The Butterfly Effect Page #9

Synopsis: Evan Treborn grows up in a small town with his single, working mother and his friends. He suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Evan's friends and mother hardly believe him, thinking he makes it up just to get out of trouble. As Evan grows up he has fewer of these blackouts until he seems to have recovered. Since the age of seven he has written a diary of his blackout moments so he can remember what happens. One day at college he starts to read one of his old diaries, and suddenly a flashback hits him like a brick!
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Production: New Line Cinema
  1 win & 8 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.7
Metacritic:
30
Rotten Tomatoes:
33%
R
Year:
2004
113 min
$57,200,000
Website
636 Views


BOOM!!!

The blast is deafening. Evan, Kayleigh and Lenny watch the results in stunned horror.

TOMMY:

C'mon! Run!!

Evan and Kayleigh slowly back away in shock and begin to run a few steps when they realize that Lenny isn't with them.

TOMMY:

Lenny? Come on!

KAYLEIGH:

Oh my God oh my God...

Lenny doesn't seem to hear, his eyes fixated on the crimson road. Evan and Tommy double back and grab him. They try to make him break out into a run, but Lenny's feet drag limply against the ground. Both Tommy and Evan grab an arm and begin to run with Lenny through the woods.

FLASH! SMASH CUT TO:

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT

Evan comes to. Lurches his body over the bed and vomits.

Sounds of squeaky bed springs fill the room. Looking sick and pale, he lifts his shirt to see a NEW SCAR from the cigarette burn.

EVAN:

What the hell?

In the next bed, Thumper's head, wrapped in a blanket, pops up from above a NAKED GESELA'S waist.

THUMPER:

Christ, man. You wanna clean that up before I lose my appetite here?

Evan sits upright in bed and begins writing in the margins of the journal.

INT. DORM LOBBY - DAY

The lobby is decorated with colorful streamers, balloons, posters and banners announcing PARENTS' WEEKEND.

Carefree STUDENTS and their parents carry shopping bags toward the bustling elevators. Evan leans against the side of a pay phone, holding his ear to drawn out the noise.

EVAN:

Yes, hello, uh, Mrs. Kagan, this is Evan Treborn.

(rolling eyes)

I know. I'm sorry about that. But I really need to speak with him.

She's obviously hung up on him. Suddenly, a HAND grabs his shoulder. It's Professor Carter.

PROFESSOR CARTER

Whoa! Didn't mean to scare you, Evan. Just wanted to know how the flatworms project was coming.

EVAN:

Oh, fine I guess. It's been kind of crazy lately with my mom coming up, so I haven't...

PROFESSOR CARTER

I know, I know. Who can think of worms when your libido's in full swing, right? Evan shrugs and forces a smile.

PROFESSOR CARTER

Just don't drop the ball, okay?

EVAN:

I won't let you down, Professor Carter.

Carter waves to another student and her parents and walks away.

INT. FANCY RESTAURANT - NIGHT

A waiter clears the dishes away from Evan and Andrea's table.

REVEAL ANDREA:

Her hair now has gray streaks. As she signs for the bill, she leans over and kisses Evan on the cheek.

EVAN:

Please, mom. People will talk.

ANDREA:

I can't help it. I'm just so proud of you. You've got the highest grades in all of your classes.

EVAN:

Did Da - Jason - get good grades?

ANDREA:

(smiling)

Please. He got straight A's without ever touching a book. That was the one area where his memory never failed him.

EVAN:

Ma? Did he ever say that he figured out a way to recall a lost memory years after he blacked it out for the first time?

Andrea's smile fades.

ANDREA:

Why do you ask?

EVAN:

No, it's just weird with him being such a brain and all, I just wondered if he was ever able to remember stuff he'd forgotten.

ANDREA:

When he was around your age...almost exactly your age. He said he figured out a trick to remember the past.

Evan tries not to react.

