Goodfellas Page #3

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EXT. CABSTAND - NIGHT

HENRY'S POV - A GRIMY ONE-STORY CABSTAND

with faded "Pitkin Avenue Cabs" sign above the door. Its

after midnight. WE SEE A HALF-DOZEN, immaculately-dressed

HOODS wearing diamond pinky rings and silk shirts, lounging

around the cabstand talking and sipping coffee.

HENRY (V.O.)

Even before I first wandered into

the cabstand for an after-school

job, I knew I wanted to be a part

of them. It was there I belonged.

HENRY'S POV

WE SEE a Cadillac pull up to the cabstand. WEE SEE the

car rise slightly when TWO huge, dapper HOODS get out.

On HOOD #1 WE SEE large diamond pinky ring on a sausage-

thick finger.

On HOOD #2 WE SEE a broken-nosed hood's tie hanging loosely

across his monogrammed shirt like a silk bandolier.

HENRY (V.O.)

To me it meant being somebody in a

neighborhood full of nobodies.

On the sidewalk WE SEE the TWO HOODS who just got out of

the car hug and playfully shove TUDDY VARIO, the sloppily-

dressed, solidly-built HOOD who runs the cabstand.

HENRY (V.O.)

They weren't like anyone else.

They did whatever they wanted.

They'd double-park in front of the

hydrant and nobody ever gave them

a ticket. In the summer when they

played cards all night, nobody

ever called the cops.

WE SEE TODDY laughingly try to push them away.

HENRY (V.O.)

Tuddy Vario ran the cabstand and a

pizzeria and a few other places

for his brother, Paul, who was the

boss over everybody in the

neighborhood.

WE SEE a laughing HOOD #1 slyly slip behind TUDDY and grab

him around the neck, while HOOD #2 starts feigning punches

to TODDY's ample midsection.

Suddenly TODDY VARIO and HOODS see that PAUL VARIO, the

boss, is standing in the cabstand's doorway. VARIO is

A large man, standing six-feet tall and weighing over 240

pounds. He appears even larger.

HENRY (V.O.)

Paulie might have moved slow, but

it was only because he didn't have

to move for anybody.

TODDY and HOODS immediately stop horsing around.

TITLES CONTINUE.

CHILD'S BEDROOM - MORNING

CARMELLA HILL, HENRY'S mother, shoves his books under his

arm and pushes him into the hallway. WE SEE. HENRY'S TWO

BROTHERS putting on their jackets and picking up their

books and almost tripping over another brother's, MICHAEL,

wheelchair. WE CATCH A GLIMPSE OF TWO SISTERS eating

breakfast.

WE SEE HENRY'S construction worker FATHER sipping coffee

in kitchen before going to work.

HENRY (V.O.)

At first, my parents loved that I

found a job across the street. My

father, who was Irish, was sent to

work at the age of eleven, and he

liked that I got myself a job. He

always said American kids were

spoiled lazy.

CARMELLA:

(to the brood)

Come on. Come on. You'll all be

late.

HENRY (V.O.)

And my mother was happy after she

found out that the Varios came

from the same part of Sicily as

she did. To my mother, it was the

answer to her prayers.

WE SEE HENRY'S MOTHER shove him out the door with his school

books.

EXT. STREET SIDE OF DOOR - DAY

CARMELLA, in doorway, watches HENRY go down the block toward

school. When HENRY turns the corner, along with

OTHER school-bound' YOUNGSTERS, WE SEE he suddenly stops.

The OTHER SCHOOLCHILDREN keep walking. HENRY carefully

sticks his head around the corner. His MOTHER is no longer

there.

WE SEE HENRY race across the street toward the cabstand.

HENRY (V.O.)

I was the luckiest kid in the world.

EXT. CABSTAND - DAY

WE SEE HENRY leap into the air to catch a set of car keys.

HENRY (V.O.)

I could go anywhere.

EXT. CABSTAND PARKING LOT - DAY

WE SEE HENRY, who can hardly see over the dashboard,

jockeying a MOBSTER'S Caddy around the cabstand parking

lot. WE SEE OTHER KIDS, HENRY'S age, watching HENRY, in

awe, from behind a fence.

HENRY (V.O.)

I could do anything.

INT. CABSTAND BACKROOM - DAY

WE SEE HENRY watching TWO UNIFORMED COPS laughing with

TODDY and SOME HOODS while stuffing whisky bottles under

their tunics.

HENRY:

I knew everybody and everybody

knew me.

EXT. SIDEWALK OUTSIDE CABSTAND - DAY

WE SEE HENRY trying to sip hot espresso coffee just like

the BIG GUYS, except WE SEE HENRY grimace because the coffee

is too hot and far too bitter.

HENRY (V.O.)

But it wasn't too long before my

parents changed their minds. For

them, the cabstand was supposed to

be a part-tie job, but for me,

it was full-time.

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