one in a million
"One in a Million"by W.E.Gibson
Inside the apartment we see a normal everyday New York bachelor pad. A TV illuminates the room and is partially blocked out by a high back couch that is facing us. A young man is sitting on the couch. We see that he is black by his curly hair and medium dark complexion lit by the blue light of the TV. His head disappears and we hear a long sniffing sound and suddenly his head arrises and relaxes on the back of the couch. On the TV a picture comes into view of a naked women masturbating on the screen. We see the man on the couch is also completely naked and the coffee table is filled with party materials. A mirror with a pile of cocaine on it. A bottle of Grey Goose vodka, Glasses, a half filled glass of red wine a large glass Gucci ashtray, magazines and candles. Suddenly the naked man gets up from the couch and goes to the window of the apartment and looks out the window into the dark night while smoking a fresh cigarette he lights with a Zippo lighter from the table. We see the view from the window is the The World Trade Center South Tower and part of the North Tower.
July 4th 1998> East Hampton, the house of rap mogul P.D. Street.Everybody is in white. The house is White with large glass windows And a full view of the Atlantic ocean. The music is blaring Mary J. Blidge’s My life. PD and his friend Andre are singing at the top of their lungs the words to the song for everyone to hear. Everyone is looking at them in adulation as they take large swigs off the magnum of Kristal. We see Elliott for the first time, tan a little drunk and sweaty but holding it together. He is watching another person from the across the lawn who is getting a food plate from the barbecue all by herself. Her hair is long shiny and jet black she stands out from the crowd, unaffected by the scene that is attracting so much attention. Elliott is transfixed to see what she looks like in full view. He starts to make his way through the crowd and down to the lawn to get a closer look and losses sight of her for a split second. She is gone. He keeps looking trying not to attract any attention. Walking around the lawn and then inside the off limits of the mansion. She is nowhere to be found.
New York City center high rise corner office of Elliott Williams a Executive producer for a major TV network. People are running in and out of his office asking questions and speaking to him but he doesn't answer them. His back is turned looking out the window at view of all downtown with the twin towers and the statue of liberty at the tip of Manhattan. He is bouncing a nerf basketball ball off the large office window and suddenly turns to face the camera and a production team that are having a meeting in his office. They are casting for a new TV series and they are looking for a host and they haven’t found anyone in weeks of tireless auditions. They are due to shoot and deliver the pilot in a week and the pressure is on or someone will get fired. And the way he has been partying lately his work has suffered and the bosses upstairs have been watching him closely eyeing a change. Elliott is on thin ice and knows it but at the same time thinks that he can play it off in front of them like he always has using his charm and wit and uncanny luck that is always with him until now.
ELLIOTT “Is she here yet” he asks Sandy his assistant who walks in to the office. No...she is already an hour late, do you know if she is really coming? Who is this girl anyway she asks. Silence. OS OK lets start. Bring them in. The audition begins and the parade of hopefuls start to come in one by one into Elliotts office to be video taped for potential host of the new TV show. Elliott looks blankly at the phone ignoring the action in the office. Fade Out
Jump to September 10th 2001, Torrential downpour of rain, Elliott is standing waiting for his car service to pick him up> He calls and they say that all cars are busy. He’s late. He runs to the corner of Broadway and Cortlandt and we then see the Twin Towers hovering behind him as he hails a cab in the pouring rain. In the car he phones Stevie his friend that he is having dinner with. Stevie is a beautiful and famous model with a tremendous loft on Lafayette street. They are going to dinner at Royal to drink Matinis and eat great french food. There is no romantic relationship between them and the chemistry doesn't exist for any sex to happen naturally but they enjoy having dinner and talking and drinking wine like mature adults. Plus she is outstandingly beautiful. They have this standing date where they go out looking marvelous to the most expensive places in New York and they split the bill. The relationship is drama free so they are able to talk about anything and laugh about it. They know that nothing will happen or is there a desire. There is an unspoken understanding.
ELLOITT arrives at the Stevies Loft and she they immediately start drinking wine in her kitchen. Even though they have this plutonic relationship, ELLIOTT still sees her as a beautiful women and she flirts with him at will. But it would never work and they would lose the fun they are enjoying, its a special bond.At Royal they have a huge meal with lots of martinis. They are seated in a secluded back part of the restaurant. STEVIE tells ELLIOTT about the new guy she is seeing who happens to be Italian. which is not her preference but she happens to attract them for some reason. She orders the meal in french as ELLIOTT listens and learns from her elegant voice.
