Kill Your Darlings Page #3

It's better than anything

you've ever written.

- I use periods and commas.

- Both of you, quiet.

Kerouac. How are you, chum?

Sammy, you bastard.

Who's Sammy?

My best friend since I

was 12. Off in the Navy.

We've just been through

20 days of German shelling

every three hours, night and day.

This will be my last one for a while.

Tomorrow we're headed our to the

front, some beach near Rome. Anzio?

Go sit at the table.

It's supposed to be beautiful...

I didn't know we were having guests.

What's this?

I was aiming for stew.

Yeah? You missed.

Come on, guys.

- Where are you going?

- Out.

Out'? I have been

cooking all day for you.

What? What do you want?

Want me to eat shoe leather?

I'm hungry, and what you

do in the kitchen's unholy.

That's funny. You talk like a Catholic,

but you f*** me and won't marry me.

- How does that work?

- Shut your mouth, Edie.

I thought you liked it wide open.

Scram.

Allen.

So, Al. Thought my novel was sh*t?

- Not exactly. It's not what I

would choose... - it's all true.

Jack sewed in the merchant marines.

I left school twice already.

Columbia's full of squares.

Not even sure why I

bothered to come back.

Why don't you just ship out again?

Trust me, sometimes when I

fight with Edie, I want to.

Well, you two did just fight.

Carr, you're goddamn crazy.

"A new vision. " Yeah.

Sounds phoney.

Movements are cooked up by people who

can't write about the people who can.

I don't think he gets

what we're trying to do.

Listen to me.

This whole town's full of finks on

the 30th floor writing pure chintz.

Writers. A real writers

gotta be in the beds,

down in the trenches and

all the broken places.

Where were your trenches, Al?

- Allen.

- Right.

First thought, best thought.

F*** you. What does that even mean?

That's good. That's one. What else?

- F*** your one million words.

- Yes, even better.

You don't know me.

You're right.

Who is "you"?

"Be careful.

"You are not in Wonderland.

"I've heard the strange madness

long growing in your soul.

"But you are fortunate

in your ignorance,

"in your isolation.

"You who have suffered

"find where love hides.

"Give, share, lose,

"lest we die unbloomed. "

Al?

That was beautiful, kid.

You wrote that?

You asked me to.

Forget Columbia.

Forget Ogden Nash.

Here's the plan, boys. We

join the merchant marines,

sail the world until the war ends,

then jump ship and make it

to Paris for the liberation.

And you don't speak French.

Jack does.

It'll be us together at the beginning.

It'll be the perfect day.

- Jesus Christ.

- Get your hands in the air.

You have managed to

matriculate and drop out

of Tulane, Bowdoin and

the University of Chicago.

Your attendance record

here is abominable.

You've ignored curfew.

Your papers, when you

bother to turn them in,

exceed the assigned page limit.

Can you explain why you're at Columbia?

- Well, the same reason you are.

- What is that?

Loose Barnard girls.

I know about your difficulties,

about what happened in Chicago.

- You told him?

- He's not the enemy.

You see, the university

acts in loco parentis.

You are our responsibility.

We're trying to find some way

to make this all work for you.

Who said anybody could know

anything about anything?

Lucien, your temper.

Things were going fine

and you're just spreading rumours

to get me kicked out of here.

Allen. What the hell's going on?

Who's she?

Hi. I'm Edith Cohen.

What's she doing here?

I've been divorced for some time.

I'll go wait outside.

This is the kind of childish outburst...

So that's why you locked Mom up.

Get back here immediately.

Lucien. Lucien.

- Lucien!

- Did he put you up to this?

No.

I stole the boat.

And it was tremendous.

Where are you going?

You know me now.

I'm only good at beginnings.

What, you're dropping out?

Best of luck.

Okay-

My father showed up

today with some new woman

and in the middle of all the

"Allen's a screw-up" monologue,

all of a sudden, I

realised I don't care.

I've never not cared.

So, I told them it was my idea

to steal the boat.

Why?

Because I don't want to be

the person they think I am.

I am on academic probation

and I could get kicked out.

You can't leave.

You started something and I have no

idea what I'm supposed to do next.

It's our turn.

Let's show them what we can do.

You in?

You mustn't drink while you're

handling it, and no writing in it.

It comes back exactly as you've got it.

Next.

Once you get the book,

treat it very, very well.

And you don't break the

binding. Now follow me.

All right.

Hey, no telling Edie.

Maybe you can help me with something.

You're checking out all these books.

I'm asking myself, do

you ever get checked out?

Twenty-five seconds.

Masterful.

- Hi.

- Hi.

Damn it. Shift's over.

See you tomorrow.

I'll go.

Hi.

I wondered if you could help me.

Sure.

I'm looking for a book.

Okay-

- Does this book have a title?

- Yes. Yes.

It's called The Day Amanda Came.

Well, you'll have lo wait.

I can't leave the desk.

I really need it.

Okay-

Only for you.

Sh*t.

So working here must be a drag.

I like it. It's the

only way I meet boys.

They're very, very strict at Barnard.

Oh, really? How strict?

Well, for example, they

would never let me do this.

Right. No.

Go.

Did you know I've never done it

with someone who was Jewish before?

I'm really excited to

see what it looks like.

Well...

I'm sorry.

I thought you were saying

something, but not saying it.

Should we find your book?

The key.

There is no book.

- Take it off.

- Really?

- You. You take it off.

- Oh, okay.

I'm not a virgin. I have done

it with four guys already.

You're kind of a virgin though, huh?

- No.

- Liar.

See, if you have done it before,

you'll last for 30 seconds.

Stan counting.

One,

two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

Six,

seven,

eight...

Nine...

I knew it.

I bet you don't even read.

I do.

This is it, guys. This is our Bastille.

No chickening out.

Excuse me.

I think I saw some light

or movement in the library.

What just happened?

We know you're here!

Come on.

Lu?

Bill, what the hell? It's locked!

This way.

I think they're this way.

We know you're here.

Come out!

Hey!

Lu, that's enough! What's

wrong with you? Come on.

Not yet. We have to finish.

Enough now! It's over!

Let me go! Allen!

Let go! Let...

Allen! Get off of me.

- One prick.

- Allen.

Allen!

Let's go!

You guys open this

goddamn door right now.

Open this f***ing door right now.

Open the f*** up. Open the...

The South Hall library is a church

and these are the sacraments...

Oh, m)'

God.

- To literacy.

- To literacy indeed.

- Jack, that's you, isn't it?

- Yup. Last year.

They still won.

Look at them.

Souvenir history.

To make people think they

left some mark on the world.

Because otherwise,

nobody would ever know.

I never want to end up on that wall.

Have no fear. You never will.

What's he doing here?

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