Boyhood Page #4

because it's better to be safe than

sorry.

DAD:

That's what they're teaching you in

school? Alright, listen to me.

Listen to your father, okay? That

is the lie. That's the big lie.

Iraq had nothing to do with what

happened at the World Trade Center.

You know that, right?

SAMANTHA:

I guess.

23.

DAD:

Alright. Who are you gonna vote for

next fall, MJ?

MASON:

I don't know.

SAMANTHA:

He can't vote. He's not eighteen.

DAD:

Yeah, oh -- alright, who would you

vote for?

MASON:

Kerry?

DAD:

Anybody but Bush! Okay?

SAMANTHA:

Are you gonna move back?

DAD:

Uh... I'm plannin' on it. You know,

I gotta find a job.

MASON:

Are you and mom gonna get back

together?

DAD:

I don't know. That's not, uh...

entirely up to me, you know?

SAMANTHA:

I remember when I was six, you and

mom were fighting like mad. You

were yelling so loud and she was

crying.

DAD:

That's what you remember, huh?

SAMANTHA:

Yep.

DAD:

You don't remember the trips to

Galveston, camping in Big Bend, all

the fun we had?

SAMANTHA:

Nope.

24.

DAD:

You ever get mad at your mother?

SAMANTHA:

Yeah.

DAD (O.S.)

You ever get mad at your brother?

SAMANTHA:

Yeah.

DAD:

Yeah. You ever yell at him?

SAMANTHA:

Oh yeah.

DAD:

Yeah. Doesn't mean you don't love

him, right?

SAMANTHA:

Mmm...

DAD:

Look, the same thing happens when

you're grown up, alright? You...

You know, you get mad at people.

You know, it's not a big deal.

MASON:

What'd you do in Alaska?

DAD:

I worked on a boat for a while. Um,

I tried to write some music.

MASON:

Did you see any polar bears?

DAD (O.S.)

No, but I saw a Kodiak bear. It was

f***in' huge.

SAMAMTHA (O.S.)

Dad! That's fifty cents for the F-

word!

Dad reaches into his wallet.

DAD:

I'm sorry. Here, take a dollar,

alright? Keep the change.

(MORE)

25.

DAD (CONT'D)

You guys are gonna be seein' a lot

more of me. Okay? I missed you two

real bad, while I was gone. Okay, I

want you to know that. I just needed

to take some time. You know, to...

Just... Your mom and me, okay...

Well, your mother, okay, is a piece

of work. Alright, I think, I think

you know that by now. Alright? And

I'm just, I'm so happy to be with the

two of you. Okay. And I'm sorry

about that bumper business. Alright.

I'm gonna get better at stuff like

that, okay?

As a token of reconciliation, Dad high fives them both,

smiling.

INT. MASON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mason shows Dad his collection of arrowheads and a long

feather, all laid out on top of a skateboard. Mason describes

each of the pieces to his Dad.

MASON:

I got that one at Dripping Springs...

DAD (O.S.)

Mmhmm.

MASON:

And um, my friend Rodney gave me

that one.

DAD (O.S.)

Yeah?

MASON:

And I bought that one.

DAD:

You bought this one?

MASON:

Yeah.

DAD:

You found this at Dripping Springs?

MASON:

Uh-huh!

DAD:

Wow! What else do you got?

26.

MASON:

Well, um, these are snake vertebrae.

DAD:

Snake vertebrae? That's disgusting.

Huh? Mason, I don't want you

collecting snake vertebrae anymore.

They both share a laugh.

DAD (CONT'D)

Is this the feather I sent you?

MASON:

Yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is.

Samantha enters the room carrying photos and a stuffed animal.

She sits down next to Dad, interrupting Mason.

SAMAMTHA:

Oh, Dad! Um, I forgot to show you

these, um, these basketball pictures.

DAD:

You're on a basketball team?

SAMAMTHA:

Yeah!

