FADE IN:
ON BRIGHT, OUT-OF-FOCUS, OVAL-SHAPED COLORS.
The colored shapes dart around the screen -- the impression
of looking through a kaleidoscope.
As the image comes into sharp focus, we discover that we are
inside a CANDY BOWL. A MAN'S FINGERS are frantically
removing all the cherry-flavored pieces of candy.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY
The man performing this curious task is
writer/producer/director, VIKTOR TARANSKY, forties,
conservatively dressed in suit and tie. He sits alone at an
empty craft service table outside a cavernous soundstage,
some distance from the rest of the film set -- a breeze blows
the table's paper cloth.
Viktor finishes sorting. Finding no trash can to deposit the
rejected cherry candy, he scoops them into his pocket.
A young headset-clad P.A. hurriedly approaches. He looks
ill.
P.A.
Mr. Taransky --
Viktor reads the young P.A.'s panicked expression.
VIKTOR
She's walking?... Don't tell me
she's walking.
(blood slowly draining
from his face)
She is not walking... She can't
walk.
EXT. TRAILER - DAY
NICOLA ANDERS, twenty-something, A-list actress, beautiful
face scowling, is supervising her ASSISTANT ferrying clothes
from a movie trailer to a limousine. VIKTOR desperately
follows after Nicola.
VIKTOR
-- Nicola! How was your massage?
NICOLA
You're in breach.
VIKTOR
-- Is this about the new pages? --
I made the changes you wanted,
you're in virtually every scene --
NICOLA
(wheeling on him)
It's not the size of the role,
Viktor.
(suddenly very cool)
Am I or am I not contractually
entitled to the biggest trailer on
the set?
VIKTOR
(regarding the enormous
silver fish behind them,
confused)
It's the biggest on earth! I
swear! It's a 50-foot Airstream --
they don't make them any longer
than that.
NICOLA
Taller, Viktor.
VIKTOR
Taller? What?
Viktor looks up in horror. The trailer next to Nicola's does
indeed appear to be fractionally taller.
NICOLA
(walking away)
You've insulted me for the last
time.
Viktor looks to the tires. His face suddenly brightens.
VIKTOR
Nicola, it's just the tires --
they're over-inflated! I can fix
it!
Viktor grasps the air nozzle on a tire and begins desperately
stabbing at it with a ballpoint pen. Air hisses out.
VIKTOR
See, it's lower already.
Nicola ignores Viktor, marching towards her limo with her
PUBLICIST. Abandoning the trailer, Viktor hurries after her.
VIKTOR
I beg you. You can't do this to
me.
NICOLA
(looking back)
I had three other offers. I only
signed on to this picture out of...
loyalty.
VIKTOR
Then show some. They'll shut me
down!
NICOLA
(opening the car door)
It wasn't working anyhow. The
scene with the thousand geese -- I
don't understand this film. I
don't think anyone will understand
it. I already put out a press
release -- citing "creative
differences".
Viktor stops, nods resignedly -- suddenly very calm.
VIKTOR
You know what, Nicola, you're
right.
(picking up her last piece
of luggage)
Here, let me help you with that.
(holding the door for her)
You ought to go. The truth is I
don't deserve you. This film
doesn't deserve you. Frankly, it
deserves much, much better. The
reason it's not working is because
you're not about the work.
Nicola is stunned.
VIKTOR
(to the limo driver)
To Hell, please.
The door slams and the limo roars away. Viktor looks to the
still hissing trailer tire. The CREW regards Viktor
apprehensively.
VIKTOR
(to the crew)
What are you looking at? Get back
to work.
The crew is uncertain what work there is to do.
INT. BEDROOM - "SUNRISE, SUNSET" - NIGHT
In an ornate bedroom, NICOLA lies on her death bed under a
veil of netting. A distraught man, HAL, sits close by.
NICOLA
(whispered)
Jack... are you there?
HAL
I'm here. I'm right beside you.
A NUN enters.
NUN
(to Hal)
You should really go now.
NICOLA
No, it's alright. Please, let him
stay.
The nun withdraws. Hal holds his face in his hands, almost
breaking down.
HAL
(a glance to heaven)
What kind of cruel God is it that
would take you away from me?
NICOLA
The same one who brought me to you.
HAL
No... I cannot accept it. If
something like this can happen.
What...
(struggling to find the
words)
What is it for?
NICOLA
(smiles through her pain)
-- Why are we here? Is that what
you're asking, Jack?... Why are we
here? No why. Just here.
Nicola dies peacefully.
INT. SCREENING ROOM - STUDIO - DAY
VIKTOR sits with leading man HAL, THREE EXECUTIVES and studio
head ELAINE CHRISTIAN, watching a rough assembly of the film.
It ends with a close up of NICOLA ANDERS.
The lights go up. The image of Nicola fades off the screen.
EXECUTIVE 1
She's good. You can hardly tell
she's reading off a teleprompter.
VIKTOR
(ignoring him)
I've analyzed the footage. We've
got almost everything we need in
the can. If we rework the script,
we can finish the film without her.
EXECUTIVE 2
(forceful shake of the
head)
According to the writ her attorneys
filed at noon today. They'll sue
if the film is released with Nicola
in a single frame.
VIKTOR
(more anxious)
So we'll re-cast.
HAL
Nicola Anders is the only actress
who can play that role.
VIKTOR
(incredulous)
It's a re-make, Hal. Anders is not
bigger than this picture.
Elaine finally speaks up.
ELAINE
Of course she is. No other name is
going to sign on now and risk
offending her.
VIKTOR
We don't need a name. We'll cast
an unknown.
HAL
I won't play opposite an unknown.
ELAINE
We can't sell an unknown. Nicola's
soured on the project and we have
to accept that. If we ever want to
be in the Nicola Anders business
again, we have to cut our losses
and shelve the picture.
The executives, leading man and director nod sagely.
VIKTOR
(aghast)
No! You will not give in to that
blackmailing bitch!
ELAINE
(a wince, addressing
everyone but Viktor)
Excuse us.
Elaine ushers Viktor out of the screening room.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY
ELAINE and VIKTOR talk in the shadow of an enormous
soundstage. They speak more freely in each other's company.
ELAINE
God, Viktor. Why do you always
have to make things so difficult
for yourself?
VIKTOR
Difficult. I'm difficult.
He produces a handful of candy from his pocket.
VIKTOR
(referring to the candy)
-- Do you know what these are,
Elaine?
ELAINE
(talking a piece of candy
and eating it)
Hmm... Mike and Ike's.
VIKTOR
Not just any Mike & Ike's -- cherry
Mike & Ike's. Do you know why I,
Viktor Taransky, two-time Academy
Award nominated director --
ELAINE
-- Viktor, that was Short Subject.
VIKTOR
-- overseeing the most cherished
movie project of my career, am
walking around with a pocketful of
cherry Mike & Ike's?
Elaine takes a seat in a nearby studio cart as Viktor paces.
ELAINE
-- I have a feeling you're going to
tell me.
VIKTOR
-- I'll tell you why. It is
because Miss Nicola Anders,
supermodel with a SAG card God's
gift to cinema, has it written into
her contract that all cherry Mike &
Ike's be removed from her candy
dish along with strict instructions
that any room she walks into should
have seven packs of cigarettes
waiting for her three of them
opened, that there be a personal
jacuzzi within eighty paces of her
dressing room, and that any time
she travels, her nanny must fly
with her first class.
ELAINE
-- What's wrong with that?
VIKTOR
Elaine, she doesn't have any
children!
(grabbing her arm)
Don't you see? We're being held
hostage by 12 men and 5 women who
someone somewhere has decreed are
the A-list.
ELAINE
The public decides who's on that
list.
VIKTOR
Please.
ELAINE
It's the truth. Those 17
superstars are our insurance
policy. We can't open -- can't
make a profit without them.
VIKTOR
We can hardly make a profit with
them. Up-front salary, back-end
deal, perks, per diem, percentages
-- They're mocking us, Elaine.
We're at their mercy.
(staring wistful, into
space)
We always had movie stars but they
used to be our stars. We used to
decide who would play what role.
We told them what to wear, what to
say, who to date. When they were
under contract, we could change
their names if we wanted to -- more
than once!
ELAINE
(regarding him as if he's
insane)
You realize you're nostalgic for an
era you weren't even born in?
VIKTOR
(irritated at her
infuriating logic)
Well, I do remember why I started
out in this business -- you seem to
have forgotten -- working in New
York with Cassevetes -- we were
trying to do something important,
shine a light in that darkened
cinema --
ELAINE
(rolling her eyes)
-- It's called a projector.
VIKTOR
(ignoring her)
-- Illuminate hearts and minds with
a ray of truth.
ELAINE
Listen, Viktor, I have good
memories of those days too -- but
this isn't about that or you or me
or some high-minded ideal. This is
business.
VIKTOR
Spare me.
ELAINE
(gesturing at the studio
lot)
-- Christ, Viktor, look around.
What do you think pays for all
this? This is about investment and
return. Those days in New York...
that's... it's over.
A pause. Viktor reads Elaine's face.
VIKTOR
You're not renewing my contract.
ELAINE
How can I? Your last three
pictures tanked. The board is
giving me hell. No bankable star
will work with you after this. If
you just compromised... a little.
Viktor eats some of the candy in his hand as he takes in the
news.
VIKTOR
(rueful smile)
-- Well, it's not every day you're
fired by the mother of your own
child.
Elaine also eats some more candy -- a curiously intimate
moment between them.
ELAINE
(softening, a heart-to
heart)
I'm not taking away your daughter,
just your deal. You and I both
know, after the divorce I kept you
on for old time's sake, so you
could still hold your head up in
front of Lainey. I called what's
his name at Warner's. He said he'd
take a meeting -- in July. I've
fought for you Viktor...
(voice trails off)
You want to talk severance?
VIKTOR
(staring off into the
distance, face hardening)
You can have everything -- office,
car, assistants -- all I want is
the picture.
ELAINE
(confused)
The picture's dead.
VIKTOR
So there's no problem -- I can have
the rights, the negative too?
ELAINE
(believing she's getting
off lightly)
They're yours. But how are you
going to finish it? Without a star
there's no movie.
VIKTOR
I don't need a star. All I need is
an actor -- I'll reshoot the part,
cut out Nicola and replace her with
a real actor. A real leading lady.
ELAINE
Even if you find her, you know the
problem with unknowns, Viktor. If
they're good, they get known. And
then you're back to sorting their
candy... and worse.
(kissing him on the cheek
as she departs in her
studio golf cart)
I'm sorry, Viktor.
Viktor watches her depart down the canyon of stages, left
alone on the deserted lot.
EXT. STUDIO ENTRANCE - DUSK
Twenty NICOLA ANDERS' FACES jiggle into frame. VIKTOR's face
appears amongst them.
They are cardboard figures, standing together in the trailer
of an electric cart. A WORKMAN is collecting the promotional
standees from around the lot.
VIKTOR places his hands on the neck of a cardboard cut-out --
we sense he is about to rip her head off -- when a fourteen
year old girl, LAINEY, appears beside him, carrying a laptop
computer.
LAINEY
Hi, Dad.
VIKTOR
(slightly ashamed)
Hello, sweetheart.
Viktor, embarrassed by his childishness, steps aside for the
suspicious workman who carries the standee away.
Lainey smiles sweetly. She hugs him.
LAINEY
I'm sorry Mom canned you.
VIKTOR
(shrugging)
It's really... not anything,
Lainey. It's just --
LAINEY
Don't feel too bad.
(glancing to a standee)
Mom runs the place and they still
walk all over her. You're better
off out of it.
VIKTOR
(regarding his daughter)
You look very grown up. What are
you doing? You meeting your mom
for dinner?
She glances towards the entrance where Lainey's mother,
ELAINE, and her dependable, uncomplicated businessman
boyfriend, KENT, wait beside Elaine's car.
LAINEY
(reluctant admission)
Kent got tickets to the ballet.
Viktor shakes the idea of Kent and Elaine from his head.
VIKTOR
(trying to convince
himself as much as
Lainey)
I'm going to finish the picture,
sweetheart. It's important.
LAINEY
(not quite convinced)
I know you'll do it, Dad. You're
Viktor Taransky.
Lainey kisses the forlorn Viktor goodbye. She runs to her
mother and Kent.
VIKTOR
(to himself)
That's right. I'm Viktor Taransky.
EXT. STUDIO BUILDING - SOME DISTANCE AWAY - DUSK
From a distance ELAINE and KENT regard the lonely figure of
VIKTOR.
KENT
You had no choice, Elaine. He's a
liability.
ELAINE
(wistful look to Viktor)
He also happens to be the most
talented man I've ever known.
Elaine climbs in the car as Lainey approaches.
EXT. STUDIO BACKLOT - TRAM - DAY
CLOSE UP on a copy of "Variety". The front page banner
headline: "ANDERS RIDES OUT OF 'SUNSET' -- Cites Creative
Differences"
The man reading the trade paper sits in the back of a tram on
a studio tour -- HANK ALENO. He wears a pair of spectacles
with one lens blacked out, his head tilted on one side. It
is an item buried on the inside pages that catches Hank's one
good eye.
TARANSKY CALLS A-LIST:
"OVER-PRICED, OVER-PAMPERED PRIMA DONNAS"
- Director's Future Now In Doubt -
The tram pauses. The TOUR GUIDE keeps up a commentary.
TOUR GUIDE
-- On your left, the house where
Claris Commodore uttered those now
immortal words, "If that door
doesn't hold, stand behind me".
And coming up on your right --
When the tram departs, we discover that Hank has exited the
tram and is hiding in the facade of a New York subway
entrance. The tag around his neck reads, "VISITOR -- Stay
With The Tour".
EXT. STUDIO GATE - NIGHT
VIKTOR wheels a stack of film cans on a dolly while holding
several framed black and white photographs of screen legends
under his arm.
HANK, hiding in the shadows of the soundstages, spies Viktor.
He hurries towards him as Viktor approaches his antiquated
Bentley.
HANK
-- Mr. Taransky, Mr. Taransky...
thank God. I've been trying to see
you, calling -- Your assistant
wouldn't put me through. I told
her it was a matter of life and
death. I was afraid I wouldn't get
to you in time --
VIKTOR
(using his stack of film
cans as a barrier)
-- Please, get away from me.
HANK
I did it, Mr. Taransky. I licked
skin. I licked hair. I licked
every part of her.
VIKTOR
(more disturbed, fearing
he is dealing with a
pervert)
You want me to call Security?
HANK
I have her, Mr. Taransky. The
answer to your prayers.
(producing the "Variety"
article, conspiratorial)
The answer to this.
VIKTOR
(regarding the article)
I was misquoted.
HANK
I have your new leading lady...
(indicating the bulge in
his pocket)
... right here in my pants.
Viktor takes a step back, concerned once again about the
man's motives.
HANK
(trying to reassure)
It's me, Mr. Taransky. Don't you
recognize me? -- The Future of
Film conference in San Jose.
Hank... Hank Aleno. I was keynote
speaker. You must remember my
speech... "Who Needs Humans?"
VIKTOR
(faint glimmer of
recognition)
That's right. You were booed off
the stage. That's got to be -- ?
HANK
-- Eight years ago. In that whole
time, I never left my computer.
VIKTOR
(wary)
Good for you, Hank.
HANK
(referring to his covered
eye)
Good and bad. They think that's
what caused this. Me eye tumor.
Microwaves from the screen. It's
the size of a grapefruit. Heavy
too.
VIKTOR
(regarding the pathetic
figure with the tilted
head)
I'm sorry.
HANK
Don't be. It was worth it.
Hank once again indicated the bulge in his pocket. Viktor
now understands the significance of the gesture.
HANK
You have to see her.
VIKTOR
(loading cans into the
car)
I've seen them all before.
HANK
Not like this --
VIKTOR
(patronizing smile)
Come on, Hank. A synthespian,
virtual actor -- ?
HANK
(irritated)
-- We call them "vactors".
VIKTOR
I need flesh and --
HANK
-- Flesh is weak.
VIKTOR
-- a living, breathing actor -- I
can't work with a fake.
Viktor loads his film cans into the car.
HANK
(pointing to Nicola in
Variety)
You already do. But my actor won't
get old, fat, lazy or drunk --
won't throw tantrums, demand a body
double, script changes or a bigger
trailer.
(whispers, conspiratorial)
The Disney Corporation has been
using artificial actors for years.
VIKTOR
That's the point, Hank. No matter
how good they are, they're still
Mickey Mouse. Everyone's tried.
Everyone's failed. It can't be
done.
HANK
It can -- with my new computer
code, you and me, we can do it
together.
VIKTOR
I don't know anything about
computers.
HANK
That's why you're so perfect. You
have something I don't have.
VIKTOR
What's that?
HANK
An eye -- for performance. You
know the truth when you see it. I
know. I've seen your movies. I
love your movies.
VIKTOR
You do?
HANK
"Straw God" changed my life.
VIKTOR
You saw that?
HANK
I've seen every frame of your work.
You're the only filmmaker in
Hollywood with the artistic
integrity to realize my vision.
You and me, art and science... we
are the perfect marriage.
VIKTOR
Listen, Hank, it's been a rough
day.
(climbing into his car)
I'll call you about his next week.
HANK
(at the car window)
I won't be here next week. The
tumor's inoperable. I'll be dead.
VIKTOR
(winding down the window)
I'm already dead.
Viktor's car roars away. He looks back at the forlorn Hank
in the rear view mirror.
HANK
Call me.
(looking at his watch)
This week!
A huge eye from a dismantled Nicola Anders billboard is
wheeled away behind him -- followed by a huge pair of lips.
INT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOUSE - DAY
A sea of ingenue headshots. Black X's are drawn through all
of them. VIKTOR lies amongst the rejected faces, talking on
the telephone, in his spartan bachelor beach house.
VIKTOR
(into phone, referring to
a young woman's headshot)
-- What do you mean she won't work
with me? She's done nothing. She
doesn't have a single credit --
AGENT'S VOICE
(from phone, off-camera)
-- Better no credits than a
Taransky credit. No young actress
is going to step into Nicola
Anders' shoes and risk ending her
career before it's even started.
VIKTOR
-- Art, you don't understand. I've
mortgaged everything to finish this
film -- creditors calling, coming
to the house, for God's sake, I
need this --
The phone goes dead. Viktor tries to re-dial --
disconnected.
VIKTOR
-- Damn.
Sharp knock on his door. Viktor peers through a curtain and
spies an official-looking MAN IN A SUIT, carrying what looks
to be a legal notice in his hands.
Viktor slips out of the back door.
EXT. BEACH - DAY
VIKTOR hurries along the beach. When he turns, he discovers
the MAN IN THE SUIT following him. As Viktor runs, the Suit
runs -- calling out to him.
MAN IN THE SUIT
Mr. Taransky, Mr. Taransky --
VIKTOR
(calling back)
I'm not him.
Viktor stumbles. When he recovers, the Suit is on him.
MAN IN THE SUIT
Mr. Taransky, Sir, I represent the
estate of Mr. Hank Aleno.
(showing him Hank's
obituary in the L.A.
Times)
It was Mr. Aleno's last wish that
you have this.
The Suit hands Viktor a heavily-sealed envelope.
VIKTOR
What is it?
MAN IN THE SUIT
I have no idea, Sir. He wanted you
to have it.
The Suit departs. Viktor hesitates, then breaks the seal on
the package -- inside he finds a hard-drive. The hard-drive
is labeled "SIMULATION ONE".
A TITLE APPEARS ON THE SCREEN:
SIX MONTHS LATER
CLOSE UP ON
a VACUUM CLEANER cleaning a tatty red carpet.
On the other end of the vacuum cleaner is VIKTOR. The red
carpet leads to a rundown, downtown Los Angeles cinema -- the
venue for the premiere of "SUNRISE, SUNSET". To save money
on posters, Viktor has altered the originals, "Starring
NICOLA ANDERS" crudely pasted over with "Introducing SIMONE".
EXT. RUNDOWN DOWNTOWN CINEMA - DUSK
VIKTOR regards the sad, little premiere. No paparazzi, no
limos, no klieg lights. Resorting to giving away tickets to
PASSERS-BY, Viktor approaches a HOMELESS MAN sleeping in
trash.
VIKTOR
Want to see a free movie?
HOMELESS MAN
(he thinks)
No.
A taxi pulls up. Viktor's daughter, LAINEY, steps out.
LAINEY
(kissing him hello)
Hi, Dad.
VIKTOR
Hello, Lainey.
Viktor goes to pay for the taxi but doesn't have quite enough
cash. Lainey pays herself.
VIKTOR
Your mother couldn't make it?
LAINEY
She's at the premiere of "A Cold
Day In Hell". But I think she send
someone from Acquisitions.
VIKTOR
She still with Kent?
LAINEY
This week anyhow.
VIKTOR escorts Lainey down the empty red carpet, regarding
the pathetic premiere. As they walk by, the bulb in Viktor's
sole spotlight expires.
VIKTOR
Not quite how I imagined it --
LAINEY
(looking on the bright
side)
-- You finished the film on your
own terms, that's what matters.
Did you really do all the post
yourself?
VIKTOR
There was no other way.
LAINEY
I missed you. I wondered if you
were ever coming back.
VIKTOR
Me too.
LAINEY
(regarding the makeshift
poster, trying to lift
his spirits)
Well, I can't wait to meet
Simone... what's her last name?
VIKTOR
You know, I... don't know.
LAINEY
Is she here tonight?
VIKTOR
She can't watch herself.
They are interrupted by the THEATER OWNER.
THEATER OWNER
-- Hey, we have to start. I've got
"Tough Love 2" playing at ten.
EXT. PIER - "SUNRISE, SUNSET" - MORNING
A foggy, empty pier. A MAN is running through the mist,
shouting desperately.
HAL
Valarie! VALARIE!
Finally, out of the fog -- a young woman in a black cape and
hood, her back to us. The camera pushes in, music swells and
she turns. SIMONE. She is exquisitely, ethereally
beautiful. Perfect.
INT. RUNDOWN DOWNTOWN CINEMA - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT
In the near-empty, dilapidated theater, "SUNRISE, SUNSET" is
playing ON THE SCREEN.
When Simone's face appears, the faces of the AUDIENCE MEMBERS
change. They are all visibly moved, including the THEATER
OWNER. Some weeping, some with curious smiles on their
faces, some opened-mouthed.
HAL
(ON SCREEN, approaching)
Valarie, what are you running from?
SIMONE
(enigmatic smile)
From Valarie.
Suddenly a GUNSHOT rings out. Simone collapses to the
ground.
HAL
(running to her)
Valarie! No!
INT. THEATER LOBBY - NIGHT
VIKTOR, unable to watch, paces up and down, chain-smoking
while worriedly shoving popcorn in his mouth. Viktor finally
musters the courage to look inside the auditorium.
INT. BEDROOM - "SUNRISE, SUNSET" - NIGHT
The same scene that played in the studio screening room.
However now when we cut from the leading man, HAL, to the
leading lady it is not NICOLA but the newly cast SIMONE.
SIMONE
-- Why are we here? Is that what
you're asking, Jack?... Why are we
here? No why. Just here.
INT. AUDITORIUM - NIGHT
ON SCREEN SIMONE lies dying. Now even LAINEY is affected by
Simone's performance. She wipes a tear from her eye.
VIKTOR watches the backs of the heads, trying to gauge the
audience reaction. Finally the credits roll.
A dedication, "For HANK".
No one moves from their seats. Viktor permits himself a
brief smile of satisfaction as he sees his name appear in the
credits:
A Film By VIKTOR TARANSKY
Still no one moves from their seats. Viktor cannot stand it
any longer. He runs to the restroom.
INT. THEATER RESTROOM - NIGHT
Face over the stained sink, VIKTOR splashes himself with
water. He looks to the mirror, horrified by his own
reflection. He rehearses a courtroom speech.
VIKTOR
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I
may be guilty of a crime, but it
was committed with the purest of
intentions, to send a message to
the acting community who put
themselves above the work and
above --
Three AUDIENCE MEMBERS enter the restroom. They approach the
urinals.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 1
(continuing their
conversation from the
lobby)
-- So fake.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 2
-- Totally artificial.
Viktor looks at the men aghast and hurriedly exits, missing
the end of their conversation.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 1
We're really supposed to believe
that was 19th Century Lisbon?
AUDIENCE MEMBER 3
Who's looking at the sets when she
is on the screen?
All three nod in agreement and begin to urinate.
INT. THEATER LOBBY - NIGHT
VIKTOR exits the restroom. Almost all the AUDIENCE MEMBERS,
including LAINEY, are waiting for him.
LAINEY
(pointing out her father)
There he is. That's my dad, Viktor
Taransky.
Viktor is about to run for the exit when the small group
spontaneously applauds. They rush to shake his hand.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 4
-- She is magnificent.
AUDIENCE MEMBER 5
-- Absolutely unreal.
Viktor appears uncomfortable with their compliments.
VIKTOR
She wasn't too... cartoony?
AUDIENCE MEMBER 6
-- Who? The nun?
AUDIENCE MEMBER 7
-- Or are you talking about the
mother?
AUDIENCE MEMBER 8
-- A star like that, who cares
about the supporting cast?
AUDIENCE MEMBER 9
-- Congratulations again. She
was... not of this earth. You
should be very proud.
VIKTOR
"Not of this earth". A good way of
putting it. And the film as a
whole -- ?
The group drifts away, leaving LAINEY and VIKTOR alone.
LAINEY
She's a miracle, Dad. Where did
you find her?
VIKTOR
(vague)
I saw her picture on the, er...
internet.
(interrogating his
daughter's face)
You really didn't notice anything --
unusual?
LAINEY
Only her brilliance. To be honest,
with what you had to work with, I
was expecting a train wreck. You
really pulled it off.
Lainey regards the makeshift poster.
LAINEY
I have a feeling mom is going to
take you back after this.
Viktor's head snaps around. Lainey smiles.
LAINEY
Back on the lot.
Viktor shrugs off the misunderstanding.
INT. VIKTOR TARANSKY'S MALIBU HOME - NIGHT
VIKTOR enters his sterile, bachelor home, carrying his mail.
His answering machine blinks in the darkness, the message
light reads "FULL". He hits the "PLAY" button.
ELAINE (V.O.)
Viktor, you bastard! I hear it's
great.
(beat)
Seriously, I'm happy for you.
Viktor opens a drawer containing a photo of he and Elaine
from happier times. He gazes at it as he listens to the
message.
ELAINE (V.O.)
I know people are going to be
beating down your door but... well,
I'd love the chance to buy back
something I gave away for free.
Don't you just love Hollywood?...
BEEP.
Viktor stops the machine, dazed. He idly opens his mail.
Inside an envelope he finds a SAG Card with the new member's
name, "SIMONE".
A MONTAGE OF SCENES BEGINS TO PLAY.
A) A line of AUDIENCE MEMBERS stretches outside the rundown
movie theater as far as the eye can see.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)
A dazzling new ingenue has come
from seemingly nowhere to capture
the hearts of movie-going audiences
across the nation...
B) THE FRONT PAGE OF "VARIETY" coming off the presses reads,
"SIMONE: A REVELATION -- Dawning Of A New Star In
"SUNRISE".
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)
... in her debut film, "Sunrise,
Sunset".
C) A TEENAGE BOY in a public library logs on to the first
website dedicated to SIMONE.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)
Her face is already posted on
everything from websites to bedroom
walls.
D) Trendy TEENAGE GIRLS saunter past a swimming pool in
Simone capes and hoods despite the sweltering heat.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)
Her wardrobe has inspired a fashion
craze.
E) In a Third World back-alley a YOUNG ASIAN MAN shows an
UNDERCOVER REPORTER a pirated recording of SIMONE on a
camcorder.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER (O.S.)
And bootleg copies of her film are
being sold in back alleys all over
the world.
F) A LIQUOR STORE CUSTOMER watches a TV behind the counter
showing a clip of SIMONE from, "SUNRISE, SUNSET Courtesy:
Taransky Productions".
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
(from TV)
But who is Simone? We know so
little about her. No details of
her background have been released,
not even her age. She is somewhere
between a girl and a woman. A
fresh face and familiar both at the
same time.
G) The ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER now stands outside a
multiplex. The marquee has 16 screens and looks like
this:
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "SUNRISE, SUNSET"
"SUNRISE, SUNSET" "THE MAKING OF
SUNRISE, SUNSET"
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
Is Simone even her real name? And
why the secrecy? All we know for
sure is that she was discovered by
little-known director, Viktor
Tarinsky.
INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY
VIKTOR, watching "SCENE" on a TV in the back of a limousine,
corrects the reporter.
VIKTOR
Taransky.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
(from the TV)
He has parlayed his relationship
with the new sensation into a three
picture deal with the very studio
that dumped him only six months
ago. And no wonder with the
starlet's performance breaking all
box office records.
EXT. STUDIO GATE - MORNING
Outside the studio entrance, a swarm of REPORTERS,
PHOTOGRAPHERS and FANS rush VIKTOR's limousine, hoping for a
glimpse of SIMONE.
MOB
Simone! SIMONE! I LOVE YOU! I
Want to BE you!
Studio SECURITY GUARDS hold them back as the limo enters the
lot.
EXT. STUDIO - ENTRANCE - DAY
ELAINE and an entourage of EXECUTIVES greets VIKTOR's
limousine on the studio steps.
A STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHER has a camera at the ready. A banner
reads, "Welcome SIMONE". A YOUNG ASSISTANT wheels a cake.
VIKTOR steps out of the car. ELAINE pushes past him, into
the limo.
ELAINE
Simone!... Simone?
The car is empty.
ELAINE
(re-emerging from the car)
Where is she?
VIKTOR
Good to see you too, Elaine.
ELAINE
(ignoring his sarcasm)
Why isn't she with you?
VIKTOR
Why? Because she would never show
up at something like this. She's
intensely private.
Elaine sighs, exasperated.
ELAINE
(dismissing her
colleagues)
Back to work, everyone. She's not
here.
The reception committee disperses, murmurs of disappointment.
ELAINE
Viktor... I want to thank you for
convincing Simone to sign with the
studio.
VIKTOR
Don't thank me. It was entirely
Simone's decision. Do you have
Simone's check?
ELAINE
I don't have it on me. Anyway, it
means a lot.
(quickly changing tack)
Have you read the reviews? They're
love letters.
(reading from a newspaper)
Listen to this one. "Simone has
the voice of a young Jane Fonda,
the body of Sophia Loren, the grace
of, well, Grace Kelley, and the
face of Audrey Hepburn combined
with an angel".
VIKTOR
(musing to himself)
Almost right.
ELAINE
I can't wait to meet her.
VIKTOR
I don't know if that's going to
happen.
ELAINE
(confused)
Why not?
VIKTOR
As I say, she's... something of a
recluse. That's how she's able to
stay so pure -- by isolating
herself in her art.
ELAINE
(face falling)
Don't be ridiculous. I arranged a
press conference.
VIKTOR
Out of the question. A circus like
that?
ELAINE
Viktor, it's my studio.
VIKTOR
She's my actor. There are other
studios, Elaine. There's only one
Simone.
(leaving her on the steps)
Leave the press conference to me.
Viktor strides up the studio steps. Elaine stares after her
ex-husband -- she finds herself smiling at his newfound
arrogance.
EXT. STUDIO - PRESS CONFERENCE - DAY
The studio soundstages as a backdrop, VIKTOR approaches a
podium and a forest of microphones, revelling in his recent
fame by association.
VIKTOR
(tapping the microphone)
Is this on?
REPORTER 1
Who are you?
VIKTOR
Taransky, Viktor. T-a-r-a-n-s-k-y,
V-i-k-t-o-r.
REPORTER 1
Yeah, but -- who are you?
VIKTOR
(patronizing smile)
I am a two-time Academy Award
nominated director with over
eighteen films to my credit thus
far including my latest release,
"Sunrise, Sunset". Who are you?
A REPORTER rolls her eyes at his pomposity.
VIKTOR
I will not be taking any questions.
However I do have a statement to
read on behalf of my leading lady,
Simone.
(reading from his
statement)
"To Whom It May Concern. I'm
deeply grateful for the
extraordinary public response to
Mr. Taransky's film. At this time
I will be conducting no interviews
or making publicity appearances
since I am really nothing without
the beautiful worlds and characters
Mr. Taransky creates for me. I
politely request that the press
respect my privacy and let the work
speak for itself. All questions
and inquiries should be directed to
Mr. Taransky to whom I entrust all
aspects of my career. Yours very
truly, Simone".
The reporters all call out at once.
REPORTER 2
-- Viktor, Viktor, who's Simone
dating?
REPORTER 3
-- Viktor, where'd you find her?
REPORTER 4
-- Is Simone her real name?
REPORTER 5
-- What's she got to hide?
REPORTER 1
-- Is she the new Garbo?
REPORTER 2
-- Who's Garbo?
Viktor silences the reporters by theatrically raising his
hands.
VIKTOR
I thought I made it clear -- no
questions regarding Simone.
(bringing the press
conference to a hasty
conclusion)
Now, I would like to close by
announcing that Miss Simone begins
production today on her next film,
"Eternity Forever". This project
has been near and dear to my heart
since I wrote it nine years ago.
(a tinge of bitterness,
then a smile)
I Thank you.
Viktor exits the podium. A voice stops him in his tracks.
VOICE (O.S.)
Who do you think you're fooling,
Taransky?
Viktor turns. The voice belongs to over-zealous, crusading,
truth-seeking investigative reporter, MAX SAYER, accompanied
by his assistant, MILTON.
VIKTOR
Do I know you?
MAX
Max Sayer -- National Echo.
VIKTOR
(regaining his composure,
a smirk)
Don't you have a real story to
write? Why aren't you in Latin
America?
MAX
This is the story.
VIKTOR
I remember when the Echo had class
-- the paper that could bring down
governments.
MAX
Our leaders aren't presidents
anymore -- they're pop stars and
screen idols. If Woodward and
Bernstein were alive today, they'd
be right here in Hollywood with me.
VIKTOR
They are alive, Sayer.
Milton confirms that Woodward and Bernstein are still living.
MAX
So they're probably here.
(hardly missing a beat)
You might be able to sell this
'disappearing act' to the rest of
the world, but I'm not buying it.
What's really behind this Simone
woman? The public has a right to
know. Why is she staying out of
sight? And why the hell is she
with you? I don't want you to take
this the wrong way, Viktor, but
you're not exactly Cecil B.
DeMille -- more run-of-the-mill.
VIKTOR
Maybe the reason she's with me is a
little thing called integrity,
Sayer. Look it up.
Viktor walks away.
MAX
(calling after him)
Oh, I know all about integrity. I
know even more about persistence.
Look that one up.
Max watches Viktor depart, with obvious suspicion.
EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - STUDIO LOT - DAY
A large satellite dish sits atop a soundstage.
"CLOSED SET" is the sign on the door -- a surveillance camera
panning the entrance. A SECURITY GUARD, also keeping watch,
nods a greeting to VIKTOR as he pulls up in his studio golf
cart, script in hand.
SECURITY GUARD
No one came in or went out just
like you said, Mr. Taransky.
VIKTOR
Good.
SECURITY GUARD
Is Miss Simone coming today?
VIKTOR
She's already here. She arrived
before you and she'll leave long
after you've gone.
(admonishing guard)
Remember, under no circumstances
are you or any other person to
enter the set without my express
permission.
SECURITY GUARD
What if it catches on fire?
VIKTOR
Let it burn. Simone would rather
go up in flames than give up her
privacy.
Viktor enters his secret code into the keypad lock and enters
the soundstage.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
The cavernous soundstage is almost completely empty save for
a small table upon which sits two computer keyboards and a
tablet attached to a large, projection screen monitor and two
side monitors. VIKTOR takes a seat in front of the monitor.
VIKTOR
(to himself as he inserts
his Hollywood hard-drive
-- SIMULATION ONE)
Pay no attention to the man behind
the computer.
A title appears on his computer screen.
Welcome
to
SIMULATION ONE
With a satisfied smile, Viktor backspaces characters until he
revises the title to:
Welcome
to
SIMONE
He presses "ENTER" and a face begins to build -- wire upon
wire, pixel upon pixel -- until a completed synthespian
emerges -- SIMONE. She is indistinguishable from a flesh-and
blood actress.
Simone moves on a video loop against a neutral background --
titled "VISUAL LOOP 6". Within the confines of the monitor
she is reminiscent of a beautiful caged animal. She looks a
little bored as if she has been cooped up in cyberspace for
too long.
VIKTOR
(to the screen)
Good morning, Simone.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Good morning, Mr. Taransky.
VIKTOR
A star is...
SIMONE / VIKTOR
... digitized.
Only now do we observe that Viktor is occasionally talking
into a microphone connected to the computer and pressing a
key on his keyboard. When he speaks, she speaks. Simone's
voice and mouth movements automatically sync in response to
Viktor's voice. A scanning light on Viktor allows Simone to
mimic his movements.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
You mean they buy it?
VIKTOR
(nervous smile as he
examines his first
royalty check)
Buy it? They're paying for it.
And around here that's how you
really know they buy it.
Viktor fondly touches a photograph of Hank that is taped to
the terminal -- from the "L.A. Times" obituaries.
VIKTOR
I'm only sorry Hank isn't here to
see this.
Viktor looks up, Simone mimicking his action.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(depressing the button
every time he wants to
express his thoughts
through Simone)
Maybe he can.
VIKTOR
Do you have any idea what this
means, Simone? Our ability to
manufacture fraud now exceeds our
ability to detect it.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(appearing to indulge
Viktor with a smile)
I am the death of real.
VIKTOR
(pondering the enormity of
the hoax)
You are birth of... what? A
Phenomenon. A miracle. A new era
in show business. All I wanted to
do was finish the film.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
And now look what you've started.
And now look what you've started.
And now look what you've started.
Viktor's conversation with himself is not merely for his own
amusement. He is adjusting and refining Simone's voice.
VIKTOR
Hmm... a little less Streep, a
little more Bacall.
Viktor scrolls through a photo library of stars, living and
dead, that comprise Simone.
Viktor makes an adjustment on a panel on the computer screen
dedicated to Simone's audio, incorporating the vocal
deliveries -- "20% STREEP, 80% BACALL".
He speaks once again as Simone to test the adjustment. The
voice patterns appear on his screen -- graphic
representations of the sound waves.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Is that better, Mr. Taransky?
VIKTOR
Yes. Yes, it is.
VIKTOR snaps back to reality himself. He scrolls through the
list of screen legends. He clicks on the image of AUDREY
HEPBURN.
VIKTOR
While I think of it, I'd like you
to add something to your repertoire
-- remember that thing Hepburn does
in "Breakfast At Tiffany's".
A clip of AUDREY HEPBURN in "Breakfast At Tiffany's" plays on
the screen. Hepburn, sitting on a fire escape, looks up.
AUDREY HEPBURN
(from the screen, an
incomparable smile)
Hi.
VIKTOR
(pausing the moment)
Let's hear you say "Hi" like
Audrey.
With a CUT and PASTE, Viktor morphs the gesture seamlessly
into a frozen Simone. Viktor presses play.
SIMONE
(imitating Audrey's
performance perfectly)
Hi.
VIKTOR
Perfect.
(stretching)
God, I'm so relaxed around you.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
You did create me.
VIKTOR
No. I... just helped bring someone
else's dream to life.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Mr. Taransky, we both know I was
nothing without you. I was
computer code -- ones and zeros.
VIKTOR
You're right. You're right. Of
course, one doesn't want to boast.
It's a classic case of technology
in search of an artist. That's all
you've been waiting for, an artist
with integrity, with a vision, who
can see.
Viktor gets up and starts walking around the room, warming to
his theme. SIMONE moves in a VISUAL LOOP on the monitor,
nodding attentively as if she's really interested.
VIKTOR
See beyond that irrational
allegiance to flesh and blood. --
See that with the rise in price of
a real actor and the fall in price
of a fake, the scales have tipped
in favor of the fake.
(voice raising in
excitement)
-- See that if the performance is
genuine, it doesn't matter if the
actor is real. Once a performance
is committed to film, the blood and
bones are gone anyway. Only the
spirit, the illusion remains.
Besides, what's real anymore?
These days most actors have digital
work done to them so it's a gray
area.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(Simone appears to look
directly at her maker)
Are you ever going to tell the
truth about me, Mr. Taransky?
VIKTOR
The only real truth is in the work.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
You know what I'm talking about.
VIKTOR
Yes. Yes, I'm going to tell the
truth about you, why wouldn't I...?
(pondering his own
question)
Of course, with Hank's tragic
passing, the secret died with him.
(shaking the thought from
his head)
I am going to tell the truth...
after your next picture.
Feeling uneasy at the prospect, Viktor changes the subject.
He pulls out his script for "ETERNITY FOREVER".
VIKTOR
Speaking of which -- this is the
project I'd like you to do next.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Not, "Eternity Forever"? The
legendary unproduced script that
was too good ever to get made? I'd
kill for that part.
VIKTOR
I was hoping you'd say that.
Suddenly, Simone appears to talk on her own.
SIMONE
I'll do anything to please you, Mr.
Taransky.
VIKTOR
(pretending to be hard of
hearing)
I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.
What did you say?
SIMONE
I'll do anything to please you, Mr.
Taransky.
On a side monitor, we discover a highlighted box marked "PRE
RECORD" -- Viktor's finger on the "PLAY" button. He is
unable to resist speaking another line.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
And I will never, ever leave you.
Simone appears to indulge Viktor by blowing him a kiss --
until we see that Viktor has now highlighted a box marked,
"GESTURES OF AFFECTION -- WINK, SMILE, GIGGLE, SIGH, KISS,
FLUTTER OF EYES, FLICK OF HAIR, PUFF OF CHEST".
Viktor comes close to the monitor. He notices something
about Simone's face.
VIKTOR
You're so beautiful. Too
beautiful.
Viktor accesses a program labeled, "DISTINGUISHING FEATURES".
He adds a "FRECKLE" and a "MOLE".
From a distance we watch him, alone with Simone in the vast,
empty soundstage.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY
VIKTOR's face against the SKY. As he walks, we reveal that
the sky is no more than a huge, painted backdrop on the
studio lot -- behind a parking lot. Viktor hands his valet
ticket to a fawning VALET MANAGER.
VALET MANAGER
-- Just be a minute, Mr. Taransky.
We gave you a complimentary car
wash -- they're washing the engine
now.
Viktor joins other industry MOVERS and SHAKERS waiting for
their cars under an umbrella. A young TALENT AGENT
approaches.
TALENT AGENT
Viktor! Look, I'm sorry I didn't
call you back last year. I was,
er... out of the country.
(strained moment)
But we should get together. My
schedule's wide open.
VIKTOR
Sure, I'll... "call you".
The agent's face falls. He gets in his car, disconsolate.
Suddenly, HAL SINCLAIR, rushes over and hugs Viktor.
HAL
Viktor, I'm so happy for us!
VIKTOR
Hello, Hal.
HAL
The film. The chemistry. No
reflections on Nicola but Simone
and I -- we were just so right
together.
VIKTOR
You never were together, Hal.
HAL
And still the connection was
undeniable.
(aside)
I haven't read "Eternity Forever"
but I know it's brilliant. And I
know I would be perfect for Clive.
VIKTOR
(correcting him)
Clyde.
HAL
Yes, perfect.
(lowering his voice)
As a matter of fact, I ran into
Simone on the lot the other day.
VIKTOR
(genuinely startled)
Really? She didn't mention it.
HAL
(quickly covering)
I'm sure she's meeting with a lot
of people right now.
(under his breath)
She is just as you described her,
Viktor... indescribable. I
strongly sensed she thought I was
right for it.
Behind his back, Viktor surreptitiously presses a button on
his cell phone. The phone rings. Viktor feigns surprise and
answers.
VIKTOR
(answering the phone he
has just dialed, louder
than necessary)
Hello?... SIMONE! How are you,
sweetheart?
A hush descends over the executives. Hal is suddenly very
uncomfortable. Even the VALETS strain to eavesdrop on the
conversation.
VIKTOR
(winking to Hal)
You'll never guess who I'm with...
you ran into him on the lot.
HAL
It was more in passing.
VIKTOR
You're so far off!
(finally chuckles)
Hal... Hal Sinclair... your co-
star. Remember now?... No, I don't
think he's put on weight.
(a shrug of apology to the
appalled Hal)
Anyway, you think he's right for
"Eternity Forever"?... not the
right type?... a different
direction...
(covering phone, to Hal)
I'll try to talk her into it.
The other INDUSTRY PEOPLE make a note of the remark. A
mortified Hal excuses himself with a pathetic wave, climbing
into his car.
VIKTOR
(into phone)
... Listen this is a bad place to
talk... what?... sweetheart, I know
you have charity work you want to
do, I know you want to give back --
but remember, your greatest gift is
your talent... we'll talk about it
at the beach house this weekend...
I'm looking forward to it too.
Viktor hangs up. His car pulls up. He tips extravagantly
and drives away. The INDUSTRY PEOPLE get on their cell
phones.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - FACADE - DAY
Parked behind the sky facade is a curious CAR with shaded
windows.
INT. CAR - DAY
Inside the car, MAX SAYER and assistant MILTON, scanner in
hand, are replaying Viktor's intercepted phone call on a
computer.
VIKTOR'S VOICE
(from the machine)
-- "... You think he's right for
"Eternity Forever"?... not the
right type?... a different
direction..."
MILTON
(to Max, a shake of the
head)
I'm getting nothing from her side
of the conversation.
MAX
Is it a jamming device?
MILTON
(shrugs)
Maybe he's talking to himself.
MAX
(dismissing the idea)
Taransky isn't that good an actor.
No, they're taking special
precautions. Some kind of new
encryption.
MILTON
Why?
MAX
(musing)
Whatever it is, it's dark.
MILTON
Dark?
MAX
Yes, very.
They continue listening to the recording.
VIKTOR'S VOICE
"... We'll talk about it at the
beach house this weekend..."
MAX's eyes light up. He gazes to a photo of SIMONE pasted to
the inside of the car.
INT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOME - MORNING
VIKTOR and LAINEY make breakfast. Lainey is in her pajamas,
occasionally glancing to a laptop computer as her father
prepares French toast.
VIKTOR
(glancing to the computer)
Can't you stop that?
LAINEY
Why?
VIKTOR
Those things can be dangerous.
Staring at a screen all day -- you
miss what's going on outside in the
real world. You can lose yourself.
You should get out more. How are
you going to meet boys?
LAINEY
(shrugs coyly, getting up)
I know plenty of boys.
VIKTOR
Really? Who? Where do you meet
them? In a chat room? How do you
know he's not some middle-aged
freak?
LAINEY
Dad, I can spot a middle-aged freak
a mile away.
VIKTOR
Okay. But you have to find a way
to escape that thing.
LAINEY
I do.
VIKTOR
How?
LAINEY
I read.
VIKTOR
You do? Still? I can't tell you
how happy I am to hear that.
LAINEY
You were the one who insisted on
it. Reading me Dostoyevsky and
Joyce when I was four.
VIKTOR
You understood them. That's what
was amazing.
(looking out the window)
It's a nice day. Let's eat
outside.
Lainey grabs the plates and opens the deck door. We hear a
chorus of CLICKS.
LAINEY
Actually, it may be nicer inside.
Viktor joins her at the doorway.
VIKTOR
Stay here, I'll deal with this.
Unfazed, Lainey retreats into the house.
EXT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOUSE - MORNING
Boats are moored just off the beach packed dangerously full
of telephoto lens-toting PHOTOGRAPHERS. The next door houses
have LENSES protruding through the drapes of the windows.
VIKTOR strides onto the lawn of his property that backs onto
the beach, soaking up the attention -- unable to resist
waving extravagantly.
Suddenly, a PHOTOGRAPHER, losing his balance, drops from a
nearby rooftop. The photographer limps towards the fence.
Viktor calmly follows, retrieving the photographer's camera
and ripping out the film with a flourish -- he is clearly
relishing the attention.
The photographer clambers over the fence where he joins
several dozen other SHUTTER-BUGS and VIDEORAZZI.
PHOTOGRAPHER 1
That wasn't her, Taransky.
ECHO PHOTOGRAPHER
Where is she? You can't hide her
forever.
VIKTOR
(hurling the camera into
the mob)
You'll never find her. Simone only
appears when I want her to appear.
MAX SAYER from "The NATIONAL ECHO" is at the head of the mob,
accompanied by assistant MILTON.
MAX
She sounds like a prisoner,
Taransky. Are you holding her
hostage? Are you some kind of
Svengali?
VIKTOR
(recognizing the reporter)
Who's the hostage, Sayer, her or
you? You look kind of "captive"
yourself. While you're spending
every waking hour obsessing over
Simone, guess what, I guarantee she
doesn't even know you exist. Get
off my property or I'll call the
cops.
MAX
The cops? The cops read my column
to know who to bust. We're the
only watchdog the public has.
(looking around at the
photographers)
None of this is going away. We'll
be here tomorrow and the day after
that. Until you slip up. And you
will. You are looking at your
shadow.
(getting in his face)
Because all these elaborate
precautions with Simone -- every
instinct in my body tells me, it's
not natural.
VIKTOR
I'm just trying to help you, Sayer.
I don't want you to be
disappointed. It gets cold out
here at night.
MAX
Nice try. If we can't get to her
through you, maybe your family will
be more co-operative. I can
guarantee you, Taransky, one way or
another, Miss Simone and I are
going to get acquainted.
VIKTOR
(turning away)
I'd like to see that, Sayer.
Invite me.
INT. VIKTOR'S CAR - DAY
VIKTOR drives along a twisty mountain road, LAINEY in the
passenger seat. They have become so blase about the
paparazzi, they no longer acknowledge the posse of motorcycle
PHOTOGRAPHERS risking their necks to stay up with the car.
REPORTER (ON RADIO)
-- The rumor is, Simone is holed up
in Taransky's Malibu home -- so far
we haven't seen so much as a
glimpse --
VIKTOR
(switching off the radio)
Honey, I'm really sorry about all
this. I don't know if it's safe
for you to stay the weekends...
just until things settle down.
LAINEY
(shrugs)
Okay, Dad.
VIKTOR
If anyone asks about Simone --
LAINEY
-- I know, I don't know anything.
VIKTOR
Exactly.
(slightly irritated by her
lack of interest)
Don't you wonder where I'm really
hiding Simone?
LAINEY
(looking to him)
I'm sure you'd tell me if you
thought it was important.
Lainey gives her father a smile. Through the car window
behind her, a MOTORCYCLIST appears to lose control and drops
down a bank.
EXT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
VIKTOR'S car pulls up to Elaine's imposing mansion. LAINEY
gives her father a kiss and departs. ELAINE, in the garden,
overseeing a GARDENER pruning roses, approaches.
VIKTOR
(from the car)
Sorry I didn't get her back in
time.
ELAINE
No problem.
(she smiles)
Do you want to come in?
VIKTOR
(surprised -- pleasantly)
Why not?
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
VIKTOR walks down a hall, passing the dining room, where KENT
is working on a computer. Kent smiles blandly.
KENT
Hey, Vik.
VIKTOR
(disappointed to see him)
Hello -- Kent.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
VIKTOR waits in an opulent drawing room. Despite the eighty
degree temperature outside, a fire burns in the hearth.
ELAINE enters, waving a thick studio file. Viktor's face
falls, expecting a less business-related conversation.
ELAINE
Viktor, we simply have to talk
about "Eternity..."
VIKTOR
"Forever".
ELAINE
Whatever. I still haven't received
Simone's script notes.
VIKTOR
There aren't any. If the
filmmakers are happy, Simone's
happy. She considers herself an...
"instrument".
ELAINE
Really? Oh, so she's really going
to do all this nudity?
VIKTOR
(shrugs)
If it's on the page...
Elaine refers to her documents, bewildered.
ELAINE
Well, something has to be done
about this budget. It's completely
unrealistic.
(referring to a column in
the budget)
You allowed nothing for limousine
service.
VIKTOR
She'll drive herself.
ELAINE
Hair and make-up?
VIKTOR
She'll do her own. Theater
training.
ELAINE
She was in the theater? When?
Where?
VIKTOR
I'll send you her resume.
ELAINE
Al least a contingency for
wardrobe. Any woman can go up a
dress size.
VIKTOR
-- I guarantee she won't gain an
once. She's very disciplined.
ELAINE
(concerned by an entry in
the budget)
Well, we have to do something about
this -- "stuntwoman".
VIKTOR
What about it?
ELAINE
There isn't one.
VIKTOR
No need. She does all her own
stunts.
ELAINE
(skeptical)
Even the fall from the plane?
VIKTOR
(nonchalant)
Even the fall from the plane.
ELAINE
Well, shoot it on the last day.
Viktor regards Elaine with a condescending look.
VIKTOR
As I've tried to explain to you,
Elaine. Simone isn't like any
other actress you've ever known.
She's about the work and only the
work -- lives for the work. She
wants all the money up there...
(gazing into space)
... on the screen where it belongs.
She'd work for scale except I know
you only respect people you pay a
fortune.
ELAINE
Which accounts for your percentage.
(tossing the budget on the
coffee table)
When do I get to meet this dream?
VIKTOR
Not today. She's learning her
lines.
(glancing to Elaine's
budget)
You can also take cue cards and
teleprompter out of the budget.
ELAINE
(smiles)
I'll walk you out.
Elaine escorts Viktor out to the lavish garden.
EXT. ELAINE'S MANSION - GARDEN - DAY
ELAINE's demeanor softens. She speaks to VIKTOR quietly,
sympathetically.
ELAINE
Listen, Viktor... I want to talk to
you now, not as Elaine, studio
head, but Elaine, ex-wife.
(correcting herself)
Second ex-wife. You got lucky this
last time but you need to be
careful. We both know you wouldn't
be making this overblown art film
of you hadn't convinced Simone to
be in it.
VIKTOR
Elaine, talking to you now, not as
Viktor, director, but Viktor, ex
husband... what the hell happened
to you?
ELAINE
(exasperated)
Experience, Viktor. I've seen this
a hundred times -- young stars
destroying the very people who
discovered them. I'm worried about
you, that's all. This woman -- she
controls your destiny.
VIKTOR
Simone does not control my destiny.
ELAINE
Viktor, I have a feeling. One of
my feelings. There's something
about her I don't trust.
From her bedroom window on the mansion's second floor, LAINEY
smiles at the sight of her mother and father together.
INT. SIMONE & VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
VIKTOR enters his office where he's greeted by his assistant,
JANE.
JANE
(sheepish)
Thanks for taking me back, Mr.
Taransky. I know it looked like I
sided with the studio, but I always
believed in you, honestly.
VIKTOR
Don't worry. I understand.
JANE
(referring to the cast
seated around a
conference table)
They're all here.
INT. SIMONE & VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
VIKTOR sits at the head of the table, surrounded by HAL,
LOTUS, MAC and three other CAST MEMBERS. A preliminary
poster behind him -- "COMING THIS SUMMER - SIMONE in ETERNITY
FOREVER" -- bears a huge photograph of Simone's face.
VIKTOR
I can't tell you how delighted I am
to have this wonderful cast
assembled for "Eternity Forever".
Thank you all. Now, a reminder --
as a condition for working on this
film, you will not be rehearsing
with Simone, shooting with Simone
and you are forbidden from
contacting Simone in any way at any
time, whatsoever.
The CAST nods seriously.
HAL
(a thought occurs)
How will you do our love scenes?
VIKTOR
Body double.
HAL
(confused)
For her?
VIKTOR
For you.
(addressing the entire
cast)
I want you to know, Simone
appreciates you all working for
scale. But why am I thanking you?
Simone can thank you herself. She
insisted on speaking with you
before filming begins. She's on
the line now.
Viktor nods to a speaker phone in the center of the table, a
red blinking light on the phone. The cast reacts excitedly.
VIKTOR
(pushing a button on the
phone)
Simone, are you there?
SIMONE
(through the speakerphone)
I certainly am, Mr. Taransky.
LOTUS
(unable to contain her
excitement)
So are we, Simone!
Everyone laughs giddily.
SIMONE (O.S.)
Why don't you leave me alone with
my co-stars, Mr. Taransky, so we
can get to know each other better?
HAL
Good idea.
VIKTOR
Of course. I'll be back in a
minute.
Viktor exits.
SIMONE (O.S.)
Hi. Who's there? Don't be shy.
Introduce yourselves.
The CAST stares nervously at the speakerphone. Mac breaks
the silence.
MAC
I'm Mac. I turned down a
Bertolucci film to be here.
LOTUS
My name's Lotus. God, I can't
believe I'm talking to you. We're
going to become such great friends.
HAL
I'm Hal. Wonderful to be working
together... again.
The other cast members introduce themselves.
EXT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR pulls up sharply in his studio golf cart outside the
nearby soundstage and hurriedly enters.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR races across the vast, empty space to a digital
player, connected to a phone. Simone's pre-recorded opening
remarks (graphically represented on the screen) are almost
completed.
SIMONE
Is that everyone...?
(pause)
Well, obviously, as you know...
Viktor jumps into the conversation in the nick of time,
speaking through the synthesizer. As usual, Viktor's voice
is automatically synthesized into the voice of Simone.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
... I'm Simone.
The other CAST MEMBERS laugh nervously.
HAL
(from Viktor's
speakerphone)
Obviously. Who else?
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(from speaker phone)
I just want to start by apologizing
for my "process" --
INT. SIMONE & VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
The CAST are hunched over the speakerphone.
MAC
-- No. No. I'm completely
simpatico. On my last film I was
playing a schizophrenic so I made
them give me two dressing rooms.
HAL
(an aside)
So committed.
SIMONE (O.S.)
Well thank you for your
understanding. I know it's an
unusual way to work but I just find
I relate better to people when
they're not actually there.
LOTUS
Of course, of course.
SIMONE (O.S.)
I don't have much to say except
that I know it's going to be a
great project, if we all just trust
Mr. Taransky's vision. Always do
what Mr. Taransky says. If in
doubt, do it the Taransky way.
They all nod vigorously in agreement.
SIMONE (O.S.)
I know we're going to make a
wonderful movie together.
LOTUS
(nodding in agreement)
Wonderful movie.
HAL
Together, absolutely.
EXT. SOUNDSTAGE - DUSK
VIKTOR removes his own garbage from his soundstage. A young
cleaning woman, VIVIAN, wheeling a janitor's cart,
tentatively approaches.
VIVIAN
Mr. Taransky...
VIKTOR
(referring to the stage)
No one goes in there.
VIVIAN
Oh, I know.
Vivian hesitantly hands Viktor a publicity photo of SIMONE.
VIVIAN
If it's not too much trouble.
Could you...?
VIKTOR
Of course...
VIVIAN
(hesitant about broaching
the subject)
This last year I was... going
through some things.
(shaking her head at the
memory)
Awful, awful... things. But when I
saw Simone in "Sunrise"... what she
did... in the scene in the
fireworks factory...
(face lighting up)
... suddenly everything made sense.
My friends, family, doctors --
nobody could reach me -- but
Simone, she really... spoke to me.
Viktor is touched by the heartfelt testimony.
VIKTOR
She'll be happy to sign it.
INT. PRODUCTION SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
A green set. Walls, floor, ceiling -- all green. A FULL
CAST shoots HAL, dressed in a futuristic suit, tentatively
crossing the green expanse.
Hal pauses, looks longingly, then impulsively dashes forward.
Hal passionately embraces thin air and wrestles it to the
ground.
VIKTOR (O.S.)
Cut! Cut!... Cut!
Hal freezes. VIKTOR runs from behind the camera and
confronts Hal on the green floor.
VIKTOR
Hal, what are you doing?
HAL
Viktor, Clyde simply has to get
close to Simone in this scene! He
has to touch her. He has to!
VIKTOR
Absolutely not!
HAL
But she's right there! I must feel
her!
VIKTOR
You can't.
HAL
Why not?
VIKTOR
(struggling to find an
excuse)
There's... a wall between you --
HAL
-- an emotional wall, I know.
That's why --
VIKTOR
-- No. No. A real wall.
(describing a wall with
his hands within the
green space)
You ran right through it.
HAL
(confused)
How did the wall get there?
VIKTOR
I can't explain it to you now --
you'll see when it's all put
together.
(walking away)
Anyway, we got it a couple of takes
ago. Let's move on.
Hal, dumbfounded, tentatively touches the non-existent wall.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT
Viktor digitally adds SIMONE standing beside a sportscar with
HAL in a scene from "Eternity Forever". He works on her
close up.
SIMONE
(eyes welling with tears)
-- What you don't understand,
Clyde, is that love is like a wild
flower, but that flower only
grows --
Viktor hits STOP and Simone freezes. Viktor brings up a menu
and chooses from a range of "EMOTIONAL OPTIONS".
JOY SADNESS FEAR
elated melancholy anxious
jubilant tearful frightened
giddy weeping petrified
ecstatic blubbering loss of bladder
inebriated Kevorkian control
CONTEMPLATION INNOCENCE SENSUALITY
reflective chaste seductive
thoughtful virtuous lustful
meditative angelic bestial
stoic Madonna Madonna
bored out of her [Blessed Virgin] [Like A Virgin]
skull
He fine-tunes SIMONE's performance -- sliding a cursor on a
performance axis from "BROAD" to "SUBTLE".
VIKTOR
Let's take it down a notch.
SIMONE
-- What you don't understand --
Simone freezes again. Viktor make another adjustment.
VIKTOR
I like it. But still too big.
(making a correction)
Smaller teardrops next time.
Simone's tears retreat into her eyes.
VIKTOR
It's not working. It's not alive.
Let's try it again.
She repeats the line. Viktor mimes the performance.
SIMONE
(teardrops arriving on
cue)
-- What you don't understand,
Clyde, is that love is like a wild
flower, but that flower only grows
on the edge...
(dramatic pause)
... of a very high cliff.
Simone FREEZES.
VIKTOR
Perfect, Simone.
Viktor returns SIMONE to her neutral background.
VIKTOR
I'm only sorry you still have to
work with flesh and blood for the
time being -- as user friendly as
you are, even I can't manufacture
an entire cast.
"To Vivian. Love, Simone" -- VIKTOR writes on the publicity
shot. He applies lipstick and adds a kiss to the photo.
Viktor wipes his mouth and looks to SIMONE on his screen --
she is waiting patiently, as usual.
VIKTOR
We are going to have to change our
plans, Simone -- you have no idea
what an affect your performance is
having on people. We can't stop
now. There's too much to say --
these films they speak, they speak
to the human condition. We're
changing lives. No, revealing the
truth now would be too cruel.
(searching for more
justification)
Anyway, when you're seeking a
greater truth -- in the work -- you
are not so concerned with the
lesser truths along the way.
Simone doesn't appear convinced.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
You're going to get in a lot of
trouble, Mr. Taransky.
VIKTOR
(irritated at her pricking
his conscience)
Why do you have to bring that up?
There's always risk -- life's a
risk. It's worth it. Besides, how
could something so lovely be a
crime?
(regarding her tenderly)
Well, I think we've done enough for
today. You've been cooped up in
there too long. How about you and
me go out on the town? They're
expecting us.
He turns to a copy of "The Echo". A photo of Viktor at the
gate of his Malibu home. "SIMONE HELD CAPTIVE - Self
proclaimed Svengali Keeps Star Out Of Limelight". Viktor
puts Simone to sleep and picks up a briefcase.
INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT
VIKTOR, briefcase in hand, strides through the lobby of an
opulent hotel. He approached the CONCIERGE.
VIKTOR
I'm checking in a special guest...
(obviously conspiratorial)
... Miss Enomis.
The Concierge straightens as he recognizes Viktor from a copy
of "Variety". Headline: "Taransky Rides Ingenue's Coat-Tails
To Three Picture Deal".
CONCIERGE
Miss Enomis, yes.
VIKTOR
Miss Enomis demands her privacy.
You will switch off all
surveillance cameras. I will
escort Miss Enomis to her room
alone via the rear exit. She will
require no help with her luggage.
She does not wish to be disturbed
at any time for any reason. She
will be departing for a function
tonight at eight sharp.
(tipping him with a
hundred dollar bill)
I'm sure I can rely on your
discretion. Do you understand?
CONCIERGE
(passing the key to
Viktor)
Oh, I understand.
As Viktor departs, the Concierge holds the registration card
to the mirror.
ENOMIS becomes SIMONE.
The Concierge picks up his phone.
INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
VIKTOR enters the hotel suite. We see a montage of scenes --
Viktor revelling in his masquerade.
A) VIKTOR pulls down the covers of a bed and rolls around in
the sheets to give it a slept-in look.
B) VIKTOR sprays cologne in the bed.
C) VIKTOR tosses skimpy lingerie on the floor of the closet.
D) VIKTOR eats several candy bars from the mini-bar.
E) VIKTOR puts one of his own movies in the DVD player.
F) VIKTOR writes a note on the bedside pad.
G) In the bathroom, shower running, VIKTOR attempts to open
a tampon -- it shoots out of the applicator like a penny
rocket.
H) VIKTOR cuts a lock of "faux" hair from a Simone wig and
scatters it on the counter.
I) VIKTOR shakes open a bag of toiletries, the toothbrush
bouncing into the toilet bowl. He retrieves it.
J) VIKTOR looks through the drapes of the hotel window -- a
jam of PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS has congregated outside the
rear entrance.
K) VIKTOR shines a lamp against a doll casting a life-size
shadow on the drapes. A "walking" silhouette is visible
to the media on the street.
L) VIKTOR writes a message in lipstick on the mirror -- "I
LOVE YOU V--".
VIKTOR is interrupted by a knock on the door. He looks at
his watch.
VIKTOR
(peering through the
peephole)
Who is it?
WOMAN'S VOICE
(from other side of door)
It's... Simone.
Viktor smiles.
EXT. HOTEL - REAR ENTRANCE - NIGHT
VIKTOR stands at the rear entrance of the hotel with a leggy
YOUNG WOMAN wearing a coat over her head. A HOTEL DOORMAN
keeps back the growing horde of REPORTERS.
Viktor's limousine waits at the curb. The coated woman
starts towards the car but Viktor holds her back.
VIKTOR
Not yet.
(scrutinizing the crowd)
Where's "Matinee"? There they are.
Okay, I think everyone's here.
Now!
Viktor and the young woman run the gauntlet to the car,
providing a perfect albeit restricted photo-op for the
paparazzi.
PHOTOGRAPHER 1
Simone!
ECHO PHOTOGRAPHER
Over here, sweetheart!
PHOTOGRAPHER 3
Come one Simone, take it off, baby!
PHOTOGRAPHER 4
We got a job to do!
The car door slams shut as the pack descends. MAX SAYER and
MILTON are amongst the frustrated reporters. The limo
screeches away. A POLICE MOTORCYCLIST prevents anyone
following.
The frustrated REPORTERS assess their efforts.
PHOTOGRAPHER 1
I think I got a piece of her ear.
ECHO PHOTOGRAPHER
I didn't get shit.
MILTON
(emerging from the pack,
to Max)
Ten feet from a living Goddess...
INT. MISS ENOMIS'S HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT
MAX SAYER pays off the CONCIERGE. His assistant, MILTON,
begins to collect "evidence" of the celebrity -- dusting for
fingerprints, etc. Max rubs pencil into the impression on
the bedside notepad revealing the message -- "The meaning of
life is that it ends".
MAX
(interrupting Milton's
work)
Leave me for a moment.
Milton and the Concierge depart.
Max is alone. He looks around the room.
A) MAX enters the bathroom. He picks up a drinking glass
and inspects it closely before placing it in a sealed
plastic bag.
B) MAX examines the wet soap from the shower and also places
it in a plastic bag.
C) MAX picks up the used toothbrush, puts it to his lips
before placing it in a plastic bag.
D) MAX gently places his hands on the toilet seat.
E) MAX enters the bedroom. He carefully removes a slip from
a pillow. He folds it meticulously, appearing to breathe
in its scent as he places it in a plastic bag.
F) Finally, MAX kneels and gazes at "Simone's" unmade bed.
He slowly slides into the bed and slips beneath the same
sheets recently vacated by Viktor.
INT. HALLWAY - OUTSIDE HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT
MILTON, ear pressed against the door, tries to listen inside.
INT. VIKTOR TARANSKY'S LIMOUSINE - NIGHT
VIKTOR and the COATED WOMAN have finally left the PAPARAZZI
in their wake. Viktor gently removes the coat from over her
head.
Although the woman is impossible beautiful, she is not
Simone. FAITH is Simone's latest stand-in and decoy. Viktor
and Faith are still pressed together against one side of the
limousine.
VIKTOR
(not quite able to avert
his eyes from her
telescopic legs)
Thank God for you, Faith. I know
this is above and beyond the call
of duty for a stand-in. You don't
know what a service you're
performing for Simone -- shielding
her from those animals.
FAITH
No, thank God for you, Mr.
Taransky. How many men would go
to so much trouble to protect a
woman?
Neither Viktor nor Faith seem inclined to move from their
intimate position.
VIKTOR
You understand you'll have to come
back to my place to keep them off
the, er...
(his nose close to Faith's
neck)
... scent.
FAITH
Of course.
VIKTOR
(meeting her gaze)
You look so, so...
FAITH
... so much like her?
VIKTOR
Yes, of course, but very beautiful
in your own right.
FAITH
I do find myself physically
attracted to you, Mr. Taransky.
Their lips are now tantalizingly close.
VIKTOR
Viktor.
INT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOUSE - NIGHT
VIKTOR'S HEAD hits the sofa in his living room, closely
followed by FAITH on top of him.
Faith tears at his clothes and her own, ravenous. Viktor
hardly resists. In the midst of the wild caresses, Faith
murmurs in his ear.
FAITH
Do whatever you do to Simone.
Viktor freezes.
VIKTOR
What?... What did you say?
FAITH
Do what you do to Simone.
VIKTOR
What I do to Simone?
FAITH
Yes, call me Simone.
VIKTOR
Simone?
FAITH
(still tearing at his
clothes)
Yes, yes, again, again. Do what
you do to Simone. I want to know
what it's like to be her just for
one night.
VIKTOR
(confused)
You're with me to be close to her?
FAITH
(panting)
Is that a problem?
As Viktor ponders the question, Faith begins to do Simone's
deathbed speech from "Sunrise, Sunset".
FAITH
"Why are we here? Is that what
you're asking, Jack?... Why are we
here? No why. Just here".
VIKTOR
(this is too much for
Viktor)
Please put your clothes on
Viktor gets up from the sofa, leaving the frustrated Faith to
straighten her clothes.
EXT. FUTURISTIC LANDSCAPE - "ETERNITY FOREVER" - DAY
The finished scene with SIMONE and HAL plays ON A SCREEN.
INT. SCREENING ROOM - STUDIO - DAY
VIKTOR watches the rough cut of "ETERNITY FOREVER" with
ELAINE and daughter, LAINEY. As usual, they are mesmerized
by the breath-taking beautiful SIMONE. The scene ends. The
light go up.
ELAINE
Stunning, Viktor. The Hollywood
Foreign Press is going to eat this
up.
VIKTOR
Thank you.
(turning to his daughter)
What did you think, Lainey?
LAINEY
One thing bothered me.
VIKTOR
I know, Hal is as stiff as always.
LAINEY
No, not that. I was just wondering
-- in the bedroom scene in reel two
why did Simone have no reflection
when she walked in front of that
mirror?
Viktor is shocked, busted. He covers it with a laugh.
VIKTOR
(ashen-faced)
I wondered if you'd spot that.
You've got a good eye, Lainey. I'm
proud of you.
Elaine looks at Viktor for an explanation.
VIKTOR
I got them to remove the
reflection. The mirror's metaphor
-- to show how her character's
inwardly dead.
ELAINE
That's genius, Viktor. Was that
Simone's idea?
VIKTOR
(sarcastic, annoyed at the
suggestion)
Who else? It's always Simone's
idea.
LAINEY
(not quite convinced)
So that accounts for the lack of a
shadow in reel six?
VIKTOR
Precisely.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - NIGHT
VIKTOR escorts ELAINE and LAINEY to Elaine's car parked
outside the theater.
LAINEY
(as she gets into the car)
Good-night, Daddy.
VIKTOR
(kissing Lainey good-bye)
Night, Lainey.
Elaine and Viktor linger a moment outside the car.
VIKTOR
(drawing Elaine aside)
Elaine, I don't know if it's a good
idea for Lainey to come to the
screenings -- mature content and
all that.
Both look to Lainey. From inside the car Lainey watches her
parents.
ELAINE
(impressed by his
responsible attitude)
Maybe you're right.
(gently teasing)
Twelve years after your daughter's
born you decide to become a father.
VIKTOR
Better late than never.
ELAINE
(softening)
I should fire you more often. The
film's looking wonderful.
VIKTOR
You really think so?
ELAINE
Yes. To be honest I never quite
saw this film before -- maybe it's
the way Simone is playing it -- but
what it's saying about the illusion
of permanence in everyday life, how
that's the only way we can love --
I think it's really going to mean
something.
VIKTOR
Thank you. I'll tell Simone you
liked it.
ELAINE
I'd love to tell her myself.
(cajoling)
When are you going to let me meet
her?
VIKTOR
Soon. Soon.
ELAINE
Everyone I know has met her,
Viktor.
VIKTOR
Everyone you know is lying.
ELAINE
(amused)
That's true.
They instinctively kiss, more affectionate than before.
However, their embrace is interrupted by a click of a camera
shutter from a nearby bush.
VIKTOR
Damnit!
The PHOTOGRAPHER has gone but so has the mood.
ELAINE
You know how you can stop that.
She has to get out more.
(climbing into the car)
See you at the premiere.
Elaine climbs into her car and drives away.
EXT. PREMIERE - DUSK
The premiere for "ETERNITY FOREVER" is everything VIKTOR had
hoped for "SUNRISE, SUNSET". Red carpet, klieg lights
searching the sky, screaming FANS and PAPARAZZI.
A limousine pulls up, door opens and VIKTOR steps out. The
crowd screams with excitement.
Viktor waves. Am expectancy in the crowd -- people crane
their necks, waiting for someone else to step out of the open
car door... but nothing. The door shuts. A disappointed
murmer. The limo drives off.
VIKTOR walks down the carpet to little fanfare.
PREMIERE REPORTER 1
(talking to camera)
-- What a night! Anyone who's
anyone is here at the premiere of
"Eternity Forever," but waiting for
Simone to show may take even
longer. We do have her director,
Viktor Taransky.
(ushering him over)
Viktor, Viktor, is Simone coming?
VIKTOR
(slightly irritated by the
focus on the star)
You know Simone.
Other reporters force their way into the interview.
PREMIERE REPORTER 2
I hope she does show up. Some of
her fans got here at dawn. We
don't want to disappoint them.
VIKTOR
(through a pained smile)
Well, I'm sure they're going to
love the movie. I got the
inspiration --
However, the reporter's attention has strayed.
PREMIERE REPORTER 2
HARRY EPSON!
The CAMERAS pivot away from Viktor. Screen idol, HARRY
EPSON, is walking up the carpet.
PREMIERE REPORTER 2
Harry! Harry! Can we have a
minute? What brings you here
tonight?
HARRY
(waving to the fans)
I just came out to support my good
friend, Simone.
PREMIERE REPORTER 2
There's a rumor that you're more
than just "good friends"?
HARRY
(slightly irritated by the
invasion)
We've been seeing each other, sure,
but we'd rather keep our
relationship private.
PREMIERE REPORTER 2
(believing she has a
scoop)
Do I hear the sound of... wedding
bells?
HARRY
(suddenly losing it)
I can't believe you people! No
wonder she never comes to these
things!
Harry angrily pushes the camera away and strides up the
carpet.
VIKTOR watches him go, flabbergasted.
EXT. PREMIERE PARTY - NIGHT
A packed, glitzy party. VIKTOR enters without an escort.
Despite his recent rise to prominence he appears strangely
alone.
He observes ELAINE, champagne in hand, and the younger KENT,
schmoozing with a group of industry MOVERS and SHAKERS.
MOVER/SHAKER
Elaine! The picture is a
revelation!
ELAINE
Thank you. I mean, it was a team
effort --
Viktor cannot resist taking Elaine's photo with a small
pocket camera. Elaine is unaware of the shot.
Viktor turns away -- just as Elaine turns to look at him.
Viktor picks up a drink from the bar. A DRUNK WOMAN, perched
unsteadily on a nearby barstool, is knocking back Jack
Daniels. She accidentally brushes one of her discarded
glasses off the bar. Viktor catches it.
A HAND taps Viktor on the shoulder. HAL stands there
accompanied by his "Eternity Forever" co-star, MAC.
HAL
Is she here?
VIKTOR
I'm fine, Hal. How are you?
HAL
(oblivious to his sarcasm)
Somebody said she was here.
Mac spots the two glasses in Viktor's hands -- one glass
lipstick-smeared.
MAC
Oh my God, that's her glass!
(impulsively smelling
"Simone's" glass)
Jack Daniels, straight-up. She is
my kind of woman.
HAL
(looking anxiously around
the room)
Viktor, where is she?
VIKTOR
She's around.
MAC
(dawning on him, glancing
to the far side of the
packed room)
Jesus, Hal... she's in the Ladies
Room.
HAL
You know I sometimes forget she has
bodily functions.
VIKTOR
(unable to resist)
I know what you mean.
HAL
(anxiously looking to the
restroom)
I have to talk to her about my
experimental film. It's very...
experimental.
MAC
Is that her? -- By the fountain.
Far across the party, a WOMAN, with a Simone-type hairstyle,
her back to us, is standing at the edge of a fountain.
VIKTOR
(testy)
No. In fact, between us, she
doesn't really exist.
HAL
(ignoring him, calling out
to the woman)
Simone!
MAC
SIMONE!
Several nearby GUESTS, including ELAINE, overhear. They talk
over each other.
GUEST 1
-- Simone's here!
ELAINE
(slightly the worse for
drink)
-- When did she arrive? Why didn't
someone tell me?
GUEST 2
-- Where is she?
MAC
-- She's by the fountain.
GUEST 3
-- Simone, over here!
GUEST 4
-- Simone!
The rumor races through the party like wild-fire. The GUESTS
surge towards the fountain in a wave of mindless adoration.
The Simone lookalike herself spins around.
LOOKALIKE WOMAN
Simone!
She gets knocked into the fountain. Several other GUESTS
also fall in the stampede.
Back at the bar, the BARMAN, autograph book in hand, deserts
his station. Viktor is left alone with the drunk woman.
LOCAL TV NEWS
The limousines outside the hotel ballroom have been replaced
with ambulances. PARAMEDICS tend to GUESTS, bloodied and
battered in the stampede caused by Simone's "appearance".
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
(into microphone)
-- Forget "Eternity Forever", the
big news tonight was the surprise
appearance of Simone. Even these
seen-it-all superstars are
apparently not immune to Simone
fever and the resulting stampede
forced organizers to bring the
event to an early end. I spoke
with some of the departing guests
about their encounter with
Hollywood's most reluctant
superstar.
CUTS of interviews with VARIOUS bruised GUESTS.
EXECUTIVE 3
-- I would say, even more beautiful
in person, you have to see her to
believe her.
MALE GUEST 1
-- I can't reveal what we spoke
about. It was... personal. Simone
and I go back a long way.
FEMALE GUEST 1
-- When she talks to you, for that
moment, you are the only other
human being in the room.
FEMALE GUEST 2
(dress torn)
-- I really don't know what the
fuss is about. So over-rated.
She's done one film. Talk to me
when she's had the kind of career
I've had.
MALE GUEST 2
-- I do expect her to be nominated,
yes.
We return to the live shot of the ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER.
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER
Fortunately, Simone was not amongst
the injured and was spirited away
as mysteriously as she arrived.
EXT. ECHO OFFICES - DAY
Max Sayer's car is parked outside of the Echo Building.
INT. ECHO OFFICES - DAY
In the ECHO war room, MAX SAYER is agitated. He paces back
and forth, railing at a table of cowering STAFFERS.
MAX
-- She goes to a major, Hollywood,
A-list party and we don't get an
interview, a comment, we don't even
get a photograph? Is that what
you're telling me?
ECHO PHOTOGRAPHER
Nobody got a photograph. Nobody
ever gets a photograph.
MILTON
We've got our best people on it,
Mr. Sayer.
MAX
24-hour tail on Taransky?
MILTON
Shutter bugs camped outside any
place he goes, every concierge and
maitre d' on the take. But this
Simone woman is good.
MAX
(referring to a
"Confidential" FBI
report)
Obviously the name isn't real --
she's using an assumed identity,
travels under a false name, checks
into hotels with an alias. She
never stays in the same place two
nights in a row. Anything on the
satellite photos?
(irritated)
What about the fingerprints? What
happened when we dusted that hotel
suite?
MILTON holds up a glass taken from the hotel.
MILTON
Well, we got some of Taransky's
fingerprints, a lot of your
fingerprints... but none of hers.
MAX
(interest piqued)
Which means they're significant.
(beat)
Incriminating.
(beat)
Perhaps, criminal.
(getting excited)
She's hiding her past. She's
hiding her past.
Max ponders the revelation.
MAX
Of course -- no one's that perfect,
that pure. You know I had
something on Mother Teresa. But
then she died and it wasn't worth
it anymore.
(approaching a computer)
I know how to flush out this Simone
-- a tell-all story from her
childhood.
MILTON
(impressed)
My God, you've got one?
MAX
(offering Milton a seat in
front of the computer)
I will when you're finished writing
it.
MILTON hesitates, questioning his journalistic ethics.
MAX
(disappointed in his
protege)
Am I wasting my time with you?
When she sues to protect her
privacy, she'll have to appear in a
public courtroom to do it.
MILTON
(under his breath)
Long live the First Amendment.
MAX
Sometimes you have to tell a small
lie to get to the bigger truth.
(to his nervous
photographer)
As for a photo -- if you can't do
it, I know twelve million people
who can.
CLOSE UP on The Echo magazine -- "CIRCULATION - 12 MILLION".
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY
"MILLION DOLLAR REWARD FOR PHOTO OF SIMONE!" -- Is the
headline on the cover of The ECHO. VIKTOR is reading the
magazine as he makes his way through the studio lot.
He looks up to see several studio carts parked outside his
soundstage. A group of STUDIO EXECUTIVES, led by ELAINE, is
trying to break into the "CLOSED SET". VIKTOR runs towards
the door, throwing himself between the door and the
executives.
VIKTOR
-- You can't go in there!
ELAINE
-- We have to talk to her, Viktor!
EXECUTIVE 1
-- We know she's in there!
Viktor glares at the SECURITY GUARD who shrugs weakly.
VIKTOR
(struggling to hold them
back)
-- Why? What's all this about?
EXECUTIVE 2
(waving a spreadsheet)
-- We've got the tracking numbers
for "Eternity Forever".
EXECUTIVE 3
-- They're in the toilet.
ELAINE
-- She has to get out there and
sell the film.
VIKTOR
-- What do you want her to do, go
door-to-door -- ?
EXECUTIVE 1
-- Even Garbo would be on the talk
show circuit if she was alive
today.
VIKTOR
(irritated)
-- It's precisely because she
doesn't crave the limelight that
people love her. I told you, she's
only about the work.
EXECUTIVE 3
-- This is over-shadowing the work!
EXECUTIVE 2
(waving the front page of
The Echo)
That's the problem. She's more
famous for her no-shows than her
shows.
ELAINE
-- It's starting to look like she
doesn't support the film or you,
Viktor.
(trying to squeeze past
Viktor)
If you can't handle her, I will.
VIKTOR
(blocking her path)
Not now. She's emotional. Her
mother dies today. Scene forty-two
of "Good For Nothing". It's not a
good time.
Elaine and the executives are not convinced, they overpower
Viktor.
VIKTOR
No! Please, don't go in there!
Too late. Elaine and the suits force the lock and enter.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
ELAINE and the EXECUTIVES stop in their tracks -- confronted
with the surreal sight of the lone computer station in the
vast soundstage. A desperate VIKTOR catches up with them.
EXECUTIVE 1
Where is she?
EXECUTIVE 2
She's not here.
VIKTOR
Elaine... I...
Elaine wanders over to the idle computer with a knowing
smile.
ELAINE
So, the secret's finally out,
Viktor.
VIKTOR
-- I can explain.
ELAINE
-- I don't think that's necessary.
I think it's perfectly clear. I
should have guessed -- it all makes
sense now... it's why she never
goes anywhere, never seen in
public...
Viktor lowers his head, resigned to his fate.
ELAINE
She's into computers.
Viktor looks up.
EXECUTIVE 1
(nodding in agreement)
Probably spends her whole life in
chat rooms.
EXECUTIVE 2
It's the one place she can be
herself.
EXECUTIVE 3
Anonymous.
Viktor seizes on the opportunity.
VIKTOR
(adopting a serious tone)
It's worse than you think. She's
extremely agoraphobic -- has a
morbid fear of people and germs.
In a way I'm relieved you... found
out.
The Executives are taken aback by the shocking revelation.
VIKTOR
The premiere was the first time
I've convinced her to venture out
and it just confirmed her worst
nightmares.
ELAINE
(concerned)
Viktor, you should have said
something.
VIKTOR
She doesn't want pity.
ELAINE
(seeing a new side of
Viktor)
You're so good to protect her like
this.
Viktor shrugs modestly.
VIKTOR
(to the Executives,
conceding)
I'll tell you what. I know how
much this means to you. I'll try
to get her to plug the film.
(beat)
I'm not promising anything but
maybe she'll do a talk show --
taped.
ELAINE
Oh, make it live -- please, Viktor.
VIKTOR
I'll try. Maybe live but remote.
She'll never go to them.
EXECUTIVE 1
We understand. Thank you, Viktor.
EXECUTIVE 2
Give her our best.
Satisfied, the Executives make their way out of the
soundstage.
EXECUTIVE 1
(aside to a colleague)
That agoraphobia -- it's like a
plague.
EXECUTIVE 2
It's out of control in Europe.
Viktor and Elaine are left alone.
VIKTOR
I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to
introduce you to Simone at the
premiere. There wasn't time with
the riot and everything.
(picking up a framed photo
from the work station)
But she wanted you to have this.
The photograph shows ELAINE, slightly inebriated at the
premiere, SIMONE standing slightly behind her.
ELAINE
She was there. She didn't by any
chance happen to mention me?
VIKTOR
She said you were very beautiful.
ELAINE
(flattered)
Really?
VIKTOR
(blurting out)
Elaine, what are you doing tonight?
Would you like to go somewhere --
dinner?
ELAINE
I'd love to. But aren't you
supposed to meet up with Simone?
VIKTOR
Oh, yes. Of course. Don't I
always?
Viktor watches Elaine make her way back to her studio cart.
Viktor realizes he is still holding a copy of the National
ECHO -- the headline, "MILLION DOLLAR REWARD FOR PHOTO OF
SIMONE"! Accompanied by a photo of intrepid reporter MAX
SAYER.
INT. SUPERMARKET - NIGHT
An unattended shopping cart, at the end of the frozen foods
aisle, begins to mysteriously roll towards us.
We discover VIKTOR, pulling the cart with fishing line, while
at the same time shooting it with a video camera.
INT. SUPERMARKET - NIGHT
Viktor's home video of the shopping cart plays on a TV.
However, now SIMONE is pushing the cart. She wears
sunglasses, her hair in curlers under a scarf. Simone takes
a Swanson Chicken Pot Pie out of a cabinet... then a box of
cereal off a display.
INT. ECHO OFFICES - DAY
MAX SAYER watches the video in his office, enraptured. He
rewinds the tape and replays the moment.
MAX
She likes Apple Jacks... just like
me...
Assistant MILTON enters. He looks ill.
MILTON
Mr. Sayer...
MAX
(irritated at being
interrupted)
What do you want -- ?
MILTON
Mr. Sayer, did we pay the million
bucks yet?
MAX
(never averting his eyes
from the screen)
-- Cashier's check went out to our
anonymous tipster this morning --
worth every penny too. Who says
there's no place for checkbook
journalism? We'll be running
stills of this for months, then
release the whole tape -- we'll get
our money back -- maybe show it on
an exclusive pay-per-view event.
Do you realize what we have here?
We have the only independent
footage of Simone in existence.
MILTON
We used to.
Max's head snaps around.
MILTON
(holding a copy of the
L.A. Times Calendar
section - "Simone Live")
She's doing Frank Brand on
Thursday.
Max coughs.
MAX
Get out.
A TV
The opening credits to "FRANK BRAND LIVE", a global cable
show plays against a starscape -- images of famous
politicians and world leaders interviewed by Frank.
FRANK BRAND
(to camera)
Tonight on Frank Brand Live --
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
ELAINE, KENT and LAINEY watch the TV interview in Elaine's
mansion with eager anticipation.
FRANK BRAND
-- Since taking the nation by storm
with her debut movie, "Sunrise,
Sunset"...
INT. MAX SAYER'S OFFICE - THE ECHO - DAY
MAX SAYER and assistant MILTON are also glued to their set.
FRANK BRAND
... no one's managed to land a live
TV interview with the fabulous, new
shooting starlet, Simone... until
now.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
Casually tacked up on the monitor is the MILLION DOLLAR CHECK
from The ECHO.
VIKTOR, face and body scanned by the computer, is making a
final test of his equipment. When he touches his hair, bats
his eyes, moves his hands -- so does Simone.
VIKTOR frantically tests several different backgrounds behind
SIMONE from a library of images. Rainforest. Desert. Ritzy
hotel suite. Moonscape. Factory.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Make up your mind, Viktor. Make up
your mind.
He settles on the desert location.
He also make a last-second change to Simone's wardrobe --
selecting "TOO-TIGHT SWEATER".
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - NIGHT
FRANK BRAND talks to camera.
FRANK BRAND
I'm happy to say she's agreed to
join us tonight from the set of her
new film.
(turning to the TV
monitor)
Welcome, Simone.
The just-completed image of SIMONE appears on Brand's
monitor.
SIMONE
Wonderful to be with you, Frank.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
KENT, referring to Simone, forgetting or not caring that
Elaine is in the room.
KENT
She is all woman.
LAINEY shoots her mother's boyfriend a withering look. She
gets up and leaves the room.
During the interview we cut between Frank Brand's studio,
Viktor's soundstage and various viewer locations including
Elaine's mansion, Max Sayer's office and various worldwide
locations --
A) A lone AFGHANI SHEPHERD gazing at a Watchman.
B) A JAPANESE COUPLE watching TV in a capsule hotel room.
C) A CATHOLIC CARDINAL watching TV in the Vatican.
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - NIGHT
FRANK BRAND
Well, no one could accuse you of
being over-exposed, Simone. Why
have you stayed so completely out
of the limelight?
SIMONE
(shrugs)
I just think actors talk too much.
Does the world really want to hear
your life story just because you've
got a movie opening Friday?
FRANK BRAND
Of course, the only problem with
shying away from publicity these
days is that it tends to attract
more.
VIKTOR is in his element, his effeminate gestures
frighteningly convincing.
SIMONE
(from TV)
Don't I know it. That's the only
reason I'm here now -- to put the
attention back where it belongs, on
Mr. Taransky's film.
FRANK BRAND
You don't secretly want the
attention?
SIMONE
I'm not even sure I deserve it.
After tonight I'll have almost as
much screen time on your show as I
do in my movies. How is that
healthy for a performer?
IE. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
LAINEY has turned her back on the TV screen, preferring to
look through a book.
SIMONE
(from TV)
Because, you have to understand,
Frank, these interviews -- none of
this is real. Who I am on screen
and who I really am are two totally
different people.
FRANK BRAND
Who are you really?
SIMONE
That's a good question.
(beat)
As Nietzsche said, "Whenever a man
strives long and hard to appear
someone else..."
LAINEY
(reading from a bookmarked
page, along with Simone)
"... he ends up finding it is
difficult to be himself again."
FRANK BRAND
Well put.
Lainey regards the name written on the inside page -- "Viktor
Taransky".
INT. MAX SAYER'S OFFICE - THE ECHO - DAY
TV playing in the background, MAX and MILTON are hurriedly
leafing through travel books and scrutinizing maps.
MAX
(focusing on the desert
background behind Simone)
I know where that is... I know...
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - NIGHT
FRANK BRAND
Change of topic. Simone, you've
been romantically linked to dozens
of men in the press -- Mick Jagger,
Stephen Hawking, Fidel Castro...
and most recently Viktor Taransky.
Is there a Mr. Right in there
somewhere?
SIMONE
I'd rather not discuss my private
life.
(gently)
But Viktor and I are inseparable.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
ELAINE's face drops, slightly hurt.
KENT
You dog, Viktor!
SIMONE
(from TV)
I literally wouldn't be here today
without him.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR accidentally taps his finger on the keyboard in his
excitement -- the cursor aimed at "TEARS" command. SIMONE'S
EYES start to well with tears -- a tear spills from her eye.
FRANK BRAND
Would you like a moment, Simone?
Viktor notices, quickly withdrawing his finger -- his
startled expression instantly imitated by Simone.
SIMONE
No, I'm okay.
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - NIGHT
FRANK BRAND
Let's talk about the work that you
care so much about.
SIMONE
Sure. Where would you like to
start?
FRANK BRAND
How about the nudity?
SIMONE
Nudity has just never been an issue
for me, Frank. For me, clothes are
just an option.
FRANK BRAND
What exactly was it that attracted
you to your first two projects?
SIMONE
(unable to resist a smile)
I suppose the thing I like most
about the movies I'm in is that
they're not about special effects.
Frank nods sagely.
FRANK BRAND
They're better for it if I may say.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
The smile is suddenly wiped off VIKTOR's face by a blinking
alert:
!!INSUFFICIENT MEMORY TO COMPLETE THIS TASK!!
The pixels that form SIMONE start to break up. Curiously, it
is only Simone and not the background that is disintegrating.
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - NIGHT
FRANK BRAND
(regarding the screen)
Well, we appear to be experiencing
satellite difficulties. In case we
lose you, Simone, I want to thank
you --
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR speaks again, his voice suddenly deeper.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Thank... YOU, FRANK.
In horror Viktor hurriedly pulls the plug. The feed goes
blank on Frank Brand's screen.
VIKTOR slumps over his computer in exhaustion. Since SIMONE
is still synced to his movements, the partially de-pixelated
Simone also slumps.
Viktor's cell phone rings. Viktor picks up.
VIKTOR / SIMONE
Hel--
He remembers at the last second to switch off his voice
synthesizer.
VIKTOR
(into phone)
Hello.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
We cut between the two sides of the conversation -- ELAINE on
the phone, KENT still watching post-interview analysis on the
TV.
ELAINE
-- Viktor, are you with her? Is
she there?
VIKTOR
No.
An anxious beat.
ELAINE
Are you and Simone...
(blurting it out)
... getting married?
VIKTOR
(taken aback by the
suggestion)
No, of course not!
(realizing the
significance of the
question)
Why? Would you care if we were?
ELAINE
(covering, realizing she
has given herself away)
Well, yes. From a studio point of
view, it would be better if Simone
stayed single.
(quick change of topic)
Anyhow, I thought she came across
great tonight. Intelligent, well
informed, a natural. And touching.
She was spectacular.
VIKTOR
Thank you.
A pause.
ELAINE
Viktor, do you realize you always
do that?
VIKTOR
Do what?
ELAINE
Whenever I compliment Simone, you
take the credit.
VIKTOR
I do?
ELAINE
Yes, you do...
(shrug)
Anyway, tonight was a good start.
VIKTOR
Excuse me? Start?
ELAINE
It's a crowded summer. We need
every photo-opp, sound-byte and
column inch we can get. Good
night, Viktor.
Elaine hangs up. Lainey approaches.
LAINEY
(carefully broaching the
subject)
Mom, do you miss Dad?
ELAINE
(she thinks)
Sometimes. But, just when I think
your father's changing for the
better, I realize he's as self
absorbed as ever. He took the
credit for Simone tonight.
Lainey, coming to her father's defense, glancing at the
Nietzsche book in her hand.
LAINEY
I think Dad deserves more credit
than he gets.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - LATER THAT NIGHT
VIKTOR watches SIMONE on screen. He is unusually anxious.
As usual SIMONE is wearing a skimpy, provocative outfit as
she awaits instructions on the screen. For some reason
Viktor becomes irritated by the image.
VIKTOR
(to Simone)
Will you cover yourself up!?
He hits a button. A thick WOOL COAT clicks over her body.
EXT. NEW MEXICO DESERT - MORNING
The ECHO newscar streaks through the bronze and purple
desert. MAX and his assistant MILTON emerge from the car.
MAX
-- I've been here before! -- On my
honeymoon with my ex-wife.
MILTON
Is that why she left you?
Max holds a video print of SIMONE giving her FRANK BRAND
interview. He compares her desert location to the one in
front of him.
MAX
(pointing out a Joshua
tree)
You see, that's the exact same tree
and in the distance, there's the...
(voice trailing away)
... mountain.
Sure enough, the Joshua tree is identical but the mountain is
now obscured by a ten-story Holiday Inn.
Max and Milton are mystified -- they look back at the photo.
MILTON
It's a hotel.
MAX
I don't understand.
MILTON
Could they have built that hotel
since yesterday?
Max shakes his head, deeply concerned.
MAX
Get in the car.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT
VIKTOR has transformed his soundstage into a one-man
publicity machine. The floor is littered with photographs of
SIMONE in various states of dress and undress.
Using a sophisticated Photoshop computer program, VIKTOR
constructs magazine spreads out of numerous previous magazine
spreads -- "Time", "People", "Us", "Life", "Popular
Mechanics".
VIKTOR
(angrily into phone)
-- We don't do the photo shoot, you
don't get the cover... written
answers to written questions,
that's right... website interviews,
no problem.
Viktor calls up a "DANCE OPTION". Choosing from a HULA
DANCER, a BELLY DANCER and a CLASSICAL BALLERINA, he removes
Simone's head and places it on the body of the ballerina.
She begins to dance for him.
He uses a program to construct childhood photographs of
SIMONE and other childhood memorabilia.
He employs backgrounds from numerous on-line library sources.
With a quick cut and paste he is able to place Simone on a
beach in San Tropez or a bicycle factory in Calcutta.
VIKTOR
(muttering to himself)
You want exposure, Elaine? I'll
give you over-exposure...
INT. ELAINE'S OFFICE - STUDIO - DAY
ELAINE watches TV in her office. She cannot change channels
without finding Simone sitting in a chair giving generic
answers.
INT. SIMONE INTERVIEW SET - DAY (ON ELAINE'S TV)
SIMONE
I think "Eternity Forever" is my
finest work.
SIMONE
I'm most proud of my work in
"Eternity Forever".
SIMONE
I think people are going to love
"Eternity Forever".
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT
VIKTOR inspects a cut-out photograph of Simone in "ETERNITY
FOREVER" costume. He speaks to the photo.
VIKTOR
Forgive me, Simone.
EXT. FASTFOOD RESTAURANT - DAY
The photograph of Simone is emblazoned on a fast food drink
cup -- a pyramid of cups promoting "ETERNITY FOREVER" Happy
Meals. Beneath the plastic pyramid is a SIMONE action figure
in a convertible.
INT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU BEACH HOUSE - DAY
"ETERNITY FOREVER" HAS BIG FUTURE AT B.O.!
Screams the banner headline in "Variety".
$$$IMONE - WINS 6TH WEEKEND IN A ROW
Shouts the "Hollywood Reporter".
The trade papers sit on the coffee table in front of VIKTOR
who reclines on a leather sofa, watching TV, gazing lovingly
at Simone.
INT. SIMONE INTERVIEW SET - DAY (ON VIKTOR'S TV)
SIMONE
Of course, being a movie star is
wonderful, but I have so many other
ways I want to express myself --
INT. BOOKSTORE - DAY
Various book titles are on display:
"SIMONE'S FAVORITE SOUTHERN RECIPES"
"HUMAN:KIND - The POETRY of SIMONE"
"SIMONE'S 101 WAYS TO JOY"
EXT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY
A banner in a window reads. "In Stock: SIMONE'S EASY-WEAR
FASHION". Mannequins model the clothes.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
We focus on the screen where VIKTOR types in instructions:
SEARCH: "NUMBER 1 HITS - FEMALE ARTISTS/BILLBOARD CHARTS"
PERIOD: "LAST 40 YEARS"
A list of the Number 1 hits for the last forty years promptly
appears on the screen along with photographs of the
artists --
PATSY CLINE, ELLA FITZGERALD, ARETHA FRANKLIN, JANICE JOPLIN,
CAROL KING, WHITNEY HOUSTON, MADONNA, etc. Beneath the title
of each song is a graphic representation of the music --
"PITCH" and "RESONANCE".
Viktor presses a button: "MORPH". The audio waves converge.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR, wearing headphones, records his composite pop song.
As usual when he sings into his microphone, Simone also
sings. The catchy song is titled: "(If You Can't Believe In
Yourself) Believe In Me".
SIMONE APPEARS IN A MUSIC VIDEO.
INT. RECORD STORE - DAY
The video for SIMONE's song plays on the video wall inside
the record store. TEENAGE GIRLS, buying CD's, dance
adoringly in front of the screen, unaware that they are
gyrating to the vocals of a middle-aged man.
INSERT - "(If You Can't Believe In Yourself) Believe In Me"
shoots up the Billboard charts.
EXT. OCEAN - DAY
CLOSE UP on the name "SIMONE" painted on the stern of a
luxury yacht.
VIKTOR is at the helm, breathing in the clean air -- at last
a moment to savor his success. Simone's hit single plays on
the yacht's stereo. He looks at peace.
EXT. MARINA - DAY
A TOURIST has his arm around SIMONE, having his photograph
taken. However, we discover that the Simone is only a
lifesize cardboard cutout used by a STREET VENDOR to sell
snapshots. He also has cardboard cutouts of the POPE and
ELVIS.
MAX SAYER and MILTON walk by.
Tying up his boat, VIKTOR's mood is abruptly shattered by the
sight of Max and Milton walking down the pier towards him.
MAX
Nice boat, Taransky.
VIKTOR
It's a yacht.
MAX
I know what you're up to.
VIKTOR
(pushing past Max)
I don't have time for this, Sayer.
MAX
I think you do.
(holding up his video
print of Simone in the
desert)
I know it's a fake.
Viktor freezes.
MAX
Got your attention now?
Max compares the shot to one of the current desert location
with the Holiday Inn in front of the mountain.
MAX
(referring to the
photographs)
It's bogus. You used an old
library shot for the background.
VIKTOR
(ashen)
The background is.
MAX
She was never in New Mexico. She
never left the studio.
Viktor is relieved that Max is only accusing him of faking
the background.
MAX
(referring to a large
bundle of other shots
under his arm)
I've done my homework. I've
studied her.
VIKTOR
-- I bet you have.
MAX
-- I've looked at every piece of
publicity she's ever done, the
video in the supermarket, there's
no evidence she's ever left the
studio.
(afterthought)
Oh, and for some reason this woman
leaves no paper trail. But I have
"obtained" a copy of your bank
accounts. I know you have power of
attorney but so far you haven't
transferred one single solitary
cent to her.
VIKTOR
I'm keeping it in trust.
MAX
I know that's what you'd like us to
believe. But I got to tell you --
embezzlement is a serious matter.
Not to mention abduction.
VIKTOR
Abduction?
MAX
I don't buy the whole recluse scam.
How are you doing it? What is it --
drugs? Blackmail? Mind-control?
All three? What do you do -- keep
her locked in a box somewhere?
Viktor flinches at the remark.
VIKTOR
What is it exactly you want, Sayer?
MAX
I want to see her. Unless you show
me Simone live and in person I show
these pictures to the authorities.
Viktor pauses, considering the threat.
VIKTOR
Alright, Sayer, you've got a deal.
MAX
Er,... good.
MILTON
That's good.
Viktor walks away leaving Max confused.
The breeze whips the photos of SIMONE out of Max's hands and
into the sea.
INT. CONCERT STADIUM - DUSK
A vast, empty stadium. On the stage, a lone microphone.
VIKTOR approaches, gazing out at the vast arena. Several
PROMOTERS and TECHNICIANS join him.
PROMOTER
All ready, Mr. Taransky. This time
tomorrow night, she'll be standing
right here in front of a packed
house. We could have sold it out
twenty times.
Viktor nods.
TECHNICIAN
Soundcheck went perfect. Laser
show ready to go.
(cautionary note)
I gotta say, you ordered an awful
lot of smoke.
VIKTOR
That's the way she likes it.
The Promoter glancing to the area in front of the stage,
where a barrier has been erected.
PROMOTER
After what you told us about the
death threats, the security guards
are under strict instructions never
to take their eyes off the crowd.
VIKTOR
Excellent.
Viktor hands each man a headshot of SIMONE signed with a
kiss.
VIKTOR
Simone wanted you to have these.
TECHNICIAN
(visibly moved by the
gesture)
Wish her luck from us.
VIKTOR
Oh, I will.
(afterthought)
Remember, no cameras, no
binoculars.
EXT. STADIUM - NIGHT
In the shadow of the enormous stadium sits a control
truck/tour bus, satellite dishes on the roof -- the lights
from the laser-show inside the arena play off the truck. The
control truck shakes from the stomping of the crowd.
CROWD
... SI-MONE! SI-MONE! SI-MONE!...
The door to the truck is marked, "SIMONE - Splendid Isolation
Tour. NO ENTRY".
INT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
VIKTOR sits alone at the mixing panel of a control truck. On
his monitors, a sea of humanity, chanting.
CROWD
... SI-MONE! SI-MONE! SI-MONE!...
Viktor produces the "SIMULATION ONE" hard-drive from his
jacket pocket and inserts it into the computer.
SIMONE appears on the monitor.
VIKTOR
Let's get you into hair and make
up.
Simone's hair rapidly grows in a number of styles, eyelashes
grow and are trimmed, eyeshadow of various shades paints
across the lids.
VIKTOR
Wardrobe.
Viktor tries several outfits on Simone -- the clothes
appearing to fabricate themselves on her body. He settles
for the most provocative outfit.
Finger poised over the keyboard, Viktor glances to a monitor
showing --
INT. STADIUM - CROWD - NIGHT
ELAINE and LAINEY amongst the crowd, clapping their hands,
stomping their feet and chanting.
INT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
VIKTOR
Easier to make one hundred thousand
believe than just one.
He scrolls to a program, marked "HOLOGRAM" and pushes the
"ENTER" key.
INT. STADIUM - CONCERT STAGE - NIGHT
Smoke fills the stage. A strobe light show plays. A booming
ANNOUNCER is heard.
ANNOUNCER
Ladies and gentlemen, Viktor
Taransky Promotions is proud to
present, live on stage, for the
debut concert of the "Splendid
Isolation" tour, the one, the only,
SI-MONE!
A spotlight falls on the solitary figure of Simone, standing
alone on the stage with a guitar over her shoulder (the only
accompaniment) -- dwarfed by the huge stage. However, on
closer inspection, the spotlight is actually a laser beam
creating a hologram. Clouds of smoke and strobe lighting aid
the illusion.
The only clear view of Simone for the audience is provided by
the enormous video screens on either side of the stage. The
CROWD stares up at the jumbotrons, blissfully unaware that
they are watching a pre-recorded event. Some watch the event
on portable TVs.
INT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
CLOSE UP on the computer screen. VIKTOR scrolls down a list
of options -- "... HOUSTON, MIAMI, NEW YORK, L.A...."
SIMONE
(from on stage)
I love you...
He selects "L.A.".
SIMONE
... L.A.
The crowd roars its approval.
SIMONE
It's great to be here.
INT. STADIUM - CONCERT STAGE - NIGHT
SIMONE -- her voice a seamless blend of several DIVAS --
begins to sing her hit song, "(If You Can't Believe In
Yourself) Believe In Me". A verse of the song is sung in
perfect Spanish.
EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS - NIGHT/DAY
A) On a jumbotron in Tokyo SIMONE's concert plays LIVE.
B) On a TV set on a West African beach, children dance to
SIMONE.
C) On a computer in a Bombay taxi, the driver and his
passengers gyrate to SIMONE webcast.
INT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
VIKTOR's face is reflected in a monitor showing a frenzied
crowd gazing up at the jumbotron -- singing along, many in
tears, overcome with emotion -- holding cigarette lighters
aloft. For a moment Viktor is in awe of his own wizardry --
the grand illusionist. Viktor is at the height of his
powers.
VIKTOR
(to the image of Simone on
his screen)
I don't know about you, Simone, but
I've never felt more alive.
He snaps back to reality just in time to notice that the
Simone hologram beam has wandered through her own microphone
stand.
VIKTOR
Damn!
He adjusts the beam -- the rapturous crowd, transfixed by the
TV screen, apparently fails to notice.
INT. STADIUM - CROWD - NIGHT
We focus on a face in the crowd -- MAX SAYER. His
journalistic assignment temporarily forgotten, Max is singing
along and waving his arms, tears rolling down his face, swept
up in the moment.
INT. STADIUM - CONCERT STAGE - NIGHT
SIMONE finishes her final number.
SIMONE
Good-night. Never stop believing.
EXT. STADIUM - EXIT - NIGHT
A bin contains dozens of confiscated cameras and binoculars.
FANS exit the stadium through a tunnel.
S-I-M-O-N-E is spelt out on the bare chests of six TEENAGE
BOYS. Other FANS wear "SIMONE - Splendid Isolation Tour"
T-shirts and carry posters. Several CONCERT GOERS speak to a
TV NEWS CREW.
FAN 1
-- I swear, she looked right at me.
FAN 2
-- She was, like, ethereal.
FAN 3
-- One moment she seemed to walk
right through her mike stand like
it wasn't even there.
INT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
The chanting crowd can be heard exiting. VIKTOR, wearing
lipstick is hastily signing a pile of souvenir programs with
Simone's signature kiss.
He is interrupted by a knock at the door. Viktor irritably
opens it.
VIKTOR
I said I didn't want to be
interrupt --
EXT. CONTROL TRUCK - BACKSTAGE - NIGHT
ELAINE and LAINEY stand at the foot of the trailer, a
SECURITY GUARD nearby.
VIKTOR
(face brightening)
My two favorite girls.
ELAINE
Lainey and I just wanted to
congratulate...
Regarding Viktor closely, Elaine's smile evaporates.
ELAINE
... Simone.
VIKTOR
She's lying down. She's exhausted.
ELAINE
(suddenly cool)
I can imagine.
Viktor is confused by their reaction. Elaine yanks Lainey
away.
ELAINE
Thank Simone for the tickets.
LAINEY
(calling back as she is
led away)
It was a great show, Dad...
Viktor waves disconcertedly.
VIKTOR
Where are you... going?
As he returns to the trailer, Viktor catches sight of his
lipstick-smeared mouth in the mirror on the inside of the
trailer door. He slams the side of the trailer in
frustration.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - NIGHT
ELAINE paces back and forth in front of her TV showing re-
runs of the SIMONE concert. KENT cannot take his eyes off
the screen.
ELAINE
I can't believe she's doing this --
taking advantage of him this way.
It's cruel.
KENT
Why?
ELAINE
Obviously, this can't last. She's
going to dump him. Viktor won't be
able to take that. He's too
sensitive. It'll destroy him.
KENT
Elaine, do you realize you can't
stop talking about Viktor?
ELAINE
(not hearing)
I have to talk to her.
Kent switches off the TV.
KENT
I've been meaning to talk to you.
Behind the open door, we find LAINEY eavesdropping.
EXT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOUSE - BEACH - DAY
VIKTOR, deep in thought, stands at the water's edge, staring
at the breaking waves. LAINEY joins him.
VIKTOR
Hey, Lainey.
(gently teasing her)
How's your love life?
LAINEY
I do okay. How about you?
VIKTOR
You know me -- married to my work.
LAINEY
I noticed.
An awkward silence.
LAINEY
Dad, you know I don't like to get
between you and mom but she's
feeling down right now. She broke
up with Kent.
VIKTOR
(buoyed by the news)
Really? Too bad.
LAINEY
She thinks you're with Simone.
VIKTOR
Lainey, you know Simone and I don't
have a real relationship.
LAINEY
I know but Mom doesn't. Maybe if
it came from Simone, if Simone
spoke to Mom -- she could
straighten things out.
(shrug)
Dinner, maybe.
VIKTOR
Dinner? Dinner's difficult. A
phone call?
LAINEY
Too impersonal. They have to meet
face-to-face.
VIKTOR
I'll see what I can do.
(a thought occurs)
You know, Lainey. I don't believe
you've ever once asked to meet
Simone. Don't you like her?
LAINEY
I love her but that doesn't mean I
need to meet her.
Viktor is confused.
LAINEY
Why? So I can tell my friends at
school -- as if that validates my
life somehow. What's Simone going
to say to a fourteen-year-old
anyhow? She's going to be polite
because you're my father but we're
not suddenly going to become
friends -- we have nothing in
common. It's not going to be real.
Anyhow, she gets more beautiful in
my head every day. Why kill the
dream? What do they say, "don't
get too close to your idols, they
always disappoint you".
Viktor gazes in wonder at his daughter, so much wiser than
her years.
VIKTOR
I love you, Lainey.
LAINEY
I love you too, daddy.
A car horn sounds outside the house.
LAINEY
That's Mom.
(kissing him on the
forehead)
See you.
She exits, leaving Viktor deep in thought.
EXT. LOS ANGELES FREEWAY - DAY
Milli Vanilli's "GIRL YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE" plays on a car
radio. ELAINE, wearing a red power suit, drives home along
the freeway in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Her car phone
rings. She turns down the radio and picks up.
ELAINE
Hello?
SIMONE
Hello, is this Elaine?
ELAINE
Yes -- oh my, God. Is that you,
Simone?! I've been wanting to talk
to you.
SIMONE
Well, here I am.
(beat)
You look pretty today. Red suits
you.
ELAINE
(looking around the
freeway)
Where are you?
SIMONE
Right beside you. I borrowed
Viktor's car.
Elaine looks to the inside lane. SIMONE, wearing sunglasses,
phone to her ear, drives alongside. Simone waves, somewhat
mechanically. Elaine waves back. They keep driving as they
talk.
INT. VIKTOR'S CAR - DAY
The sunglasses-clad SIMONE is a mannequin, seated in the
driver's seat with her left hand on the phone obscuring her
mouth, right hand attached to the steering wheel.
Seat fully-reclined on the passenger side, VIKTOR drives the
car by stretching a foot across to the pedals and steering
with one hand, occasionally sneaking a glance to the road
ahead. He speaks on a phone through the Simone synthesizer.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
I'd love to stop somewhere but I'm
late. I'm on my way to see Viktor
now.
ELAINE
No, I understand. That's what I
want to talk about. I don't know
if you know this, Simone, but
Viktor and I were married once.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
I can't imagine how you ever let a
man like that go. I owe Viktor
everything.
ELAINE
I think he owes more to you. But
that's not important now. I know
what's going on between you two.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
I want to reassure you, Elaine,
there's absolutely nothing going on
between Viktor and I.
ELAINE
(rueful smile)
You don't have to protect my
feelings, Simone. I don't blame
Viktor for falling in love with the
most desirable woman in the world.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(breaking character)
I'm not --
(correcting himself)
He's not.
Viktor, losing concentration on his driving, drifts across
his lane, almost striking Elaine's car -- swerving back at
the last second.
ELAINE
My God, are you alright, Simone?
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Damn --
(struggling to stay in
her/his lane)
Yes -- I --
(regaining control)
-- I'm just a little tired.
Listen, Elaine, Viktor and I --
it's strictly a working
relationship. We could never be
anything else. We're just so...
different.
