Whiplash Page #10

Jim keeps laughing.

AUNT EMMA:

And how’s your drumming going, Andy?

Andrew, put on the spot, hesitates. But then, excited-

ANDREW:

Well... Actually, it’s...it’s going

really well. I’m now the core drum-

The door OPENS. In steps TRAVIS, another cousin, 21, football

player, real looker. All eyes swerve in an instant from

Andrew to him.

UNCLE FRANK:

Well, well, well -- Tom Brady!

TRAVIS:

Sorry I’m late.

Pink (9/10/2013)

AUNT EMMA:

Did you hear, Jimmy?

UNCLE FRANK:

They named Trav the season’s MVP.

JIM:

That’s incredible, Tra--

AUNT EMMA:

(interrupting)

And Dustin heading up Model UN, soon-tobe-

Rhodes-Scholar or who knows what, Jim

“Teacher of the Year”... I mean, the

talent at this table -- it’s stunning.

Beat. Then-

AUNT EMMA (CONT’D)

And Andrew. With his drumming.

UNCLE FRANK:

Yeah, you said that was going ok, Andy?

ANDREW:

(a little peeved,)

It’s going spectacularly well, actually.

I’m...I’m in Shaffer’s top jazz

orchestra, it’s the best in the country --

and I was just made a core member.

(there’s no reaction)

...Which means I play in competitions.

I’m one of the youngest they have.

TRAVIS:

How do they know who wins in a music

competition? Isn’t it subjective?

ANDREW:

...No, not really.

UNCLE FRANK:

Does the studio help get you a job?

ANDREW:

It’s...it’s not a studio, that’s just the

name of the ensemble... And yes, it’s a

big step forward in my career.

UNCLE FRANK:

I’m just curious how you make your money

as a drummer. After graduating.

Pink (9/10/2013)

Andrew glances at his dad. Wondering if maybe he’ll chime in

in defense... But no. His dad stays meek and quiet.

AUNT EMMA:

I saw a TV commercial for credit reports

where a young man was playing the drums.

You could do that.

ANDREW:

Yes, or the Lincoln Center Jazz

Orchestra. But the credit reports gig is

a wonderful backup.

UNCLE FRANK:

(missing Andrew’s sarcasm)

Well I’m glad you have it figured out. It’s

a nasty business, I’m sure.

(to Travis)

Oh, you gotta tell them about your game last

week. I’d say you lived up to your title.

TRAVIS:

43-yard touchdown to win it.

UNCLE FRANK:

That’s what I’m talking about! On your

way to the pros.

ANDREW:

It’s Division III.

Everyone at the table looks at Andrew -- including his dad.

ANDREW (CONT’D)

He plays for Carleton. It’s Division III.

It’s not even Division II.

(silence, shock around the table)

The tilapia is delicious, by the way.

UNCLE FRANK:

(I’ll get you back for that)

You got a lot of friends, Andy?

ANDREW:

Not really.

UNCLE FRANK:

And why’s that?

ANDREW:

I don’t see the use.

Pink (9/10/2013)

52

UNCLE FRANK:

Well who will you play with otherwise?

Who’ll give you your break? Lennon and

McCartney were school buddies, am I right?

ANDREW:

Charlie Parker didn’t know anyone ‘til Jo

Jones threw a cymbal at his head.

UNCLE FRANK:

And that’s your idea of success, then?

ANDREW:

Becoming the greatest musician of the

twentieth century would be anyone’s idea

of success.

JIM:

Dying broke, drunk, and full of heroin at

34 would not be my idea of success.

Andrew turns and looks at his dad. Can’t believe he joined in.

ANDREW:

(to his dad)

I’d rather die broke and drunk at 34 and

have people at a dinner table somewhere

talk about it than die rich and sober at

90 and have no one remember me.

UNCLE FRANK:

Ah, but friends remember you. That’s the

whole point.

ANDREW:

No, none of us were Charlie Parker’s

friends. That’s the whole point.

UNCLE FRANK:

Well there’s such a thing as feeling

loved and included.

ANDREW:

I prefer to feel hated and cast out. It

gives me purpose.

JIM:

That’s ridiculous. You don’t mean that.

UNCLE FRANK:

Travis and Dustin have plenty of friends,

and I’d say they have plenty of purpose.

Pink (9/10/2013)

ANDREW:

You’re right, they’ll make great School

Board presidents.

DUSTIN:

Oh -- so, that’s what this is all about --

you think you’re better than us?

ANDREW:

You catch on quick. You must be in Model UN.

TRAVIS:

Well I’ve got a reply for you, Andrew.

You think Carleton football’s a joke?

(Andrew only nods)

Come play with us.

ANDREW:

Four words you will never hear from the NFL.

AUNT EMMA:

Who wants dessert?

JIM:

And from Lincoln Center?

A moment of silence. Andrew looks at his dad, and his dad

just looks right back... A simmering anger in his eyes,

Andrew turns to the others, and, slowly-

ANDREW:

In 1967 a scientist named Laszlo Polgar

decides to prove talent isn’t about what

you’re born with but about conditioning.

Has three kids, Susan, Sophia and Judit,

and gets them practicing chess for hours

and hours before they can even talk.

Fifteen years later Susan and Sophia are

the two top female players in the world,

and Judit’s on her way to entering the

history books as the greatest female

chess master of all time.

Silence once again. Andrew glances at his dad, and delivers

back that same accusatory look he saw in the kitchen...

UNCLE FRANK:

So not only do you want to die at 34,

broke, drunk, and addicted to heroin, but

you also wish you were a lab rat.

Pink (9/10/2013)

Andrew says nothing. Rises, plate in hand. Walks to the door--

DUSTIN:

Enjoy band camp.

ANDREW:

Enjoy pretending you’re an ambassador.

--and swings it shut behind him.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY 51

ANDREW:

Ok, I’m going to just lay it out. This is

why I don’t think we should be together.

We’re back in the city, at a coffee shop. Andrew is seated

across from Nicole, who just looks at him. Clearly she did

not think this is how the conversation would begin.

ANDREW (CONT’D)

I’ve thought about this a lot. If we’re

together this is what’s going to happen.

I’m going to keep pursuing what I’m

pursuing, and it’s going to take up more

and more of my time. You’re going to see

me less and less. When you do, I’ll be

distracted, I’ll be upset, I’ll be

playing things in my mind. And you’re

going to just grow to resent me. At a

certain point, you’ll tell me to ease up

on the drumming, to spend more time with

you. And I won’t be able to. And I’ll

start to resent you for even asking me

that. I’ll feel like you’re dragging me

down, you’ll feel like you don’t matter --

and before long, we’ll hate each other.

So I think we should just cut it off now,

cleanly, for those reasons.

A beat. Nicole is silent. Finally, Andrew adds-

ANDREW (CONT’D)

Because I want to be great.

NICOLE:

And you’re not.

ANDREW:

I want to be one of the greats.

NICOLE:

And I would stop you from doing that.

Pink (9/10/2013)

ANDREW:

Yes.

NICOLE:

You know I would stop you from doing

that. You know that for a fact.

ANDREW:

Yes.

NICOLE:

And I would barely see you anyway.

ANDREW:

That’s right.

NICOLE:

And when I did see you, you would treat

me like sh*t, because I’m some girl who

doesn’t know what she wants, and you have

a path, and you’re going to be great, and

I’m going to be forgotten, and therefore

you won’t be able to give me the time of

day because you have bigger things to

pursue.

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