Sunset Boulevard Page #10

No answer.

GILLIS:

I'm talking to you. My clothes

and things are up in the room.

MAX:

Naturally. I brought them myself.

GILLIS:

(Furiously)

Is that so!

MAX:

Why are you so upset? Is there

anything missing?

GILLIS:

Who said you could? Who asked you to?

Norma Desmond's shadow moves into the shaft of

light.

NORMA'S VOICE

I did.

Gillis looks around.

On the couch by the fireplace reclines Norma Desmond,

dressed in a negligee. She rises.

NORMA:

I don't know why you should be

so upset. Stop that playing,

Max.

(To Gillis again)

It seemed like a good idea --

if we are to work together.

GILLIS:

Look, I'm supposed to fix up

your script. There's nothing

in the deal about my staying

here.

NORMA:

You'll like it here.

GILLIS:

Thanks for the invitation, but

I have my own apartment.

NORMA:

You can't work in an apartment

where you owe three months' rent.

GILLIS:

I'll take care of that.

NORMA:

It's all taken care of. It's

all paid for.

GILLIS:

I'm used to paying my own bills.

NORMA:

You proud boy, why didn't you tell

me you were having difficulties.

GILLIS:

Okay. We'll deduct it from my

salary.

NORMA:

Now, now, don't let's be small

about such matters. We won't

keep books.

(To Max)

Go on, unpack Mr. Gillis' things.

GILLIS:

Unpack nothing. I didn't say

I was staying.

NORMA:

(Her glasses off again)

Suppose you make up your mind.

Do you want this job or don't you?

DISSOLVE TO:

B-8 BIG ROOM, NORMA DESMOND'S

HOUSE - (DAY) GILLIS' VOICE

Gillis sits at an impro- So I let him unpack my

vised table, his typewriter things. I wanted the

in front of him, working dough, and I wanted to

hard at the manuscript. get out of there as

Pencils, shears and a quickly as possible.

paste-pot at hand. I thought if I really

got going I could toss

Facing him at some dis- it off in a couple or

tance sits Norma,dressed weeks. But it wasn't

in another version of her so simple, getting some

favorite lounging pajamas, coherence into that wild,

the cigaette contraption scrambled melodrama

on her finger. She is she'd concocted. What

autographing large photo- made it tougher was that

graphs of herself and put- she was around all the

ting them in envelopes. time -- hovering over

me, afraid I'd do injury

to that precious brain-

child of hers.

Gillis takes two or three pages from Norma's hand-

written script, crosses them out and puts them to

one side.

Norma rises, crosses towards Gillis, looks over his

shoulder.

NORMA:

What's that?

GILLIS:

Just a scene I cut out.

NORMA:

What scene?

GILLIS:

The one where you go to the slave

market. You can cut right to the

scene where John the Baptist -

NORMA:

Cut away from me?

GILLIS:

Honestly, it's a little old hat.

They don't want that any more.

NORMA:

They don't? Then why do they still

write me fan letters every day.

Why do they beg me for my photo-

graphs? Because they want to see

me, me, me! Norma Desmond.

GILLIS:

(Resigned)

Okay.

He pulls the page from his typewriter. As he does

so he glances over towards Norma.

GILLIS' VOICE

On the table in front I didn't argue with her.

of her are the photo- You don't yell at a

graphs which she is sign- sleepwalker-- he may fall

ing. On the long table and break his neck.That's

in the living room is a it -- she was still

gallery of photographs sleepwalking along the

in various frames -- all giddy heights of a lost

Norma Desmond. On the career --plain crazy

piano more photographs. when it came to that one

Above the piano an oil subject: her celluloid

portrait of her. On the self, the great Norma

highboy beside him still Desmond. How could She

more photographs. breathe in that house,

so crowded with Norma

DISSOLVE TO:
Desmonds? More Norma

Desmond and still more

Norma Desmond.

B-9 THE BIG ROOM - (NIGHT)

GILLIS' VOICE

Shooting towards the big It wasn't all work - of

Gold Rush painting. Max, course. Two or three

white gloves and all, times a week Max would

steps into the shot, shoves haul up that enormous oil

the painting up towards painting that had been

the ceiling,revealing a presented to her by some

motion picture screen. Nevada Chamber of Com-

Max exits. merce, and we'd see a

movie,right in her

living room.

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