Sleepless in Seattle Page #4

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Why not?

JONAH (V.O.)

It's very hard for him to talk

about this stuff. It's like it

makes him sadder.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

You want me to talk to him?

ANNIE:

Perfect. Sandbag the father.

JONAH (V.O.)

And you crazy? He thinks shows

like this are dumb. If you

didn't have an 800 number I

could never get away with this

--

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Is he home right now?

JONAH (V.O.)

Yeah.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Well, I think I can help a

little more if I talk to him

directly.

JONAH (V.O.)

I don't know --

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

I'm sure he won't be angry once

he realizes how concerned you

are about him.

JONAH (V.O.)

Okay, but if I get yelled at,

I'm never gonna listen to this

show again.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Fair enough.

INT. SAM'S HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT

Jonah is on the telephone on the first floor of the

houseboat he lives in with Sam. He's got the phone cord

coming out of the small first-floor study, and he's

standing near the kitchen end of a large living area

looking out at the back deck, where his dad is sitting

in a deck chair looking out at the sea.

JONAH:

Dad --

SAM:

What is it?

ON ANNIE AGAIN.

JONAH (V.O.)

There's somebody on the phone

for you.

(into phone)

His name is Sam.

ANNIE:

This is completely disgusting.

INT. BALDWIN HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT

Sam pokes his head in the back door. He looks much as

he did eighteen months earlier, except that his hair is

a little longer. He picks up the phone extension.

SAM:

Hello.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Hello, Sam, this is Dr. Marcia

Fieldstone on Network America.

Sam looks across the room to Jonah.

SAM:

I'm probably not interested in

whatever you're selling.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

I'm not selling anything. Your

son called and asked for advice

on how to find you a new wife.

SAM:

(he really didn't get

her name)

Who is this?

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

(repeating herself)

Dr. Marcia Fieldstone of

Network America.

SAM:

Jesus, are we on the air?

Jonah, for God's sake --

JONAH:

Don't be mad at me, Dad.

Sam can see Jonah. He's frightened. Sam immediately

feels how upset Jonah is.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

He feels that since your wife's

death you've been very unhappy.

He's genuinely worried about you.

Sam is looking at Jonah, who's rooted to the spot he's

standing on.

SAM:

(to Jonah)

I'm not mad at you. Okay, I'm

not mad at you.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

I think it's hard for him to

talk to you about all this.

Maybe we could talk and it

would make him feel a little

better.

Sam hesitates.

JONAH:

Please --

INT. ANNIE'S CAR - NIGHT

ANNIE:

This is a grotesque violation

of this man's personal life,

but never mind --

SAM (V.O.)

All righ...

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Good. How long ago did your

wife die?

INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT

SAM:

It's been about a year and a

half.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Have you had any relationship

since?

SAM:

No.

Sam is very uncomfortable about this --

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Why not?

SAM:

Look, Doctor, I don't want to

be rude, but --

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

And I don't want to invade your

privacy --

INT. CAR - NIGHT

ANNIE:

Sure you do.

SAM (V.O.)

(overlapping)

Sure you do --

Annie smiles.

SAM:

Look, we had a tough time at

first, but I think I'm holding

my own as a dad, and Jonah and

I will get along fine again as

soon as I break his radio.

Annie laughs. So does Mr. Fieldstone

INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT

Jonah is smiling too.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

I have no doubt that you're a

good dad. You can tell a lot

from a person's voice. But

something must be missing if

Jonah feels that you're still

under a cloud.

JONAH:

Tell her how you don't sleep at

night.

SAM:

How do you know that?

Sam and Jonah both talk into their extensions, literally

talking to each other on the phone within their own

house, but also ON THE AIR.

JONAH:

I can hear you walking around

sometimes. At first I thought

it was a robber. Go ahead,

tell her, Dad.

SAM:

I don't think I have to now.

Sam starts across the room towards Jonah, who starts

toward him, both of them holding their phone receivers.

On the wall in the dining area is a pine bench.

SAM:

Look, it's almost Christmas --

(as the two of them sit

down together on the

bench)

A kid needs a mother --

He puts an arm around Jonah.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

As Annie listens. She's softened considerably.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

Could it be that you need

someone just as much as Jonah

does?

ANNIE:

Yes.

Annie catches herself, covers her mouth in embarrassment.

ANNIE:

I'm losing my mind.

EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT

As Annie makes a turn off the beltway into a rest stop.

DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)

We've been talking to -- well,

let's just call him Sleepless

in Seattle, and we'll be right

back after this break with

listener response, your

response, to the things we've

been discussing. The number to

call is...

INT. BALDWIN HOUSE

SAM:

What's she talking about?

JONAH:

This is where other people get

to call in and dump on what you

said.

We hear the beginning of a commercial.

INT. TRUCK STOP RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Annie walks in, anxious to break the spell of her radio

reverie. She goes to the counter to order some coffee.

There's a commercial on the radio. The counter WAITRESS

LORETTA is talking to the customers -- who include a

TRUCK DRIVER at a booth. HARRIET, a short-order-cook,

is visible through an open window to the kitchen.

LORETTA:

I'll bet he's tall, with a cute

butt.

HARRIET:

I'll bet he hasn't shaved in a

week. I'll bet he stinks.

LORETTA:

Shut up, Harriet.

(to Annie)

What'll it be?

ANNIE:

Coffee, please. Black. To go.

LORETTA:

Maybe I should hustle myself

out to Seattle. Give him a

little present for New Year's

Eve.

HARRIET:

You can go there if you want

but don't open his refrigerator.

They don't cover anything when

they put it in the fridge.

They just stick it in and leave

it there till it walks out by

itself.

LORETTA:

Harriet, ever since you

divorced your last husband,

you've been no fun. I'm

looking, and this guy pops my

tarts.

TRUCK DRIVER:

Come on, Loretta, you're going

to have to jump-start this guy.

His battery's dead. And look

at me. Mister Ever-Ready.

Every six minutes, another

charge.

LORETTA:

I'm looking for someone

sensitive.

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