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Version 2.0
July 1998
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Robalini
The
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Klearinghouse
Part I
The following is part one of a thirteen part serialization for the screenplay Blinded, written by Robert Sterling. It is suggested for mature audiences only. Though it is copyrighted, feel free to forward it to others, or to put it on your website.
Sit back, turn down the lights, microwave a bag of popcorn, and enjoy the show.
OPENING CREDITS - BLINDED
EXT. CITY PARK - LATE NIGHT
The park is a typical one, with a fountain in the
middle. It's very dark, with a dim lamppost in the
background. A dark-haired YOUNG MAN staggers through
the park, looking very sick. He is in his mid
twenties, and is wearing average street clothes. There
is background sound like that of firecrackers popping,
and the whole shot is lit by a weird glow of red and
blue, like from the top of a police car. The young man
stumbles to the water fountain, and proceeds to throw
up in it. He turns his head upward, and looks up in
the sky.
YOUNG MAN
Fuck.
He lies his head on the fountain step, and passes out.
EXT. SAME CITY PARK - NEXT MORNING
He wakes up, still next to the fountain. He lies
there, looking confused, as PEOPLE walk by. He looks
around, then checks his pockets. Nothing is in them.
He looks down at his shirt, and sees puke stains on
them. Looking down, he sees little splatters of blood
on his clothes everywhere. He sits up and looks like
he's thinking real hard. Finally, he gets up and
begins to wander.
EXT. MONTAGE - DAY AND NIGHT
The collection of shots, in temporal order, show him
walking around the city. The first shot is of him,
passing a few newspaper bins, which he looks at.
There's one for the L.A. Times, the USA Today, the Wall
Street Journal, and one for a magazine called L.A. Lay
- For Swingers. Stamped on the bin for each,
respectively, are the comments "FASCIST TOOL",
"BOURGEOIS OPIUM", "CAPITALIST PROPAGANDA", and
"PUSSY". He continues walking. Among the PEOPLE and
things he passes by are a RELIGIOUS NUT who shouts at
those passing by, carrying a sign, saying "SAVE
YOURSELF! ARMAGEDDON IS COMING AND THERE'S NOWHERE TO
HIDE!!" There is a GROUP OF ENVIRONMENTALISTS, holding
signs to "SAVE THE EARTH" and "THINK GREEN", and asking
for donations. He passes between two groups of people,
both having demonstrations, which has turned into a
confrontational argument between PRO-LIFERS and PRO-
CHOICERS. He passes by an AIDS rally, where PROTESTERS
listen to a SHOUTING SPEAKER, a man dressed like a nun.
He passes a GROUP that are burning American flags
together in another rally, and there are ONLOOKERS who
shout at them, some violently attacking. He also
passes WINOS, BUMS, BEGGARS, SALVATION ARMY CHARITY
PEOPLE, DRUG DEALERS, HOODLUMS, PUNKS, METALHEADS, NEW
WAVERS, and DRUGGIES. It then turns to night, and all
the signs light and flash neon. The sleaze on the
street becomes even more. He passes by a place called
The Porno Palace, and there are SLUTS, PIMPS, and
WHORES everywhere. Some of the prostitutes try to pick
up on him, but he continues walking with the same
intense, confused look on his face. Finally, it being
real late, he climbs onto a bench, next to a bunch of
winos, and falls asleep, in a fetal position.
EXT. SAME PARK BENCH - MORNING
He wakes and looks around. He sits and thinks.
EXT. OUTDOORS PHONEBOOTH - MINUTES LATER
The man walks up to it, and opens the phone book
beneath it, checking the yellow pages under
"Hypnotists". His finger points to a huge ad for "MS.
EVELYN HOOD, PH.D, PSYCHOLOGY, HYPNOTHERAPIST", etc.
There is a picture of her face with the ad. Although
she has her hair in a bun and glasses on, she is still
a very striking woman, with auburn hair and olive skin.
He stares at the picture, and a slight smile appears on
his face.
INT. RECEPTION ROOM - DAY
The shot opens with a color picture of Evelyn. The
camera pulls back, and it is revealed to be hanging on
the office wall, along with others of the women working
at the health center. The room is furnished like an
average waiting room. A man, MR. CHAMBERLAIN, is at a
desk facing the entrance, talking on the phone, his
conversation unheard. After a few moments, the young
man enters the office and goes to the reception desk.