DAD:

Wow! Check you out!

MASON:

Yeah, and these are-- these are beaver

claws.

DAD:

Beaver claws?

SAMANTHA (O.S.)

I know. That's me.

DAD (O.S.)

What, you hunting beaver, huh?

MASON (O.S.)

(laughs)

No.

SAMANTHA:

You see, that's McKinney, that's

Meg, and that Gem. They're all my

friends --

27.

MASON:

...And this is dried Canadian grass...

DAD:

Uh-huh. What position do you play?

SAMANTHA:

Um, guard.

MASON:

This is dried Canadian grass... And,

and uh...

DAD:

Uh-huh. Wait, you scoring any points?

SAMANTHA:

Well, about eight or ten a game.

DAD:

Eight or ten a game? That is awesome!

SAMANTHA:

Yeah!

MASON:

Once she didn't score any and she

cried!

DAD:

You cried?

SAMANTHA:

Well, only a little bit.

DAD:

Awww.

Dad kisses Samantha's forehead.

INT. FRONT ENTRY - MOMENTS LATER

MOM:

Hello!

SAMANTHA:

Oh, Mason, Mom's home!

MASON:

Mom's home!

Dad quickly shifts from playful to nervous.

DAD:

Hey, Mom's home.

28.

SAMANTHA:

Mom, hi!

MOM:

Hey.

SAMANTHA:

Oh, look at this owl Daddy gave me!

Isn't it cool? See, its head spins!

And look at this bracelet! It was

made by Indians in Alaska.

MASON:

And Mom, Daddy made this cool hand

carved grizzly bear and this tiki.

MOM:

It's a totem. Wow.

SAMANTHA:

And guess what else? We went bowling

and I made four strikes!

MASON:

Yeah, and we got to ride around in

Dad's car!

Wow.

MOM (O.S.)

Hey, Liv.

DAD:

Hey.

MOM:

DAD:

I know you wanted me to drop them

off at your mom's. I just thought

it'd be easier if I brought 'em over

here.

MOM:

Well, it really screwed up my plans.

MASON:

Well, we just wanted to show him our

rooms.

SAMANTHA:

Yeah.

MOM:

Did you guys eat anything?

29.

SAMANTHA:

Well, we had some french fries at

the bowling alley.

MOM:

Did you do your homework or...

MASON:

No.

SAMANTHA:

Not yet.

MOM:

Okay. Can I talk to you outside for

a second?

DAD:

Yeah. Sure.

(as he exits)

They had more than french fries.

The children scramble to find a suitable spot for

eavesdropping but their parents are inaudible.

INT. UPSTAIRS BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Samantha and Mason look out the window, down at their parents

having an argument below.

MASON:

Do you think he's gonna spend the

night?

SAMANTHA (O.S.)

Doesn't look like it.

Mom walks away from Dad. He stands there for a beat, then

saunters off. The kids are visibly disappointed.

EXT. COLLEGE - DAY

Mason and Mom walk across the campus lawn.

INT. COLLEGE CLASSROOM - DAY

A professor, BILL, lectures to the class. Mason and Mom are

seated in the classroom audience.

BILL (V.O.)

Okay. An unconditioned stimulus,

something that produces an unlearned,

involuntary, unconditioned response.

(MORE)

30.

BILL (V.O.) (CONT'D)

Now in Pavlov's experiment, what was

the stimulus, that he used? Come on

now, people! Tough weekend? What's

the deal, here? Meat. Right? Meat.

Meat powder, actually. Whatever

meat powder is, it worked on this

dog. Okay. He put the meat powder

in there and it produced an

unconditioned response in the dog,

which was? Salivation. Alright.

Now, who can give me another example

of an unconditioned stimulus-response

pair that happens to you everyday.

It's probably happening to some of

you right now.

(pause)

How about sex? Sure, you know. You

see an attractive member of the

opposite gender, you have an automatic

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