Wonderstruck

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1

(child panting)

(wolf barks)

-(wolf snarling)

-(frightened gasp)

(growls)

-(gasps)

-(barks)

(grunts)

MALE VOICE (echoing):

Ben.

Ben.

(wolf snarling)

-Ben!

-(gasps)

Ben!

(gasps)

What?

What?

What's the matter, huh?

Can't you hear me?

-Are you deaf?

-Stop it, Robbie.

WOMAN:

Go to sleep, boys.

Sorry, Mom.

Sorry, Aunt Jenny.

Shut up.

Hey, guess what.

We forgot a present.

(sighs)

WOMAN:

What's that?

Constellations.

Catch.

Ca... Oh...

(sighs):
You really do live

in a museum.

Why do you always look so sad,

Benjamin Wilson?

BEN:

Hmm. Neat.

It's like the one

we saw on the trail.

Thanks, Mom.

Sure, handsome.

So?

Yes?

Was my dad an astronomer?

(mom sighs)

Maybe that's why I like

outer space so much.

Makes sense.

Happy birthday,

Mr. 12-Year-Old.

Don't stay up too long.

(sighs)

(door shuts)

(TV news plays low)

("Space Oddity" by David Bowie

starts to play)

Mom?

(sighs)

Mom!

Geez... God, you scared me.

What are you doing out of bed?

Why won't you ever

talk about him?

Other kids know their dads.

Not now, Ben.

Go back to bed.

It's what I wished for,

you know?

When I blew out the candles.

Another time, okay?

When it's the right time.

It's never the right time.

What does this mean?

What, Ben?

This quote.

"We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are

looking at the stars."

You said it the night

we saw the shooting stars,

and now it's on your wall.

Well, what do you think

it means?

That's what you always say.

BEN (whispering):

"We are all in the gutter,

but some of us are

looking at the stars."

(no audio)

(boat knocking)

("Space Oddity"

playing in distance)

("Space Oddity" getting louder)

Mom.

Are you...?

("Space Oddity" fading up)

(flashlight drops)

-Ben!

-Janet?

What are you doing here?

-No, what are you doing here?

-(sighs)

This isn't your house.

Those aren't your clothes.

I shouldn't have

turned the light on.

-Benji, I...

-You smoke?!

No. I-I mean...

God, please don't tell my

parents, they're gonna kill me.

I don't understand.

You're wearing my mom's

clothes!

Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.

I-I just...

I needed somewhere.

This was supposed to be

my secret place, I just need...

-I can't look at you like that.

-(record screeches off)

JANET:

Oh, gosh.

A-Are you okay?

Yes, I'm fine.

Sorry.

Are your parents

gonna sell this house?

I heard them

talking about it.

Why can't I just move back in?

-It's my house.

-I know.

And Robbie's kind of a pest.

If I knew where my dad was,

I could just...

Are you still having

those nightmares?

-Not...

-(thunder rumbles)

Sometimes.

Come on, we should...

We should go home, probably.

-I am home.

-I know, but...

BEN:

You go.

I just want to stay here

a little longer.

That's, that's really not

a good idea.

There's supposed to be storms.

I won't tell your parents.

What?

That you were smoking.

Just let me stay

a little longer.

You really won't tell?

Seriously.

Yeah, I swear.

Oh, my God, then I completely

owe you a favor, Benji.

For real.

We all miss her, you know.

(sighs)

Don't stay too long. Okay?

(organ playing)

(thunder rumbling,

leaves rustling)

(thunder crashing

in distance)

(murmurs)

-(thunderclap)

-(gasps)

(soft groans)

(blackout zip)

Oh. Oh, no, no, no, no.

(grunts)

Uhh!

(sighs)

("Evening Star"

by Fripp and Eno playing)

"A curator's job

is an important one,

"for it is the curator

who decides

what belongs in the museum."

"In a way,

anyone who collects things

in the privacy of his own home

is a curator."

