Basquiat Page #5

VOICE:

Hello?

BASQUIAT:

(deadpan)

I-Is this the s-s-suicide h-h-hotline?

VOICE:

Yes. My name is Chris. What's yours?

BASQUIAT:

Jean Michel.

CHRIS:

That's a beautiful name. French?

BASQUIAT:

Haitian. I'm going to kill myself. I'm

taking pills. Reds, blues, greens.

Jean opens his notepad and looks down a long list of seemingly

random words. He comes to the words (in order) "liquid, hijack,"

and "Marlboros."

CHRIS:

What? Wait a minute... talk to me.

BASQUIAT:

(about to sob)

Life doesn't... make... sense. This city's

k-killing me. I want my liquid hijack

Marlboros!

CHRIS:

What? Life's beautiful. Depression isn't

permanent. Don't you believe that?

(pause)

What is it – did your girlfriend leave

you?

BASQUIAT:

No! I have a boyfriend. He loves me.

Jean spies an electric pencil sharpener and plugs it in.

CHRIS:

You see? You have someone to live for.

BASQUIAT:

No, I don't. I'm alone. We all are.

Especially here. The world's unjust. The

respect fools get. The disrespect I get.

CHRIS:

What is it you want? Respect? I have

respect for you, just for making this

call. One philosopher said "Sadness is a

sin against the richness of the world."

Think about it. Feel it.

BASQUIAT:

You don't even know me. I want real

respect.

He jams a pencil into the electric sharpener and holds the

receiver right next to it, giving the guy an earful:

RRRRKKKKKKK!!!

ANGLE ON:

CLOSE UP – A speaker. It fills the screen.

We continue to hear:

CHRIS (O.S.)

(beat)

What? What do you want?

BASQUIAT:

(breaking loose)

Fame. My liquid hijack Marlboros and the

moon and the cow that jumped over it.

CAMERA PULLS BACK FROM SPEAKER TO REVEAL:

INT. MUDD CLUB – HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Jean and Benny are on stage with two other GUYS, members of the

band Gray. Everyone but Jean is dressed in some sort of Halloween

costume.

We HEAR the words "Boom, for real" blasting from the P.A. system.

What follows is a continuation, a collage of words from Jean's

"suicide hotline" call –

P.A.

One philosopher said "Give me my liquid

hijack Marlboros. Life's beautiful. You

have someone to live for. What do you

want? RKKKK! That's a beautiful name...

French?

Jean sits in a chair onstage with his band members. Benny plays

the organ. The other band members play percussion and guitar.

It works. The crowd loves it.

The song ends abruptly.

We begin to hear James Brown's "Sex Machine."

Jean looks out into the crowd and notices Gina. She's looking

right back at him from the bar. Pleased to see her face, he says

to himself –

BASQUIAT:

Boom, for real.

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