The man on the phone looks up.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
(speaking on the phone)
Uh, could I please put you on
hold?... Thank you.
(presses button, then
looks up at young man)
May I help you?
CARL
Yeah. Is Miss Hood here?
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
Ms. Hood. Do you have an
appointment?
CARL
No. Is she busy?
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
(checking schedule)
Not this hour. Normally she only
sees those who've scheduled.
CARL
This isn't exactly "normally".
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
(pause)
Your name?
CARL
That has to do with why I'm here.
They stare at each other for a moment.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
Hold on for a minute, please.
He gets up and knocks on a door behind him.
EVELYN
(unseen, behind the door)
Come in.
INT. EVELYN'S OFFICE - CONT.
It's a normally decorated office. EVELYN sits behind a
desk. Again her hair's in a bun and she wears glasses,
and is dressed conservatively. Still she is very
attractive, with a very shapely figure she tries to
hide. She is in her early thirties. Mr. Chamberlain
opens the door and enters, leaving the door open.
EVELYN
Yes, Mr. Chamberlain?
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
A man's here to see you, Ms. Hood.
EVELYN
A man? Who is he?
She gets up and walks to the door.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
He wouldn't say. He doesn't smell
good, like he hasn't taken a bath
for a while. And he has splotches
on his shirt. Should I send him
away, or ask him to make an
appointment for a later...
Evelyn interrupts him, as she's at the door and can see
the young man in the lobby. As she speaks, she slowly
takes her glasses off and puts one of the rims between
her teeth, staring at him.
EVELYN
No. Send him in now, Mr.
Chamberlain.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN
Certainly, Ms. Hood.
Mr. Chamberlain leaves the room. He escorts the young
man to the door, and the young man stands there, facing
Evelyn.
EVELYN
Come in.
He enters and walks over to her. They shake hands, she
smiling first, then him.
YOUNG MAN
It's nice to meet you, Ms. Hood.
EVELYN
And it's nice to meet you, Mr...?
YOUNG MAN
Well, uh, that's kind of the
problem. Can we sit down?
EVELYN
Certainly.
They both sit down, she at her desk, he in a chair.
YOUNG MAN
You see, I woke up yesterday in a
park, and I had pu..., uh vomit on
my shirt. I remembered throwing
up the night before, but that's
it. I don't remember anything
before that.
EVELYN
I see. You had a blackout. Is it
an alcohol problem you wanted me
to treat?
YOUNG MAN
No, you don't understand. I mean
I don't remember nothing before
that. My name. My job. Where I
live. I didn't even know I was in
fuckin' L.A. until I checked the
news stand. I didn't have a
fucking clue. I don't know who I
am... and I'm scared.
EVELYN
Have you considered checking with
the police? They probably have
your prints.
YOUNG MAN
I don't like cops. I remember
that much. And I don't think they
like me. Besides, there's blood
stains on my shirt, and I'm not
sure where they're from. I want
to avoid them as much as I can.
EVELYN
Why do you trust me, then? I
could be an informant.
YOUNG MAN
You making fun of me? You think
I'm a lunatic or something?
EVELYN
No. I mean why, of everyone in
the city, you picked me as the one
to trust?
YOUNG MAN
Well, you're a hypnotist. I know
you people are good at making
people remember stuff, so I
figured it'd be a good way to
start. Besides... I liked your
picture and ad.
They smile at each other.
EVELYN
I'll take that as a compliment.
Hold on while I get something.
She gets up and goes to a cabinet to get some papers.
As she does, the guy looks her up and down, as she is
facing away from him, and checks her out.
YOUNG MAN
What exactly do I got? Amnesia?
EVELYN
I believe you're experiencing a
fugue. You've had an episode of
flight from reality, where you
have had a complete loss of
identity. Normally, memory comes
back, although there's cases where
it's permanent.
YOUNG MAN
(scratching head, thinking)
What could've caused it?
EVELYN
Lots of things. Any sort of
emotional or physical trauma can
do it. A bump in the head, seeing
a painful event, stress. Even
alcohol or drug abuse can cause
it... although you look in too
good of shape for that to be the
case.