As they are dining they begin to tell each other secrets. Trading off one by on each one getting more personal. Stevie asks Elliott “What about you, who are you waiting for? I never see you with anyone so there must be someone! Elliott doesn't answer at first but the martinis are kicking and he tells her something he hasn't ever told anyone. He is in love with a girl but he cant say who it is. Stevie understands and doesn't press him on it but asks him if he has told her. “She knows, or at least I think she does. I sent her a letter but I never heard back from her. Stevie tells him that he has to do more that he cant just leave it like that. You have to go to her El, she isn't going to come to you like in the movies. He is silent and knows she is right but she doesn't know the whole story. Bill walks her home from the restaurant and they talk about their friendship and they both realize that they are both drunk enough to kiss. They start kissing on the corner but something interrupts them just as they are about to get into it> (a vagrant taps him on the back and tells him abruptly to buy a rose from him for the girl) they both laugh and with the rose they walk to her door where they awkwardly say good night with a kiss to the cheek, both knowing that it would never work and it is better that they remain where they are. Plus they are drunk and told each other that they love other people, but it would be a fun romp!Elliott is by himself on the phone on the corner telling the person that he will meet him outside his apartment in 10 minutes.
A Ford Taurus rolls up and Elliott is already waiting at the front of the building smoking a cigarette he gets in the passenger side and asks for 4, signaling with his hand. He grabs the packages and gets out of the car and watches the car speed off towards Broadway and Cortlandt. Its raining like crazy still and we see inside Elliotts hand he is carrying four fresh bindles of coke.
EXT: DAY We see a girl roller balding extremely fast through the streets of Manhattan. Through cars, holding on to buses, dipping low barley avoiding being hit by a cab. She is a maniac on in line skates.
The line to the audition is around the corner. They aren't letting anyone else up and all of the numbers have been given out, a total of 200 hopefuls. More are mingling around in the hopes of a miracle but the audition line has been cut off. Just the we see Mayte. On her roller blades. She arrives in full goth/rocker attire, Leathers and a tank top and a backwards baseball cap as a helmet. She rolls past the girls that have been in line for hours and goes to the front of the line and pulls out a sweaty piece of paper from her sock. I'm here to see Madeline for the interview. There is no Madeline. She looks around as the girls in line silently tell her to go to the back of the line> She sees the line and the definite end> there are no more tickets and now way to get in and she doesn't have a number to reach Elliott. She left it at home in a safe place. All she has is an address and a name that she wrote down when the assistant, Sandy called her a couple of days ago. She goes across the street and sits on the sidewalk next to the park watching the line across the street and her big chance to be on TV wash away.
Jet Lounge South Hampton, July 4th Weekend. The VIP room is packed with a who's who of NY nightlife. Elliott sees her across the room, the girl from the Barbecue in the afternoon. This time there is no mistaking it. He sees her face for the first time. She is dancing all by herself in the middle of a small crowd. No one is paying attention to her. But Elliott has his eyes dead on her and doesn't let her out of his sight. She cant see him but he can see her, or does she see him? The song stops and she lights a cig and begins to smoke it in a aggressive way. Her hair is sweaty from dancing but she doesn't seem to care. She ties it in a bun and sits on the edge of the couch and waits for someone to approach her. Elliott begins to move forward, then stops, another guy hands her a drink just as he is about to reach her through the crowd. He turns and goes back to almost the same spot that he was in, hoping that she didn't see him bust a move. All off the sudden she is there two feet away. So what up man, why didn't you come over just then?She flicks her cig out the door to the deck. and looks directectly at Elliott for an answer. What do you mean? Just Then, you were coming over, oh well forget it. She turns to walk away and Elliott knowing that this is it that he has to meet her know or never. I'm Elliott, ignoring his embarrassment. I'm Mayte, They shake hands and talk. Elliott is awkward, he pretends not to notice her beauty and how different she is to him from the other girls he meets. He gives her the producer line and says that she would be great for the part of the host which he still hasn't found. He tells her to stop by for the casting and to call his office and ask for his assistant and she will give her the time and place> Knowing in the back of his mind that he should just ask her out to dinner and not play a stupid game where he may never see her again. He takes the easy way out and stays with the plan. Use the juice to try to impress her. She takes his card and that the last he sees her for the night> She disappears just like that.
The office is buzzing with people coming in and out photographers and assistants. Elliott is looking out of his Hi Rise window on to Bryant Park, where he can see the sunbathers with his telescope. No one from the office notices they keep working, occasionally looking his way for some advice or input. He has been doing it for so long that he can feel IT the minute the person walks in the room. The electricity changes and the person who has IT doesn't even know it but the other people in the room do. There hairs stand up on end because that person is so hard to find. One in a Million. Scanning the park he sees nothing that interests his voyeuristic eye and takes his head away from the telescope. And stares down at the street, knowing that if he doesn't find the host they have to go with the suggestions of the executive producers and at that point you can kiss his career goodbye. There is now way that he can work with the bimbo they are suggesting just because she happens to some executive producers wife that hasn't an inch of talent or the Charisma needed for the screen. Just then he spots a figure sitting on the curb behind the afternoon pedestrian traffic. He looks from the high vantage point and says to himself that it cant be! He grabs the telescope and moves it to the sidewalk and brings into focus the feet of a person sitting, she is blocked by the legs of the pedestrians he waits and then he sees her with her head on her arms. She looks like she is crying but he cant tell. He calls out for Sandy loudly and she comes over to him the third time he calls to her. Look! He puts her head to the telescope. GO GET HER! But who.....don't ask GO and don't loose her. Sandy runs to the elevator as he is yelling. Elliott goes back to the telescope and sees her still. He goes to his phone and tries to call her and gets her answering machine. She starts to move like to gather all of her belongings from the sidewalk. She puts on her rollerblades and starts to move down the street. He follows her with the lens of his telescope. SHIT! He plops down in his chair and turns away from the window in disgust. We lost her...! Everybody in the office looks over at him saying nothing. Then they go back to work as if nothing was happening. Elliott knows it could be his last chance, she’s the one he has been looking for...
