Simone Page #6

Viktor's head snaps around. Lainey smiles.

LAINEY:

Back on the lot.

Viktor shrugs off the misunderstanding.

INT. VIKTOR TARANSKY'S MALIBU HOME - NIGHT

VIKTOR enters his sterile, bachelor home, carrying his mail.

His answering machine blinks in the darkness, the message

light reads "FULL". He hits the "PLAY" button.

ELAINE (V.O.)

Viktor, you bastard! I hear it's

great.

(beat)

Seriously, I'm happy for you.

Viktor opens a drawer containing a photo of he and Elaine

from happier times. He gazes at it as he listens to the

message.

ELAINE (V.O.)

I know people are going to be

beating down your door but... well,

I'd love the chance to buy back

something I gave away for free.

Don't you just love Hollywood?...

BEEP.

Viktor stops the machine, dazed. He idly opens his mail.

Inside an envelope he finds a SAG Card with the new member's

name, "SIMONE".

A MONTAGE OF SCENES BEGINS TO PLAY.

A) A line of AUDIENCE MEMBERS stretches outside the rundown

movie theater as far as the eye can see.

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)

A dazzling new ingenue has come

from seemingly nowhere to capture

the hearts of movie-going audiences

across the nation...

B) THE FRONT PAGE OF "VARIETY" coming off the presses reads,

"SIMONE:
A REVELATION -- Dawning Of A New Star In

"SUNRISE".

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)

... in her debut film, "Sunrise,

Sunset".

C) A TEENAGE BOY in a public library logs on to the first

website dedicated to SIMONE.

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)

Her face is already posted on

everything from websites to bedroom

walls.

D) Trendy TEENAGE GIRLS saunter past a swimming pool in

Simone capes and hoods despite the sweltering heat.

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)

Her wardrobe has inspired a fashion

craze.

E) In a Third World back-alley a YOUNG ASIAN MAN shows an

UNDERCOVER REPORTER a pirated recording of SIMONE on a

camcorder.

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)

And bootleg copies of her film are

being sold in back alleys all over

the world.

F) A LIQUOR STORE CUSTOMER watches a TV behind the counter

showing a clip of SIMONE from, "SUNRISE, SUNSET Courtesy:

Taransky Productions".

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

(from TV)

But who is Simone? We know so

little about her. No details of

her background have been released,

not even her age. She is somewhere

between a girl and a woman. A

fresh face and familiar both at the

same time.

G) The ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER now stands outside a

multiplex. The marquee has 16 screens and looks like

this:

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"

"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "THE MAKING OF

SUNRISE, SUNSET"

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

Is Simone even her real name? And

why the secrecy? All we know for

sure is that she was discovered by

little-known director, Viktor

Tarinsky.

INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY

VIKTOR, watching "SCENE" on a TV in the back of a limousine,

corrects the reporter.

VIKTOR:

Taransky.

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

(from the TV)

He has parlayed his relationship

with the new sensation into a three

picture deal with the very studio

that dumped him only six months

ago. And no wonder with the

starlet's performance breaking all

box office records.

EXT. STUDIO GATE - MORNING

Outside the studio entrance, a swarm of REPORTERS,

PHOTOGRAPHERS and FANS rush VIKTOR's limousine, hoping for a

glimpse of SIMONE.

MOB:

Simone! SIMONE! I LOVE YOU! I

Want to BE you!

Studio SECURITY GUARDS hold them back as the limo enters the

lot.

EXT. STUDIO - ENTRANCE - DAY

ELAINE and an entourage of EXECUTIVES greets VIKTOR's

limousine on the studio steps.

A STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHER has a camera at the ready. A banner

reads, "Welcome SIMONE". A YOUNG ASSISTANT wheels a cake.

VIKTOR steps out of the car. ELAINE pushes past him, into

the limo.

ELAINE:

Simone!... Simone?

The car is empty.

ELAINE:

(re-emerging from the car)

Where is she?

VIKTOR:

Good to see you too, Elaine.

ELAINE:

(ignoring his sarcasm)

Why isn't she with you?

VIKTOR:

Why? Because she would never show

up at something like this. She's

intensely private.

Elaine sighs, exasperated.

ELAINE:

(dismissing her

colleagues)

Back to work, everyone. She's not

here.

The reception committee disperses, murmurs of disappointment.

ELAINE:

Viktor... I want to thank you for

convincing Simone to sign with the

studio.

VIKTOR:

Don't thank me. It was entirely

Simone's decision. Do you have

Simone's check?

ELAINE:

I don't have it on me. Anyway, it

means a lot.

(quickly changing tack)

Have you read the reviews? They're

love letters.

(reading from a newspaper)

Listen to this one. "Simone has

the voice of a young Jane Fonda,

the body of Sophia Loren, the grace

of, well, Grace Kelley, and the

face of Audrey Hepburn combined

with an angel".

VIKTOR:

(musing to himself)

Almost right.

ELAINE:

I can't wait to meet her.

VIKTOR:

I don't know if that's going to

happen.

ELAINE:

(confused)

Why not?

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