Sleepless in Seattle

FADE IN:

CLOSE ON SAM BALDWIN

A card:
Chicago.

He's in his thirties. His neck is pinched into a crisp

dress shirt and tie. His expression is vacant, faraway.

A breeze blows but he doesn't react to it. In the

distance the architecture of the Chicago skyline.

SAM:

Mommy got sick and it happened

just like that and there was

nothing anybody would do.

(continued)

And pull back to reveal:

EXT. CHICAGO - A GRAVESITE - DAY

Next to Sam is his son Jonah, age 9. Sam's hand is on

his shoulder. As the mourners go past and each takes a

turn shoveling a clod of dirt into an open grave --

SAM:

If we start asking why we'll go

crazy. So, rule number one.

We don't ask why.

CUT TO:

CLOSE ON ANNIE REED

Pretty, blonde, animated. Jeans, a T-shirt, a Baltimore

Orioles hat.

ANNIE:

Why? I just want to know why?

That's my first rule. I always

ask why. Come on. Tell me.

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon --

And pull back to reveal:

EXT. CHICAGO ALLEY - DAY

Annie is talking to her boyfriend, a good-looking guy

named SETH. They're carrying packing boxes into the

house they share in the Old Town section of Chicago.

The same stunning architecture in the b.g. They go up

the back wooden staircase to the house.

SETH:

There's no why, Annie. I'm

just not up for it. I never

said I was.

ANNIE:

Is there somebody else?

SETH:

Nope.

ANNIE:

You don't love me, is that it?

SETH:

Nope.

Follow them into:

INT. KITCHEN - DUSK

As they set down the packing boxes and Seth starts to

assemble them.

ANNIE:

How about ... you're too

narcissistic to commit to

another human being in a long-

term way.

SETH:

(agreeably)

That's good.

CUT TO:

INT. SAM'S CHICAGO TOWN HOUSE - DAY

An attractive, thirtyish couple, SUZY and GREG are

stocking Sam's freezer with enough Ziploc meals for a

months. A number of friends and relatives talk quietly

in the living room beyond. Sam stands alone by a window

that looks into the backyard. We can see a garden of

flowers -- clearly planted by Sam's wife.

SUZY:

Five minutes in the microwave.

Any one of them, five minutes

and done. Ready to eat. Do

you know how to make juice?

SAM:

Microwave. Five minutes.

CUT TO:

ANNIE'S KITCHEN - SEVERAL DAYS LATER

Packing boxes. Seth is moving out.

ANNIE:

You take the microwave?

SETH:

What am I going to do with a

microwave?

ANNIE:

You turn it on, you open it and

you stand in front of it for a

very long time.

SETH:

So you're angry. Big deal.

CUT TO:

SAM'S OFFICE - DAY

A large modern architectural firm in a Chicago high-

rise. Lake Michigan out the window. A large space with

several architects consulting, drafting, etc. Sam is at

his desk, working. An older colleague, ROB, comes over

to him. Rob has a mustache, smokes a pipe; he's kind

but a little stuffy.

ROB:

Young man, it's none of my

business, but maybe you should

talk to someone. I myself

have consulted a professional.

I used to be up tight.

On Sam's face. It's hard to imagine Rob being any more

uptight than he is. Sam takes some business cards out

of his shirt pocket and reads them off.

SAM:

Hypnotherapy...Shiatu Massage...

Loss of Spouse support groups...

Single parent discussion nights...

Parents without partners.

(starts riffling, angry)

Partners without parents.

People who need people. Guys

who go into the woods, beat

drums and bond. Get a shrink.

Hug a friend. Hug yourself.

He stops, realizing that everyone in the room is staring

at him. Quickly they pretend they weren't paying

attention. Someone whispers something to a client.

SAM:

(continued)

Don't mind him. He's the guy

who just lost his wife.

(beat)

What I really think is we need

a change.

ROB:

Good idea. Take a few weeks

off, get some sun, take Jonah

fishing --

SAM:

(shaking his head no)

A real change. New city.

Someplace where every time I go

around a corner I don't think

of Maggie.

And hold on Sam for a moment and--

DISSOLVE:

EXT. WRIGLEY FIELD - DAY

Sam, Jonah and Maggie walking toward the field. It's a

gorgeous day for a game. They high-five each other.

ROB (V.O.)

Where you going to go?

And cut back to:

INT. SAM'S OFFICE - DAY

As Sam snaps out of it.

SAM:

I was thinking about Seattle.

INT. CHICAGO TRIBUNE - DAY

The Living Section of the paper. Annie is blowing her

nose as she finishes telling her tale of woe to her

boss, LAURIE JOHNSON.

LAURIE:

Honey, he wasn't right for you.

ANNIE:

(blowing her nose)

I know.

LAURIE:

He wasn't even wrong for you,

like cosmically wrong, so don't

beat up on yourself for

wasting...however long it was.

ANNIE:

I know.

(blowing her nose

again)

She pours Annie a cup of hot water. Annie pulls a

teabag out of her pocket, puts it into the water.

LAURIE:

Maybe you should see a shrink.

ANNIE:

I want my money.

LAURIE:

Go home for the weekend.

ANNIE:

(after a beat)

That's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to go home.

(she thinks about it)

I quit. Laurie, I quit. I'm

going back to Baltimore.

(she's giddy)

How does a blonde do a high-

five?

She smacks herself in the head.

CUT TO:

O'HARE AIRPORT - DAY

The X where walkway K crosses with walkway L. Coming

down walkway K are Sam, Jonah, Suzy, Greg, their son

MACK, and several other friends.

And coming down walkway L is Annie with Laurie and a

couple of FRIENDS from the paper, JUDITH and DIANE.

They pass each other going in diagonal directions and

continue on.

We stay with Sam's group:

JONAH:

(to Mack)

Dad says I'm going to get used

to it, but I don't think you

can ever get used to a

designated hitter.

overlap:

SUZY:

(to Sam)

Eventually, in a few months,

you'll start seeing women,

you'll meet someone.

SAM:

Move on. Right. That's what

I'm going to do. In a few

months, boom, I'll be fine,

I'll just grow a new heart.

SUZY:

I'm sorry --

GREG:

Sam, she didn't mean --

Sam is shaking his head no as they reach the gate for

the Seattle plane.

SAM:

I know, I know.

(emphatic)

Look, it doesn't happen twice.

CUT TO:

Annie's group, as they approach the gate for the

Baltimore plane.

ANNIE:

I'm going to meet someone,

someone nice and stable who

wears a hat so he won't catch a

cold, and I'm going to marry

him and have three children

and live happily ever after.

I mean, I am not cut out for this

--

DIANE:

For what?

ANNIE:

For life as we know it.

LAURIE:

Just make sure he isn't fat

like my Michael or you'll spend

your whole life worrying he's

going to drop dead.

JUDITH:

God, you guys are so romantic.

ANNIE:

Do you know how long romance

lasts?

(she snaps her fingers)

That long.

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