Elliott is sleeping on his bed. The sun is shining but he doesnt see it coming in thru the window beacuse he is wearing a set of blinders to help him sleep from the night before. He just laid down to bed before the sun came up. His secret vow to himself. No drugs after sunrise. He has to be at the office by no later than 11 AM.
8:49 AM A loud explosion rocks the large wooden pain glass windows of the apartment> Elliott hears the noise but is half sleeping and he rolls around and takes a peak out from under the blindfold to see a sparkeling see of white through the venition blinds. He thinks to himself its snowing....It cant be. He takes a close look and sees that its thousands of sheets of paper twirling in thin the quiet September morning sun. The relfection from each piece of paper gives the illusion of snow. Looking out the window he looks to see where the paper is coming from and sees black smoke coming out of the World Trade Center. Not knowing what has happened he puts on his shorts and shoes and grabs his video camera and runs to the elevator. On the street the sirens are beginning to be heard coming to the scene. Looking at the burning tower it looks like a fire and an explosion must have set off. Know one knows what has happened. He walks closer to the towers and continues to film with the camera.
9:06 AM. From the left he hears the load roar of a jet engines going at full throttle. And then he sees for a split second a figure of a jet airliner at the corner of his eye. And then the explosion! But before the sound, in between seeing the orange ball of flame and hearing the tremendous explosion of fuel there is a skip, a beat Something happend to the air or time or sight and for an instant time wasn’t real or it was real. And then the smell of jet fuel hit his nose> Running away from the fireball and looking back he can see pieces of the plane flying towards him and hitting the ground around him, barley missing him on the street
It was Jet! It hit the fucking building> The south tower is in flames. We are being attacked.
Sandy walks into his office first, she is a mess, sweating and not saying a word she walks walks into the office first and behind her Mayte walks in a looks at Elliott and smiles. Elliott comes from behind his desk and shakes hands with her making sure that he doesnt show the other girls in the room that he likes her in anyway, but its a dead giveaway. The girls sitting on the casting couch know it by the way he moved from behind the desk to greet her. Elloitt hansn’t given them the time of day. Ok, lets see her.Mayte goes over to the camera and starts to put on a show for the producers immediatly. They all look at Elliott and stop what they are doing. The camera is loving her. She continues to seduce the camera man with he freshness and irreverance. And then she stops and looks at Dago the director. Thats it sweety, thats all we need right Elloitt? Yes, I think that will be enough for today.
Elloitt walks to the elevator with Mayte and gets in with her. There is silence, She says she is sorry that she was late and that she couldnt believe Sandy found her blading down the middle of 5th avenue in a cab. That girl is out of her mind, she grabbed me by my pants and stopped me while the cab was moving. I almost killed her until she explained who she was. Elliott is smiling knowing what sandy does when he says the right thing to her. She will do anything for the production. As she is putting on her blades, Elloitt asks her if she will see a movie with him on Sat. Mayte says yes, and maybe we can have dinner too! No I thought we would just have popcorn in the theater. “Smart Ass” she says back. She gives him a kiss on his cheek and says “call me” as she blades out of sight
Inside the apartment we see a normal everyday New York bachelor pad. A TV illuminates the room and is partially blocked out by a high back couch that is facing us. A young man is sitting on the couch. We see that he is black by his curly hair and medium dark complexion lit by the blue light of the TV. His head disappears and we hear a long sniffing sound and suddenly his head arrises and relaxes on the back of the couch. On the TV a picture comes into view of a naked women masturbating on the screen. We see the man on the couch is also completely naked and the coffee table is filled with party materials. A mirror with a pile of cocaine on it. A bottle of Grey Goose vodka, Glasses, a half filled glass of red wine a large glass Gucci ashtray, magazines and candles. Suddenly the naked man gets up from the couch and goes to the window of the apartment and looks out the window into the dark night while smoking a fresh cigarette he lights with a Zippo lighter from the table. We see the view from the window is the The World Trade Center South Tower and part of the North Tower.
July 4th 1998> East Hampton, the house of rap mogul P.D. Street.Everybody is in white. The house is White with large glass windows And a full view of the Atlantic ocean. The music is blaring Mary J. Blidge’s My life. PD and his friend Andre are singing at the top of their lungs the words to the song for everyone to hear. Everyone is looking at them in adulation as they take large swigs off the magnum of Kristal. We see Elliott for the first time, tan a little drunk and sweaty but holding it together. He is watching another person from the across the lawn who is getting a food plate from the barbecue all by herself. Her hair is long shiny and jet black she stands out from the crowd, unaffected by the scene that is attracting so much attention. Elliott is transfixed to see what she looks like in full view. He starts to make his way through the crowd and down to the lawn to get a closer look and losses sight of her for a split second. She is gone. He keeps looking trying not to attract any attention. Walking around the lawn and then inside the off limits of the mansion. She is nowhere to be found.