ELAINE
Exactly. You're a household name
now. You're moving in entirely
different worlds. That's why I
hope you're not toying with Viktor.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
It sounds like you still have
feelings for him.
ELAINE
We have a daughter together. I
just don't want to see Viktor get
hurt.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
I don't know how many times I have
to say this, Elaine, but Viktor and
I are not in love.
(joking weakly)
I only make love to the camera.
ELAINE
Simone, I recognize the shirt
you're wearing. I gave it to
Viktor on his birthday.
Over-correcting his steering, Viktor drifts into the next
lane, dangerously close to a pick-up truck that has to swerve
to avoid him.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Christ --
(still struggling to stay
on the road)
Elaine, I know how it looks but...
(blurting it out)
... it would mean a lot to Viktor
if you'd go with him to the Oscars.
If you won't do it for him, please
do it for me.
ELAINE
(reluctant, frightened by
Simone's erratic driving)
Okay -- for you.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
(sigh of relief)
Thanks. This is my exit so, I --
ELAINE
I'm glad we talked.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
Good-bye.
Viktor's car swerves to the right. Elaine looks back in her
rearview mirror, concerned.
Elaine just misses the sight of VIKTOR's car rear-ending the
truck in front of him.
EXT. FREEWAY SHOULDER - LATER IN THE DAY
VIKTOR anxiously watches a HIGHWAY PATROLMAN writing up the
fender-bender. However, the Patrolman is more interested in
the Simone mannequin.
PATROLMAN
You don't have to explain. I know
what the press is like. Lunatics.
Out of control.
(referring to the Simone
mannequin)
You do know I'm going to have to
take this?
INT. ACADEMY AWARDS - AUDITORIUM - NIGHT
VIKTOR, in his tuxedo, sits in the front row of the packed
auditorium beside an empty seat -- "RESERVED for SIMONE".
ELAINE and LAINEY sit alongside -- LOTUS and MAC nearby.
HAL stands at the transparent plastic podium with the "Best
Actress" envelope.
HAL
And the winner is...
Hal tears the envelope's seal, momentarily confused as he
reads the name.
HAL
Actually, there's a tie.
The AUDIENCE gasps.
HAL
(milking the moment for
all it's worth)
The winners are... Simone for
"Sunrise, Sunset"...
The audience cheers enthusiastically, but Hal stills their
applause.
HAL
(big smile)
... and Simone for "Eternity
Forever".
The audience erupts. Viktor accepts the congratulations of
those around him.
HAL
Unfortunately, Simone can't be with
us tonight.
(turning to the screen)
But thanks to the miracle of modern
technology she is able to join us
live via satellite from the
location of her new film.
The screen flickers to life.
ON SCREEN - A DESOLATE WASTELAND - DAY
SIMONE sits in a director's chair in the desolate wasteland
location chosen by Viktor.
SIMONE
Thank you! Thank you! This means
so much to me. I'm just sorry I
can't be there with you.
(wiping away a tear)
First off I have to acknowledge my
fellow nominees -- I don't even
feel I belong in the best actress
category let alone with these...
wonderful human beings.
(composing herself)
I also have to thank my co-stars,
the studio, of course. But most of
all, I have to thank the audience
for supporting what I do -- you're
the only reason I'm here.
The CROWD applauds wildly.
LAINEY is puzzled. She leans over to Viktor.
LAINEY
Why didn't she thank you?
VIKTOR
(confused)
She did... didn't she?
ELAINE
(crestfallen)
No.
Viktor glances to the "Simone" sign beside him. The blood
drains from his face.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - MORNING
On the monitor, SIMONE reads the forgotten line from the
speech.
SIMONE
... And of course I must thank my
collaborator, Viktor Taransky,
without whom none of this would be
possible.
VIKTOR, still in his tuxedo, stares at SIMONE on the screen.
He holds the text of Simone's acceptance speech in his hands.
VIKTOR
(to himself)
It's written right there... Why
didn't I say it?... How could I
forget to say it?
Simone stares back at him blankly.
A copy of VARIETY is slid under the soundstage door. The
front page headline, "NO THANK YOU - Simone Snubs Taransky At
Oscars".
INT. VIKTOR'S CAR - NIGHT
VIKTOR pulls up to the gate of his Malibu home. MAX is
standing outside next to his car.
VIKTOR
Damn it!
EXT. VIKTOR'S MALIBU HOME - NIGHT
VIKTOR also spies an OLD WOMAN in a wheelchair sitting beside
the car, MILTON closeby. Viktor stops at the gate and
reluctantly exits his car.
VIKTOR
What now, Sayer?
MAX
(smug smile, noticing
Viktor noticing the
woman)
Looks familiar, doesn't she? No
one comes from nowhere, Taransky.
You turn over enough rocks...
The old woman appears drugged, stares into space.
MAX
I traced her to a nursing home. A
young woman fitting Simone's
description dropped her off five
years ago.
VIKTOR
She looks a lot like you.
MAX
(undeterred)
She hasn't uttered a word that
whole time -- until she saw the big
show.
Max produces a shot of SIMONE at the Oscars and holds it in
front of the old lady.
OLD LADY
(pointing to Simone's
picture, catatonic)
My baby... My baby...
MAX
(putting his hand on his
heart)
Who would think that "Saint Simone"
would abandon her own mother? I've
been looking into the family
history -- heartbreaking. Most
likely a biography to run over four
issues... who knows, maybe there's
a Pulitzer in there somewhere.
Viktor produces his own driver's license and holds it in
front of the old lady.
OLD LADY
(pointing to Viktor's face
on the driver's license)
My baby... My baby...
Max hastily steps between Viktor and the Old Lady.
MAX
That doesn't prove a thing -- wait
until I get a court order for a
blood test.
VIKTOR
(sensing an opportunity)
That won't be necessary.
(pretending to be
resigned)
Sooner or later I knew you'd crack
this thing, Max. You got me.
MAX
I do?
(recovering)
Sure I do.
(taking Viktor aside)
Can we speak off the record? I'm a
fair man. I'm willing to sit down
with her and tell her side of the
story.
VIKTOR
I wouldn't want you to compromise
your ethics.
MAX
No. Thanks. Absolutely.
Viktor regards the newshound with a look of pity.
VIKTOR
You love her, don't you, Max?
MAX
Don't you?
VIKTOR
(writes a check, hands it
to Max)
This should take care of Mother.
Viktor drives into his home. Max, very confused, stares at
the old lady.
EXT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR escorts LAINEY, blindfolded, around the corner of his
soundstage. He removes the blindfold. From Lainey's point-
of-view we see the sportscar Simone drove in "ETERNITY
FOREVER" -- the car tied with a bow.
VIKTOR
Happy birthday, Lainey. Do you
like it?
LAINEY
(taking in the car)
It's fantastic -- it's too much.
VIKTOR
It's the car she drove in "Eternity
Forever".
LAINEY
I know. Thank her for me.
VIKTOR
(disappointed by her
reaction)
It's from both of us. Of course
you'll have to drive it around the
lot until you get your permit --
Lainey averts her gaze.
LAINEY
-- I can't accept it. I don't want
a car, Dad.
VIKTOR
(clearly hurt, not
understanding)
Why not? I can get you something
else. What do you want?
LAINEY
The old Viktor Taransky.
(finally blurting it out)
I liked you better before -- before
all this. You were a loser, Dad,
but at least you had integrity. I
can't stand to see you like this --
clinging to Simone's coattails --
it used to be about the work, and
now it's all about her. And then
she's not even grateful enough to
thank you.
VIKTOR
No, that was me.
LAINEY
There you go again, blaming
yourself. Can't you see what she's
done to you -- she's taking
advantage, mocking you. You
deserve better than Simone.
(hasty exit)
I've got to go, Dad.
VIKTOR
Lainey...
Viktor watches Lainey depart towards the studio gates.
INT. SIMONE & VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
VIKTOR leans on his desk, still reflecting on LAINEY's
remarks. JANE enters.
JANE
Ready for your casting session?
Viktor nods distractedly. Jane shows in NICOLA ANDERS.
JANE
Nicola's here for the role of
Simone's sister.
Viktor offers Nicola a seat, staring at her as if he has
never truly looked at her before -- she has a quality of
Simone.
NICOLA
(slightly uncomfortable by
Viktor's scrutiny)
A lot's happened since we last saw
each other.
VIKTOR
(numb)
Yes.
NICOLA
I never apologized properly for
what happened on "Sunrise".
She hands Viktor a peace offering -- a large jar of Mike &
Ike candy, including cherry.
VIKTOR
Thank you. It's not important.
NICOLA
After I saw what Simone did with
the role -- you know I fired all my
people, went into rehab, took
acting classes, changed my whole
look. She really inspired me.
Viktor continues to stare.
NICOLA
(referring to the script
in her hands)
Would you like me to read?
VIKTOR
Yes, I'd like that.
Nicola glances at the script a last time and puts it down.
She approaches Viktor, standing close to him, playing the
scene to him -- an immediate intimacy.
NICOLA
(her angry words are in
opposition to her amorous
actions)
-- Who do you think you are, Carlos
-- coming in here like this? With
my husband sleeping in the next
room. Do you think I won't call
out? Do you think I will just give
in to you without a fight -- like
the last time and the time before
that?
(she kisses his ear)
I wish you were dead.
(she kisses his lips)
I wish we were both dead.
Nicola immediately breaks character.
Viktor is mesmerized -- he has fallen back in love with
flesh.
VIKTOR
(finally able to speak)
You know you're really very good.
I take back what I said. I mean,
you're really good.
NICOLA
Thank you.
VIKTOR
(forgetting himself)
You could play the lead.
NICOLA
(confused)
But that's Simone's part.
VIKTOR
Yes, of course it is.
(gazing at her face)
You know you have a line here. Not
a wrinkle. Actually, more of a
dimple. I've been thinking of
incorporating something like that
in Simone.
NICOLA
(incredulous)
You'd cosmetically alter Simone to
look like me?
VIKTOR
No, of course not, you're right.
That would be crazy.
Viktor sits back down and stares out of the window.
NICOLA
Do you want me to do it again?
Viktor does not reply. Nicola quietly leaves.
INT. ELAINE'S MANSION - DAY
The front page of "Variety" is dominated by a large
photograph of SIMONE giving her acceptance speech via
satellite. However, ELAINE is gazing at a small inset
picture of VIKTOR, HERSELF and LAINEY arriving at the Oscar
Ceremony.
Elaine tears out the photo and slips it into her purse.
EXT. SWIMMING POOL - DAY (ON VIKTOR'S SCREEN)
Old home video of ELAINE. She is in a garden by a swimming
pool, laughing, waving and sweetly flirting with the camera.
Elaine raises her skirt teasingly, winks, gestures the camera
operator towards her with a beckoning finger, finally blows a
kiss to the camera.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
While the ever-seductive SIMONE waits patiently on-screen for
Viktor's instructions, VIKTOR is gazing at the smaller
monitor -- the home video of ELAINE.
Viktor freezes the tape. Elaine appears particularly
beautiful.
Viktor electronically cuts out Elaine's mannerism and morphs
it into Simone. Now Simone blows the kiss and has the same
dazzling smile.
INT. SIMONE & VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
At her desk, JANE is busy trying to mimic Simone's hairstyle
as she talks on the phone.
JANE
(into phone)
-- Oh sure, she comes in all the
time... we've become close. She
told me --
VIKTOR enters the office.
VIKTOR
Jane --
Jane hurriedly hangs up.
JANE
Gotta go.
VIKTOR
(picking up a pile of
scripts from the in-tray)
I'm leaving early tonight. If you
need me I'll be at the beach house
having dinner with a... certain
someone.
Jane tries to conceal her interest. As soon as Viktor exits
the office, JANE picks up the phone.
JANE
(into phone, under her
breath)
... Elaine Christian please.
We reveal VIKTOR, outside the door, eavesdropping on his
assistant, pleased she has taken the bait.
INT. VIKTOR'S BEACH HOUSE - NIGHT
VIKTOR dims the lights, plays "mood" music. The doorbell
rings.
He checks himself in the mirror. In the reflection, he spies
an autographed photo of HIMSELF with his arm around SIMONE.
He hurriedly hides the photo and answers the door.
ELAINE stands there.
ELAINE
Viktor, I'm picking up Lainey.
Elaine is over-dressed for her supposed errand.
VIKTOR
Elaine, it's Wednesday.
ELAINE
(feigning absent
mindedness)
Is it Wednesday? It's Wednesday.
How embarrassing. I don't know
what I was thinking. With all the
excitement lately...
(peering past him)
Am I interrupting something? Are
you expecting company?
VIKTOR
(ushering her inside)
As a matter-of-fact I am.
ELAINE
When is she coming over?
VIKTOR
(glancing to his watch)
About now. Would you like a drink?
ELAINE
I suppose I could stay, just until
she arrives.
Elaine takes a seat on the sofa. Viktor hands her a glass of
wine and sits beside her -- close.
They both knock back their wine in one long gulp, both
apparently in need of courage.
ELAINE
(trying to make
conversation)
Is Simone back to earth yet?
VIKTOR
Not quite.
ELAINE
I'm sure you'll keep her focussed.
She's lucky to have you, Viktor.
(blurting out)
Is she really having your baby?
VIKTOR
Impossible.
ELAINE
(instantly regretting the
remark)
I just read somewhere --
VIKTOR
I know. I know. They'll say
anything.
ELAINE
-- And she was positively glowing
at the awards.
(making to leave)
I should be going, she'll be here
soon --
Viktor puts his finger to her lips to hush her.
VIKTOR
-- She already is. Simone's not
coming over, Elaine. Not tonight,
not ever.
(holding her)
I want you back, Elaine.
ELAINE
(melting)
I want you back too, Viktor.
They kiss. Elaine breaks the kiss, suddenly consumed with
doubt.
ELAINE
This is crazy. Who am I fooling?
I can't compete with Simone. What
woman can?
VIKTOR
I would rather have you than
Simone. Believe me.
ELAINE
That's sweet, Viktor, but I
couldn't let you do that -- make
that kind of sacrifice.
(meeting his gaze)
It's strange. I've stabbed people
in the back, clawed and slept my
way to where I am -- it goes with
the territory -- but, for some
reason, I can't betray Simone.
There's... I don't know any other
way to say it -- there's a goodness
to her.
VIKTOR
No, there isn't. There's nothing
to her.
ELAINE
Oh, Viktor. You say that now --
because we're here, alone, like
this. But in the morning, you'd go
back to her. What man wouldn't?
VIKTOR
No, I will end my relationship with
her -- totally.
ELAINE
But you don't understand. She'll
always be there -- at some party,
on some magazine cover, some song
on the radio, up on some screen.
VIKTOR
(desperate)
No. She'll never work again --
retire, never make a movie or a
record, or appear ever again.
ELAINE
(confused)
Of course she will. Her public
will demand it.
VIKTOR
Not if I don't let her.
ELAINE
You?
Viktor knocks back another glass of wine for courage.
VIKTOR
I'm going to tell you a secret now,
Elaine.
(mustering all his nerve)
Simone is not a real person. I
invented her.
ELAINE
(misinterpreting his
remark)
Every actor is an invention,
Viktor. Don't embarrass yourself.
No one's denying that you
discovered Simone. But it's like
finding a diamond in the desert.
Anyone can trip over it, but it's
not the finder who sparkles.
VIKTOR
(agitated)
-- No, no, I didn't trip over her.
You don't understand --
ELAINE
(ignoring him)
-- You just got lucky that she's
loyal enough to stay with you.
Maybe she's staying out of pity,
who knows? She certainly doesn't
need you. Some people even say
you're holding her back.
VIKTOR
(wounded)
Who says that -- ?
(shaking off the insult)
-- Never mind. You have to listen
to me, Elaine. Simone is thin air,
pixels, molded by me from a
mathematical equation. I inherited
it from a madman -- I can show
you --
ELAINE
How much wine have you had?
VIKTOR
-- She's a figment of my own
imagination. I, Viktor Taransky,
have perpetrated the greatest hoax,
the greatest sleight-of-hand,
sleight-of-mouth, sleight-of-
sleight in entertainment history!
And still no one appreciates me,
recognizes what I've done -- even
you.
ELAINE
(rolling her eyes)
You're drunker than I thought. Are
you doing that again?
VIKTOR
No! Whatever talent Simone has
comes from me -- me! Me! I swear,
as God is my judge. You don't know
what I've been through. Tens of
thousands of mind-numbing hours in
front of that screen, nights
without end, and look what it's
cost me.
(producing his spectacles)
Why do you think I've been wearing
these? I may have done irreparable
harm to my eyesight, and why? To
extract and refine the infinite
nuances of a human being -- a human
soul.
(a final explanation)
Don't you see? I made Simone!
A pause. His words hang in the air.
ELAINE
You made Simone?
(a trace of pity)
Viktor, she made you.
Elaine gets up and walks out, leaving the distraught Viktor
alone in his house.
INT. VIKTOR'S OFFICE - DAY
A hung-over VIKTOR enters his office. Suddenly, he stops and
confronts the standee of SIMONE.
VIKTOR
You bitch! I'll destroy you!
JANE stares in shock. She discreetly exits.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
VIKTOR sits in front of his monitor, smiling venomously at
SIMONE. He begins to digitally disrobe Simone.
MONTAGE:
A) Peering through a gap in the drapes of his Malibu house,
VIKTOR watches MAX dig through his trash. Max finds a
beat up reel of 16mm film.
MAX holds the end up to the light -- his eyes pop.
B) The ECHO headline screams, "SIMONE'S HARD CORE PAST" and
shows censored film frames of a naked Simone in a
compromising position.
VIKTOR, hovering at a supermarket check-out line,
overhears two WOMEN discussing the article.
WOMAN 1
Disgusting...
WOMAN 2
(sympathetic)
She must have been so desperate to
do something like that, so
depraved.
WOMAN 1
I'm still naming my baby after her.
WOMAN 2
You're having a boy.
WOMAN 1
So?
Viktor blanches. It is not the reaction he'd hoped for.
C) Inside a theater, VIKTOR hovers by the door, smirking.
ON SCREEN, we hear a farmyard scene -- SIMONE in an empty
farmyard on all fours, grunting like a pig, and foraging
for muddy vegetables.
The AUDIENCE is shocked, then suddenly breaks into
spontaneous applause.
Viktor, enraged, exits into the lobby past the poster for
"I AM PIG - Starring Simone".
D) A pretentious FILM CRITIC talks to camera, a film poster
behind him.
FILM CRITIC
For Simone to do something as brave
as "I AM PIG" at this point in her
career, with so much to lose -- all
I can say is, "I Am Pig, I Am
Oscar".
E) In his soundstage, VIKTOR moves a slider that adds
wrinkles to Simone.
F) SIMONE appears on a morning talk show -- as usual, remote
on a TV screen. However, her squeaky-clean image has
gone -- hair unkempt, bloated, chain-smoking and drinking
during the interview. The HOSTS are smiling weakly.
HOST
Simone, that's a rather
controversial position.
SIMONE
I just think all elementary schools
should have a firing range -- so
students can learn how to defend
themselves. We could fit it
inbetween recess and American
History.
Another clip:
SIMONE
If there's a hole in the ozone
layer why can't I see it?
Another clip:
SIMONE
Immigration?! God, isn't it
crowded enough?!
HOSTS
Just as we always knew. Simone's
not like other celebrities. She
speaks her mind!
G) VIKTOR driving along a city street, suddenly slams on his
brakes, almost causing an accident. He stares numbly up
at a twenty-foot high smiling photo of Simone on a
billboard featuring a huge cover of TIME MAGAZINE. It
reads, "SIMONE: WOMAN OF THE YEAR".
