Frame on the Wall: The Making of 'The Door in the Floor'
- Year:
- 2004
- 26 min
- 61 Views
Dead means they're broken?
Well, their bodies
are broken, yes.
And they're under the ground?
Their bodies are, yes.
Tell me what dead is.
Mmm. When you--
When you look at the photographs
of Thomas and Timothy,
do you remember the stories
of what they're doing?
Yes.
Hmm, well,
Tom and Timmy are alive
in your imagination.
lt makes me sad
Makes me sad too, Ruthie.
But Mommy's sadder.
Well, yes.
Uh-huh.
Does your son have a driver's license?
Huh! Ooh!
Jesus.
Heh!
You don't have to yell, Minty.
Yeah?
Well, let me consider it, will ya?
Yeah.
All right.
l'll call you back. Bye.
Eh, it still gets cold
in the evening, huh?
Thanks.
Jesus. Look at this yard.
We should clear out some of these
l want to put in a swimming pool.
Why?
Oh, for Ruth when she gets older.
Something like the one we had
in Providence. They loved it.
And the lawn--
lt ought to be more like an athletic field.
No.
Look at this picture.
Who is he?
That's Minty O'Hare's son-- the
boys' English teacher from Exeter.
He wants to be a writer.
What would he do for you?
lt's mainly for the experience,
l suppose.
l mean, if he's thinking about becoming a writer,
he should see how one works, see what it takes.
What would he actually do for you?
Mmm, well--
l've been thinking.
l want to try separating...
for the summer.
Just temporarily.
[ Man On TV]
So you began your career writing novels?
Yes, but they were terrible novels. Uh,
unfortunately l had to write three of them...
before l realized
l am not a writer of adult fiction.
l am simply a entertainer of children,
and l like to draw.
[ Man ] Edward, don't be nervous because
he's famous. [ Continues, lndistinct ]
He's an Exonion.
His sons were charming boys...
but... mediocre students.
Why do cautionary tales for children come so
naturally to you? They were both in my class.
Well, l think l can imagine
Um, in my stories,
Anyway,
uh, you can see what's coming, but you don't see
everything that's coming. just pick up what you can.
Note his work habits.
[ Continues ]
See if there's a method
to his madness.
And... above all...
throw yourself in headlong and just
do whatever it is he wants you to do.
ln my opinion, there is no better opening to any story
than the opening of The Mouse Crawling Between the Walls.
l mean, the first lines--
''Tom woke up, but Tim did not.''
Daddy, l had a dream.
l heard a sound.
Uh, what sort of sound, Ruth?
lt's in the house,
but it's trying to be quiet.
[ Exhales ]
Hmm.
Well, let's go look for it then.
lt's a sound that's trying to be quiet?
What did it sound like?
lt was a sound like someone
trying not to make a sound.
My penis is funny.
Come out sound.
Come out sound.
l'll tell you a story
about a different sound.
One night when Thomas
was just your age,
and Timothy was still in diapers,
Tommy heard a sound.
Did they both wake up?
Oh, Tom woke up,
but Tim did not.
And Tom woke up his father...
and asked him,
''Did you hear that sound?
[ Rubbing ]
There's the sound again,''
Tom whispered to his Father.
''lt's a monster!'' he cried.
''lt's just a mouse...
crawling between the walls,''
his father said,
and thumped the wall hard
with his hand.
And the mouse...
scurried away.
''lt's just a mouse.
That's all,'' Tom said.
And he quickly fell asleep.
But Tim,
he stayed awake all night long.
And every time that thing crawling
between the walls came crawling back,
he'd hit the wall,
and he'd listen to the monster...
scurry away,
dragging his thick, wet fur,
and no arms and no legs with it.
- And that--
- ls the end of the story.
Where's Mommy?
Mommy, uh-- lt's her turn
at the other house, remember?
lt's my turn tomorrow night.
But she'll be here in the morning, okay?
- [ Smacks Kiss ] Okay.
- Are there any mice in this house?
Hmm. Everyone has mice.
Mice are everywhere.
See you in the morning, Ruthie.
[ Electric Typewriter Clacking ]
[ Typewriter Motor Shuts Off]
[ Ship's Horn Blowing ]
Eddie? Eddie?
Mrs. Cole?
Marion.
Come.
You can drive, can't you?
Oh, yeah. Yes l can.
l know boys your age. They love
to drive every chance they get.
Yes, ma'am. But l don't
know how to drive a stick.
lt's an automatic.
Okay.
Yes, ma'am.
Sorry about before. l was--
l was expecting Mr. Cole.
Ted lost his license
three months ago.
You're not at Exeter anymore.
You can call us by our first names.
Okay.
[ Door Opening ]
[ Doors Shut ]
[ Thumping ]
Aren't you coming in?
Not tonight.
[ Man Chuckles ] Did it
hurt? Does it hurt much?
No, l'm all right. l'm all right.
lt is an honor to meet you, sir.
Ah.
l want to thank you in advance for this
experience. Ah, well, l hope you find it worthwhile.
Ed, this is Doctor Loomis.
Eddie's my new assistant. Hi.
Hi.
Yeah. Exeter, '05.
l was class of'61.
Good stuff.
So, Tuesday, yeah? Right.
See you then. Tuesday, yeah.
Nice to meet you, Eddie. Ciao.
l've read all your novels and
all your children's books-- 3:30?
Yeah, 3:
30.Got it.
l've-- l read all your novels
and all your children's books,
and my favorite is The
Door in the Floor. Ahh.
Well, you're probably one of the few
people on earth who have read all my novels.
So, uh, what makes you think
you want to be a writer, Eddie?
Oh, l wrote something,
and l brought it with me.
l'd be extremely honored if you might read
it, whenever you're not busy, of course.
Well, writing is rigorous work.
l keep myself incredibly busy.
Yeah. Many of my books contain
every word must be examined and
re-examined thoroughly. Okay.
You're going to be spending the whole summer
looking for le mot juste, as Flaubert says. Oh.
- The right word. The true word.
- Okay. Well,
l'm prepared to throw myself in headlong
and do whatever you need me to do.
Yeah, because l'm sure there'll be
many different tasks that will come up.
Oh, all right.
For example, l need squid.
l'm, uh, using squid ink for my new book,
and for all my drawings now.
There's a, uh--
a woman in Montauk,
she's a fishmonger.
She collects the squid ink for me.
Should l go today?
Ah, you can go tomorrow. You see her
husband over there, don't mention my name.
Also, I have to tell you--
because it's a little complicated--
you've arrived here during what is
a sad time in a long, happy marriage.
Uh, Marion and l, we're separating--
temporarily, on a trial basis.
And l've, uh--
l've rented a small apartment in town,
and every other night one of us
will be spending the night there.
Uh, during the day, you'll work there
at the apartment while l'm working here,
but you'll sleep here.
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"Frame on the Wall: The Making of 'The Door in the Floor'" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Jul 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/frame_on_the_wall:_the_making_of_'the_door_in_the_floor'_7137>.
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