Birdman Page #3

JAKEWhat’d I say? I said, "You

motherf***er. You’re threatening

me? ME? I swear to god, you f***, I

so much as get a letter from a

lawyer, the press’ll get the

pictures we got off your computer.”

RIGGANWhat pictures?

JAKEThe guy has a thing for nuns... in

diapers. What do you care? You

shouldn’t have any knowledge about

it anyway. The important thing is

that I made him go away.

RIGGANRight. That's great.

JAKEYeah, it’s fantastic. One problem.

We don't have an actor. And if we

cancel the first preview the press

will smell the blood. We can't

afford to lose any more money. At

all.

RIGGANWhat do you want me to do?

JAKEWe pay an understudy, let’s use the

understudy.

RIGGANNo.

JAKENo? Riggan, listen to me. Our dream actor

is not going to knock on that door and

say:
"Hey fellas, when do we start?"

B5B5There is a knock at the door. Leslie peeks in.

LESLIECan I talk to you for a second?

RIGGANYeah. What’s up?

10/29/14 / 14.

(CONTINUED)

LESLIEDid you find another actor?

RIGGANNo.

LESLIEOkay. Well... Mike's available.

RIGGANHe is?

JAKEMike who?

RIGGANI thought he was doing--

LESLIEHe was. He quit. Or got fired.

JAKEMike who?

RIGGANWhich one? Quit or fired?

LESLIEWith Mike it's usually both.

JAKEMike F***ing Who?

LESLIEShiner.

JAKEYes!

RIGGANJake...

JAKEYes! How do you know Mike Shiner?

LESLIEWe share a vagina.

RIGGANYou think he'd want to do it?

LESLIEYeah.

10/29/14 / 15.

(CONTINUED)

JAKEHow do you know?

LESLIEBecause he said he'd want to do it.

JAKEYes!

RIGGANJake. Hang on a minute.

JAKE(to Riggan)

Ask me if he sells tickets.

RIGGANDoes he sell tickets?

JAKEA shitload of tickets. Now ask me if the

critics like him?

RIGGANDo they like him?

JAKEThey want to spooge on him.

RIGGAN(Indicating Lesley.)

Hey.

JAKELeslie...

LESLIERight on his face.

JAKEEverything for a reason, right?

RIGGANYou think he'll be able to come tonight?

LESLEYI can call him and find out.

Riggan gives Jake a look.

JAKEI'll call his agent.

Jake charges out of the room. The camera follows him into...

10/29/14 / 16.

INT. HALLWAY - THEATER - CONTINUOUS66...the hallway and as Jake makes a left turn, Annie enters from

the right.

JAKEAnnie, turn the work lights on and get me a

fresh copy of the script. We’re gonna have

a “put in” tonight.

ANNIEWho?

JAKEYou’ll find out...

Jake disappears down the hall and we follow Annie through the

theater and onto...

INT. STAGE - THEATER - EVENING77...the stage, where she turns some of the stage work lights on.

We pan along the stage until we find Riggan, wearing the same

clothes as before, scanning the empty auditorium.

MIKE (O.S.)

Intimidating. Isn't it?

Riggan sees Mike Shiner (39) coming down the aisle, slovenly

dressed with mussed hair and intense eyes.

MIKE (CONT’D)

Do you have any idea who walked these

boards before you?

(Beat.)

Geraldine Page, Marlon Brando,

Helen Hayes, Jason Robards... And

now you. Riggan Thomson.

Riggan, trying to hide the intimidation.

RIGGANThanks for coming on such short notice,

Mike. I appreciate it.

MIKEHey. This is what we do.

(Indicates a script.)

So, you wrote this adaptation?

RIGGANI did.

10/29/14 / 17.

(CONTINUED)

MIKEAnd you're directing the adaptation and

starring...

RIGGANI am.

MIKEAmbitious.

RIGGANThank you.

A sly smile from Mike. He leaps onto the stage.

MIKEWhy don't we do a bit of it?

RIGGANHey, I wasn't expecting you to--

MIKEFirst preview is tomorrow, right?

RIGGANYeah, but you can go on with the script

until you feel comfortable--

MIKELet's just do some of it.

Riggan tries to hide his excitement. He grabs the script from a

nearby table and walks it over to Mike.

RIGGANTake a look at page twenty--

MIKEYeah. I don't need that.

RIGGANWhat?

MIKEI don't need the script. Just give me a

cue.

RIGGANWhat are you talking about?

MIKEFeed me a line.

RIGGANI don’t-- What?

10/29/14 / 18.

(CONTINUED)

MIKEFeed. Me. A line.

Riggan drops the script and begins the scene.

RIGGAN“I'm the wrong person to ask. I didn't

know the man. I've only heard his name

mentioned in passing. I wouldn't know.

You'd have to know the particulars. But

I think what you're saying is that love

is absolute.”

Mike stares at Riggan, hyper-focused.

MIKE(Ruminating.)

Am I saying that love is absolute?

(He transforms.)

"Yeah. The kind of love I'm talking about

is. The kind of love I'm talking about you--

"

(An intense pause.)

Well, you don't try to kill people.

Riggan is transfixed, and almost immediately intimidated.

RIGGANHow do you know the lines?

MIKEI have a thing, a whatever, a gift.

(A beat.) Come on, I helped Lesley get

off book. Hey, give me that cue again.

RIGGAN"I'm the wrong person to ask. I didn't

know the man. I've only heard his name

mentioned in passing. I wouldn't know.

You'd have to know the particulars. But

I think what you're saying is--”

MIKEOkay, can I-- Do you mind if I--

RIGGANNo, go ahead.

MIKEFollow me. He says, "I'm the wrong

person to ask." What's his intention?

Is he fed up with the topic?

Deflecting? Guilt about his wife maybe?

Then four sentences all say the same

thing... "I didn't even know the man."

10/29/14 / 19.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

"I've only heard his name mentioned in

passing." “I wouldn't know.” "You'd

have to know the particulars." First of

all, particulars? What are you, my

grandmother? But the point is, YOU

DON'T KNOW THE GUY, WE F***ING GET IT.

Make it one line. "I didn't even know

the guy." Right? ...

RIGGANYou pretty much know my lines too, huh?

MIKECan we-- Are we doing something here? Come

on let's go. Cut it down, give it to me

again.

RIGGAN"I'm the wrong person to ask--"

MIKEOh, right, sorry, you see? "I'm the wrong

person to ask?" That's another f*** you.

"Don't put me on the spot. Don't make me

self conscious about my marriage when my

wife is sitting right here..." See? Give

it to me. Give me a good f*** you. Come

on...

RIGGANOkay, let me--

MIKECome on. Give it to me right now. F*** me.

Right now. Right here. Let's do it.

RIGGANOkay, yeah...

MIKEDO IT!

RIGGAN(Jumps in w/out thinking.)

"Hey. I'm the wrong person to ask, okay? I

didn't even know the guy. So what's your

point?"

MIKE"What's my point?"

RIGGAN"What's your point? What are you saying?

Spit it out. You're saying, what? That love

is an absolute?"

10/29/14 / 20.

MIKE (CONT'D)

(CONTINUED)

Rate this script:4.8 / 5 votes