Titanic (Scriptment) Page #15

JACK:

Alright then. We're going. We'll drink cheap beer and go on the rollercoaster until we both throw up and then...

ROSE:

I don't throw up. Cast iron stomach.

JACK:

Well, I do, so I'll handle that part of it, and then we'll ride horses on the beach...

ROSE:

I'm a good rider.

JACK:

Of course you are. You're good at everything, by your own admission. We'll ride in the surf... but none of that side-saddle stuff... you have to ride like a cowboy.

ROSE:

You mean one leg on each side?

JACK:

Yup.

ROSE:

Scandalous! Can you show me?

JACK:

Naturally. Of course, I've never actually been on a horse, but I've seen it done.

(she laughs)

And while we're out there you can be an actress in one of Daniel's moving pictures. You'll be the next Mary Pickford. I can feel it.

ROSE:

Women can vote in California.

JACK:

You're joking.

ROSE:

No, I'm not. Suffrage was passed there by Constitutional amendment. It's the only state so far.

JACK:

It's a strange place, alright. The earth moves and women can vote.

IN STEERAGE, FORWARD, Jack is dressing for his big date... and all the guys are in on it. Jack fumbling with the shirt studs, trying to get them to hold his formal shirt closed... a difficult process even for the first class gentlemen who know how to do it. Tommy is trying to figure out how the bowtie is tied... experimenting on himself, while Fabrizio is helping Jack get the studs through the buttonholes and is making things worse. Other steerage guys are getting into the act, and it's a complete circus in the cramped quarters. They are pressing Jack's pants in the berth across the hall.

Everybody's talking at once. Jack of course didn't want to admit in front of Rose that he didn't know how any of this stuff worked.

Finally they enlist the aid of WIETZMAN from down the hall, an older guy who used to be a tailor in Vienna. Weitzman, muttering in German and Yiddish, coaches Jack through tying the bow-tie and everything looks good.

Wietzman leaves.

MASSIMO TRANI, a shipboard friend of Fabrizio's, comes running down the hall with a new razor. Jack looks at the razor and swears. He forgot to shave. He starts pulling off the bowtie.

FABRIZIO:

Wietzman!!

IN HOCKLEY'S SUITE Cal and Rose are dressing quietly in their adjoining rooms. They have dressed for formal dinners so often it is a ritual without meaning. He has noticed that her mood has changed, that she seems almost cheerful... and thinks it was his gift of the diamond. He congratulates himself for the handling of the situation.

Trudy Frick, her maid, is helping Rose tighten the lacings of her corset. Cal comes in says he'd love to see the looks on everybody's faces if she wore the Coeur de la Mer, but he's decided they should unveil it at the engagement gala next week. The press will be there, and it's a much more auspicious occasion to show off his prize.

She's not sure which of them he means, her or the diamond.

He says he'll buy her a dress when they get to New York, something to set off the blue in the stone.

CAL:

And please, Rose, I must insist you stay out of the sun. I mean, look at your nose. Don't you want to look your best at the gala?

WIDE SHOT OF TITANIC, silhouetted against the orange and purple sky in the west. A thousand lights blaze on the floating palace. We faintly hear strains of classical music drifting over the water.

TRACKING WITH JACK ALONG THE BOAT DECK. Wing collar, white tie, pearl shirt studs, tailed coat... there's only one word for how he looks: dashing. Stewards greet him as he passes, treating him as a gentleman. He feels like the cock of the walk.

A steward opens the door for him and he steps onto the upper landing of the grand staircase. His breath is taken away by the splendor spread out before him. Overhead is the enormous glass dome, with a crystal chandelier at its center. Sweeping down six stories is the staircase. Its ornately carved oak and white marble steps reflect the soft lighting from hundreds of gold and crystal light fixtures.

And the people:
the women in their floor length dresses, elaborate hairstyles and abundant jewelry... the gentlemen in evening dress, standing with one hand at the small of the back, talking quietly, gesturing with cigars. Vivaldi, coming up three floors from the saloon deck, adds grace and vitality.

Jack ascends to A deck. Several men nod a prefunctory greeting. He nods back, keeping it simple. He feels like a spy.

He is standing looking into the first class lounge when he senses her behind him. He turns and there she is, coming down the stairs. Rose is a vision in red and black, her low-cut dress showing off her neck and shoulders, her arms sheathed in white gloves that come well above the elbow.

Jack is hypnotized like a rabbit in the headlights of a truck. It takes a moment before he even sees Cal coming down behind her, Ruth on his arm. Ruth is done to the nines, with a lot of flashing jewelry at her throat and wrists.

CLOSE ON ROSE, as she approaches Jack. She is so happy to see him, and he looks so handsome. Jack imitates the stance of the other gentlemen, hand behind his back.

She extends her gloved hand and he takes it, kissing the backs of her fingers. It's not a joke this time. Rose is beaming.

Cal can't conceal his surprise. He didn't recognize Jack until Rose introduced him. He had seen a gentleman, not the roughneck of the night before.

Cal sees Rose's happy reaction to seeing Jack and scowls, noting it. It doesn't escape Ruth's predatory eye either.

CUT TO THE RECEPTION ROOM ON D DECK, as the party descends to dinner.

They encounter Molly Brown, looking good in a beaded dress, in her own busty broad-shouldered way. Molly grins when she sees Jack. As they are going into the dining saloon she walks next to him, speaking low:

MOLLY:

Ain't nothin' to it, is there, Jack?

JACK:

Yeah, you just dress like a pallbearer and keep your nose up.

MOLLY:

Just remember, the only thing they respect is money, so just act like you've got a lot of it and you're in the club.

They run into the Astor's going through the big double doors to the dining saloon. Rose introduces Jack to John Jacob Astor, one of America's richest men, who accepts him as one of them.

Madeleine Astor appraises Jack and whispers to Rose:

MADELEINE:

It's a pity we're both spoken for, isn't it?

They enter the dining saloon, and now it is like a ballroom at the palace, alive and lit by a constellation of chandeliers, full of elegantly dressed people and beautiful music.

AT THE DINNER TABLE Jack is seated opposite Rose and next to Ruth. Cal is next to Rose. Also at the table are Ismay, Andrews, Molly Brown, the Countess of Rothes, Colonel Archibald Gracie, and several others.

A distinguished couple stop to speak briefly to Ruth in French. She answers fluently, and presents her daughter. Rose proceeds to have a short discussion with them in flawless French. Jack watches, rapt and a little intimidated.

Rose motions for Jack to take his napkin off the plate.

Salads are served and Jack reaches for the fish fork. Rose gives him a look and picks up the salad fork, prompting him with her eyes.

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