Kalifornia Page #13

When Early opens his eyes, he sees a concerned look on Brian's

face.

EARLY:

(unconvincingly)

...and it wasn't.

An awkward silence.

Then Early starts laughing. Brian follows suit. They both

climb back in the car. Their forced laughter trails off.

Brian shifts the Lincoln back into gear and segues

awkwardly...

BRIAN:

What were you "swinging a sickle"

for?

Early stares at Brian. For a moment Brian is unsure what

Early will say, or do? Then Early grins...

EARLY:

For... 'bout three years.

Brian brakes their eye contact, looks back out onto the

highway and just drives off.

OMITTED:

Sequence omitted from original script.

INT. BRIAN AND CARRIE'S MOTEL ROOM - LATER

The door opens revealing Brian silhouetted in the doorway.

Under the influence of Lucky Lager, he fumbles with the key...

gets inside and noisily shuts the door behind him. Carrie

remains stonily silent, in the dark.

BRIAN:

Gotta see a man about a mule... What's

wrong?

A few seconds pass.

CARRIE:

The same thing that's been "wrong"

the whole trip. Your good buddy Early.

Carrie, in bed, switches on the side table light. Reveals

Brian leaning on the wall trying to get his shoes off without

falling over.

BRIAN:

Who said he's my good buddy?

CARRIE:

You sure been acting like you were...

(redneck accent)

...Out whoopin' it up, a drankin'

and ever' thang.

Brian points to the empty beer bottles on the table.

BRIAN:

Hey come on, you two were drinking

too... so what's the big deal.

Brian throws his shoes somewhere and heads toward the

bathroom.

CARRIE:

Yeah, and you should've seen how

terrified she was that he'd find

out. He beats her.

BRIAN:

How do you know that?

CARRIE:

She told me...

(adding)

...but only when she "deserves" it.

Did you know he was in jail?

BATHROOM:

Brian turns on the light. Takes a piss. A long one.

BRIAN:

Yeah, for stealing a car. Aaahhhh.

Suddenly, from right behind him:

CARRIE (O.S.)

Bullshit!

Startled, Brian turns to see Carrie.

CARRIE:

...He told her it was for carrying a

gun, but the truth could be murder

for all we know.

No response from Brian. Carrie walks away.

LIVING ROOM:

Carrie steps over to the bed, pulls the sheets back. Brian

leans out the bathroom door:

BRIAN:

Stop being so f***ing melodramatic!

If it was murder he'd still be locked

up or on parole, in which case he

wouldn't be allowed to leave the

state.

CARRIE:

Maybe he wasn't allowed to leave!

Geezus Brian!

Brian smacks himself on the forehead (a sarcastic "how stupid

of me!") He pulls his shirt off over his head, and admits...

BRIAN:

(sarcastically)

Of course! The accent, the clothes,

and those table manners!... He's got

to be a mass murderer!

(pause)

What else could he be?

He switches off the bathroom light, steps out of the doorway,

and begins to pull his jeans off. Carrie climbs into bed.

BRIAN:

You know, it wouldn't even surprise

me if he turned out to be... a

Republican!

Brian tosses his jeans and moves toward the bed. Carrie

switches off the the only light in the room. In the dark, we

hear a thud as Brian trips over a chair.

BRIAN:

Goddamnit!... my f***ing toe!

EXT. BRIAN AND CARRIE'S MOTEL ROOM - A MOMENT LATER

Carrie leaves the motel room, ice bucket in hand.

CARRIE:

(to Brian inside room)

Try not to lose consciousness 'til I

get back.

EXT. MOTEL CORRIDOR

At the far end of a narrow hallway, Carrie finds an ice

machine rumbling away noisily. The only illumination, a single

fluorescent light bulb, hangs suspended above it.

AT THE ICE MACHINE

With her arm buried inside the ice machine, Carrie scavenges

for what little ice there is... when, out of the corner of

her eye, she notices...

SOMEONE standing at the other end of the corridor. The

silhouette of a man.

Carrie stops. Her eyes scan the claustrophobic hallway for

another way out. There is none.

She tries to ignore the situation. Grabs another handful of

ice cubes. The man approaches. Carrie stops again. Her mind

races. The man's face slowly becomes visible as he nears the

fluorescent light. It's Early.

EARLY:

Ain't you done enough drinking for

tonight?

CARRIE:

...Brian hurt his foot.

Early reaches past her into the ice machine and grabs a

solitary cube. He puts it in his mouth, sucks on it. His

torso is drenched in sweat. He catches Carrie staring at

him.

EARLY:

Sometimes... Don't know why it is...

I get so hot I can't stand it. I

just start sweating like a dog. You

ever get like that?

CARRIE:

(tenuous)

No.

Early spits the ice cube back into his hand. He presses it

against the back of his neck.

EARLY:

I can feel it start to run down my

neck...

(he turns his back to

show her)

...and down my back... right into my

pants.

Carrie follows a bead of ice water as it slides down between

his shoulder blades and along his back.

EARLY:

...and everything starts stickin'

together... keeps running down the

back of my legs like two rivers racin'

for my boots, see who gets there

first.

He snaps a look back to Carrie and finds her looking at his

ass. She diverts her glance.

EARLY:

You never get that hot, huh?

Carrie shakes her head no. Early looks in his hand to see

that his ice cube has melted.

CARRIE:

I gotta get back before this ice

melts.

Carrie tries to slip past him. He reaches back into the

machine, momentarily blocking her exit. He grabs another ice

cube. His face only inches from hers.

EARLY:

...never?

CARRIE:

No, never. Excuse me.

He pops the ice cube in his mouth and lets her pass.

EARLY:

You like Skynard?

No response, Early chews up the ice cube.

OMITTED:

Sequence omitted from original script.

EXT. LINCOLN LEAVING THE MOTEL - NEXT MORNING

The car crawls out of the parking lot.

INT. LINCOLN

Carrie is driving. Brian is contending with a major hangover.

There is still a silent tension between Brian and Carrie

from the argument the night before. Early is in the back

with Adele. Brian moves his head and moans.

ADELE:

My daddy always took sauerkraut juice

and tobasco sauce for a hangover,

mixed in one egg not two, and some

tomato juice...

From the front seat, Brian's hand springs up in a desperate

plea for an end to Adele's colorful description.

BRIAN:

I'm okay, thanks.

Brian rolls down his window for some fresh air, as the car

pulls away.

EXT. LINCOLN ON HIGHWAY - MOMENTS LATER

THE CAR IS HEADING DOWN A COUNTRY ROAD.

INT. LINCOLN

Carrie glances over at Brian, who is now asleep next to her.

She looks up into her rear-view mirror...

CARRIE'S POV:
IN THE MIRROR

Early is asleep, leaning against the door. Adele is rummaging

through a large canvas bag on the seat next to her.

Suddenly... The wail of an approaching ambulance gets Carrie's

attention. It roars by. Carrie glances in the mirror again.

The next instant, unexpectedly...

EXT. LINCOLN

She furiously pulls the car off the road to an abrupt halt.

INT. LINCOLN

Brian's heads bangs against the side window.

BRIAN:

What! What!

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