New York City center high rise corner office of Elliott Williams a Executive producer for a major TV network. People are running in and out of his office asking questions and speaking to him but he doesn't answer them. His back is turned looking out the window at view of all downtown with the twin towers and the statue of liberty at the tip of Manhattan. He is bouncing a nerf basketball ball off the large office window and suddenly turns to face the camera and a production team that are having a meeting in his office. They are casting for a new TV series and they are looking for a host and they haven’t found anyone in weeks of tireless auditions. They are due to shoot and deliver the pilot in a week and the pressure is on or someone will get fired. And the way he has been partying lately his work has suffered and the bosses upstairs have been watching him closely eyeing a change. Elliott is on thin ice and knows it but at the same time thinks that he can play it off in front of them like he always has using his charm and wit and uncanny luck that is always with him until now.
ELLIOTT “Is she here yet” he asks Sandy his assistant who walks in to the office. No...she is already an hour late, do you know if she is really coming? Who is this girl anyway she asks. Silence. OS OK lets start. Bring them in. The audition begins and the parade of hopefuls start to come in one by one into Elliotts office to be video taped for potential host of the new TV show. Elliott looks blankly at the phone ignoring the action in the office. Fade Out
Jump to September 10th 2001, Torrential downpour of rain, Elliott is standing waiting for his car service to pick him up> He calls and they say that all cars are busy. He’s late. He runs to the corner of Broadway and Cortlandt and we then see the Twin Towers hovering behind him as he hails a cab in the pouring rain. In the car he phones Stevie his friend that he is having dinner with. Stevie is a beautiful and famous model with a tremendous loft on Lafayette street. They are going to dinner at Royal to drink Matinis and eat great french food. There is no romantic relationship between them and the chemistry doesn't exist for any sex to happen naturally but they enjoy having dinner and talking and drinking wine like mature adults. Plus she is outstandingly beautiful. They have this standing date where they go out looking marvelous to the most expensive places in New York and they split the bill. The relationship is drama free so they are able to talk about anything and laugh about it. They know that nothing will happen or is there a desire. There is an unspoken understanding.
ELLOITT arrives at the Stevies Loft and she they immediately start drinking wine in her kitchen. Even though they have this plutonic relationship, ELLIOTT still sees her as a beautiful women and she flirts with him at will. But it would never work and they would lose the fun they are enjoying, its a special bond.At Royal they have a huge meal with lots of martinis. They are seated in a secluded back part of the restaurant. STEVIE tells ELLIOTT about the new guy she is seeing who happens to be Italian. which is not her preference but she happens to attract them for some reason. She orders the meal in french as ELLIOTT listens and learns from her elegant voice.
As they are dining they begin to tell each other secrets. Trading off one by on each one getting more personal. Stevie asks Elliott “What about you, who are you waiting for? I never see you with anyone so there must be someone! Elliott doesn't answer at first but the martinis are kicking and he tells her something he hasn't ever told anyone. He is in love with a girl but he cant say who it is. Stevie understands and doesn't press him on it but asks him if he has told her. “She knows, or at least I think she does. I sent her a letter but I never heard back from her. Stevie tells him that he has to do more that he cant just leave it like that. You have to go to her El, she isn't going to come to you like in the movies. He is silent and knows she is right but she doesn't know the whole story. Bill walks her home from the restaurant and they talk about their friendship and they both realize that they are both drunk enough to kiss. They start kissing on the corner but something interrupts them just as they are about to get into it> (a vagrant taps him on the back and tells him abruptly to buy a rose from him for the girl) they both laugh and with the rose they walk to her door where they awkwardly say good night with a kiss to the cheek, both knowing that it would never work and it is better that they remain where they are. Plus they are drunk and told each other that they love other people, but it would be a fun romp!Elliott is by himself on the phone on the corner telling the person that he will meet him outside his apartment in 10 minutes.
A Ford Taurus rolls up and Elliott is already waiting at the front of the building smoking a cigarette he gets in the passenger side and asks for 4, signaling with his hand. He grabs the packages and gets out of the car and watches the car speed off towards Broadway and Cortlandt. Its raining like crazy still and we see inside Elliotts hand he is carrying four fresh bindles of coke.
EXT: DAY We see a girl roller balding extremely fast through the streets of Manhattan. Through cars, holding on to buses, dipping low barley avoiding being hit by a cab. She is a maniac on in line skates.
