Kramer vs. Kramer Page #6

TED:

(urgent)

Sorry, Jim I've got to go. I'll

talk to you tomorrow.

And before O'Connor can say anything he is gone.

REVERSE ON O'CONNOR--Obviously displeased. He sits for

a moment, drumming his fingers on the desk top, then

reaches for the phone and starts to dial. A moment

later:

O'CONNOR

Murray? Jim O'Connor, why don't

you drop by and have a drink...

CUT TO:

36 EXT. OFFICE BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON

WIDE SHOT--as Ted emerges from the building, starts

to hail a cab.

CUT TO:

37 EXT. APARTMENT HOUSE, EAST EIGHTIES -

LATE AFTERNOON:

WIDE SHOT--as the cab pulls to a stop. Ted leaps out

and rushes inside.

CUT TO:

33 INT. HALLWAY, APARTMENT BLDG. - LATE AFTERNOON

The elevator doors open and Ted steps out. THE CAMERA

PANS WITH HIM as he crosses to the doorway of an

apartment, rings the bell.

CLOSER IN--as the door is opened by a pleasant-looking

woman in her thirties. This is MRS. KLINE. She has

the slightly haggard look of someone who has just sur-

vived a birthday party with eight five-year-olds. In

fact, behind her we SEE an abundance of crepe paper

and balloons.

TED:

(apologetic)

Mrs. Kline, I'm sorry I'm late,

but--

MRS. KLINE

That's all right, but I'm afraid

Billy was a little nervous...

(she glances O.S.)

THEIR P.O.V.:
Billy, his coat on, his goody bag in his

lap sits alone on a bench in the foyer.

The moment he sees his father, he gets up and starts

for the door.

BILLY:

(to Ted, accusingly)

You're late.

TED:

I'm sorry, pal, but I had a

meeting and--

BILLY:

(to Mrs. Kline,

anxious to get

away)

Goodbye.

MRS. KLINE

Goodbye, Bill. Thank you for

coming.

(calling out to her

son in the next room)

Mark. Say goodbye to Bill.

MARK (O.S.)

(preoccupied)

Bye.

BILLY:

Bye.

And he hustles his father out into the hallway. Once

door is shut behind them:

BILLY:

(sullen)

I was waiting a long time.

By now they have crossed to the elevator. Ted rings

the bell.

TED:

(this ain't exactly

the greeting he's

expected)

It wasn't so long, I'm only...

(checking his watch)

...twenty minutes late.

The elevator doors open.

BILLY:

All the other mothers got here a

long time ago...

And the doors close, blocking them from view.

CUT TO:

39 INT. LIVING ROOM, KRAMER APT. - NIGHT

WIDE SHOT--Ted and Billy sit at the dining table, a

large pizza between them. Ted is working hard, trying

to establish some kind of rapport with his son. Billy

is silent, he picks at the slice of pizza in front of

him.

TED:

(more of the camp

counselor)

How was school today?

BILLY:

Okay...Same as usual...

TED:

Billy, don't eat with your fingers.

BILLY:

(morose)

Sorry.

There is a long beat of silence.

TED:

(like pulling teeth)

Well, I see the Yankees finally

won a game.

BILLY:

Mom, I mean dad?

TED:

Yeah?

BILLY:

Can I be excused? I'm not hungry.

I think I'll go to bed.

TED:

Sure. Too much birthday cake,

right?

BILLY:

(as he gets up from

the table)

I guess...

WIDE SHOT--as Billy shuffles off toward his room. Ted

sits for a beat picking at the food on his plate.

THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH BILLY--as he gets up from the

table and

40 walks into his room. HOLD IN THE DOORWAY as he

takes off his shirt and pants and leaves them lying

on the floor. The boy crosses to the closet, gets his

pajamas and puts them on.

REVERSE ON TED--standing in the doorway, watching.

TED:

Goodnight.

ON BILLY--He starts to crawl into bed.

BILLY:

(aloof)

'Night.

ON TED, THE CAMERA PANS WITH HIM--as he crosses to where

Billy dropped his clothes on the floor, picks them up.

TED:

Listen, pal, I'm sorry, okay?

Silence.

TED:

I know how you feel.

Silence.

Ted crosses, sits on the edge of the bed.

TED:

Look, I remember one time when.

I was a couple of years younger

than you are now and...I was

staying with this cousin of mine

and my parents were supposed to

come and pick me up by three,

but it got later and later and

they didn't and they didn't show

up and I remember I got really

scared that something had happened

to them and I remember when they

finally came instead of being

happy to see them I was very

angry and...Billy, I promise I'll

never do that to you again,

okay?...

Silence.

TED:

Billy? Okay?

C.U. BILLY--His face is turned to the wall. HOLD FOR A

BEAT as we SEE him nod.

41 INT. LIVING ROOM, TED KRAMER'S APT. - NIGHT

Note:
The following scene, which is written as one,

is actually to be played so that each time we cut back

to the woman who is being interviewed as housekeeper,

it is a different woman: sometimes nervous and ex-

cited, sometimes large and lugubrious, with six shopping

bags, sometimes looking like a headmistress at Dachau.

They are uniformly (until the last) unappetizing.

Throughout this, we SEE Ted becoming increasingly

desperate.

WOMAN:

(looking around

nervous)

It's very big...They didn't

tell me it was this big.

TED:

(apologetically)

No...No, actually it's only two

bedrooms.

SECOND WOMAN:

(sniffing)

Phew...This place is a real

pig sty.

TED:

(defensively)

Look, my wife just walked out

on me. Okay? It's been a tough

week.

THIRD WOMAN:

Don't tell me your troubles,

mister. I got enough of my own.

42 Note:
With the FOURTH WOMAN we begin on a

CLOSE-UP and PULL BACK to REVEAL that we are in

Ted's office and it is the middle of the afternoon.

INT. TED KRAMER'S OFFICE - DAY

FOURTH WOMAN:

The first thing is, I don't do

floors.

At that point the door behind her opens and O'Connor

pokes his head in.

O'CONNOR

Ted.

FOURTH WOMAN:

(ignoring him)

Or windows. I come in at ten and

I get Wednesdays off.

O'CONNOR

Ted.

TED:

(brisk)

I'll be with you in a minute,

Jim.

(back to the woman)

You couldn't make that Saturday,

could you?

CUT TO:

43 INT. LIVING ROOM, KRAMER APT. - NIGHT

ON THE FIFTH WOMAN (MRS. WILLEWSKA)--She is a slightly

built attractive woman in her early sixties. There is

a long pause as she looks around.

MRS. WILLEWSKA

What kind of boy is your son?

REACTION TED--This is the first person that ever asked

about Billy.

TED:

(taken aback)

Well, he's...ah, he's a good kid.

He's shy and...I think he's

probably very creative and...

MRS. WILLEWSKA

Could I see him?

TED:

Sure. He's right in here.

As they start toward the child's room.

CUT TO:

44 INT. BILLY'S ROOM - NIGHT

In the darkness we can SEE Billy, all scrunched up in

the covers. HOLD FOR A BEAT as the door opens and the

light from the hall falls across the sleeping boy.

ON THE DOOR--Ted and Mrs. Willewska stand silhouetted

against the light.

MRS. WILLEWSKA

Oh,...He's very beautiful.

ON BILLY--as he stirs, in his sleep.

MRS. WILLEWSKA (O.S.)

Mr. Kramer, you are a very lucky

man.

REACTION, TED--This is the first time since Joanna left

that this has occurred to him.

TED:

Mrs. Willewska, could you start

on Monday?

CUT TO:

45 INT. SUPERMARKET - DAY

ON BILLY AND TED, TRACKING JUST IN FRONT OF THEM--as they

wheel a shopping cart along the aisle. Ted has a

shopping list in his hand.

Ted stops, takes a box of detergent off of the shelf,

starts to put it in the shopping cart, when:

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