La La Land Page #10

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Sebastian's eyes go wide. He's surprised. And thrilled. He

waves. Mia hurries toward him. Takes the seat next to his,

as Rebel Without a Cause begins...

Revision 37.

56 INT. RIALTO MOVIE THEATER - LATER

Half an hour has passed. The movie plays, lights flickering

on Mia and Sebastian's darkened faces.

He puts his arm on the armrest, she moves hers nervously.

He scoots to his right, she scoots back.

She edges her elbow onto the armrest, he moves his arm.

Inch by inch, their bodies grow closer. Hands approaching,

breaths quickening, hearts pounding...

...until finally their hands touch...

And then, suddenly -- just as James Dean and Natalie Wood

arrive at Griffith Observatory, and Mia and Sebastian seem

about to kiss --

-- burn marks streak their way across the image.

The screen goes blank.

Silence. The lights go on. Mia and Sebastian turn around.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS start murmuring. Sebastian can barely

believe his bad luck.

But then Mia turns to him. Energized.

MIA (CONT'D)

I have an idea.

57 EXT. ROAD - NIGHT

Sebastian's car, traveling up a winding road, stars glittering

above it, the lights of Los Angeles glittering below it. The sky

is a deep, painted blue. Music plays... [PLANETARIUM]

The car is bending around the turns, making its way up to...

A57 ...the real Griffith Observatory. There, our MUSIC crests.

Our two characters get out of the car and wander, searching

for an open entrance. They find one -- and sneak in...

58 INT. GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY - CONTINUOUS

They ascend a staircase. Make their way past the exhibits --

the Tesla coil shooting off electric bolts.

They reach the pendulum, gaze up at the mural above it, look at

one another. Circle the pendulum, and then -- so tenderly, so

nervously...

Revision 38.

...they begin to DANCE.

This is a dance that fulfills all the promise in their

earlier duet. They circle the floor, gently and gracefully.

The music BUILDS, and they drift into...

A58 ...the PLANETARIUM. It's darkened, empty. Mia removes her

shoes, feels the soft carpet under her feet. Turns on the

projector. The screen STARTS TO GLOW. She and Sebastian take

in the sight -- the STARS and GALAXIES...

Enchanted, they look at one another, the lights from the

screen reflected on their faces. They approach, as though

about to kiss... When --

-- Mia's shoes LIFT UP. Float toward the ceiling -- toward the

star-filled screen. She and Sebastian trade looks. Realize.

And then they too begin to FLOAT...

...RISING from the floor, nothing stopping them. SOARING

past the views of comets and moons and nebulae. Eyes wide,

their emotions seized, as they HOLD EACH OTHER TIGHT...

And so unspools a gravity-free dance.

Mia and Sebastian SPIN and TWIRL through the planetarium as

though they themselves were in outer space, flying through

the cosmos. The music carries them higher and higher, and

their spirits likewise soar -- JOYOUS, EXUBERANT -- until,

finally...

...the music SOFTENS.

Mia and Sebastian drift back to the floor like feathers. They

land on a pair of seats.

There, once again seated like audience members at a movie, they

turn and look into each other's eyes. The music picks back up

for the big finish, as the lovers lean in and -- in true movie-

movie old-Hollywood big-musical fashion --

-- LOCK LIPS.

It's their first kiss, and it's a kiss to remember -- full of

all the hope and yearning and terror and wonder of love's first

blush. A swoon-worthy kiss, with the orchestra soaring and the

camera swooping in to catch the embrace in all its glory.

On this triumphant moment...

...we IRIS FADE OUT.

Revision 39.

59 OMIT

60 INT. MIA'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - DAY

Mia's scribbling in a notebook. It's dialogue. We see character

headings, scene headings. Seems to be some kind of a script...

TRACY (O.S.)

What's that?

Mia turns. Tracy has wandered in -- pajamas, eating cereal.

TRACY (CONT'D)

Is that a script?

MIA:

It's a play. I'm going to put it on myself.

ALEXIS (O.S.)

(chiming in from her bedroom)

A play? You better give us roles!

MIA:

Actually -- it's a -- it's a one-woman

show...

A beat -- and then --

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHT.

HONKING outside the nearest window. It's a honk we recognize:

TRACY:

...Is that gonna happen every time?

MIA:

(glowing)

I think so.

A60 OMIT

61 EXT. MIA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY

Mia dashes out -- and LEAPS into Sebastian's car and into his

arms. They KISS -- giddy, emotional, as though they'd been

separated for years. Sebastian drives off -- when --

MIA (O.S.) (CONT'D)

It's one-way!!

The car SCREECHES to a stop in front of a TRUCK going the

opposite direction. Sebastian goes into REVERSE as Mia cracks

up laughing. A BURST OF MUSIC as a title card pops on:

Revision 40.

SUMMER:

The MUSIC carries us through the following series of GLIMPSES:

62 -- Mia and Sebastian ambling past weathered 30's bungalows in

BUNKER HILL...

63 -- Mia guiding Sebastian down a street peppered with SILENT-

ERA HOMES, past old gas-lamps and palms...

65 -- VAN BEEK. Sebastian gestures to the "TAPAS & TUNES" sign.

Excitedly tries to deface it. Mia, aghast, pulls him back...

66 -- The HUNTINGTON GARDENS, where Mia and Sebastian gaze at

the tiny forest...

A66 -- WATTS TOWERS, where the two lovers stroll and kiss...

67 OMIT

64 -- The GRAND CENTRAL MARKET, where they grab food...

68 -- ANGEL'S FLIGHT at night, where they stumble and slip into

a tipsy, love-soaked dance...

69 OMIT

Interspersed throughout, WE SEE IMAGES OF LOS ANGELES:

1940's high-rises, green movie-movie lettering, ochre walls

shaded by palm fronds, red flowers and Spanish missions, old

lamps and Art Deco hotels. It's a gorgeous city, and the music

only makes it more gorgeous -- building and carrying us to...

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