BRONX BUTTERFLY
Any commercial use of stories, photo's or art without written authorization from Robert Webb is prohibited.
BRONX
BUTTERFLY
an
original screenplay by
Robert
Webb
© 2003
PO
Box 10456
Palm
Desert, CA 92260
FADE
IN:
EXT. URBAN BRONX NEIGHBORHOOD, SPRING - EARLY MORNING
Piano music plays softly OS. ECU of a beautiful BUTTERFLY surrounded by lush green foliage. It hangs on a leaf exercising its yellow and black wings. A light breeze moves its world, sunshine flickers all around. It flits away and another Butterfly is revealed just as it emerges from its cocoon. We pull back slowly, revealing this world.
It is a LARGE TREE that stands in front of a typical, 100 year old, 6 story BRONX APARTMENT BUILDING. Briefly on screen ‘BRONX - NEW YORK, 2004’.
ANOTHER ANGLE
A long row of STEPS rise from the street to its Large ARCHED ENTRY WAY and worn ornate FRONT DOOR. A broken and badly repaired STAINED GLASS WINDOW decorates above with a lovely BUTTERFLY theme. The address, ‘818’, is formed in oxidized metal characters, resembling a butterfly.
In front, is the APARTMENT MANAGERS UNIT with a LARGE BAY WINDOW, DRAPED in yellow. A FLOWER BOX bursting with brilliant yellow CARNATIONS adorns below.
This tired, dilapidated, stone structure has broken masonry here and there with OVERSIZE BAY WINDOWS on all but the top floor as we PAN up the side. On the 4th floor we see a LARGE COCOON-LIKE OBJECT hanging in front of the building.
ANOTHER ANGLE
It dangles from a STEEL CABLE and SMALL RUSTED ROOFTOP CRANE. The object is wrapped and twisted in an old brown CANVAS TARPAULIN. The mystery object is big, about the size of a car, but slender at the top like a large knife blade. It slowly twists in the breeze. MORE CANVAS is draped over the building’s roof and upper floor.
The mystery object hangs just below a JAGGED HOLE on the 6th floor. A MAN, hidden in the jagged shadows works with ROPE.
EXT. MANAGERS APARTMENT BAY WINDOW, FIRST FLOOR, STREET LEVEL
Yellow carnations bloom and reflect in the large clear window pane. A ROPE falls to the sidewalk and raps against it. As the rope untwists, RACHEL FINE, a tired but good looking woman in her mid 40’s peers out with a quizzical look. Pulls her long black hair out of the way, opens the sash, looks up.
ANOTHER ANGLE - RACHELS POV
We look skyward following the rope. Solarization.
BACK TO SCENE
She shield’s her eyes with her hand and squints.
BACK TO RACHELS POV
We see the large cocoon twist slightly in the breeze.
BACK TO SCENE
Rachel is noticeably annoyed.
RACHELS POV
Solarization appears and disappears as the cocoon swings. A voice from above
yells back.
BACK TO SCENE
Rachel
looks perplexed while closing the window.
INT. MANAGERS APARTMENT
Piano music
continues to play. She wears a feminine nightgown and is barefoot. She stubs her
toe on a WHEELCHAIR heading for her terry cloth ROBE. Putting it on, she grabs
her KEYS.
She wears the METAL LOOP of KEYS, with a pretty BUTTERFLY CHARM, on
her wrist. She jingles as she fishes for a hair SCRUNCHIE in her robe.
On the
REFRIGERATOR we see large MAGNETS haphazardly holding a “DIVORCE DECREE” with
her name. She puts her hair up in a tight bun and steps to the door.
A TEA
KETTLE starts to whistle loudly just as she grabs the DOOR KNOB. Hurriedly she
backtracks towards the kettle. Her wrist jingles as she grabs it and knocks a
small MAIL BASKET off the counter. It falls to the floor.
INSERT
CU.
We see an I.R.S. LETTER and other BILLS.
BACK TO SCENE
Rachel moves the tea
kettle from the burner and kneels scooping up the mail and replaces the basket.
Taking the mail, she steps out into the hall. The old heavy door creaks closed.
INT. BRONX APARTMENT ENTRY WAY - FIRST FLOOR
Rachel leans against the wall as
she slowly leafs through her fistful of mail. Oxidized metal letters form the
word ‘MANAGER’ on her door.
Just then, a motley character, BUZZ, approaches. He
has full BODY TATOO’S and many FACE PIERCING’S. A GUITAR CASE hangs on his back
and a sleepy drugged out CHICK in leather hangs on him.
Fishes in his pockets.
He pulls out his WALLET with CHAIN attached and
counts out TWENTIES. Stopping mid-count he looks over at her.
Two elegant, elderly musicians, JACK and JAN, wearing
formal TUXEDOS walk-in. Weary, with loose bow ties, smile as they pass carrying
CASED STRING INSTRUMENTS.
The men smile and nod. She snaps up the CASH, Buzz and friend
leave. She continues to sort through her mail. We hear, OS, the sound of a MAN
tromping down stairs, winded.
L.A., comes into view. His stained T-shirt is soaked in sweat. He carries
a small worn PACKAGE wrapped in oil stained brown wrapping paper.
In his mid
40’s, graying a bit, he seems in great physical shape. His face is disfigured,
with large SCARS along the jaw line. He removes HEAVY WORK GLOVES.
She bolts for
the front door.
EXT. BRONX APARTMENT - STREET LEVEL
Rachel explodes out the
front door and down the long steps. She looks up and cries. She’s devastated. In
the BG We see L.A. Slowly walk down, seemingly unmoved by her horror.
ANOTHER ANGLE
ANOTHER ANGLE
He pulls an old, worn ENVELOPE clearly marked ‘FINAL’ from his
front pocket and hands it to her with his dirty hands. He then hands her the
small package.
She throws the envelope in his face.
It falls and cash explodes from it. She is livid and glaring at L.A..
ANOTHER ANGLE
Her eyes well with tears. After a moment, she leans
down and grabs the cash, gripping it in her fist.
ANOTHER
ANGLE
She turns away stuffing the cash in her robe pocket.
ANOTHER ANGLE
She
falls in a heap on her steps.
ANOTHER ANGLE - FROM DOWN LOW
Carnations frame
her, sobbing. In the BG a butterfly flits.
ANOTHER ANGLE - FROM ABOVE
CU the
mail drops from her hand to her feet, splaying out.
ANOTHER ANGLE
L.A. put’s his
leather work gloves back on, grabs the rope. He steps back and tugs it, then
throws his weight on it.
EXT. ROOFTOP CRANE
ECU, we hear a loud ‘TING’ sound as
each of the RUSTED STEEL CRANE WELDS start to fail.
ANOTHER ANGLE - FROM ABOVE
The enormous dangling cocoon slips and bounces. Bricks break loose and fall to
the street. BANG! A car alarm goes off.
EXT. BRONX APARTMENT - STREET LEVEL
BUZZ
comes storming up to L.A. In a huff.
Cool, detached;
ANOTHER ANGLE
Rachel wipes tears and looks with destain at L.A.. She takes a deep breath, then
looks down at the mail.
INSERT
We see a letter from ‘Muldoon and Muldoon Attorney at law’. She reaches
down and opens it.
BACK TO SCENE
Her face goes ash white, eyes well up. L.A.,
Calm;
She yells.
ANOTHER ANGLE
In the foreground, we see Buzz PUSH L.A. very hard.
ANOTHER ANGLE
BUZZ and L.A. fight. L.A. hits Buzz with a devastating right. He falls, yanking
the rope. Steel grinds, then a loud ‘BANG’!
EXT. ROOFTOP CRANE
We watch the
heavy steel crane fall and hear the cable snap with a loud THWAP! Everything
goes into SLOW MOTION.
EXT. APARTMENT, STREET LEVEL, STOOP
We look up to
periodic solarization as the object falls.
ANOTHER ANGLE
From above we watch a shadow engulf Rachel, still clutching the paper. Deadpan,
she looks up, then RELIEF in her eyes as the screen goes white.
------- end of scene -------