Game 6 Page #16

---

NICKY:

This could be it!

MATTHEW:

This could be it!

TOYOTA:

This could be it!

NICKY:

This could be it!

Nicky is charged with excitement, hearing the line as a

favorable sign, a positive connection between the play and

the game.

TV SCREEN:

Stanley winds up and throws. It's a wild pitch. Mitchell

comes in from third with the tying run.

The bar crowd erupts in cheers.

INT. MANION'S OLD TIMER TAVERN - THE TABLE

Shock and dread.

MATTHEW:

It's all right. It's a tie game. We

can still win it next inning.

Nicky drinks his stinger.

BAR CROWD:

Mookie, Mookie, Mookie, Mookie!

TOYOTA:

This is the time. Trust in people.

Believe in life. Faith is hard

work. Don't give in. Don't give up.

MATTHEW:

Life is true.

NICKY:

Life is real.

TOYOTA:

Trust your team.

TV SCREEN:

Stanley delivers to Wilson. Sound fades away. Action isin

super slow motion.

Wilson swings and hits a bouncing ball toward first base.

Stanley moves off the mound to cover first. Wilson drops his

bat and races down the line. Bill Buckner, the first baseman,

ranges to his left to field the ball.

INT. MANION'S OLD TIMER TAVERN - THE TABLE

Nicky watches as if in a trance. Complete silence around him.

He is separate from everybody else, the only clearly defined

figure in a group of shadowy and indistinct people.

TV SCREEN:

Nicky's viewpoint. An image of Bill Buckner in silvery light

expanding out of the TV screen to fill the larger

environment. Moving soundlessly in slow motion, Buckner

fields the bouncing ball and heads toward the bag. He beats

Wilson to the base by an eyelash and the inning ends with the

teams tied at 5-5.

Frozen moment:
Buckner holding his glove hand aloft, the ball

securely gripped. In the drama of the moment, Buckner seems

to be crying out a word or name, but his face is twisted with

tension and exertion and we can't make out what he is saying.

INT. THE BARRYMORE

Laurel Rogan, seen from behind, is somewhat slumped in her

seat. She turns off the radio, removes the headset and rises.

She moves along the row toward the aisle.

She appears to be the only person in the theater.

She moves trudgingly up the aisle toward the exit. At the

head of the aisle she is startled by a figure standing in

dimness.

It is Steven Schwimmer.

They look at each other. Sound of the cleaning crew in the

lobby and then a door opening at the rear of the orchestra.

Light from a flashlight plays across the seats and walls. The

beam hits Laurel first and then Steven.

The beam holds on Steven. What Laurel sees is a strikingly

handsome young man, dramatically lighted . He takes off his

dark glasses, so she can see his eyes.

INT. MANION'S OLD TIMER TAVERN - MEN'S ROOM

Cramped space. Nicky at the washbasin, disheveled but happy,

washing his face.

One man at the urinal. SECOND MAN behind him, waiting his

turn.

Nicky drying his face with a paper towel.

NICKY:

Great game.

FIRST MAN:

Unbelievable.

NICKY:

Classic.

SECOND MAN:

Scintillating.

FIRST MAN:

I still don't believe it.

NICKY:

Have to hurry back.

SECOND MAN:

Hurry back. Hurry back to what?

NICKY:

Eleventh inning. What else?

FIRST MAN:

(zipping up)

I think you're a little confused.

Nothing personal friend.

NICKY:

What are you talking about?

FIRST MAN:

What are we talking about?

NICKY:

Yes. What are you implying?

The second man approaches the urinal.

SECOND MAN:

Game six is history,pal.

NICKY:

You're not making sense.

FIRST MAN:

We're not making sense.

SECOND MAN:

Did you see Mookie hit the ball?

NICKY:

Of course I saw it.

FIRST MAN:

Did you see the winning run score?

NICKY:

You're not making sense. Make

sense.

Nicky throws his paper towel at the men. No one moves. They

are trying to interpret this action.

NICKY:

You're implying I missed something.

What did I Fmiss?

IRST MAN:

You missed the boat, Popeye the

Sailorman.

Nicky charges the men. He and the First Man wrestle each

other into the stall.

SECOND MAN:

Hold him till I zip up, Tommy.

Nicky and the First Man are grappling in the stall. Second

Man hurriedly washes his hands at the basin.

NICKY:

Baseball is life. Life is good.

Al three men in the stall, wrestling. Nicky has one foot in

the bowl as someone's elbow strikes the handles and the

toilet flushes.

INT. MANION'S OLD TIMER TAVERN - THE BAR AREA - A LITTLE 103

LATER:

The crowd is slowly breaking up. A few people still clustered

near the TV sets, which are showing replays.

Nicky is standing alone near a small set at the back on the

room. His clothing torn and stained. One shoe and pants leg

dripping wet. A bruise on his forehead.

He is watching a replay.

TV SCREEN:

Wilson hits the ball. It bounces twice, then goes under

Buckner's glove. Knight scores from the third with the

winning run. A 6-5 victory for the Mets.

The main light in the tavern goes out. The TV sets keep

replaying Buckner's error. Regular speed, slow motion, color,

black and white.

Nicky stands in the darkness, brooding.

EXT. LOFT BUILDING

The condemned building where Steven Schwimmer lives. The

street is deserted.

INT. STEVEN'S LOFT

Steven and Laurel on the sofa. He is unbuttoning her blouse.

Two sources of light. A candle on the coffee table. The small

TV set on the counter -- showing a newscast, with sound

turned off.

LAUREL:

Why won't you tell me your name?

STEVEN:

It's only our first date.

Steven undoes the last button.

LAUREL:

I'm willing to tell you my name.

STEVEN:

Names are incredibly intimate. We

barely know each other. Trust me on

this.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes