Straight Outta Compton Page #25

INTERCUT WITH:

126 INT. EAZY’S NORWALK HOUSE - BACK YARD - CONTINUOUS 126

Chilling by his modest pool, Eazy looks worn but determined.

EAZY:

Just felt like callin’ --

Dre is still vaguely mystified, at a loss.

DRE:

Yeah. Okay.

(beat)

Wassup?

EAZY:

You know. Doin’ my thing. Makin

records. Killin’ all that p*ssy out

there.

Seated a few feet away from Eazy, Tomica rolls her eyes.

EAZY (CONT’D)

How about you?

DRE:

Just makin’ tracks.

EAZY:

That Snoop record you did was big.

850,000 copies in the first week?!

Congratulations on the success of

that.

DRE:

Good lookin’ out.

EAZY:

Well look, I know you’re busy, but

I talked to Cube, and we were,

like, talkin’ about some...

possibilities.

Dre gets up, walks around the edge of his pool, processing.

131.

EAZY (CONT’D)

And by the way, if you ain't heard--

I ain’t f***in’ with Jerry Heller

no more. Nigga's fired.

Something in those words causes Dre to soften... a bit.

DRE:

Really. Well it’s about time. He's

the reason why we broke up.

EAZY:

Listen man, I know everything got

messed up and went the wrong way. I

wish it didn’t. I wish we can go

back to the days of Skateland when

we were all just young, hungry and

ferocious. The world's most

dangerous group. Before all the

money and fame got between us.

DRE:

Yeah me too-- cause I’m not proud

of all the sh*t I did, either.

Eazy looks vaguely relieved Dre said that.

EAZY:

So you think maybe, we can make

somethin’ happen?

DRE:

Yeah, that’s sounds cool -- Let’s

stay in touch.

EAZY:

Fair enough.

They both hang up. Eazy turns to Tomica, big smile.

EAZY (CONT’D)

Everybody's all in. NWA is back!

127 INT. EAZY’S NORWALK HOUSE - MAKESHIFT STUDIO - CONTINUOUS 127

Ren and Yella work the kinks out of a dope new beat -- Tomica

enters, Eazy in tow, looking a bit sluggish.

SUPERIMPOSE:
TWO MONTHS LATER

REN:

Wuddup, y’all.

132.

YELLA:

Hey so, when are Dre and Cube gonna

roll in here?

REN:

Yeah, you know -- Gettin’ kinda

anxious to get this new sh*t goin’.

EAZY:

I don’t know. Hopefully soon. Let’s

just get ready. New NWA gonna

change the game, just like back in

the day --

REN:

No doubt. I got books of new sh*t --

Eazy’s legs buckle. He leans on the Board, winded --

YELLA:

Yo, you alright, Eazy?

EAZY:

Yeah. Just. Like. Need some fresh

air, somethin’ -

PANIC flashes in his eyes as he moves toward the door,

suddenly CRUMPLES TO THE FLOOR, out cold -

TOMICA:

Eric!

They all hurry over to him --

128 EXT. LOS ANGELES STREET - DAY 128

An AMBULANCE blares through the night, running red lights,

hurtling toward the hulking edifice of CEDARS SINAI -

129 INT. CEDARS - EAZY’S ROOM - DAY 129

Eazy lies in a propped-up hospital bed, watching TV. He

doesn’t look ill, just annoyed with the situation. Tomica

sits in a chair beside him, flipping through a magazine.

A young DOCTOR walks in, carrying a chart. He looks troubled,

preoccupied. His eyes dart from Tomica... to Eazy.

TOMICA:

You gonna say something? Is it a

respiratory infection -- pneumonia?

133.

DOCTOR:

Yes, well, it is those things...

and more, I’m afraid... We ran a

full blood battery and -- (beat)

Mr. Wright, I’m sorry but you’ve

tested positive for the HIV virus.

Tomica reflexively stands, her hand over her mouth. Eazy

squints, smiles, looks at the Doctor like he’s crazy.

EAZY:

Get the f*** outta here.