The line to the audition is around the corner. They aren't letting anyone else up and all of the numbers have been given out, a total of 200 hopefuls. More are mingling around in the hopes of a miracle but the audition line has been cut off. Just the we see Mayte. On her roller blades. She arrives in full goth/rocker attire, Leathers and a tank top and a backwards baseball cap as a helmet. She rolls past the girls that have been in line for hours and goes to the front of the line and pulls out a sweaty piece of paper from her sock. I'm here to see Madeline for the interview. There is no Madeline. She looks around as the girls in line silently tell her to go to the back of the line> She sees the line and the definite end> there are no more tickets and now way to get in and she doesn't have a number to reach Elliott. She left it at home in a safe place. All she has is an address and a name that she wrote down when the assistant, Sandy called her a couple of days ago. She goes across the street and sits on the sidewalk next to the park watching the line across the street and her big chance to be on TV wash away.
Jet Lounge South Hampton, July 4th Weekend. The VIP room is packed with a who's who of NY nightlife. Elliott sees her across the room, the girl from the Barbecue in the afternoon. This time there is no mistaking it. He sees her face for the first time. She is dancing all by herself in the middle of a small crowd. No one is paying attention to her. But Elliott has his eyes dead on her and doesn't let her out of his sight. She cant see him but he can see her, or does she see him? The song stops and she lights a cig and begins to smoke it in a aggressive way. Her hair is sweaty from dancing but she doesn't seem to care. She ties it in a bun and sits on the edge of the couch and waits for someone to approach her. Elliott begins to move forward, then stops, another guy hands her a drink just as he is about to reach her through the crowd. He turns and goes back to almost the same spot that he was in, hoping that she didn't see him bust a move. All off the sudden she is there two feet away. So what up man, why didn't you come over just then?She flicks her cig out the door to the deck. and looks directectly at Elliott for an answer. What do you mean? Just Then, you were coming over, oh well forget it. She turns to walk away and Elliott knowing that this is it that he has to meet her know or never. I'm Elliott, ignoring his embarrassment. I'm Mayte, They shake hands and talk. Elliott is awkward, he pretends not to notice her beauty and how different she is to him from the other girls he meets. He gives her the producer line and says that she would be great for the part of the host which he still hasn't found. He tells her to stop by for the casting and to call his office and ask for his assistant and she will give her the time and place> Knowing in the back of his mind that he should just ask her out to dinner and not play a stupid game where he may never see her again. He takes the easy way out and stays with the plan. Use the juice to try to impress her. She takes his card and that the last he sees her for the night> She disappears just like that.
The office is buzzing with people coming in and out photographers and assistants. Elliott is looking out of his Hi Rise window on to Bryant Park, where he can see the sunbathers with his telescope. No one from the office notices they keep working, occasionally looking his way for some advice or input. He has been doing it for so long that he can feel IT the minute the person walks in the room. The electricity changes and the person who has IT doesn't even know it but the other people in the room do. There hairs stand up on end because that person is so hard to find. One in a Million. Scanning the park he sees nothing that interests his voyeuristic eye and takes his head away from the telescope. And stares down at the street, knowing that if he doesn't find the host they have to go with the suggestions of the executive producers and at that point you can kiss his career goodbye. There is now way that he can work with the bimbo they are suggesting just because she happens to some executive producers wife that hasn't an inch of talent or the Charisma needed for the screen. Just then he spots a figure sitting on the curb behind the afternoon pedestrian traffic. He looks from the high vantage point and says to himself that it cant be! He grabs the telescope and moves it to the sidewalk and brings into focus the feet of a person sitting, she is blocked by the legs of the pedestrians he waits and then he sees her with her head on her arms. She looks like she is crying but he cant tell. He calls out for Sandy loudly and she comes over to him the third time he calls to her. Look! He puts her head to the telescope. GO GET HER! But who.....don't ask GO and don't loose her. Sandy runs to the elevator as he is yelling. Elliott goes back to the telescope and sees her still. He goes to his phone and tries to call her and gets her answering machine. She starts to move like to gather all of her belongings from the sidewalk. She puts on her rollerblades and starts to move down the street. He follows her with the lens of his telescope. SHIT! He plops down in his chair and turns away from the window in disgust. We lost her...! Everybody in the office looks over at him saying nothing. Then they go back to work as if nothing was happening. Elliott knows it could be his last chance, she’s the one he has been looking for...
Elliott is sleeping on his bed. The sun is shining but he doesnt see it coming in thru the window beacuse he is wearing a set of blinders to help him sleep from the night before. He just laid down to bed before the sun came up. His secret vow to himself. No drugs after sunrise. He has to be at the office by no later than 11 AM.
8:49 AM A loud explosion rocks the large wooden pain glass windows of the apartment> Elliott hears the noise but is half sleeping and he rolls around and takes a peak out from under the blindfold to see a sparkeling see of white through the venition blinds. He thinks to himself its snowing....It cant be. He takes a close look and sees that its thousands of sheets of paper twirling in thin the quiet September morning sun. The relfection from each piece of paper gives the illusion of snow. Looking out the window he looks to see where the paper is coming from and sees black smoke coming out of the World Trade Center. Not knowing what has happened he puts on his shorts and shoes and grabs his video camera and runs to the elevator. On the street the sirens are beginning to be heard coming to the scene. Looking at the burning tower it looks like a fire and an explosion must have set off. Know one knows what has happened. He walks closer to the towers and continues to film with the camera.
