Basquiat Page #4

INT. CARDBOARD BOX – NIGHT

Jean tries to sleep in the box. RAIN falls heavily onto it.

Drops of water hit his face.

He wills it to stop. It doesn't.

Finally, he can't stand it. Rain forces his blinking eyes open.

INT. BENNY'S APARTMENT – NIGHT

A door opens to reveal Jean's wet face.

Benny lets him in.

Jean enters a rundown railroad flat crammed with musical

instruments, beer cans, and homemade art. There's a couch with a

sheet over it.

Junk is piled in a corner – mostly art books and drawings.

Benny sits down at an electric piano, which he's evidently

playing. He sings along, softly, working out the words,

concentrating, absorbed.

Jean sets his belongings on the couch, walks to a mic stand and

starts making up his own words.

BASQUIAT:

"She loves me.

Oh yeah she loves me!

She loooooooves me,

Oh yeah she loves me!"

Bring me some chicken, baby!

BENNY:

Would you shut the f*** up? You hear what

I'm doing?

BASQUIAT:

Yeah man. I'm jealous. You're always

great, Benny.

(goes back into 'act')

"Her name is G-I-N-A Gina

And she lo-oooves me."

I did say chicken!

Benny turns off the piano and lights a roach, angry at Jean's

self-centeredness.

Jean digs through a pile of garbage. Finally, he finds what he's

looking for – a pile of "SAMO baseball cards" – color Xeroxes of

his favorite images and words. He pockets them.

BASQUIAT (CONT'D)

I knew I left these somewhere. One of

these'll send your kids to college

someday.

(hands it to Benny solemnly)

Here – I made this for you.

BENNY:

Thanks.

(beat)

Your dad called again – something about a

job.

He hands Jean a slip of paper. He notices the number on Jean's

pants.

BENNY (CONT'D)

You got a date already?

BASQUIAT:

(exhaling)

We're getting married. She said she could

tell I was a great artist – she could see

it in my eyes. She said she wanted to be

by my side and have inter-racial babies

with me.

Benny grins. He grabs a basketball and spins it expertly on his

index finger.

BENNY:

G'night... See you in court tomorrow.

Jean turns on the TV. He notices the roach. He picks up the paper

Benny gave him with the message from his father and sets it on

fire.

He lights the roach with it.

He looks up; on television, we see a BUM being interviewed. Jean

turns up the volume.

The bum's on the ground, looking beat up. Jean picks up a pocket

recorder and turns it on:

BUM:

The guy just hit me and I was on the

ground!!!! Boom, for real.

Jean mutes the sound on the TV. He rewinds and proudly plays back

the words "Boom, for real."

He picks up the phone and dials. He turns on the speakerphone.

Jean holds the recorder to the speaker as someone answers the

phone. (Jean walks in and out of frame throughout the following.)

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