DOCTOR:

The normal T-cell count is anywhere

between 500 and 1500. Right now,

your T-cell count is... 14.

Tomica just stands there, mouth agape, speechless. Eazy’s

smile slowly fades to a look of pure dread.

EAZY:

But I ain’t no f*ggot.

DOCTOR:

Mr. Wright, there are actually

quite a few ways that the virus can

be transmitted -

EAZY:

It’s wrong. No way. Test me again.

Test my sh*t again -

DOCTOR:

We’ve actually run the test five

times, with five different

samples... and the results remain --

Tomica suddenly lets out a choked CRY, runs from the room.

Eazy watches her go, overwhelmed, confused... and then, all

at once, he gets it. Voice trembles a little.

EAZY:

Tomica. She’s pregnant. Oh f***.

Does that mean she -

DOCTOR:

No. Not necessarily. But we’ll need

to test her, too.

EAZY:

So what do we do? What’s the

treatment? Let’s get started.

(MORE)

134.

EAZY (CONT'D)

I got work to do. How long’s it

gonna take to get me healthy again?

The Doctor looks at Eazy, struggles a bit. He pulls up a

chair, sits down next to the bed.

DOCTOR:

Mr. Wright. You need to understand.

You’re very, very sick --

EAZY:

But I don’t even feel that bad...

DOCTOR:

With treatment, and palliative

care, we can probably keep you

comfortable for... maybe six

months. At the very most.

Panic washes over Eazy in a flood --

EAZY:

Comfortable? What you mean

comfortable? Six months!?

DOCTOR:

I’m truly sorry, Mr. Wright.

Eazy realizes that he's dying.

HARD CUT TO:

130 B-ROLL OF A CROWD OUTSIDE OF CEDARS SINAI (STOCK FOOTAGE) 130

REPORTER (V.O.)

Last week, the rap world was

stunned to learn in a press

conference held by his lawyer, that

Eazy-E had been admitted to Cedars

Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and

diagnosed as suffering from full-

blown AIDS.

131 INT. CUBE’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS 131

WE HEAR the STOCK FOOTAGE CONTINUE over -

At home, sitting on the couch with Kim and their KIDS, Cube

watches on, stunned. Kim kisses him, leans on his shoulder as

they try to process the shock -

135.

RON SWEENEY (ON TV)

Eazy started getting sick about a

month ago but hadn’t shown signs of

improvement, so he checked into the

hospital. They ran extensive tests

and as a result we found out

that... he has what he has...

132 EXT. CEDARS - COURTYARD - DAY 132

Outside the hospital, we see PEOPLE have started to GATHER.

About a dozen or so. They stand there quietly, shuffling

around, staring up at the Hospital -

133 INT. CEDARS - EAZY’S ROOM - THE NEXT DAY 133

Tomica sits in a chair pulled right beside Eazy’s bed. They

hold hands, look at each other. They’ve both been crying.

EAZY:

Just glad you’re okay. You and the

baby.

Tomica takes his hand, kisses it, cries.

TOMICA:

No. We can beat this. Together.

Eazy nods reassuringly, but you can see in his eyes he

doesn’t believe it. Eazy’s PHONE rings. He answers it.

EAZY:

Yo.

REN’S VOICE

(filtered)

Eazy! What the f***, cuz? People

been sayin’ some crazy sh*t. Like

you got AIDS or somethin’? Can you

believe that? Muthafuckin’ Eazy-E

got AIDS? Niggas be starting too

many rumors, huh?

SILENCE. Ren is hit with the reality as Eazy TURNS OFF the

phone -- Sticks it in the bedside table drawer. It’s pretty

clear he’s never gonna turn it on again.

TOMICA:

Who was that?

Eazy doesn’t respond, just lies there, despondent.

136.

134 EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - VIDEO SHOOT - DAY 134

Dre’s chilling on a couch as NICOLE appears from around the

corner holding a wireless phone -

NICOLE:

It’s for you.

He grabs the phone, leans it on his shoulder.

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