Philadelphia Page #18

Everyone LAUGHS. Andrew and Randy high five.

MIGUEL:

Wait a minute...

(to Andrew)

You're gay?

More laughter. But Jill speaks seriously:

JILL:

What about you, Andy? You're not a

militant type. You've always

been so private.

CLOSE ON ANDREW:

ANDREW:

I guess... I don't have time for

that any more.

SARAH:

Jim? Will you lead us in a

prayer?

Everyone bows heads, holding hands in a circle.

REVEREND JIM:

Dear Lord. Sometimes it is

difficult to remember to be

grateful...

CAMERA PANS THE CIRCLE, THE PRAYING FACES.

REVEREND JIM (CONT.)

To remember, in our times of

sorrow and confusion, that we

have You to turn to, and each

other. Bless and keep Andrew

and Miguel, dear Lord, deepen

and strengthen their love as

they face the struggles that lay

ahead. Bless and watch over all

of us, fill us with Your love,

Your light, and Your peace,

which passeth all understanding.

In Jesus' name, we pray...

EVERYONE:

Amen.

ROMANTIC MUSIC CROSSES CUT TO:

BECKETTS' LIVINGROOM, SEEN THROUGH THE VIDEO CAMERA (DAY) ...

A local entertainer (GUIDO PAONESSA) launches into a

standard, accompanied by a single guitar player, and Bud and

Sarah begin to dance, surrounded by family and friends.

GUIDO:

"After all the days of Spring

have flown..."

VIDEO CAMERA PANS: RELATIVES eating cake, KIDS chasing each

other, a GRANDMOTHER in a wheelchair holding a NEWBORN,

watching silent, video home movies.

CAMERA FINDS Andrew and Niguel eating anniversary cake

(Andrew barely touches his). Playing for the camera, Miguel

dips his finger into icing and smears it onto Andrew's nose.

Andrew tries to reach the icing with his tongue.

CAMERA PANS WITH ANDREW as he comes forward to dance with his

mother, while Jill dances with their father.

CAMERA RETURNS TO MIGUEL. MATT (behind the camera) says:

MATT (OS)

Hey, Miguel, can you imagine any

two people being together for forty

years?

ZOOM IN CLOSE ON NIGUEL (who's watching Andrew):

MIGUEL:

Yes. I can.

VIDEO CAMERA PANS to Andrew dancing with his Mom, lingering on

this IMAGE...

JOE (VOICE OVER)

Forget everything you've seen on

TV, and in the movies...

CUT TO:

HELICOPTER SHOT, REVEALING ALL OF PHILADELPHIA (DAY) ...

TITLE:
"Eight months later."

JOE (OS) (CONT.)

There won't be any last minute,

surprise witnesses...

CUT TO:

A MAN LOOKING INTO CAMERA: HE'S YOUNG, CONFIDENT, ALL

American, a Marine (INT./DAY) ...

TITLE:
"Opening statements."

The MARINE is a JUROR. CAMERA PANS others: a BLACK LADY

SCHOOLTEACHER, a POSTAL WORKER, an ASIAN COLLEGE STUDENT.

JOE (OS) (CONT.)

No one will break down on the stand

with a tearful confession...

REVERSE ON JOE, ADDRESSING THE JURY.

JOE (CONT.)

You are presented with a simple

fact:
Andrew Beckett was fired.

You will hear two explanations for

why he was fired. Ours. And

theirs...

Joe crosses the courtroom, coming to stand in front of...

ANDREW, whose appearance has changed: thinner, paler than we've

ever seen him, some blisters on his lips. But the most disturbing

thing about his appearance is the way he moves, slowly, like a

much older man. He's taking notes (which he will do

relentlessly throughout the trial.) And he has a cane at his

side, which he'll use throughout the trial.

JOE (CONT.)

It's up to you, to sift through

layer and layer of truth, and

determine for yourselves the

version that sounds the most true.

Charles Wheeler, Walter Kenton, Bob Seidman, Kenneth Killcoyne

sit BEHIND their lawyers, Belinda Conine and Jerome Green, and

SEVERAL ASSISTANTS at the defense table.

JUDGE GARNETT presides from his bench.

Among the spectators, Miguel sits next to Sarah, and

Andrew's sister Jill. AIDS ACTIVISTS in the background.

JOE (CONT.)

There are certain points in our

version, that I must prove to

you... Point number one: Andrew

Beckett was... is a brilliant

lawyer. A great lawyer. Point

number two. Andrew Beckett,

afflicted with a debilitating

disease, made the legal,

understandable, personal choice

to keep the fact of his illness

to himself... Point number three:

His employers discovered his

illness. And ladies and gentlemen,

the illness I'm referring to, is

AIDS...

Joe pauses, letting that sink in.

JOE (CONT.)

Point number four. They panicked.

And, in their panic, they did what

most of us would like to do with

AIDS... Get it, and the people

who have it, as far away from us

as possible.

Joe walks away from Andrew.

JOE (CONT.)

The behavior of Andrew Beckett's

employers may seem reasonable to

you. It does to me. After all, AIDS

is a deadly, incurable, disease...

CLOSE ON MEMBERS OF THE JURY.

JOE (CONT.)

But however you come to judge the

behavior of Charles Wheeler and

his partners in moral, ethical,

human terms... When they fired

Andrew Beckett because he had

AIDS, they broke the law.

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