"But how did

the very first curators

"store their collections?

"They were kept

in pieces of furniture

"called Cabinets of Wonder.

"Eventually, some collections

grew beyond the confines

"of a single cabinet

and took over entire rooms.

See figure nine."

Oh, my God.

"Danny."

(no audio)

(quietly):

Danny.

Danny.

"Kincaid Books.

West 81st Street,

New York, New York."

(thunder rumbling)

Uh, K...

L...

5...

0...

1...

8...

...9.

(high-pitched ringing)

(crackling, buzzing)

(overlapping music,

sound effects)

(organ playing)

(organ crescendos)

(muffled):

I'm not getting anything.

(inaudible sound)

(muffled):

Where am I?

What's wrong?

Hello?

(no audio)

(inaudible sound)

I can't talk!

I can't... I can't talk!

(no audio)

(no audio)

(blinds open)

(indistinct chatter,

monitor beeping)

(exhales)

(no audio)

"Sorry" is unacceptable,

and you need to get the police

on the phone right now

and they need

to be coming here!

And you have security

that you can call

-that can close the doors!

-MAN:
I understand.

(inaudible sound)

(air whistling)

ANNOUNCER:
...departure

of bus 23 for Detroit.

Buffalo and Albany

at Gate 4 on the lower level.

4:
20 a.m.

(indistinct chatter)

ANNOUNCER:
Attention, please,

attention, please.

Northeast transit buses...

(inaudible sound)

(no audio)

(bus terminal sounds rising)

(indistinct chatter)

(city traffic sounds)

(all sounds stop)

("All the Way Down"

by Esther Phillips playing)

Out on the street

The summer heat

Boys playing games

Changing their names

Pulling tricks

Getting their kicks

All the way down

Let it ride

Trying everything now

Got to check it out

Trying everything now,

got to check it out

Somebody said,

you want a blow?

Hmm, why not?

I ain't got no place to go

Meeting the stars

In funky bars

Shiny cars

and backdoor lots

Trying to hike

For any other type of ride

All the way down.

(city sounds and chatter)

WOMAN:
Hey,

I'll catch up with you later!

Hey! Stop!

Give that back!

(groans)

Hey, taxi!

(Ben groans)

(indistinct shouting

and chatter)

(no audio)

(no audio)

(no audio)

("Sunrise" by Norman Whitfield

playing)

(water spraying)

-BOY:
Yeah. -BOY 2: Go through,

go through, go through.

(laughter)

BOY:

What you looking at?

(whoops)

(inaudible sound)

(muffled siren rising)

(sounds cut back)

-Ahh!

-Watch it.

Sorry.

If you're looking

for the bookstore,

it moved around the corner.

-MAN:
Qu pasa?

-A few blocks down.

-On 74th.

-Vamos, Jamie.

Llego tarde.

-I was just telling him.

-Come on.

Hey.

(man and Jamie

speaking Spanish)

(no audio)

(city sounds)

Wait. Espera.

Okay.

Ahora.

(laughs)

Okay, Jamie. Entonces...

3:
00 en punto en mi oficina.

Okay?

-S, Papa.

-No se meta en problemas.

-I don't want another call

from security. -Okay.

(exhales)

JAMIE:

Hey, kid!

(shoes squeak)

Hey, that's mine.

(Jamie laughs)

(shoes squeak)

(camera shutter clicks)

(panting)

(panting)

(panting)

(laughs)

(moans)

(panting)

(laughs)

(indistinct chatter)

"This meteorite fell to Earth

"thousands of years ago.

"It was brought

to the museum in 1902.

"All meteorites begin

their journeys to Earth

as shooting stars,

burning across the night sky."

(no audio)

(indistinct chatter)

(no audio)

WOMAN:

Mm-hmm, and look.

This is, like, the outside.

(indistinct voices overlapping)

In the nighttime.

(no audio)

(panting)

(echoing):

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