Wonder Boys Page #9

44BINT. EMILY'S OFFICE

GRADY pushes open the door with the tips of his fingers,

lets it glide open. The room that is revealed is bright and

well-ordered, in direct contrast to the lazy clutter of

Grady's office. There is a DRAFTING TABLE and a COMPUTER,

pads and pens neatly arranged alongside.

A BULLITEN BOARD hangs on one wall, bearing an intricate

mosaic of multi-colored index cards. There are PRINTS,

framed, from various art exhibits, and two of Grady's

DHSTJACKETS--including, most prominently, Arsonist's

Daughter.

There are PHOTOGRAPHS of EMILY too. In a black turtleneck

with friends. In a sundress with Grady. In a billowing

Burberry, floating like a dark butterfly against a BLUR of

YELLOW TAXIS on a street in Manhattan.

Smiling brilliantly. Beautiful.

45INT. GRADY'S OFFICE

GRADY enters with a THERMOS--pauses--redistributes the

sleeping bag over James Leer's pale body.

JAMES LEER:

(without waking)

Thank you.

GRADY:

You're welcome.

GRADY sits at his desk, pours himself a cup of coffee

from the thermos, then sets the cup directly in the center

of a galaxy of previous coffee rings. Next, he takes a

clean piece of paper, balls it up, and-with ritual

precision-strokes it into the MINIATURE BASKETBALL HOOP

that crowns the rim of the WASTE BASKET across the room.

All net.

A 9-VOLT CROWD ROAR belches from the hoop and, without

further ceremony, GRADY

turns to the blank page curling from his IBM SELECTRIC

and SPACES to the top right corner, TYPES:

(beat) 2611

In other words:
Page 2611.

CLOSE UP - THE TYPEWRITER PAPER -- darkening with WORDS,

the KEYS SNAPPING faster and faster, a CRAZY CLAMOR that

grows and grows until, finally, it just ....Stops.

GRADY:

James I

GRADY awakes with his back to the floor, James leer's

quizzical face floating like a cloud above him.

GRADY:

I'm okay. I just lost my balance.

JAMES LEER:

I put you on the floor.

GRADY:

Oh.

JAMES LEER:

I thought you might--l don't know-- swallow

your tongue or something.

(nodding to Grady's robe)

I guess you really miss her, huh?

GRADY peers down at the geraniums blooming on the pockets

of the robe, its overall fuzziness.

GRADY:

Huh? Oh, no. This isn't Emily's. I just write

in it.

JAMES LEER:

I guess there's probably a story behind that.

GRADY:

There is, but it's not that interesting.

James nods. Down the hallway, in another room, the

TELEPHONE RINGS.

JAMES LEER:

Want me to get that?

GRADY:

Sure.

As James shuffles away in the sleeping bag, GRADY rises

delicately and turns toward the window, ..just in time to

see a POLICE CAR roil slowly by on the screen below.

JAMES LEER:

(returning)

He didn't give his name.

GRADY:

Who?

JAMES LEER:

The guy on the phone.

GRADY:

What'd he say?

JAMES LEER:

He wanted to know if a GRADY Trip? lived here

and drove a dark maroon 1966 Ford Galaxie 500

with black interior.

GRADY:

What'd you tell him?

JAMES LEER:

Yes.

GRADY:

Good, James. If the Zodiac killer calls, be

sure to mention the back door pops open with a

couple hard shakes to the right.

JAMES LEER:

I thought maybe you'd won a radio contest or

something. Is that single-spaced?

James has noticed the towering stack of 20 Ib. bond on

Grady's desk.

GRADY:

Afraid so.

JAMES LEER:

That's a big book you're writing.

GRADY:

I think it's sort of writing itself at this

point.

JAMES LEER:

Wow, Hannah always swore you were working,

but--

GRADY:

But . . . ?

JAMES LEER:

Nothing, it's just that,, well, it's been

awhile since Arsonist's Daughter, and some

people--some of the kids in workshop--thought

maybe you were...

GRADY:

Washed up?

JAMES LEER:

Blocked.

GRADY:

Ah. I don't believe in writer's block.

James takes another glance at the mammoth manuscript.

JAMES LEER:

No kidding.

A LOUD HACKING is HEARD. GRADY and James turn, watch

Crabtree, wearing only a pair of striped boxers,

materialize in the hallway.

CRABTREE:

Good morning, boys. James.

James waves feebly from beneath the sleeping bag.

GRADY:

(re:
James' "attire")

If-you 're planning on staying for breakfast,

I'd put on something a little less comfortable

if I were you.

As GRADY moves to his desk to reacquaint himself with the

page curling from the typewriter, James continues to stare

into the emptiness of the hallway. The sight of CRABTREE

seems to have made him suddenly queasy.

JAMES LEER:

Professor Tripp?

GRADY:

Hm.

JAMES LEER:

How did I get here last night?

GRADY:

No one seems to know where you live, James.

Hannah thought you'd like my couch.

JAMES LEER:

And ...and before that. Did I do anything?

Anything bad?

GRADY:

Well, James, you did shoot the Head of the

English Department's dog and steal his most

prized piece of memorabilia.

As James contemplates this, the DOORBELL RINGS. GRADY

looks up, sees the POLICE CAR he noticed earlier, now

parked at the bottom of his driveway.

GRADY:

Do yourself a favor, James ...Hide.

46EXT. FRONT PORCH

A POLICEMAN not much older than James Leer waits. As the

door opens, GRADY

appears.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

Good morning...

(eyeing Grady's robe)

Professor Tripp? Sorry to bother you, sir, but

I understand you attended an event at Sara and

Walter Gaskell's house last night and were one

of the last to leave...

47INT. LANDING - SAME TIME 47

James lurks at the top of the stairs, swaddled in the

sleeping bag, straining to hear.

OFFICER PUPCIK (O.S.)

...was just wondering if maybe you saw anyone.

Someone you didn't know. Who seemed out of

place. Suspicious maybe...

48EXT. FRONT PORCH

GRADY is scratching his head in mock thought.

GRADY:

Well, there's always people you don't know at

these things, but I can't say there was anybody

particularly suspicious. ..Wait. There was one

guy. Tiny fella. Claimed to be a jockey.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

A jockey? You mean, like--

GRADY:

Horses, right. Vernon something...

(thinking... )

Hardpple

Pupcik stops on his pad, looks up.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

Hardapple?

GRADY:

I could be wrong. What happened anyway?

OFFICER PUPCIK:

Huh? Oh, someone pulled a B&E on Dr. Gaskell's

closet. And the dog's missing.

GRADY:

That's weird.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

We figure the perpetrator let him out. He's

blind and we figure he just wandered off and

got run over.

GRADY:

The perpetrator.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

No, the dog.

GRADY:

Just kidding.

Pupcik nods slowly, as if re-filing GRADY under "Dealing

With A**holes."

OFFICER PUPCIK:

One other thing. About this kid, this student

of yours- Leer--James Leer. You wouldn't know

how I could get in touch with him, would you?

GRADY:

I might have his number on campus.

OFFICER PUPCIK:

That's all right. We'll find him.

Pete Pupcik smiles, tips his big blue police hat, and

turns away. GRADY frowns, starts to close the door...

HANNAH GREEN (O.S.)

There you are...

GRADY stiffens, then turns to find Hannah Green across

the room in her t-shirt and cowboy boots, looking ail dewy-

eyed and delectable.

HANNAH GREEN:

I thought we were going to talk. Last night.

GRADY:

Oh. Well. I...

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