Groundhog Day Page #9

PHIL:

My forecast is we're going to see

the groundhog peek its head out

of its hole, look around a little

bit, then he's going to come out,

scamper over to this general

area, look at the crowd for a

second, make a little burping

noise and run back into the

ground.

RITA:

(whispers to Larry)

That's it. I'm going to kill

him.

Phil looks at his watch.

PHIL:

O k ay ? And here we go--

Phil points to the hole and Larry zooms in.

The groundhog sticks his head out, looks left, looks right,

steps out of the hole, and runs away from the press pool,

directly over to Larry's camera. As he stands there, his body

casts a long shadow. The groundhog looks right into the

camera, lets out a squeak, and runs back into the hole.

Rita and Larry are completely amazed as the crowd cheers the

brief appearance of the groundhog. Larry pans back to Phil.

Phil just stands there speechless, staring at the groundhog

burrow.

-35-

RITA:

(HISSES)

Phil!

Buster Greene, the Groundhog club official, walks onto the

mound and hushes the crowd, exactly as before.

BUSTER:

He came out, and he saw his

shadow. Sorry, ladies and

gentlemen, but it looks like it's

going to be a long winter.

Again the crowd lets out a good-natured "Awwwwww" in

disappointment.

Larry pans back to Phil just in time to see him walking away in

a fog, without signing off. Then he pans back to Rita.

RITA:

(at a loss)

For Channel 9 News, this is Rita

Hanson in Punxsutawney.

She holds for a moment then makes the cut sign, drawing her

finger across her throat.

CUT TO:

- LATER

INT; PHIL'S ROOM

Phil is on the phone desperately trying to make a call.

PHIL:

(on the phone)

I know there's a blizzard, but I

have to get a call through to my

doctor in Pittsburgh. It's a

medical emergency. . . .No, don't

give me the Punxsutawney Fire

Department. When do you think

the long distance lines will be

working again?. . . But what if we

don't have a tomorrow? We didn't

have one today, my friend...

Hello...Hello?

He hangs up and shakes his head which is now really starting to

ache, then he pops a handful of Tylenol, lies down and pulls

the covers up over his head. A moment later, he sits up, takes

a pencil from the nightstand, breaks it in half and puts the

pieces back on the nightstand. Then he lies back down and

retreats back under the covers.

CUT TO:

-36-

CLOSE UP - CLOCK

The digital clock-radio changes from 5:59 to 6:00 AM. The

radio comes on, playing the end of the Sonny and Cher hit, "I

Got You, Babe," just as it did the day before.

INT. PHIL'S ROOM - DAWN

Phil sits up in bed fearing the worst and looks on the

nightstand. The pencil is whole again. Completely stunned by

the phenomenon, he jumps out of bed and starts dressing

hurriedly as the morning Deejays begin their now familiar rap.

DEEJAY:

Okay, campers, rise and shine,

and don't forget your booties

because it's COOOLD out there

today!

SIDEKICK:

It's cold out there everyday.

What is this-- Miami Beach?

Phil rushes out of the room.

CUT TO:

EXT. CHERRY STREET - LATER

Phil hurries toward the bed and breakfast carrying two gallon

buckets of paint, and a couple of big bags from a hardware

store.

INT. BED AND BREAKFAST - CONTINUOUS

Phil enters and passes Mrs. Lancaster in the breakfast room.

MRS. LANCASTER

Painting something, Mr. Connors?

PHIL:

I ' m conducting an experiment.

INT. PHIL'S ROOM - LATER

Phil enters and dumps the bags on the bed. Out fall a couple

of big paintbrushes, a small sledgehammer, a handsaw, a

crowbar, plastic goggles and assorted other tools. He puts on

the goggles, grabs a hammer and some nails and starts nailing

the door shut.

CUT TO:

-37-

EXT. CORRIDOR - LATER

Mrs. Lancaster and several other guests are gathered in the

hall outside Phil's room, listening at the door and looking

very worried. Loud music is playing inside the room.

From inside the room, they hear the sound of loud hammering,

wood splintering and glass breaking.

INT. PHIL'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Phil, has demolished just about all the furniture and woodwork

in the room. He rips off the last of the wooden moldings with

the crowbar, then crosses to the mirror over the demolished

sink.

Phil stands there, staring at his image in the mirror, trying

to figure out what's happening to him. He starts breathing

heavier, as if gathering courage, then, just when we think he's

going to cut off his ear or something, he raises an electric

barber clipper and shaves a bald stripe up the middle of his

head. He studies his new look for a moment then smashes the

mirror with his sledgehammer.

Then he opens the cans of paint, dips the two big brushes into

the cans and starts slapping bright red paint onto the walls,

madly, feverishly, splashing himself and everything else in the

room with it.

As a final touch he grabs the bed pillows and rips them open,

then shakes them all around the room creating a storm of

feathers.

Finally, Phil falls exhausted on the bed. From outside we can

hear outraged hotel employees pounding on the door.

We pan over to the clock radio, the only undamaged object in

the room. Feathers drift down past the face of the clock which

reads 5:
59 AM. The time changes to 6:00, the radio clicks on

and "I Got You, Babe" starts playing as we pan back to Phil

sleeping on the bed.

He opens his eyes, jumps out of bed and looks around. No

paint, no feathers, no damage. Everything is as clean and tidy

as the day he checked in.

He races over to the unbroken mirror and looks at himself. His

hair is completely restored, as if it had never been shaved.

The song ends and the deejays come on. Phil says every word

right along with them, shocked into a state of complete

wonderment.

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