The Paperboy

(male interviewer) Just

tell me when you're rolling.

(cameraman)

We 're rolling.

A lot of people...

have questioned

what really happened.

And when the novel

was first published,

it didn't take long

for there to be even

more questions asked.

It's always

remained a mystery.

And that's why

I wanted to thank you

for coming

in to meet with us.

To help shed some light on the events.

Okay.

He dedicated

the book to you.

Can you tell us

how much of his novel

was based on fact?

All of it.

[clears throat]

I t was 1969...

[raindrops drumming]

[female voice moaning]

(interviewer, off) What can

you tell us about that summer?

Question? What was

the question?

[overlapping] What do you

remember about that summer 1969?

[overlapping] It was

hot. It was real hot.

God must have been

sweatin', it was so hot.

[chuckling]

[rain drumming]

[thunder]

Tell me

about the murder.

Hey, how much, how much

I'm gettin' paid for this?

[clears throat]

Well, Sheriff Call

was this evil, nasty,

disgusting son

of a gun.

[female voice oohing]

Black people

hated Sheriff Call

because he killed

so many of us

during his two terms

in service.

[thunder crashing]

Some of my family

was included.

White people

feared him too.

[grunts and groans]

So somebody got fed up with

his fat ass, and killed him.

That's what happened

that summer.

[soft music]

[birds chirping]

[wipers rubbing]

They say he dragged

his intestines

for a mile

before he died.

Crazy white people even

built a statue for him.

How did it come about

that you worked

for the Jansens?

I was cleaning

for them part time,

right when his mamma

ran off.

And Ward and I,

Ward was his brother,

he was in high school

at the time

and we raised

him together.

Little Jackie

was five at the time.

Where was his father?

W. W. was just

chasing girls,

you know.

And running

the local newspaper.

The M oat County T tribune.

(man on bench)

How's Ward?

(Jack) He's good,

he's good. Real busy.

Ward was a writer...

uh... for the Miami Times.

He used to write

about, uh...

well, he was kind of famous, you know,

'cause he wrote about

the Civil Rights Movement

and the poor

and the unjustly accused.

That's how come

that lady Charlotte

started writing

letters to him.

Stuff like that.

Yeah.

And then Jack, like I

said, he was a swimmer.

And, uh...

almost professional,

very close but then

he got kicked

off the swim team,

he got kicked

out of college,

and he came back home to his

papa's house to deliver newspapers.

He didn't want

to come back home,

but he didn't have

nowhere else to go.

[water rippling]

['60s beat music playing]

(female voice singing)

??? Yeah???

??? Mmm???

(Anita) Jack, you better

turn that music down.

You know W. W.

gon' be mad at you.

??????

Dang it, Anita, can you please knock?

I could've been

jerking off in here.

Please, it ain't nothing

I ain't seen before.

What are you doing?

I'm picking up your stuff,

like I do every day.

(Anita) Oh come on, not

today. It's too hot for that.

I'm just helping.

You're not helping me.

You don't have to help me.

Come on.

Get off the bed

so I can make it.

Go fix me

some collard greens.

It's my bed.

I know it's your bed.

Really?

Because it's your bed,

you should f***ing make it.

They cancelled

"The Smothers Brothers. "

Oh, no, that's your show.

Well, I love that show. I

love Dick and I love Tommy.

Lay down. Let me be you for a second.

Oh, yeah, right. Get me in trouble.

You want to be me,

I get to be you? Okay.

Okay, I'll love this.

Jack, may I come in?

Oh, good, okay. Go away,

go out. Go back out.

Okay. I better start

jerking off first. Okay.

Jack, sorry to interrupt

your masturbation,

but I'm here

to clean the bed!

I could've been jerking off!

I'm gonna clean everything!

I could have

been jerking off!

Get out!

Clean my sh*t up!

...get all that we

have received in return,

is just another

smooth exercise

in political manipulation.

(male voice) Good girl.

Deceit and deception,

callousness and indifference

to our individual problems,

and the disgusting playing

of divisive politics,

pitting the young

against the old,

labor against management,

north against south.

Did you want

to see me?

Have you spoken

to Ward this week?

No.

Hello, Jack.

He didn't mention anything

to you about coming here?

I can't believe your father's

making me report on this.

I mean, look at her.

...to open our society.

(Ellen) She plans to

run for president next.

They want to talk

to Hillary V an Wetter.

Don't you let that

Pulitzer Prize fool you.

[typing]

He don't know

everything yet.

Ain't no reason

to come up here

stirring up sh*t

with that a**hole.

I just wanted to say

that it is very important

for all Americans

to recognize...

(Anita) Charlotte Bless

loved her some dangerous men.

She wrote men in prison.

She finally fell

in love with one.

She was determined

to get him out.

(friend No. 1) Why y'all

ain't got no ice in here?

(Charlotte) You want

ice, go to your house.

Charlotte.

Oh, that's my show. What

you think, Charlotte?

I don't like it.

Make it looser.

That's that n*gger

you've been writing?

No. This is

my white man.

Ohhh.

What happened yesterday?

I missed it.

Listen to this. He thinks I'm his angel.

His angel? Shhh. Shut your face.

B*tch, how old is he?

Oh, my God.

He's a fine motherf***er that's trying to f***

you. "Ever there was an angel in the world,

"my angel,

it must be you,

but no angel would do the

things I dream that you want. "

Your angel, his angel.

Mm-hm.

That's hot.

He say, "If you truly exist,

I may become a religious man. "

Ah!

"All my life, my heart

has tried to find a place

I cannot name... a home. "

You need to find

yourself a young one.

He'll f*** you

real good.

[laughing]

He says

I'm his home. Hm.

Got a hundred

different men

writing her

from the penitentiary.

That's her man.

Oh, no.

This is my man.

This here's the one.

M m-hm.

(Anita, off) Ward came

home to investigate

the conviction

of Hillary Van Wetter.

The town wasn't

too happy about it

and neither was his papa.

((Yardley) Oh, sh*t. Ugh.

(Yardley)

Ward...

[British accent] there's

a horse in the parking lot.

(Ward, southern accent)

It's our ride home, Yardley.

[laughing]

Uh, where is everybody?

[groaning]

It's Sunday.

People's either at home

or at church.

It's a shithole.

[approaching car]

Hey, man.

Hey, you.

[chuckling]

(Jack)

How you doing?

Jack, meet Yardley Acheman. Hey.

My little brother, Jack.

The swimmer, right?

Yeah, he's our driver now.

Right, good.

Here, let me get these.

That's my typewriter.

You've gotten big, boy.

Just be careful

with the typewriter.

Got all pumped up.

Is that from swimming?

Not anymore.

[thud]

No! No! No!

Yardley's real particular

about his suits

and his typewriter.

Well, it's very expensive.

Yes. Thank you.

[groan]

How do I get in?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes