Capote Page #9

peering at his own face 4 inches from a mirror.

Dick is leaning against the bars of his own cell. He smiles.

HICKOCK:

My hero.

TRUMAN:

Hello.

HICKOCK:

Thanks for your help with the

lawyer.

TRUMAN:

That's fine.

HI CKO CK:

You must be desperate for a story

to come all the way out here.

YOUNG PRISON GUARD

Mr. Capote. You're entitled to go

in. You may, urn, go in. If you

wish.

Truman hesitates for a second.

HICKOCK:

You want to see Perry. Go ahead.

TRUMAN:

Thank you.

Truman walks to the next cell.

HICKOCK:

Ask me, he's just trying to prove

the insanity defense.

Truman sees Perry, gaunt, lying on his cot, almost comatose.

Perry's rather striking drawing of a LARGE YELLOW PARROT sits

propped on his table. An UNEATEN LUNCH TRAY lies on the

floor - a cockroach runs over it. Truman watches, disturbed.

CUT TO:

7 4 INT. SUPERMARKET - NIGHT 74 *

Camera follows Truman as he walks down an aisle with a small

WICKER BASKET. He stops, looks at a shelf.

7 5 INT. SUPERMARKET - NIGHT 75 *

Truman waits in the check-out line behind a MOM paying for

her groceries. Her SON (3) stands next to her legs, wearing

a little cowboy hat and cradling a TOY GUN to his chest. He

sucks his thumb. Truman and the boy look at each other.

CUT TO:

7 6 INT. KSP, DEATH ROW, PERRY'S CELL - DAY 76 *

Truman sits on the chair, his WICKER BASKET on the table. He

has spread out a cloth napkin. A GUARD watches from outside

the cell. Perry lies completely still on the cot. Truman

takes out jars of BONNET BABY FOOD, inspects the labels.

TRUMAN:

(to Perry)

I don't care what your plans are

for yourself ... He decides on the CUSTARD jar. He opens it, takes a plastic

BABY SPOON from the basket.

TRUMAN (cont' d)

But you're gonna wake up enough to

tell me what you did with my tie.

He spoons a bit into Perry's mouth. The GUARD walks away.

Truman leans close to Perry, whispers:

TRUMAN (cont'd)

It'sokay. ItlsTruman. It'syour

friend.

7 6A INT. KSP , DEATH ROW, PERRY' B CELL - LA'IER (LATE AFTERNOON) 7 6A *

Perry sleeps. Truman stands against the wall watching him.

He has cleaned up the basket of food. He walks over to

Perry's desk, sees two handwritten notebooks on it: THE

PRIVATE DIARY OF PERRY EDWARD SMITH and PERSONAL DICTIONARY.

Next to them, he sees a pencil SELF-PORTRAIT Perry drew.

It's very good. Truman touches it.

7 6B INT . KSP DEATH ROW, PERRY' B CELL - LA'IER (EVENING) 76B *

Perry sleeps. Truman sits on the chair watching, waiting.

Perry opens his eyes, looks at Truman.

7 6C INT . KSP , DEATH ROW, PERRY' B CELL - LATER (NIGHT) 76C *

Perry is sitting up a bit, Truman helps him sip a cup of

water. Perry lies back down. He's looking at Truman.

TRUMAN:

How'd you learn to draw like that?

Green

Perry closes his eyes.

CUT TO:

7 7 INT. CAR, DRIVING - AFTERNOON (NEXT DAY) 77 *

Truman drives through the KANSAS STATE PENITENTIARY gate,

waves to the Guard.

7 8 INT. K8P , DEATH ROW, PERRY' 8 CELL - EVENING 78 *

Perry sits on the bed, cleaned up, wet hair neatly combed,

looking at a few OLD SNAPSHOTS he has saved in a

handkerchief. Truman sits in the chair across from him.

Perry hands him a photo of his mother. Perry speaks quietly.

PERRY:

Before she had us. Before she

started drinking.

TRUMAN:

Who took care of you as a child?

PERRY:

Orphanage. Me and Linda.