9:06 AM. From the left he hears the load roar of a jet engines going at full throttle. And then he sees for a split second a figure of a jet airliner at the corner of his eye. And then the explosion! But before the sound, in between seeing the orange ball of flame and hearing the tremendous explosion of fuel there is a skip, a beat Something happend to the air or time or sight and for an instant time wasn’t real or it was real. And then the smell of jet fuel hit his nose> Running away from the fireball and looking back he can see pieces of the plane flying towards him and hitting the ground around him, barley missing him on the street
It was Jet! It hit the fucking building> The south tower is in flames. We are being attacked.
Sandy walks into his office first, she is a mess, sweating and not saying a word she walks walks into the office first and behind her Mayte walks in a looks at Elliott and smiles. Elliott comes from behind his desk and shakes hands with her making sure that he doesnt show the other girls in the room that he likes her in anyway, but its a dead giveaway. The girls sitting on the casting couch know it by the way he moved from behind the desk to greet her. Elloitt hansn’t given them the time of day. Ok, lets see her.Mayte goes over to the camera and starts to put on a show for the producers immediatly. They all look at Elliott and stop what they are doing. The camera is loving her. She continues to seduce the camera man with he freshness and irreverance. And then she stops and looks at Dago the director. Thats it sweety, thats all we need right Elloitt? Yes, I think that will be enough for today.
Elloitt walks to the elevator with Mayte and gets in with her. There is silence, She says she is sorry that she was late and that she couldnt believe Sandy found her blading down the middle of 5th avenue in a cab. That girl is out of her mind, she grabbed me by my pants and stopped me while the cab was moving. I almost killed her until she explained who she was. Elliott is smiling knowing what sandy does when he says the right thing to her. She will do anything for the production. As she is putting on her blades, Elloitt asks her if she will see a movie with him on Sat. Mayte says yes, and maybe we can have dinner too! No I thought we would just have popcorn in the theater. “Smart Ass” she says back. She gives him a kiss on his cheek and says “call me” as she blades out of sight
posted by William Gibson Jr. at 2:59 PM
1 Comments:
Nice Dream
By William Elliott
Int: Apartment Morning
Mayte and Elliott’s bedroom: Early Morning
Elliott is getting ready to leave. Walking from the bathroom to the closet and back not making any effort to conceal loud sounds or drawers. Mayte is faking like she is sleeping to avoid talking with him and telling him her a secret she has been keeping from him. Maybe they had a fight last night? We don’t know. We only see flashes of the back of a Nico getting ready putting his tie on in the mirror and moving about the room never seeing his full face. He is not speaking at all. Elliott leaves the room and walks out the door. All we hear is his keys and the door slam shut.
Just as soon as the door is shut Mayte turns on her back and lays in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking….Tears are coming down her face from the corner of her eyes. She looks at the nightstand and wipes her eyes as she sees a solid gold Rolex Submariner sitting on the opposite nightstand ticking away. We see that its 7:30AM
Mayte is sad and bored and for some reason this morning more than ever and she doesn’t know why. All she wants to do is get out of town and leave everything behind and find some place to be alone on this planet. She can’t take it anymore. The city, the people, Elliott. He hasn’t been the same since IT happened. And now she is pregnant on top of all that, and Elliott doesn’t know yet, because she can’t tell him. She thought that getting pregnant would help.
But where will she go. And how? He has all the money. She is a starving actress with no jobs and no auditions. No one is calling her. She has to work as a waitress just to pay for her subway and she hates her job and that she has to do it just to survive. And Elliott doesn’t even act like he loves her anymore. She can tell this is the end, he will kick her out on the street if he finds out she is having his baby. There was a time that she would have never thought that, but now after what happened everything has changed. He has changed. He doesn’t love her anymore, she just knows it.
Elliott was in Tower 2 of the world trade center when the jet hit the 73rd floor. He doesn’t remember how he got out of the building when all of his collegues didn’t. He has blocked it out and hasn’t seen anybody about the after effects that the attack might be having on him. Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome,
Mayte starts to frantically put together her plan laying it all out on the bed. Talking on the phone. Throwing clothes on the floor and the stuff she needs from the bathroom into a bag and gets dressed and starts to walk to the door. And stops, just as she is about to leave, she looks at the Rolex on the nightstand.
She starts to calculate in her head. She has no money on her credit card. About 500 cash in her checking account ATM card. She will have the baby on her own in Brazil. If he doesn’t want it she will just leave.
She grabs the Rolex that is sitting on the table. It doesn’t matter anymore. There is nothing between them, except the fact that they can’t figure out why they are even together anymore. Maybe this will help him to hate her., so she can leave without the guilt. Whatever happens, it’s better than sitting in this City, in this apartment, in this room! She grabs the watch and heads out to the nearest pawn shop.
