Moonstruck Page #19

A MONTAGE FOLLOWS

They're plucking her eyebrows.

They're cutting and dying her hair.

They're painting her nails.

EXT. CINDERELLA BEAUTY SHOP-DAY

Loretta comes out. Her hair is jet black and done in a much

more stylish way. She looks great. She looks around as if

she has committed a crime, and walks off quickly

EXT. A DOWDY DRESS SHOP - DAY

Loretta looks in the windows, is dissatisfied, and walks on.

EXT. A BOLD DRESS SHOP - DAY

A stylish dress shop called INSINUATION. Loretta looks in

the window, is intimidated, and walks on. A moment passes.

She reappears. Tentatively, she enters.

INT. INSINUATION - DAY

Loretta approaches a young woman, MER, who works there. Mer

is about thirty, trendily dressed, and French. Mer and Loretta

greet and talk. Loretta makes vague gestures trying to convey

what she wants, but the truth is she doesn't know what she

wants. Mer takes the situation in hand.

There follows a MONTAGE of Mer showing Loretta various

dresses, some outlandish, some beautiful, some

incomprehensible. Loretta tries on several of the dresses in

a big triple mirror. Some horrify her, some frighten her

because they're so sexy, one bores her. We don't see the

dress that she ultimately does buy.

EXT. INSINUATION - DUSK

Loretta walks out with a big shopping bag. She walks away

down the street.

WE FOLLOW Loretta away down the street. She comes to a BRIDAL

SHOP with a big bride dummy shown off in the window She stops

and looks at the bride. She walks close to the window and

stares in hard. Then she slowly backs up from the bride.

Two NUNS are walking by. Loretta, backing up from the dummy,

bumps into the Nuns. She's flustered, makes a brief apology,

and hurries away, casting a furtive last glance at the shop

window.

END OF MUSIC:

THE TRANSFORMATIONAL MUSIC COMES TO A CLOSE.

EXT. THE CASTORINI HOUSE - DUSK

Night is falling. Loretta appears and enters the house.

INT. THE CASTORINI HOUSE - THE FRONT HALL - NIGHT

As Loretta enters she drops her bag and, as she takes off

her coat, calls.

LORETTA:

Ma! Grandpa! No? Okay.

A SINGLE BARK is HEARD from the top of the stairs. She looks

up.

A WOODEN ACCORDION GATE SEALS OFF THE TOP OF THE STAIRS

Visible behind the gate are a couple of dogs.

INT. THE CASTORINI HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT

Loretta goes through a door and into the kitchen. She opens

the refrigerator and a cabinet, and makes herself a scotch

on the rocks. She sips it and starts to HUM in an understated

way. She takes her drink and wanders out of the kitchen.

LORETTA WALKS INTO THE LIVING ROOM

She walks to each lamp in the room and turns it on. There

are many table and standing lamps throughout the room.

LORETTA IS LIGHTING THE FIRE

Which was already built in the fireplace. It catches on

nicely. She puts her drink down and gets a big standing

antique mirror on rollers from its place against the wall.

She wheels it to a central place in the room. Satisfied, she

picks up her drink again, leaves the room for a moment, and

then returns with her shopping bag. She throws it on a chair.

Then she goes to the stereo and looks through the albums.

She selects one and puts it on.

MUSIC:

Loretta waltzes around in front of the mirror, flirting with

herself in a very serious way. She starts to unbutton her

blouse.

EXT. THE CASTORINI HOUSE - NIGHT

The moon is overhead as music continues to PLAY. The CAMERA

SOARS UP CLOSE to the moon, until it completely FILLS THE

FRAME with its magic. The moon dissolves into:

INT. THE CASTORINI LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CLOSE-UP of LORETTA'S FACE as she puts the final touches on

her make-up. Music continues to PLAY. The CAMERA PULLS BACK.

WE SEE her full figure. She has changed into her evening

dress and put on her heels. She's swaying to the music. The

evening dress is sensational. She leans forward and kisses

the mirror.

WE SEE THE LIPSTICK KISS ON THE MIRROR

In the mirror, all around the kiss, is reflected the fire.

EXT. EAST RIVER NIGHT

The moon is reflected in the water as WE SEE the dock of the

night before. We can SEE Jersey lit up across the river.

But then something starts to replace Jersey. It's a huge

white liner coming down the river now, all of her lights

burning, heading back out to sea. FLASHBULBS go off along

the deck. We watch the length of the great ship pass as the

MUSIC PLAYS:

END OF MUSIC:

EXT. LINCOLN CENTER PLAZA - NIGHT

LINCOLN CENTER - LORETTA'S POV

CROWDS OF PEOPLE in beautiful clothes fill the plaza created

by the three great buildings. A glorious fountain filled

with lights forms the centerpiece. Behind the fountain, grand

and splendidly lit, is the magical Metropolitan Opera House.

Two huge Chagalls, one to the right and one to the left,

inhabit the face of the building, filling it with marvelous

color.

LORETTA COMES TO THE FOUNTAIN

The fountain is quiet and dark now. Loretta is puzzled.

She remembers that it was going. While she looks, it lights

up. Then small jets of water begin to appear. Then larger

jets.

Then with a roar the central shaft of water rises high, higher

into the night sky. She follows the column of water with her

eyes up into the sky. Right above the crest of the water,

like a beanball on a seal's nose, is the moon.

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