Misery Page #10

CUT TO:

INSIDE THE HELICOPTER.

BUSTER AND PILOT flying along. Buster is all bundled up as he

stares out, using the binoculars...

CUT TO:

SOMETHING SHINY reflecting the sun.

HOLD AS IT ALMOST BLINDS US -- we're looking at the part of Paul's

Mustang that was revealed by the snow when Buster almost found the

car.

BUSTER:

(to Pilot)

Walter, we could be skipping lunch

today.

CUT TO:

CRASH SITE.

Paul's car being hoisted by chains from the ground and, as it

starts to rise up into the afternoon air...

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

THE AREA BY THE CAR -- BUSTER is there and a bunch of STATE

POLICEMEN and various MEDIA PEOPLE are there -- Buster stands with

the STATE POLICE CHIEF watching as the car is hoisted via derrick;

the sound of the powerful MOTOR lifting the car is enormous and as

the car keeps rising higher and higher and PEOPLE take pictures

and stare and

CUT TO:

THE STATE POLICE CHIEF is addressing maybe a dozen REPORTERS. It's

very cold. BUSTER stands slightly away from the group.

STATE POLICE CHIEF

The presumption must now be that Paul

Sheldon is dead. We know he somehow

crawled out of his car. But we have

been unable to locate his body in the

vicinity of the crash. We also know

if anyone had found him, they would

have taken him to an area hospital.

His body is undoubtedly out there

buried somewhere in the snow. We'll

find him after the first thaw --

unless the animals have gotten to

him first.

(beat)

I'll take questions.

After the first sentence, a very cold and very unhappy BUSTER

leaves the gathering.

CUT TO:

PAUL'S CAR as Buster studies it, especially the area by the

driver's side where there are still dents visible from Annie's

crowbar.

VIRGINIA moves to him now. They exchange a glance, start walking

together toward their car.

CUT TO:

THE CHIEF, surrounded -- people are asking questions, raising

hands for attention, and as he answers them --

CUT TO:

BUSTER AND VIRGINIA, close together, walking toward their car.

VIRGINIA:

You don't think he's dead, do you?

BUSTER:

He might well be. But not the way

they say. He didn't crawl out of that

car by himself. You saw those dents

on the door -- someone pulled him out.

VIRGINIA:

It was an old car -- those dents

could have been there forever.

BUSTER:

There's two kinds of people that

drive around in old cars: the ones

that can't afford new ones, and the

ones who wouldn't give 'em up for

anything in the world. That second

bunch don't drive around with twenty-

five-year-old dents.

As they drive off...

CUT TO:

PAUL'S ROOM. NIGHT.

PAUL lies in bed listening to the strains of "The Love

Connection," coming from upstairs. As Chuck Woolery drones on,

Paul is intently involved in folding a piece of paper from his

pad. He is making a container of some sort. He finishes, then

reaches down and grabs the Novril capsules that he has been

stashing in the mattress.

Carefully, he opens one and pours it into the palm of his hand.

First he smells it -- no odor -- then he takes a tiny bit on a

finger and tastes it -- no taste. Then, he takes his paper

container and empties the contents of all the pills into it, then

places it under the mattress.

Now, what to do with the empty capsules. He thinks for a second,

then -- what the hell -- he swallows them. He then places the

packet back in the mattress.

CUT TO:

THE TYPEWRITER. DAY.

The window is visible behind it. From this angle, it almost seems

to be staring at PAUL, broken "n" and all. PAUL tests his wounded

arm. He's able to raise it a few inches, but that's it.

CUT TO:

OUTSIDE THE WINDOW.

ANNIE is visible heading for the barn, followed by MISERY, the

pig. For a moment, she stops, turns to look back.

ANNIE:

(calling out)

Don't be nervous --

(beat)

-- just remember, I'll treasure

whatever you do.

Now, as she turns again, moves quickly away --

CUT TO:

THE TYPEWRITER.

CUT TO:

PAUL. He rolls in a piece of paper, types briefly.

CUT TO:

WHAT HE'S WRITTEN, AND IT'S THIS:

"Misery's Retur ."

by Paul Sheldo

for A ie Wilkes.

CUT TO:

PAUL, studying the paper. He takes it out, starts to roll in a new

sheet.

CUT TO:

THE MACHINE as the new sheet is rolled in.

CUT TO:

PAUL, staring at the blank page. He takes a deep breath, glances

outside, then back to the paper.

CUT TO:

THE BLANK PAGE.

CUT TO:

PAUL, and now there's a brief light behind his eyes and suddenly

he types a burst, stares at what he's written.

CUT TO:

THE PAPER and these words: "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck."

CUT TO:

PAUL. He closes his eyes briefly, mutters something, kind of nods,

opens his eyes, grabs for another piece of paper, rolls it in and

starts mechanically to type.

DISSOLVE TO:

A NEW PIECE OF PAPER with the words "Chapter Two" and a half

paragraph of writing as we

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

PAUL WORKING in his room. ANNIE enters, the first pages of

manuscript in her hands. It's dusk.

ANNIE:

I'm sorry, Paul. This is all wrong,

you'll have to do it over again.

PAUL:

(totally stunned)

What? What happened to "I'll treasure

whatever you do?"

ANNIE:

Paul, it's not worthy of you. Throw

it all out except for the part of

naming that gravedigger after me.

You can leave that in.

PAUL:

I really value your criticism, but

maybe you're being a little hasty

here.

ANNIE:

Paul, what you've written just isn't

fair.

PAUL:

-- not fair?

ANNIE:

That's right -- when I was growing up

in Bakersfield, my favorite thing in

all the world was to go to the movies

on Saturday afternoons for the chapter

plays...

PAUL:

(it just comes out)

-- cliff-hangers --

ANNIE:

(suddenly angry)

I know that, Mister Man -- they also

call them serials. I'm not stupid,

you know.

(and she's a child again)

Anyway, my favorite was Rocket Man,

and once it was a no-brakes chapter,

the bad guys stuck him in a car on a

mountain road and knocked him out and

welded the doors shut and tore out the

brakes and started him to his death

and he woke up and tried to steer and

tried to get out, but the car went off

a cliff before he could escape and it

crashed and burned and -- I was so

upset and excited and the next week

you better believe I was first in line

and they always start with the end of

the last week and there was Rocket Man

trying to get out, and here came the

cliff and JUST BEFORE the car went off

he jumped free and all the kids

cheered --

(standing up now)

-- but I didn't cheer, I stood right

up and started shouting, "This isn't

what happened last week -- have you

all got amnesia? -- THEY JUST CHEATED

US -- THIS WASN'T FAIR --"

ANNIE:
CLOSE UP. Still in her childhood reverie. Shouting:

ANNIE:

"HE DIDN'T GET OUT OF THE COCKADOODIE

CAR!"

PAUL:

They always cheated like that in

cliff --

(stops himself)

-- chapter plays.

ANNIE:

But not you. Not with my Misery.

Remember, Ian did ride for Dr. Cleary

at the end of the last book, but his

horse fell jumping that fence and Ian

broke his shoulder and his ribs and

lay there all night in the ditch so he

never reached the doctor, so there

couldn't have been any "experimental

blood transfusion" that saved her life.

Misery was buried in the ground at the

end, Paul, so you'll have to start

there.

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