Int: Pawn Shop Day
She sells the $10,000 Rolex for $1500. She decides that she can’t go back to the apartment. She is scared that he might be there. She goes to the cybercafé and looks up the place she has always wanted to go to in Brazil. Bahia. There is a flight that leaves at 530 from JFK. She has to stay out of sight till then.
She takes a cab to the airport with the one bag she packed before she left the apartment.
She is going with it. Her phone rings, she ignores it. It’s Elliott. . If she answers she will get scared, change her mind and turn back. What about the Rolex? When he finds out he will explode. What if he comes back to get it in the middle of the day and finds that she has taken the watch and left him. He’ll call the cops! And they will stop her at the airport
She could always say she lost it on the trip. Fuck it! She thinks to herself that She will never see him again anyway. “:He doesn’t care about me and how I feel”. The baby is all I care about. He will want to have an abortion. No, I’ve gone this far I want to leave. It feels good. I’m almost there, all I have to do is stay out of sight and hope that he doesn’t come home until after the plane takes off. Then Ill be safe.
At the airport she pays for the ticket with her credit card which is maxed out, but for some reason it goes thru anyway. She goes to the bathroom to wash up and then waits for the plane to leave at 10:30PM
Her cell phone is ringing of the hook. She turns it off completely. There is no turning back now.
She can imagine what will happen when Elliott finds out she is gone and she has hawked his gold Rolex to take a trip to Brazil just to escape him and all the gloom.
Int: Plane takes off Night
Sleeping
Looking out the window
Reading an airline magazine
Listening to airline music’
She has no where to stay when she gets there and not a lot of money when she does find a place. How is she going to survive? Thoughts and scenarios run thru her head. Washing dishes, Cleaning rooms, Prostitution. (Dream sequences)
Int: Rio Airport: Morning
She has fallen asleep, she wakes up to a taxi driver shaking her and asking her what hotel she needs to go to.
She puts down an ATM card at the front desk and is taken to her room without hesitation.
It’s a one room basic with a bed a shower no TV. In the shower she washes away all of her worries and climbs into bed with her eyes wide open hoping that she will fall asleep fast and in the morning all of her worries will be gone. She is all alone.
Day 2: Early Afternoon
Walking to the beach in the sand over the dunes. Suddenly she sees the beauty of the blue ocean and the most incredible beach she has ever seen. Completely empty of people. The sand is almost white and the sound of the waves instantly put her in a different frame of mind.
She goes down to the water and takes off her clothes and dives in> the sun is hot.
She has no towel but the sun dries her as she lies on the wet sand.
She feels that since know one is on the beach its ok to be naked. She is nervous at first but puts out the towel from her room and starts her day in the sun.
More people start to arrive and look at her> She is asleep. When she wakes up she realizes that she is the only on with no clothes on and covers up with the small towel and puts on her jeans and her top and leaves the beach falling and tripping in the sand
A man from down the beach is laughing to himself as she is leaving the beach clutching to cover herself up.
Day 3:
She has a bathing suit, Bikini and a towel and water
The camera watches her during the day as Mayte goes into the surf cool herself from the hot sun.
The Man is not on the beach.
She gets up to leave and walks to town to shop at the market for fruit and bread and maybe a coffee. And, oh yea a bottle of wine so she can drink it tonight in her room
and get drunk as hell all by herself.
She stops at a café and has a coffee and the man from the beach is there by himself as well they say nothing to each other but glance at each other.
She is in the supermarket and picks out a bottle of white wine and some cheese and some crackers. And walks back to her room and flops on the bed and sleeps. She starts to turn on her phone to see the messages but turns it off before it goes on and curls up in a ball on the bed.
She has no music in her room only her ipod and earphones. She starts to drink the wine out of the bottle and eats the cheese and crackers with the silver wear she stole from the plane> It’s her own private party. She is dancing and jumping on the bed to the tunes on her iPOD. (A million miles away by the Plimsoles) She passes out.
Day 4
Hung over. The beach is the only remedy to snap her out of it. She walks to another beach and the Man from before is there again her by himself sitting next to his surfboard watching and waiting for his set.
She sits far away from him watching him with a renewed interest. They are the only ones on the entire beach. The day goes by and she watches him surf all day. And she goes in and out of the water to cool off. She is starting to be interested in who he is. Who he might be as a person. And she wants someone to talk to as well.
Walking back to town and her hotel on the side of the road, a moke with a surfboard sticking out of the back stops and picks her up they exchange the normal hellos and she tells him where to drop her off. He tells her come by the nearby restaurant for dinner and speeds off. As he is driving away he says my name is NICO
Restaurant Night
Outdoor seating
It’s the same place that she went for coffee the other day
Nico: So you made it, Thanks for coming…..What was your name?
Mayte: My name is Mayte
Nico: Alright Mayte, come..have a seat and Ill get you something to drink
Mayte: (Doesn’t answer and sits down at the small table in the corner)
Suddenly all kinds of food starts to come to the table. Tortillas, avocados, etc.
