Who Framed Roger Rabbit Page #5

MAROON:

(continuing)

Well, the important thing now Roger, is

to put all this behind you.

(hands him

drink)

Drink this, son, you'll feel better.

Roger takes the glass and shoots it down in one gulp.

MAROON:

(continuing)

I know this all seems painful now, but

you'll find someone new. Won't he, Mr,

Valiant?

Eddie has just picked up the decanter to pour one for

himself.

VALIANT:

(over shoulder)

Oh, yeah. Good lookin' guy like him.

Dames'll be breakin' his door down.

CLOSE - ROGER

The booze is taking its effect. There's a RUMBLE like a

volcano about to erupt. Suddenly Roger's head turns into a

Toon steam whistle SHRIEKING. The HIGH PITCH causes glass

objects in the room to SHATTER... including the crystal

decanter that Valiant's holding in his hand. It EXPLODES,

soaking his suit with booze. Valiant looks down at the

damage, completely exasperated.

VALIANT:

Son-of-a-b*tch...

(turns)

Mr. Maroon, I think I'll be goin' now,

so about the rest of my fee...

MAROON:

Sure, Valiant, sure...

Maroon sits at the desk and writes a check.

MAROON:

Being experienced in these matrimonial

matters, you have any advice for our

friend here?

Valiant crosses to the desk and takes the check.

VALIANT:

My advice? Hop on over to Reno, get

yourself a quickie divorce.

ROGER RABBIT:

Divorce? Never!

Suddenly Roger jumps onto Maroon's desk and grabs Valiant by

the lapels.

ROGER RABBIT:

Marriage is a two-way street and we're

just experiencing a detour! Jessica

and I are going to get back together.

We're going to be happy! H-A-P-P-I!

Roger zips off the desk and CRASHES out the window, leaving a

rabbit outline in the glass... backlit by the blinking Acme

sign. Maroon and Valiant walk to the window and look out the

rabbit-shaped hole in the window.

VALIANT:

At least he took it well.

INT. VALIANT'S BUNGALOW - CLOSE - EMPTY BOOZE BOTTLE - EARLY

MORNING:

PULL BACK TO REVEAL the bottle's on the floor next to the

couch Valiant's passed out on. He's still dressed in his

clothes. PAN the small studio apartment. In the

kitchen/alcove, Valiant has created a makeshift darkroom. We

see a curtain on a clothesline. Various trays, and some

pictures clipped up on clothespins. The pictures depict

Jessica Rabbit and Marvin Acme in various states of

pattycake. Now there is LOUD POUNDING on the door. But it

doesn't break through VaLiant's subconscious for several

seconds. Finally, he rouses, gets up and walks a crooked

line to the door. Valiant opens it and squints into the

excruciating sunlight. When his eyes focus, REVEAL a

hang-dog POLICE DETECTIVE holding Eddie's morning paper.

VALIANT:

Lieutenant Santino... how ya doin'?

Santino ignores the question and regards Valiant with a

mixture of disgust and pity.

LT. SANTINO

Tell me you didn't do a snoop job for

a Toon named Roger the Rabbit.

VALIANT:

That's what you woke me up for?

Santino flops open the morning paper. Valiant's eyes narrow

as he reads it. The headline screams: "TOON KILLS MAN!" And

underneath:
"Marvin Acme Murdered at the Hands of Jealous

Rabbit". Santino throws the paper on the sofa.

LT. SANTINO

You got trouble, Eddie.

EXT. ACME FACTORY - DAY

An L.A. police car turns into the yard of the Acme factory

and pulls up in front of the old factory building. There's

all kinds of official activity in the yard... cop cars, a

Coroner's truck, etcetera.

Valiant and Santino get out of the police car. Santino

starts into the factory. But he realizes Valiant's not

following him. He turns to see Valiant looking over the wall

behind the factory, transfixed.

LT. SANTINO

Now what?

VALIANT:

Just haven't been this close to

Toontown for awhile.

VALIANT'S POV

The sky above the wall is a different color, a little bit

more vibrant, a "Toon Blue", you might call it.

SANTINO:

walks back and takes Valiant's arm.

LT. SANTINO

Let's go, somebody wants to see you.

Santino leads Valiant into the factory.

INT. FACTORY - DAY

It's a large warehouse filled with stacks of Toon gags,..

boxes of dynamite, giant slingshots, boulders, everything

you've ever seen in a Roadrunner cartoon. Santino stops

where a large black safe is imbedded at a cockeyed angle in

the floor. A FORENSIC TEAM is at work around the safe.

They're chalking the outline around a body half obscured by

the safe.

LT. SANTINO

They say the rabbit got the safe idea

from a cartoon he was makin' the other

day.

VALIANT:

What a gasser.

LT. SANTINO

Wait here...

Santino walks to Acme's glassed office where a sobbing

Jessica Rabbit is being interrogated. We can only see her,

not the person doing the interrogating. Valiant sidles over

to where the Forensic Guys are dusting the photographs he had

taken for prints. One of the Forensic Guys looks up from his

work.

FORENSIC #1

Say, didn't you used to be Eddie

Valiant?

Valiant ignores the slings and arrows and surveys the scene

of the crime. The door of the safe is ajar. Valiant tries

to look inside. Forensic #2 closes the door with his knee.

Now we HEAR the VOICE of Jessica Rabbit from behind them.

JESSICA RABBIT:

Mr. Valiant?

Valiant turns to the voice. WHAP! Jessica slaps him hard

enough across the face to make his head turn.

JESSICA RABBIT:

(continuing)

I hope you're proud of yourself.

She turns on her heel and storms off, sobbing into a

handkerchief. Valiant, rubbing his jaw, looks after her. So

do the Forensic Guys.

FORENSIC #1

She likes you, Valiant.

FORENSIC #2

(low wolf

whistle)

When they drew her, they broke the

pencil.

Now two WHITE-JACKETS from the Coroner's office start to

carry Acme out on a stretcher. As they pass Valiant, a hand

still wearing a Hand Buzzer flops out. Valiant grabs it --

stopping the stretcher.

VALIANT:

Makes you wonder what in the world she

was doin' with a guy who didn't clean

his fingernails.

CLOSE - HAND

Imbedded under the fingernails is a reddish-brown substance.

FORENSIC #1

So... it's blood.

VALIANT:

peels a piece of it off... it chips and falls to the ground.

He squats to examine it.

VALIANT:

It's not blood, it's paint.

Suddenly the end of a cane comes down on Valiant's hand,

pinning it to the floor. Valiant follows the cane UP to it's

gavel-shaped head -- past black pants, a black robe, to a

cadaver-like complected face, and a large hooked proboscis.

The head is shaved. Rimless tinted glasses obscure the eyes.

Although he's human, the total appearance is frighteningly

vulture-like. JUDGE DOOM is accompanied by Santino.

DOOM:

Is this man removing evidence from the

scene of a crime?

LT. SANTINO

(deferential)

Uh... no, Judge Doom. Valiant here was

just about to hand it over, weren't

you, Valiant?

DOOM:

I'll take that.

Doom takes his cane off Eddie's hand and reaches out for the

paint chip. Valiant palms a piece and drops a smaller piece

into Doom's hand. Doom examines it.

DOOM:

(continuing)

Looks like the deceased grabbed a

handful of your client's pantaloons,

Mr. Valiant.

Valiant stands to face the Judge, who towers over him.

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