State And Main Page #9

WALT:

Bob, Bob, stick to the business,

will you?

BOB:

No, you're absolutely r...

WALT:

And you go start with that stuff in

this town...

BOB:

Everybody needs a hobby. Okay, look

Page...

Knock at door. CLAIRE WELLESLEY enters, the female star.

Very sexual. Very serious. Around thirty. She looks in.

WALT:

(rising)

Claire, when did you...

CLAIRE:

I just...

WALT:

Claire, Bob Bar...

BOB:

I saw Desert Sun, I wanna tell you...

CLAIRE:

No, I was, I was, I was just learning

on, it's a...

BOB:

How'd you like working with Richard

Hill?

CLAIRE:

I loved it... he...

BOB:

Isn't he...

CLAIRE:

It's...

WALT:

We're just talking about the...

CLAIRE:

Don't let me dis... I'll just...

WALT:

No, no... Please.

BOB:

I'm looking at Page Five: "It's..."

JOE:

"It's a nice evening"...

WALT:

This is Joe White.

CLAIRE:

How can I thank you? How can I repay

you for this part? It's a... what a,

thank you for this part. The first

scene at the Old Mill...

Pause.

WALT:

Joe's been having some thoughts about

the Old Mill Scene, Claire.

Pause.

CLAIRE:

What, what's there to think about?

(pause)

The scene's perfect... I, I get to

say...

WALT:

Yes, but, Joe, Joe's been, well,

he's just been having a few, uh,

"Thoughts," about...

CLAIRE:

How many times in your life do you

get a speech like that?

WALT:

Yeah.

CLAIRE:

This scene is why I'm doing the movie.

"Look at the mill, Frank -- look at

the way it goes around... half of

the time the darned wheel's under

water, but..."

WALT:

Yes, yes, but...

CLAIRE:

"...but still it rises up... It rises

up, Frank, high as it can go."

WALT:

Yeah. Joe? Would you, uh, tell Claire

the, uh, the "thoughts" you've been...

Pause.

EXT. STATE AND MAIN - DAY

ANGLE:

On Ann, who is putting up posters of the play. She sighs and

walks forward, into Joe, who is waiting at the traffic light,

his bag on the ground beside him.

ANN:

(of typewriter)

All ready to go!

He nods. Looks down at her posterior.

JOE:

So young, so unlined, so full of

promise.

(pause)

So innocent.

ANN:

I beg your pardon?

He extracts the book of his she had in her back pocket. He

looks at his photo on the back cover. They start to cross

the street.

JOE:

I quit.

ANN:

You quit.

JOE:

I quit the movie.

ANN:

Why did you quit?

JOE:

Actually, I'm not sure if I quit. I

think that I got fired. I'm such a

liar. I never could tell the truth.

ANN:

Don't be so hard on yourself.

JOE:

I just got kicked off my first movie.

ANN:

Well. Everybody has reversals. If

you were never down how would you

know when you were up?

JOE:

That's good. That's really good. You

have a gift for words.

ANN:

It's in your play.

She holds up "Anguish."

JOE:

You like my play.

ANN:

Yes.

JOE:

Why?

ANN:

It's about life.

JOE:

Could you tell me when's the next

train?

ANN:

N'about ten minutes. What was your

movie about?

They stop by the park bench.

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