"LOVE (ABRIDGED
EDITION)"
screenplay by
Charles Deemer
story by
Mariana Arevalo G.
FADE IN:
EXT. NY
- STREET - DAY
Moira
walks along a street. She buys a newspaper.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK - DAY
She
enters Central Park.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY
MOIRA,
20s, sits on a bench in the park. There's an empty
bench
next to hers.
She's reading
the personals in a newspaper. We HEAR what
she's
reading.
MOIRA (V.O.)
"Successful professional
SWM:
tall, fit, handsome, intelligent,
secure, confident, honest,
positive. Has good communication
skills, sense of humor and
balance."
Moira
shakes her head in disbelief and moves on.
MOIRA (V.O.)
"Rare, slender, nicely
integrated
whole person, spiritual warrior
to take play to a new level with
a spiritually mature,
energetically open friend of the
heart for whom even lustiness is
holy. You and I would risk it all
for the truth. We enjoy intensity
and adore deep peace."
She
looks thoughtful, pausing over this one. Finally she
goes on.
MOIRA (V.O.)
"Look, I'm lonely and you're
lonely. Sometimes screwing your
brains out helps to cut through
the crap, know what I mean?"
She
hears something and looks up. CALE, 20s, has walked up
to the
adjacent bench.
2.
MOIRA (V.O.)
He's really cute. I should talk
to him. "How you doing? I'm
Moira." No, that sounds so
dumb.
I have to look cool.
For a
moment, their eyes meet. Cale smiles, and Moira
quickly
looks away. Is she blushing?
Cale
takes a book out of his back pack. He sits down at the
far end
of the bench.
Moira is
suddenly self-conscious about the personals and
quickly
turns to another section of the newspaper.
She
sneaks a glance at Cale and imagines a conversation.
MOIRA (V.O.)
What are you reading?
CALE (V.O.)
"War and Peace."
But the
book he's reading is a thin paperback.
MOIRA (V.O.)
I thought it was much longer.
CALE (V.O.)
The abridged edition.
Moira
quickly looks away.
MOIRA (V.O.)
It always turns out that way with
men. You think they're the whole
deal, and they end up being the
abridged edition.
She
looks back at him. Cale notices this and smiles.
MOIRA (V.O.)
You have a lovely smile.
CALE (V.O.)
Thank you. What's your name?
MOIRA (V.O.)
Moira.
CALE (V.O.)
Very pretty. Irish.
3.
Moira
quickly looks away. Across the lawn, A YOUNG COUPLE is
embracing,
playful flirtation. They kiss.
MOIRA (V.O.)
God, they look so happy. What has
the greatest odds, winning the
lottery? Or finding the right
guy?
CALE (V.O.)
How do you know I'm not the right
guy?
Moira is
startled by this.
MOIRA (V.O.)
What?
CALE (V.O.)
You never know unless you get to
know me, right?
Cale
turns a page. He senses something and looks up.
Moira is
standing in front of him.
CALE
Can I help you?
MOIRA
I notice you're reading "The
Bridges Of Madison County."
CALE
Promise not to tell anyone.
MOIRA
I loved it actually.
CALE
The critics hated it.
MOIRA
Who cares what they think? Did
you see the movie?
CALE
I like the book better. Great
sound track, though.
MOIRA
I like the book better, too. I
think what saves it from being
sentimental is the way it's set
up.
4.
CALE
Right, exactly. The stuff about
her kids finding the diary, all
that didn't work as well in the
movie.
MOIRA
Not that sentimentality is
necessarily bad.
CALE
I know what you mean. I'm Cale,
by the way.
MOIRA
Nice to meet you. Well, I'd
better let you get back to your
book.
She
turns to go back to her bench.
CALE
Moira?
MOIRA
Yes?
CALE
Look.
He
points to a Hanson Cab approaching. It's empty.
CALE
Have you had lunch yet?
MOIRA
Actually ...
She's
thinking about it. In her head, she hears:
CALE (V.O.)
"SWM, 20s, wants to meet a
girl
who's not afraid to take a
chance."
She
manages to smile.
MOIRA
Let's do it.
Cale
waves down the cab.
5.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK/VARIOUS STREETS - DAY
Moira
and Cale ride in the Hanson Cab. They obviously are
enjoying
themselves.
MOIRA (V.O.)
God, he's good looking. But he
doesn't flaunt it, he doesn't
come off as God's Gift to Women.
I read that Ted Bundy was like
that. Charmed those women to
death, literally. The Hanson Cab
Serial Killer. Well, what can
happen in the middle of the day?
EXT.
SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY
The
Hanson Cab pulls up in front of a sidewalk cafe, and
they get
out.
EXT.
SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY
They
find an empty table and sit down.
CALE
I hope you're hungry.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Don't tell him you're on a diet.
MOIRA
Famished.
She
manages to smile.
Cale
looks around for a waiter.
EXT.
SIDEWALK CAFE - DAY - LATER
The
table is strewn with empty plates after their lunch.
A WAITER
brings them each a slice of cake.
MOIRA
We didn't order dessert.
WAITER
On the house. One of our staff
has a birthday.
CALE
We'll take it to-go.
6.
WAITER
Very good.
The
waiter leaves.
CALE
I have a special treat for
dessert.
EXT.
55TH STREET - DAY
Moira
and Cale walk along the street. Each has a slice of
cake on
a paper plate, taken "to go" from the sidewalk cafe.
They
pass a HOMELESS PERSON under a blanket on the street.
Cale
sets his cake next to him.
CALE
Do you mind?
He takes
Moira's cake and also puts it on the ground beside
the
homeless person.
They
continue on.
CALE
First we walk off lunch, then you
see my surprise.
A SERIES
OF SHOTS - DAY
of Moira
and Cale continuing their date.
1. They
ride on a carousel.
2. They
throw pennies into a pond.
3. They
walk through a garden or other scenic spot.
4. They
watch a STREET PERFORMER. Cale tips him a dollar.
During
the above, we hear:
MOIRA (V.O.)
It was amazing. No candlelight.
No violins. No flowers or boxes
of candy or sweet words on a
card.
Broad daylight in the middle of
the day, and it was turning into
one of the most romantic times
I'd ever had. We were just
hanging out. We were just being
spontaneous. Life really is like
a box of chocolates -- you never
know what you're going to get.
7.
INT. 5TH
AVENUE - DAY
They walk
along another street. Cale suddenly stops and
looks at
his watch. He looks like he has something important
to say.
CALE
You ready for the piece de
resistance?
MOIRA (V.O.)
Please don't have it be something
that ruins the day.
CALE
I hope you're not on a diet.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Oh, God.
INT.
PASTISSERIE - DAY
Cale
orders at the counter as Moira watches. The WOMAN
BEHIND
THE COUNTER hands Cale a box to go. We don't know
what's
in it yet.
MOIRA (V.O.)
He can't possibly still be
hungry.
Has there ever been a serial
killer who attacked his victims
with calories?
Cale
catches her eye and smiles. Moira forces a smile in
return.
EXT.
PASTISSERIE - DAY
They
come outside. Cale carries the box of take-out.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK - DAY
They
enter the same park where they met.
MOIRA
You have a thing for this park?
Cale
stops. He sets down the box.
MOIRA
What are you doing?
CALE
Of course I have a thing for this
park. It's where I met you.
8.
He
slowly moves forward and kisses her.
Moira
lets herself be kissed. Then she kisses back.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Wow.
They
finally break the kiss.
MOIRA
What's in the box?
CALE
You find out in a minute.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY
They sit
down on the bench where they met. Cale opens the box.
CALE
Ta-da!
It's two
slices of German chocolate cake.
CALE
You will not find better German
chocolate cake in the western
world. Tell me I'm wrong.
He cuts
a piece with a plastic fork and holds it up for Moira.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Ummm, it does look good.
Tomorrow,
I fast.
She
takes the bite.
MOIRA (V.O.)
Oh, yes ...!
Cale
sees her lips, and moves closer. And closer. Their lips
are
about to touch. Moira puckers up for his kiss.
Suddenly
Moira's CELL PHONE RINGS.
She
looks startled. It RINGS again.
CALE
Want me to throw it in the bushes
for you?
And it
RINGS again.
9.
EXT.
CENTRAL PARK - BENCH - DAY (REAL TIME)
Moira on
the bench as before, her cell phone RINGING. She is
puckered
up for a kiss but no one is there.
She
answers it. Too late.
She
looks at the adjacent bench.
The
bench is empty.
MOIRA (V.O.)
SWF, 20s, frustrated, maybe
unbalanced, certainly confused,
spends a lot of time in the park
reading the personals and
hallucinating about romantic
evenings with a guy she meets on
the next bench.
She starts
to pack up to go. She stands up.
Approaching
is Cal. He has TWO cups of coffee in an egg
carton.
He stops.
CALE
Would you like a cup of coffee?
FADE OUT