She turns to look at him. He smiles.
YOUNG MAN
I'll take that as a compliment.
EVELYN
(turning back to cabinet)
The point is, there has to be some
sort of painful event to cause it.
(smile appears on her face) Ah!
She pulls out some sheets and hands them to him, and he
looks at them.
EVELYN
For all my new patients. It
explains what I can and can't do,
asks what you want done, and
leaves room for personal information.
information. I'll get you a pen.
You won't be able to fill out
everything.
YOUNG MAN
Yeah. Like my name.
EVELYN
(hands him pen)
Here. Along with hypnotherapy, I
use other processes like word
association, dream analysis, and
ink blot readings to help you with
your disorder.
YOUNG MAN
What do you mean, disorder?
EVELYN
Well, a fugue episode is a fairly
serious disor...
YOUNG MAN
Listen, I'm not fucking crazy. I
don't need a strait jacket. I
just can't remember who the hell I
am.
EVELYN
I didn't mean to imply otherwise.
A disorder's nothing to be ashamed
of. All it means is you have a
problem making it difficult to
function in a society. (pause)
The second page lists things we
can work on. The main thrust will
be to retrieve your identity, but
we could also work on something
else, like lucid dreaming, or
appetite control, or improving
your tennis...
YOUNG MAN
Breasts.
EVELYN
(surprised look on face)
Excuse me?
YOUNG MAN
(looking up from paper)
Breasts. "Increase breasts size."
You can do that?
They both smile playfully as she nods.
YOUNG MAN
How?
EVELYN
We're not exactly sure. The best
theory is we encourage the mind to
make fat cells in the breasts.
YOUNG MAN
It can do that?
EVELYN
The mind is amazing. Ever hear of
stigmata?
YOUNG MAN
Isn't that when someone gets blood
marks on the skin, like Christ on
the cross?
EVELYN
(smiles)
Correct. I bring it up because if
the mind can make blood spots and
wounds on people, the idea that it
can increase breast size isn't
ridiculous.
YOUNG MAN
So it's legit?
EVELYN
It's legit. There's even an
institute in New York specializing
in it.
YOUNG MAN
(pause)
What do you think, could we do
some work, increase my breasts?
They smile more at each other and begin to laugh. He
looks at the papers and sees one he examines closer.
YOUNG MAN
One hundred fifty an hour. I
don't know many professions where
you can make a hundred fifty an
hour.
EVELYN
Mmm, yes. Let's just say there's
a lot of wealthy people with a lot
of problems they need help on.
YOUNG MAN
You know, I don't exactly have any
money to pay you with.
EVELYN
I understand. You also can't be
living on the streets. (beat) Do
you remember anything about
doing yard work?
YOUNG MAN
(pause, thinking)
Yeah. A little bit. And what I
don't know I'm sure I can learn.
EVELYN
(smiles)
Wonderful. I have a proposition.
My gardener ended his services
last week, and I've been looking
for a new one. Our garden is just
lovely, and I don't want it to go
to ruin. How'd you like to work
in it, in exchange for room and
board? Oh, and of course, my
services.
C-U of Evelyn's lips as she says, "my services." The
young man thinks for a moment.
YOUNG MAN
I won't be in over my head, will
I?
EVELYN
Oh, no. The butler is taking care
of it in the time being, so
there's no specialized skills.
It's just physically demanding and
time consuming.
YOUNG MAN
(pause, then smiles)
I guess I have to say yes. I
mean, all I have to do is trim
some bush. (beat) Why are you
giving me such a good offer?
EVELYN
Fugue episodes are fairly rare and
big news. You'll be quite a case
study. The truth is, you're a
dream patient. (they both smile)
Besides, I know it sounds strange,
but I trust you. I can sense
there's a good person inside of
you that you don't know of.
YOUNG MAN
Well. That settles it then.
EVELYN
Great. (checks her watch) I'm
taking off at four for home. You
can walk around if you want until
then. There's some shops nearby.
YOUNG MAN
I'll do that.
He gets up, and she walks to him. They shake hands.
As they do, they stare into each other's eyes.
