. The Reporter jumps in.

REPORTER #2

Margaret! Do you feel vindicated by

the high award?

MARGARET:

Oh... it was never about the money.

And honestly -- I doubt Walter will

even pay.

112.

The Reporter chuckles. Margaret turns serious.

MARGARET:

I just wanted credit for what I had

done. The justice is... I got my art

back.

(SOFT)

My prayers have been answered.

Margaret takes Jane's hand and starts to walk away.

Among the eager fans, a PORTLY LADY steps out, holding a BOOK.

She smiles nervously.

PORTLY LADY:

Margaret! Could I possibly have your

autograph?

Margaret looks down -- and realizes the book is Walter's

volume of "TOMORROW'S MASTERS"

Margaret stares at it in wonder, then quickly signs the cover.

CLOSEUP - MARGARET

We hold. She slowly smiles in pride.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. MARGARET KEANE GALLERY - DAY

A brand-new gallery of Margaret's art. The walls are covered

with NEWLY-PAINTED Waifs and MDH's. We GLIDE through the

gallery... down the corridors of children and women...

These paintings of big-eyed children are different. They're

in magnificent colorful gardens, surrounded by joyful splashes

of red, orange, green...

CLOSING CARDS:

"Walter never accepted defeat, insisting he was the true

artist for the rest of his life. He died in 2000, bitter and

penniless. He never produced another painting."

"Margaret found personal happiness and remarried. After many

years in Hawaii, she moved back to San Francisco and opened a

new gallery. She still paints everyday."

We move CLOSER to one child, into the face, until the eyes

fill the frame. And then... finally, we tilt down. Revealing

that the child is smiling.

FADE OUT.

THE END:

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