ANDREA:

I couldn't tell if they were real memories or just phantoms. You know, he might only have thought he actually remembered them...

EVAN:

Sure...

ANDREA:

And then, just before it got so bad that he had to be committed, he said that he could...

EVAN:

What? What could he do?

Andrea shakes her head.

ANDREA:

Forget it. It's nothing. He was far too sick by then.

Evan nods, but something gnaws beneath the surface.

INT. EVAN'S DORM - NIGHT

Evan hastily hunts through his journals, tearing up the room looking for a certain book. Thumper, lying on his bed, quietly watches Evan with growing concern.

EVAN:

(reading aloud)

I never wanted to be in the movie anyway and it was cold so I wanted to wear my clothes but Mr. Miller took his shirt off --

THUMPER:

What the f*** are you doing?

EVAN:

Shhh! I need quiet for this.

Thumper jumps off the bed and snatches the journal away.

THUMPER:

Are you stupid or what?

EVAN:

What?

THUMPER:

Shucks, I dunno. But maybe there's a reason why you've repressed the one day when some old lecher had you in your tighty whities, dammit!

Thumper begins scanning the journal entry. A bitter laugh.

THUMPER:

Yeah, man. I'd think twice about this. You could wake up a lot more f***ed up than you are now.

He hands the journal back to Evan. Evan opens it and begins reading it silently. His hands begin to tremble and he slams the book shut in defeat.

INT. EVAN'S CAR - COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

Evan, looking haggard and frail, wipes the greasy hair from his eyes and punches the accelerator. His teeth are clenched and he hammers his fist on the dashboard.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. RIDGEWOOD DINER - EVENING

Evan pulls into a parking lot of a country diner. He eyes a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it and gets out.

INT. RIDGEWOOD DINER - CONTINUOUS

A run-down greasy spoon. Filled with a number of TOWNIES and TRUCKERS. The place is stale with cigarette smoke and appears decorated in grime motif.

Evan is about to enter when he spots Kayleigh coming out of the kitchen with a tray full of food.

Kayleigh, now twenty, looks pale and sickly thin. She bangs her hip on the swinging door and an order of food crashes to the floor. Her BOSS stares back in aggravation.

BOSS:

Can we get through one goddamned day without you breaking something?

Kayleigh's face turns beet red as she bends down to clean up the order. She is humiliated and Evan leans back against a pay phone so that she can't see him watching her.

As she brings the mess inside the kitchen, a CUSTOMER pinches her ass. Evan closely studies her reaction to the offense. She flinches uncomfortably but then composes a smile for the customer. Evan backs out uncomfortably.

EXT. RIDGEWOOD DINER - NIGHT

Kayleigh struggles with the zipper of a shabby coat as she exits. Evan steps out of the shadows. She's startled at first, but eventually recognizes him. A smile flickers across her face and she allows herself to be hugged.

KAYLEIGH:

God, Evan! I never thought I'd see you again. How've you been?

EVAN:

Oh, comme si, comme ca, you know...

KAYLEIGH:

No, Evan. I don't know. It's been a long time. Fill me in.

EVAN:

I'm going to State now. Things are going okay. I guess. Mom's good...

Kayleigh nods and they walk down the street. She reaches into her pocket, pulls out a pack of smokes.

EVAN:

(declining)

Not since we were kids.

KAYLEIGH:

I've stopped a hundred times.

EVAN:

So how's Tommy?

KAYLEIGH:

(takes a long drag)

They kept him in juvy for a few years. Now he works over at Dale's Autobody.

Evan nods and scrutinizes her face with his next question.

EVAN:

You still live with your dad?

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Eric Bress

Eric Bress is an American screenwriter, film director and producer, probably best known for his work on the Final Destination series and The Butterfly Effect. He frequently collaborates with J. Mackye Gruber. His most recent project, The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, is in development. He also has another project in development Blindsighted[citation needed] with his writing partner J. Mackye Gruber. more…

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Submitted on August 02, 2016

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