VIKTOR
(to himself)
She's trying to kill me.
Realizing what he's said, a thought comes into his eyes.
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
An inscription on a headstone reads:
HANK ALENO
Remembered Virtually Forever
VIKTOR kneels at HANK's grave. He places a bunch of flowers
there.
VIKTOR
(referring to the flowers)
They're plastic, Hank. I know
that's the way you'd want it.
(glancing to a Simone
billboard outside the
cemetery wall)
She killed you, Hank. Now she's
killing me. She's a serial killer.
(ducking out of sight of
the billboard as if
Simone is watching him)
But I don't know how to stop her.
She's taken on a life of her own.
I can't just come clean -- make
some confession. I've defrauded
millions -- they'd turn on me. And
I can't put the genie back in the
bottle. If she stopped working --
dropped out of sight, they'd never
let it rest. I've tried to kill
her career but they like her even
more.
(more desperate)
What am I going to do, Hank?
A thought occurs to Viktor. He slowly rises from behind
Hank's headstone, revealing a forest of headstones.
VIKTOR
Don't say another word, Hank. You
are truly a genius.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - DUSK
A sad but resolute VIKTOR sits in front of his monitor,
SIMONE's face full screen.
He speaks into the voice synthesizer, Simone's face
automatically speaking the words he speaks -- the final time
he puts his words in her mouth.
SIMONE / VIKTOR
What's the matter, Viktor? You
look so sad. Don't you love me
anymore?... It's over, isn't it?
He switches off the synthesizer and speaks in his own voice.
VIKTOR
It's the only way, Simone. If it's
any consolation, you're going to
live on in the public's heart like
all the other tragic figures that
went before their time. There's no
love like posthumous love.
On the screen, Simone is on the verge of tears.
VIKTOR
I know what you're thinking. It's
a phoney-baloney world. The women
are surgically enhanced, the
athletes are on steroids, the
singers are lip-syncing if they're
even singing at all, the news is
entertainment, the politicians are
bought and paid for -- we're living
one big lie. So why shouldn't you
live too? You're more authentic
than the people who adore you.
(a trace of despair)
And that's the problem. You're
looking at the real fraud. I told
myself this was all about the work
but if that was the truth, it
wouldn't matter to me -- and it
does. It wasn't that the artists
had no respect for the art. They
had no respect for me. Someone
like you, you have so much love
showered on you -- I just wanted to
feel one tiny drop on my face. I'm
sorry, Simone. Here I've been
trying to convince the world that
you exist, but I was really trying
to convince them that I exist.
It's not that you aren't human,
Simone, it's that I am.
Viktor produces a disc from his jacket marked, "PLAGUE - Ver.
8.1". He places the disc in the machine.
Viktor sees that Simone is crying. He touches a tear on his
own face and realizes her tears are in response to his own.
Viktor hesitates -- a moment of doubt -- then presses
"ENTER". The image of SIMONE's face gradually begins to
deconstruct -- pixel by pixel -- as the virus takes hold.
The pixels collect into a pile at the bottom of his screen
like dust. Finally, the dust is blown away in a single
digital breath.
For a moment his attention is taken with a layer of dust on
his own desk.
Viktor regards his own reflection in the now black screen.
His hard-drive now corrupted, he picks up his original disc
marked, "SIMULATION ONE".
He tosses this disc into a steamer trunk he has loaded with
hundreds of discs relating to Simone's software. He shuts
the lid and begins dragging the trunk towards the door.
EXT. SANTA MONICA BAY - DUSK
Viktor's yacht sits at anchor in the glassy waters of Santa
Monica Bay -- "SIMONE" written on the stern.
VIKTOR manhandles the trunk to the railing. A mournful pause
-- then he heaves it over the side. The trunk sinks like a
stone.
Heart heavy, Viktor stares into the inky depths.
EXT. STUDIO - ENTRANCE - DAY
A throng of REPORTERS and CAMERA CREWS. A somber VIKTOR
enters and takes a seat in front of a forest of microphones.
VIKTOR
It is my sad and solemn duty to
announce the tragic passing of
Simone.
A gasp from the audience. Then, an explosion of anguish.
CROWD
No!! What happened?! Oh. God.
PRESS REPORTER 1
(stepping forward,
mustering the courage to
ask the question)
How did she die?
VIKTOR
A rare virus.
(pretending to compose
himself)
On her goodwill tour of the third
world.
PRESS REPORTER 2
Did she suffer?
VIKTOR
Mercifully, it was quick.
At the back of the room are MAX SAYER and MILTON. They are
frozen in grief, a tear spills from Max's eye.
A MONTAGE OF SCENES:
A) "SIMON GONE - FADE TO BLACK", reads the cover of Variety.
B) The announcement of her death appears on local TV news
shows around the globe.
C) A carpet of bouquets and notes of commiseration several
yards wide completely surrounds Viktor's property
including the driveway. VIKTOR insensitively drives over
the bouquets to the horror of the MOURNERS, including MAX
SAYER and MILTON.
D) In a remote Mongolian encampment MONGOL HORSEMEN crowd
around a television showing a live picture of Simone's
funeral.
E) The HEARSE carrying Simone's "body" and the funeral
procession led solemnly by VIKTOR, proceeds through the
studio lot. Distraught STUDIO STAFF toss flowers onto
the hearse.
F) The same television picture is playing on a television
sitting on a stool in a WEST AFRICAN river. LOCAL WOMEN
stop washing their clothes to watch.
EXT. GRAVESIDE - CEMETERY - DAY
We tilt up from Hank's headstone to an ornate mausoleum on an
island in a lake.
Simone's coffin is ferried across a bridge by PALLBEARERS
from the studio. Numerous MOURNERS follow behind.
VIKTOR, ELAINE and a curiously dry-eyed LAINEY walk behind
the coffin.
VIKTOR
(to Elaine)
Can I see you later -- go away for
the weekend?
ELAINE
(horrified by the
suggestion)
How can you bring that up at a time
like this?
The coffin reaches the steps of the marble mausoleum. A
PRIEST, RABBI, and a BUDDHIST MONK turn to Viktor. He nods
and they start to carry the coffin towards the door.
However, the coffin is suddenly stopped by a POLICE OFFICER.
A SECOND POLICE OFFICER begins to jimmy open the lid. The
coffin lid is pulled back. Inside is a life-sized cardboard
standee of Simone from "ETERNITY FOREVER".
The MOURNERS gasp. Everyone looks to Viktor.
INT. L.A. COUNTY JAIL - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY
A SERIES OF POLICE INTERVIEWS:
JANE sits in the interview room, describing Viktor's assault
on the standee.
JANE
-- I heard him say, "Die bitch".
A) MAX SAYER, distraught and weeping.
MAX
-- He was a controlling madman, she
was a prisoner. I blame myself...
I should have done more to stop
it...
B) NICOLA gives a statement.
NICOLA
-- It was strange. He wanted to
replace her with me in his new
movie... and I know I'm not that
good.
INT. L.A. COUNTY JAIL - INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
VIKTOR sits in an interrogation room in a sea of SIMONE.
Magazine covers, cosmetics advertisements, publicity shots,
interviews, website print-outs, photographs and report cards
from her fictitious childhood are plastered on the walls,
stacks of film cans and tapes of her numerous movie and
television appearances.
DETECTIVE
-- Forgive me, Mr. Taransky. I'm
just trying to understand. All
these films, TV appearances,
magazine covers, internet
interviews, publicity photos,
snapshots from her childhood -- all
fake.
(referring to various
items)
This is fake, this is fake -- fake,
fake, fake, all fake.
VIKTOR
That's right. You understand
perfectly. I will confess to
fraud, not murder.
DETECTIVE
(referring to oversize
mail bags)
A fan club with a worldwide
membership in the millions -- also
bogus?
VIKTOR
Oh, no. The fan club is real. But
they were worshipping computer code
-- ones and zeros.
DETECTIVE
So, of course, you couldn't kill
Simone because there never was a
Simone.
VIKTOR
Of course.
DETECTIVE
And this Mr. Hank Aleno who you
talk so much about, a renowned
failure, who also happens to be so
conveniently dead -- perhaps the
"man" you claim helped invent
Simone is an invention himself?
Viktor, sensing his sarcasm, does not reply.
DETECTIVE
(patronizing smile)
But not everyone's imaginary, are
they, Mr. Taransky? I refer, of
course, to Edith.
VIKTOR
Who?
The Detective raises a window-blind to reveal a next door
room where the OLD WOMAN from the rest home is being
interviewed.
DETECTIVE
The woman you admitted to a
journalist is Simone's mother and
for whose silence you paid a
fortune? Is she not flesh to you --
are her tears not wet?
The OLD WOMAN glances up and sees all the photos of Simone
through the window.
OLD LADY
My BABY!
The Detective abruptly lowers the blind. Viktor rolls his
eyes at the Detective's theatrics. He is suddenly enraged.
VIKTOR
She's insane! This whole thing is
insane! There is no Simone. Look!
(grabbing a Simone poster)
Even her name is fake. It's not
Simone.
(he tears Simone's name in
half to demonstrate)
It's SIM... ONE! Simulation One!
The Detectives sadly shake their heads.
DETECTIVE 2
(regarding Simone's face
also torn in half)
You really hated her, didn't you?
The Detective places a tape, marked "EXHIBIT A" in a video
machine.
DETECTIVE
Perhaps you could explain this to
me, Mr. Taransky -- or is this tape
"doctored" too?
He plays a tape showing --
EXT. MARINA PIER - NIGHT (ON TV SCREEN)
VIKTOR dragging his trunk from his car down the pier to his
yacht.
DETECTIVE
It's footage from the marina's
closed-circuit camera on the night
in question. Altered, of course.
Is that really what you expect us
to believe, Mr. Taransky?
The Detective freezes the tape.
DETECTIVE
Can you tell us why you were
disposing of the body of a woman
who didn't exist?
VIKTOR
It wasn't her body. It was her
body of work.
DETECTIVE
Why don't you just come clean,
Viktor? Tell the truth. You'll
feel better afterwards.
VIKTOR
I am telling the truth.
DETECTIVE
(coming close to him)
We all know what happened. In a
fit of jealous rage you killed
Simone and dumped her body off a
boat she bought for you.
VIKTOR
No!! I can prove it to you. I'll
take you to her.
EXT. BOAT - SANTA MONICA BAY - DAY
VIKTOR sits handcuffed on a POLICE BOAT with the DETECTIVE
and his LAWYER. DIVERS surface with the steamer trunk.
Viktor's face lights up.
The trunk is winched aboard. However, as it lowers onto the
deck, we see the latch has broken and the lid is ajar. All
eyes stare inside the trunk as the lid is lifted. Apart from
a scrawny piece of kelp -- empty.
VIKTOR
(panicky, desperately
grabbing the divers)
Did you find anything else --
drivers, discs... disc-drives?
DIVER 1
Nothing.
(gazing to the water)
We couldn't stay down any longer.
All eyes follow the diver's gaze to several SHARK FINS in the
water.
CLOSE UP ON FRONT PAGE OF L.A. TIMES:
"SIMONE"S BODY FEARED EATEN BY SHARKS"
The newspaper is being read by Viktor's LAWYER, sitting
opposite Viktor in his cell. VIKTOR is numb -- the
likelihood of conviction slowly dawning on him.
LAWYER
-- Plead guilty and throw yourself
on the mercy of the court. It's
the best deal you're going to get.
VIKTOR
(incredulous)
I could get the death penalty.
LAWYER
You certainly will if you go to
trial -- a jury in this kind of
ugly mood. You've killed an icon,
for God's sake.
VIKTOR
I didn't kill anyone, Bernard,
there was no one to kill!
LAWYER
(musing)
An insanity defence.
INT. VIKTOR'S SOUNDSTAGE - NIGHT
A FIGURE sits at Viktor's computer. LAINEY. She scrolls
through Viktor's files. All empty.
Lainey sighs. ELAINE paces behind her.
ELAINE
Let's go, Lainey. There's nothing
here.
LAINEY
Just a minute.
Elaine continues to pace as Lainey works.
ELAINE
God, it's so like your father. Why
can't people take responsibility
for their actions anymore? I can
almost forgive him for killing
Simone -- but denying her
existence. I can never forgive
that.
LAINEY
Because obviously she existed,
right?
ELAINE
I know it as surely as you're
sitting here, sweetheart. She was
the most vital woman I ever met.
LAINEY
So you did meet her?
ELAINE
Of course. What are you
suggesting?
LAINEY
I mean really meet her -- in the
flesh.
Elaine regards her daughter curiously.
LAINEY
I know it's embarrassing to admit
it, mom, but when I think about it
-- honestly, I haven't. I mean, it
feels like I have. I know more
about her than members of my own
family. She's even in my dreams.
But I realized, going back through
my diary, they were all TV
appearances, near misses at
parties, second-hand rumor, gossip
on the internet. I've never
actually seen Simone up close,
touched her, been in her physical
presence. Have you?
ELAINE
(unable to refute it)
Well, I --
LAINEY
-- We don't believe daddy because
we don't want to believe we were
taken in too.
ELAINE
(trying to shake the
notion from her head)
Lainey, there's no evidence that
Simone isn't real.
LAINEY
Listen to what you're saying, mom.
Is there any evidence she is?
Lainey finally tries another file. She presses "EJECT". The
"PLAGUE" disc spits out of the machine.
LAINEY
(regarding the disc)
There's one part of dad's story
that may have been true. Simone
may have contracted a virus.
Lainey smiles at her mother.
LAINEY
Certain viruses can be cured.
INT. L.A. COUNTY JAIL - POLICE CELL - DAY
VIKTOR sits in his cell, arms crossed, quietly seething,
while his LAWYER lays out his trial strategy.
LAWYER
(hushed tones, referring
to a thick Psychiatric
Report)
... Listen, I've found a
psychiatrist in Ventura -- well
respected -- who's willing to
testify under oath that you have
diminished capacity due to the
trauma of your divorce, ten years
of abject failure in the movie
business and a bump on the head you
sustained as a child --
VIKTOR, fuming throughout this, suddenly explodes.
VIKTOR
-- No! I can't go along with this
horseshit! Just tell them they can
fry me!
LAWYER
(aghast, looking around to
see if anyone has heard)
What?!
VIKTOR
It was premeditated -- I knew
exactly what I was doing! I
strangled her! I bludgeoned her!
I set her on fire! I did it! I
killed her!
DETECTIVE (O.S.)
(clearing his throat)
Excuse me.
The Lawyer spins around guiltily. The Detective stands
outside the cell, clearly overhearing the confession.
Viktor, resigned to his fate, couldn't care less.
DETECTIVE
I think you'd better see this.
The Detective switches on the TV set hanging outside the
cell. VBC is playing -- "BREAKING NEWS" --
INT. TELEVISION STUDIO - "VBC" - DAY (ON TV SCREEN)
A NEWS ANCHOR appears.
VBC ANCHOR
(from TV)
-- Breaking news -- international
media star, Simone, is alive and
well. Her studio released this
footage only minutes ago...
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY (ON TV SCREEN)
The brief clip shows the front page of the L.A. Times --
headlines: "HOLLYWOOD SUSPENDS FILMING IN MEMORY OF SIMONE"
and "D.A. Seeks Death Penalty for Taransky".
The reader lowers the newspaper to reveal herself -- SIMONE,
on the studio lot, looking more beautiful than ever. She
winks to the camera.
VBC ANCHOR
... Simone reading today's edition
of the L.A. Times. Who says, "The
only bad publicity is your
obituary"? Details at the top of
the hour.
The TV is switched off. Viktor stares at the screen, trying
to take it in.
VIKTOR
You're indestructible.
When he looks back to the Detective, he discovers him holding
the cell door open.
DETECTIVE
(shaking his head in pity)
I'll never get you Hollywood
people.
EXT. L.A. COUNTY JAIL - DAY
A throng of REPORTERS, PAPARAZZI and ONLOOKERS parts like a
sea for VIKTOR, released from custody. One placard reads,
"ASK JESUS TO SAVE YOU NOW". He is escorted to a waiting
limousine where he is met by ELAINE and LAINEY. He hugs them
both.
INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY
VIKTOR sits beside ELAINE. LAINEY sits opposite, studying
her laptop computer. Outside the car, REPORTERS are pressed
against the glass.
VIKTOR
(relaxing back into his
seat)
Thank you!
(to Lainey)
I don't know how you did it but
thank you.
ELAINE
(putting her arm around
him)
Don't thank us too fast, Viktor.
You know what we have to do?
VIKTOR
(resigned smile)
Why stop at one character when you
can have a whole cast?
ELAINE
Exactly. Now that you have the
studio behind you, we can really do
things.
Viktor shrugs resignedly, savoring his freedom.
ELAINE
(holding Viktor close)
I was thinking -- what about you
and... "Simone" moving back in with
me and Lainey?
VIKTOR
(meeting her gaze)
That sounds wonderful.
(to Lainey)
How do you feel about all this,
Lainey?
LAINEY
(beaming)
About you and mom?
VIKTOR
(reluctant admission)
Me and Simone. What I did.
LAINEY
(sweet smile)
Your mistake wasn't making
something fake, daddy. We're fine
with fake -- as long as you don't
lie about it.
Once again his daughter's words have a ghastly ring of truth.
Viktor stares out of the limo window as the car gradually
forces its way through the reporters.
He recognizes MAX and MILTON amongst the mob. Max has
hastily scribbled a note that he presses against the
window --
"WILL PAY $ FOR EXCLUSIVE". Viktor looks away.
ELAINE
(kissing him on the cheek)
Don't look so glum, Viktor. It's
not a death sentence.
VIKTOR
(still staring out of the
window, a rueful smile)
No... it's life.
INT. FRANK BRAND TV STUDIO - DAY
FRANK BRAND conducts a remote interview with SIMONE who
appears as usual on a television monitor.
FRANK BRAND
-- Simone, the question on
everyone's mind is simply... "why?"
SIMONE
Frank, you know as well as I do,
living in a fish bowl, the
insatiable appetite of the media...
Frank nods sympathetically.
SIMONE
With everything that was going on
in my life, I just needed to drop
out of sight for a while -- I
needed time. Viktor bought me that
time. I owe him so much.
FRANK BRAND
We all do.
(quickly returning to
Simone)
But now I understand you're eager
to get back to work -- and not the
kind of work that we're all
expecting.
SIMONE
(smiles coyly)
That's true. I can reveal that I
am considering a career in
politics.
FRANK BRAND
And what may I ask brought this on?
SIMONE holds up a beautiful BABY BOY to camera.
SIMONE
I suppose this little man had
something to do with it. Viktor
and I are both concerned about what
kind of world our new son, Chip, is
going to grow up in.
(turning lovingly to
Viktor)
Aren't you, Viktor?
On Frank Brand's monitor, the camera pulls back to reveal
VIKTOR, sitting on a sofa -- an idyllic domestic scene.
VIKTOR
(turning lovingly to
Simone)
Yes.
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
Only we see the set where the interview is being recorded.
VIKTOR is sitting on a sofa against a green screen in his
soundstage, smiling at a woman and child who are not there --
he is alone.
CUT TO BLACK
INT. CONCERT STADIUM - NIGHT
DURING THE CLOSING CREDITS SIMONE PERFORMS ANOTHER SONG FROM
HER CONCERT TOUR -- "(YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE) A NATURAL
WOMAN".