TRUMAN:

That's your sister?

Perry nods. Truman waits for more. It doesn't come.

TRUMAN (cont'd)

We're not so different as you might

think. I was abandoned repeatedly

as a child. My mama'd drag me

along to some new town so she could

take up with another man she'd met.

Night after night she'd lock me in

the hotel room - Mama'd turn the

latch and tell the staff not to let

me out no matter what. I was

terrified - I'd scream my head off -

till finally I'd collapse on the

carpet next to the door and fall

asleep. After years of this she

just left me with relatives in

Alabama.

PERRY:

Who raised you up?

Green

TRUMAN:

My Aunts.

(Perry nods)

That's when I met Nelle - she lived

next door.

(looks again at the photo,

hands it back)

Your mother was Indian?

PERRY:

Cherokee.

TRUMAN:

Drinking was not a good thing for

her.

PERRY:

No tolerance for it.

TRUMAN:

And your father?

PERRY:

No tolerance for him either.

Truman's laughs, surprised by the joke, though it's unclear

whether Perry meant it as one. He stares at Perry.

TRUMAN:

What I can't decide is if you

understand how fascinating you are.

Perry doesn't respond, then -

PERRY:

I'm sorry about your tie. They

took it away from me because we're

all on suicide watch. It's why the

lights stay on at night.

TRUMAN:

I hope we're past that now. You

had me worried.

PERRY:

Okay.

TRUMAN:

I don't care about the tie. It's

just a pity because it looked so

good on you.

Green 11/2/05 53.

Perry leans in, motions toward Dick's cell, lowers his voice -

PERRY:

Be careful of Ricardo. I think he

wants you all to himself.

TRUMAN:

Alright -

PERRY:

But he's naturally mendacious - not

to be trusted - if he had a hundred

dollars he'd steal a stick of

chewing gum.

TRUMAN:

You wouldn't.

Perry shakes his head. Then, Truman nods toward Perry's

notebooks.

TRUMAN (contf d)

I want to take your notebooks with

me - I want to read them.

Perry hesitates.

TRUMAN (cont'd)

If I leave here without

understanding you, the world will

always see you as a monster. I

don't want that - I don't see you

that way.

A moment, then Perry reaches for the NOTEBOOKS, hands them to

Truman. Then he hands Truman the DRAWING he did of himself.

PERRY:

I tracked my father down in Alaska.

I was 14. One day I said to him,

"Mom's dead." I could see it. A

week later we got the news. She

finally drunk herself to death.

Truman regards Perry. Then he looks at the drawing -

TRUMAN:

This is remarkable.

PERRY:

Sometimes you see a thing - how it

really is.

On Truman holding the drawing, looking at Perry.

Green

7 9 OMIT (MOVED TO 84) 79 *

8 0 EXT. KANSAS BTATE PENITEWTIARY PARKING LOT - NIGHT 80 *

Truman walks quickly to his car, holding Perry's DRAWING and

NOTEBOOKS. At the car, he looks back at the dark jailhouse.

CUT TO:

8 1 OMIT (MOVED TO 87A) 8 1

8 1A INT. HOTEL ROOM, KANSAS CITY - LATE NIGHT 8 1A

Truman at the desk, PERRY'S TWO BOOKS next to a LEGAL PAD

already filled with notes. He's on the PHONE with Nelle,

paging through the PERSONAL DICTIONARY captivated by it.

TRUMAN (ON PHONE )

He trusts me - that's why he gave

it to me. Hers given me absolutely

everything.

(paging through Diary)

You should see his drawings, Nelle,

how good he is. He wants so badly

to be taken seriously, to be held

in some esteem.

INTERCUT with Nelle, in pajamas, sitting on the porch of her

home in Monroeville, smoking.

8 1B INT. NELLE' S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT 8 1B

NELLE:

Do you?

TRUMAN:

Do I what?

NELLE:

Hold him in esteem?

TRUMAN:

Well... he's a gold mine. I mean

he's told me his entire life, and

now it's all here for me to write

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