Birdman Page #18

INT. WAITING ROOM - HOSPITAL - DAWNOne of the old Birdman films is playing on a small television

screen that hangs on a corner. The scene ends and a Morning

Show host appears. Behind him a picture of Riggan and a

caption that reads: “Nation in shock.” A shot of a candle

vigil in Central park.

HOSTWhat do we talk about when we talk

about Riggan Thomson? When we come

back, more on the actor who two

nights ago shot himself during the

opening performance of his new

Broadway play...

We pan away from the TV to see that the waiting room is

filled with newsmen waiting for something to happen. There is

almost no room to breath.

We pan to see Jake emerging from an elevator, carrying a

newspaper under his arm. He walks through the dense mass of

newsmen with a serious expression on his face. We follow him

into...

INT. ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS...a room. Jake peers in. Riggan lies on a bed, the bandages

on his nose cover most of his face. Sylvia is looking out the

window.

JAKEIs he...?

SYLVIAHe’s awake.

Jake enters the room.

JAKE(Serious.)

I thought I lost you, buddy. Thank

god you’re a horrible shot! What

the hell happened? I was watching

you up on that stage, and all of a

sudden you get that goofy look in

your eye, and you were just like--

He starts to laugh.

SYLVIAWhat the hell are you laughing

about? He tried to-- What is wrong

with you?

10/29/14 / 107.

(CONTINUED)

JAKEI’m happy, okay? He’s alive. My

best friend is alive. And he is the

man of the hour!

Jake holds the New York Times up in the air.

RIGGANWhat is that?

JAKEYou did it.

SYLVIA(Coming to them.)

You have to be shitting me... She

wrote a review?

Jake unfolds the newspaper and we see the headline of the

review:
“The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance”.

JAKE(To Sylvia.)

Read it.

He hands her the newspaper. She begins to read to herself.

SYLVIAI don’t believe this...

JAKERead it out loud!

SAM"Thompson has unwittingly given

birth to a new form that can only

be described as supra-realism.

Blood was spilled both literally

and metaphorically by artist and

audience alike. Red blood. The

blood that has been sorely missing

from the veins of the American

theatre..."

(Beat. To a smiling Jake.)

You’re happy about this?

She hands it to Riggan.

JAKEHappy? I’m f***ing euphoric. This

is the-- This is the kind of review

that turns someone into a living

legend.

10/29/14 / 108.

(CONTINUED)

SYLVIAHe tried to-- He shot the nose off

his face!

JAKEHe’s got a new nose! And if he

doesn’t like that one, we’ll get

him another one. We can use Meg

Ryan’s guy. Who gives a sh*t? Turn

on the tv. There are people praying

for him all over the country.

They’re lighting candles in Central

Park. He did it. (To Riggan) You

did it! The play’s gonna run

forever. It’s gonna open in London,

in Paris... The studios will call

us again. We’ll get book offers.

SYLVIAHow do you know all that? You can

see the future?

JAKE(Euphoric.)

Yes.

She slaps him in the face.

SYLVIADid you see that coming? You’re so

full of sh*t, Jake.

Jake needs a few seconds to recover. Then he looks at Riggan

who just sits there, in silence.

JAKEWhy aren’t you saying anything?

This is what you wanted wasn’t it?

(Riggan gazes at the

review.)

Riggan, this is what you wanted.

RIGGANIt’s what I wanted.

JAKEOkay, listen. You’re gonna get hit

with a “brandishing a weapon”

charge. If anybody talks to you, it

was an accident and we’re doing an

internal invest--

A newsman comes into the room and takes a quick picture.

10/29/14 / 109.

(CONTINUED)

JAKE (CONT’D)

(Chasing him out.)

This is a hospital you motherf***er!

Jake rushes to the door, shoving the newsman and a few other

paparazzi out the door. Security guards. Chaos. Finally

silence. Sylvia steps up and looks Riggan in the eye.

SYLVIAIs that what it was? An accident?

Riggan just stares at her. His calm, sad eyes peeking through

the bandages. After a moment his gaze moves over her

shoulder. Sylvia turns and we discover Sam standing in the

doorway holding a bouquet of flowers. A bit of awkward

silence, and Sylvia decides to leave them alone.

She kisses Sam on the head and exits. Sam walks the flowers

to Riggan at the bed. She lays them on his chest.

SAMAlchemillas.

The hint of a smile on Riggan’s face.

SAM (CONT’D)

Are you actually smiling?

(She smiles.)

What’s so funny?

RIGGANI can’t smell them.

A moment until the smiles turn to gentle laughter. She takes

out her cell phone and snaps a picture of him.

RIGGAN (CONT’D)

What are you doing?

SAMI’m posting this picture on your

Twitter page.

RIGGANVery funny...

SAMSet it up today.

RIGGANYou’re joking.

SAMI’m not.

10/29/14 / 110.

(CONTINUED)

RIGGANLet me see the picture.

SAMAbsolutely not. You look hideous.

RIGGANThanks a lot.

SAMI’m just kidding. No, I’m not. You

look hideous.

(Working on phone.)

You already have 80 thousand

followers. In less than a day. And

I’m about to scare the sh*t out of

them.

RIGGANLet me see.

SAMNo. Done.

A moment between them. Sam picks up the flowers and kisses

him tenderly on the head. Riggan is pleasantly surprised by

that kiss.

SAM (CONT’D)

Now, I’m going to find something to

put these flowers in.

She heads out of the room. Riggan lies there for a moment,

tranquil. After a moment he reaches up and touches his

bandages. Finally, he climbs out of the bed. We follow him

into...

INT. BATHROOM - ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS...the bathroom. He stands before the mirror. He stares at

his reflection for a few seconds, and slowly begins to remove

the bandages. We can see that Riggan’s nose has been

reconstructed. It is a crooked, incomplete nose, like the one

Javier Bardem has.

RIGGANI do look hideous.

In the reflection, Riggan sees Birdman sitting on the toilet.

They look at each other, but say nothing. Riggan puts the

bandages back on and we follow him out to...

10/29/14 / 111.

INT. ROOM - HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS...the room. He looks around, but Sam is gone. He ambles over

to the window, his ass hanging out of the back of his

hospital robe. He opens the window and feels the sun and the

breeze on his swollen face. We just hear the sounds of the

people standing down in the parking lot. Media trucks. Fans.

We stay with Riggan, who seems to be thinking about

something. He sees a flock of birds dancing in the sky. Then

he grabs the side of the window with one hand and begins to

step up onto the sill.

The camera pans away from him to a table that has some photos

propped on it:
One of he and Sam when she was a child. One

with Sylvia and Sam. A copy of Carver’s “What we talk About

When We Talk About Love” laying on the surface.

The camera continues to pan until it comes to the door. Sam

enters with a small vase. She looks around...

SAMDad?

She goes to the bathroom and peers in... nothing.

SAM (CONT’D)

Dad...?

She spots the opened window and registers the sounds from

outside. Tentatively she walks toward the window. She gets

there, summons her courage and looks down. Nothing. Slowly,

confused, she tilts her head up and looks up into the sky. A

smile, filled with pride, begin to wash over her face.

SMASH TO BLACK*

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