It’s a feast, the kitchen has been getting ready for her to arrive and there is not much business this time of year.
She eats it fast, she is famished. He and his workers watch her secretly from the kitchen and smile as she devours all of the food.
Without asking Nico sits down at the table with her and offers her a smoke she declines. He lights up a hand rolled cigarette anyway. He is nothing like she imagined him to be when she was watching him on the beach> He is Brazilian and extremely good looking, young and slim, but at the same time he has no manners. She lets it go because she really wants someone to talk to even though she isn’t acting like it.
Nico: So I see that you are alone here (in Porteguese)
S: No, Somebody is coming to meet me tomorrow (in Spanish)
Nico: Oh yea, and where is this person coming from. Smiling
S: New York,
The food was great, can I get the check.
Nico: Wait, what’s the rush, besides I would like to buy you the dinner if you would let me do that?
S: That’s OK I can pay for my own food thank you. And I really have to get back. I’m very tired.
Nico: If you want, I can take you surfing tomorrow at the beach
S: I don’t surf
Nico: Ill teach you fast, you’ll be surfing by the afternoon
S: I’m afraid that I won’t be that good and I told you that my boyfriend is coming tomorrow. *(A total lie)
Nico: You didn’t say your boyfriend, you said someone, that’s is a big difference
Mayte: Silence, she stands to leave
Nico: Well, then when he comes we can all go
S: Sounds good! (Lying) Thanks for dinner>
She leaves 10$ US on the table
Nico: Thanks for coming
Nico is taken back by her beauty as she walks away. She looks completely different at night after her shower she is glowing. The sun has made her dark amber skin brown and red at the same time and she is glowing from head to toe from being in the sun all day and is wearing a Sarong and a white T shirt.
Who is this woman and why is she here he asks himself.
Day 5: Morning
Mayte wakes up to find an old motorized bicycle outside her front door> Inside the basket is a pair of fins and a mask and a snorkel and an envelope with just a map.
The map is to a beach on the other side of the island from where she has been going in a secluded cove that you have to hike to.
Riding the bike on the open road she thinks about what she is doing but the adventure has taken hold of her. She can’t turn back now. She has almost forgotten her life in New York and could stay here forever it seems like. The nervous feeling she had when she first got hear is gone. She is completely different, free, without attachments. She will never turn on her phone again. As a matter of fact she may throw it into the ocean just as a symbol to herself that she is free and this is what she really wants to be independent and to start over maybe, somewhere else with someone else.
Hiking in to the secluded oasis
She comes upon the most beautiful beach she has ever seen. The sky is full of perfect mid-day sunlight. Breathtaking crystal clear water and light brown sand and a soft breeze. Totally secluded.
Nobody is on the small beach. She puts on her bathing suit anyway and takes out the gear to go snorkeling immediately.
Underwater she sees the purest place on earth. It’s the fountain of youth that has been untouched by Man or women for that matter
She lies on the sand all day at the same time she is secretly wishing she had someone special to share her private beach with.
She falls asleep in the sun and begins to dreaming.
Dream Sequence: A young little girl with long curly brown hair. The little girl comes up to her while she is sitting on the toilet seat half asleep in the bathroom of a small NYC apartment. The little girl comes up to her face and says something to her in her ear. She looks out the door of the bathroom and we see the back side of a Man’s head who is sitting on the couch in the other room reading. Its morning and she has just gotten up. In the dream we can’t make out who the Man is, only that he has dark curly hair. And the dream won’t let us or her see him clearly but the little girl is the cutest girl in the world and it looks like a small version of her with a big smile and big brown eyes.
When she wakes up on the beach its Magic Hour. The Sun is on its way down. She decides to go back into the blue water that is beckoning her. When she walks out of the water she sits down to watch the sunset in front of her. All of the sudden there is someone standing behind her. She is afraid to look but she can feel it. She can feel it. She doesn’t move. The person doesn’t say a word and she is scared. She thinks that she is going to get hurt all alone on a seclude beach. How stupid can she be. It’s all been a set up so she can be raped. She starts to cry silently.
Just when she is about to get up to run, He says her name. She stops and her eyes open wide with surprise. We see his legs then his wrist that has the Rolex on it and on his pinky he has a large diamond engagement ring. Mayte……..will you……. She jumps up and hugs his head and says yes before he gets out the rest of it:” Will you marry me?” It’s all I have ever wanted”
She turns her head and looks up at him into the sun. There is a glare but we can see a diamond ring on his finger.
Cut to: 3 or so years later
Mayte is sitting on the edge of the bath tub with her robe on and the water running and a little girl comes bursting in on her while she is about to take a bath and gives her a kiss on her cheek and a picture that she drew of a beach and the sun and two people on it sitting, holding hands and looking at the sunset labeled Mommy and Daddy in little girl writing. The little girl runs out opening the door a little more to reveal a Man sitting on the bed in the other room. Elliott whose face we see for the first time is sitting on the bed, confirming that he was the Man from her dream all along
The END
Cue Music: (Nice Dream by Radiohead)
Credits Roll
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