Birdman Page #17

SYLVIA (CONT’D)

Are you okay? You seem-- I don’t know, you

seem abnormally calm.

RIGGANI am calm. I’m great. I spent most of

the day observing how beautifully this

pile of dirty clothes was lit by the

warm afternoon sun. (A tiny smile.) So

beautiful.

Sylvia, teasing him, closes her eyes and imitates Riggan's

meditation posture.

SYLVIA(Mocking him.)

Oh yes. God is those purplish light

dots I see between my eyes and my

eyelids.

RIGGANYou know? I have this voice that talks to

me and tells me the truth. It’s comforting,

and scary.

A beat.

SYLVIAI’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say

that.

RIGGANOkay.

SYLVIA(Changing the subject.)

You wouldn't believe the crowd outside.

They said, some people paid up to 500

dollars a ticket.

He sits down.

RIGGANYou wanna hear something funny?

SYLVIASure.

RIGGANDo you remember our last anniversary party?

SYLVIASeriously? You're going to ruin a nice

moment with that?

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(CONTINUED)

RIGGANDo you remember the party?

SYLVIAThe party where you f***ed Janet Rossbach

in our bed? Yeah, it rings a bell.

RIGGANYeah, well. Let's skip over that part

for a minute.

SYLVIAGladly.

RIGGANAfter you threw the guests out of the

house, and the furniture out of the

window. You locked yourself in the

bathroom.

SYLVIAI remember. Why are we--

RIGGANI drove down to Malibu. I sat on the beach

for a while. Just... staring out at the

ocean.

SYLVIARiggan...

RIGGANUntil I walked straight into the water

and tried to drown myself.

Silence. Sylvia stares at Riggan, surprised.

RIGGAN (CONT'D)

I was in up to my chest when I felt the

first one. On my back, like somebody was

holding a frying pan against me. And then

my chest, and my legs. The water was full

of jellyfish. I fought my way out of the

water, and I started rolling around the

sand like a maniac... crying.

Sylvia doesn't know how to react.

SYLVIAYou said it was a sunburn.

RIGGAN(Smiling.)

And you believed me.

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(CONTINUED)

SYLVIATo be honest, I didn't give a sh*t.

RIGGANI love you. And I love Sam.

SYLVIAI know.

Silence. They stare at each other.

RIGGANI never should have video taped Sam's

birth. First of all because you and Sam

both look like sh*t in that video. But

mostly because I missed the moment. I

should have just been there with the two

of you. Present in my own life. So I’d

have it. But, I don’t. I don’t have any of

it.

SYLVIAYou have Sam.

RIGGANNo, I don't.

SYLVIAListen, she's just--

RIGGANNo, I understand. She needed a father

and she got one shamefully successful

youtube video. Pretty pathetic.

SYLVIA(Putting a finger on

Riggan’s lips.)

Shhh... There are more pathetic things

than that. That mustache, for example.

She kisses him.

ANNIE ON SPEAKERSPlaces for act two. Places.

SYLVIARiggan...

RIGGANYou should get back to your seat. You

don't want to miss what's next.

Sylvia lingers for a moment, and not knowing what to say, she

exits. Riggan opens a drawer and takes out a black case. He

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(CONTINUED)

gently opens the lid. Inside a revolver. He takes some bullets

out of a box and one by one loads them into the chamber as he

does his vocal exercises into the mirror.

RIGGAN (CONT'D)

Twenty little leopards laughed at two

lofty lions. Twenty little leopards

laughed at two lofty lions. Twenty

little leopards... laughed.

He stares at the dressing room door, and with his telekinetic

powers he opens it. He snaps the cylinder into the gun and

exits out into...

INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS5353...the hallway. He paces deliberately, gun in hand.

A technician goes by in the opposite direction.

TECHNICIANBreak a leg, Mr. Thomson.

Riggan ignores him and continues through to the...

INT. BACKSTAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS5454...backstage area. Annie immediately hustles over to him holding

up the brain mechanism. He walks right by her.

RIGGAN(Brushing her off.)

I don't need it.

Annie doesn't seem to understand. She stays there, holding the

device. Riggan takes his place outside the motel door. We pan

toward the audience. The auditorium is full. The audience in

complete silence.

Riggan knocks firmly on the door. Silence again. Then...

RIGGAN (CONT’D)

Terri! Terri!

(Beat.)

I know you're in there!

He barges through the door and onto...

10/29/14 / 104.

INT. STAGE - THEATER - CONTINUOUS5555...the stage. The motel room as we saw it before. Mike and

Lesley jump out of the bed.

LESLEYEd! What are you doing here?

RIGGAN(Almost whispering.)

Why? I need you to tell me why. I lived for

you-- I worshipped you...

MIKEListen Ed, I know this is hard but--

Riggan raises one hand to silence Mike. Mike looks at him,

confused. His eyes narrow on the gun. There is no red plug.

Dead silence. An eerie electricity in the theater.

RIGGANWhat's wrong with me? Why do I end

up having to beg people to love me?

LESLEYEd. Eddie. Please... Give me the gun.

She begins to cry.

LESLEY (CONT'D)

Just look at me. I was drowning. I

was not capable of-- You deserve to

be loved. You do.

RIGGANI just wanted to be what you wanted.

(Beat.)

Now I spend every f***ing minute

praying to be someone else. Someone

I'm not. Anyone...

MIKEPut down the gun, Ed. She just doesn't love

you anymore.

RIGGAN(To Lesley.)

You don't, do you?

LESLEY(With sympathy.)

No...

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(CONTINUED)

RIGGANAnd you never will...

LESLEYI'm sorry.

For the first time, Riggan turns to face the audience. He

smiles the most beautiful insane smile.

RIGGANI don't exist. I'm not even here. I don't

exist. None of this matters.

Then he raises a trembling arm, and with his eyes full of

tears, he aims the gun at Mike.

RIGGAN (CONT’D)

Pum.

But he doesn’t shoot. Then he turns and aims at Tabitha

Dickinson who is sitting on the second row.

RIGGAN (CONT’D)

Pum.

Again, no shot. Slowly, Riggan raises the gun toward his own

head, suddenly a frightening explosion. Blood sprays. Riggan

falls. We stay with the shell-shocked audience. A moment of

tension, of uncertainty, until...

MANBravo!

The audience, one by one, jump to their feet, applauding

wildly. The sole exception is Tabitha, who remains seated, a

dazed expression on her face. We stay with the audience a few

seconds longer.

FADE TO BLACK.

The sounds slowly vanish. After a moment of silence...

BIRDMAN (V.O.)

You won't be hearing from him

anymore.

MAN (V.O.)

Is he...?

BIRDMAN (V.O)

He's gone.

10/29/14 / 106.

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