Take One (Jul 15, 1979)

sits on the bed. KATE Hey... don’t worry so much. Your phone's bad... that’s all. Mine goes bad all the time. JON Something’s just not right. KATE Hey, relax. You're getting realy paranoid about all this. It’s gonna be alright. We'll just go meet this reporter, give him the evidence, and it'll be all over. JON (uncertain) Well... KATE Well, nothing. There's nothing to worry about. JON When are we supposed to meet him? KATE At midnight. At the entrance to the park. Jon glances at the digital clock (10:41). JON Oh, we've got plenty of time. KATE (smiles) Uh hmmmmmmm... She runs her finger lightly down his chest just inside his bathrobe. JON (still concerned) At the park, huh? Kate starts to run her fingers through his stilldamp hair to get the tangles out in a loving way. KATE (leaning over to whisper) Still paranoid? JON A little. I'm tired of having all my tapes disappear. And now we're about to hand over the originals to some guy we've never even seen before. KATE (finally giving up on the lovemaking) But he’s an investigative reporter. He's on our side, remember? JON Just the same, I think we should let you take him the tapes while I listen from the car. KATE (frowns) You've seen too many James Bond movies. JON (smiles) It never hurts to play it safe. Either you wear a microphone, or you don’t go. Kate puts up her hands—symbolically surrendering. KATE O.K., O.K... I'll wear the microphone. Now are you through? JON (smiles) Why no... I was just beginning... He starts to unbutton her blouse. Kate gently removes his hand. KATE Ohhhh... in that case... She pulls away and moves to the window to pull the shade and adjust the curtains. You never know when some creep might be out there with a movie camera. 18 TAKE ONE JON Now who's paranoid??? KATE (slightly embarrassed) Well... As she wrestles with the curtains, Jon reaches over, puts the recorder into the record, picks up the pencil and adds something to his “Household Effects, Tape No. 7” list, and turns off the lamp. The lights from the bathroom and livingroom allow us to see what's going on, but unfortunately, the CAMERA TIGHTENS on the recorder and we are forced to be content with simply listening to the slightly amplified sounds of their early stages of lovemaking. Eventually, however, the tape runs out. And as the last of the tape runs through the recorder and the recorder stops, so, too, do all the sounds in the room stop. Then, for the rest of the scene, we are allowed to watch their lovemaking in absolute, total, COMPLETE SILENCE. A beautiful, hypnotic effect is created as we watch their silent lovemaking and then, when the viewers are least expecting it... Quite loudly, we hear the AMPLIFIED SOUND EFFECTS (from the next scene) of a CAR DOOR OPENING, SLAMMING SHUT, and FOOTSTEPS walking across pavement. James A. Murray James A. Murray is a media consultant specializing in a “human factors” approach to the design of mass communication messages. He is a specialist in the design of broadcast and print messages, particularly in the fields of environment and energy, and is presently consulting or advising a number of public interest groups at the state and national level. An assistant Professor of Radio-Television, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, his other media experience includes hospital public relations work, newsfeature film production for the State of Georgia, videotape documentaries, and television and radio public service announcements. Mr. Murray holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communications. eae TION Scene No. 7 By W. Angel Mesce, Jr. EXT. DAY A small, corner park on a bright, warm afternoon. Some old men feed pigeons, a pair of teenagers toss a frisbee around, their small mutt chasing the disc and yapping. Two women, housewives on their afternoon stroll, sit gossiping on a park bench, one absently rocking a baby carriage with her toe. A little boy, six or so, runs up to the woman with the carriage. He is obviously hers. She scolds him for interrupting. He nods, says something and points off. She looks in the direction he is pointing, thinks a minute, then nods in approval and goes back to gossiping with her friend while the boy runs off. He runs to where a half-dozen other young kids are gathered around a park bench. DIRTY TRICKS is sitting up on the back of the bench. He is in his mid-twenties, dressed in jeans, sneakers, a Levi jacket and a Toronto Maple Leaf cap. He keeps his hair loose; he has deepset laugh lines and eerily clear, blue eyes. He seems unassuming, likable: the good-natured collegiate type. He keeps the kids enthralled with yo-yo tricks which he narrates in low, cooing French. We notice that not only does he execute the tricks flawlessly but that his fingers are both strong and supple, caressing and firm. He can do these tricks in his sleep. While he does them, his eyes wander away, more interested in passersby, particularly women in KATE’s age range and appearance. Several catch his eye, he scrutinizes them closely, then lets them go. Finally, his eyes settle on a girl across the street. She is very similar in age and coloring to KATE. DIRTY TRICKS (to the kids in French) Around the world. He smiles and whips the yo-yo out. The film goes into slow motion. CUT TO DIRTY TRICKS’ FACE. CUT TO GIRL, she takes one step, then FREEZE FRAME. CUT TO CU DIRTY TRICKS’ FACE. CUT TO GIRL, another step, FRAME. CUT TO CU DIRTY TRICKS’ HAND, SLOW MOTION, as his supple fingers pull the yo-yo back in. FREEZE CUT TO EXT. DAY, SIDEWALK It is a little later than the previous scene. The girl that DIRTY TRICKS had spotted is walking down the street. She is unaware that DIRTY TRICKS is behind her. He calls to her quietly. DIRTY TRICKS Ma’amoiselle? She stops and turns. DIRTY TRICKS is flirting in a facetious, boyish way, smiling in mock shyness. The girl smiles tiredly but amused. DIRTY TRICKS Cat in the cradle. He does a cat in the cradle with the yo-yo. The girl smiles but does not want to be bothered and starts to walk away. DIRTY TRICKS catches up to her, tips his cap, bows slightly. DIRTY TRICKS Ma’amoiselle? Walk the dog. She smiles again. She thinks he's cute; flattered by his attention, she starts playing the coquette. She starts to walk slowly. DIRTY TRICKS steps up beside her and throws a walk the dog. When next he speaks to her, it is in heavily accented English. DIRTY TRICKS Walk the dog? They are walking by an alley and he steps in front of her as he throws another walk the dog. She stops, nods approvingly. He pulls the yoyo into his palm. GIRL I'll walk the dog. DIRTY TRICKS looks past her shoulder to see an empty street. Faking sheepishness, he turns away, looking behind him; there is just a middle-aged couple walking away. GIRL Well? DIRTY TRICKS whirls around and hits the girl on the side of her head with the palmed yo-yo. She falls into the alley. The middle-aged couple turn, having heard something, but the street is empty behind them. DIRTY TRICKS is in the alley, standing over the dazed girl. He pockets the yo-yo and reaches the fingers of his right hand into his left sleeve and pulls out a strand of gleaming steel