Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

Synopsis: A look at the life, work and political activism of one of the most successful television producers of all time, Norman Lear.
Production: Loki Films
  5 wins & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
66
Rotten Tomatoes:
86%
UNRATED
Year:
2016
91 min
$70,056
Website
66 Views


-Good evening,

ladies and gentlemen.

[ Laughter ]

-Norman, that hat,

that chapeau you're wearing --

Now, is that your favorite hat?

You're known to wear hats.

-In the world,

this is my favorite --

not just my favorite hat --

This is my favorite garment.

-Why do you wear that hat?

-When I was writing

television shows,

I picked my head,

and I lost all my hair.

I had picked all my hair away.

[ Both laugh ]

- Whippoorwills call

Evening is nigh

-Do you sing, Norman?

-I sing very well.

-What's your favorite song?

- You see a smiling face,

fireplace

A cozy room, Molly and me

- Just Molly and me

- And the baby makes three

-This is me?

- We're happy in my

In my blue heaven

Just Molly and me

And the baby makes three

We're so happy

in my blue heaven

We're happy in my

- My

- Blue heaven

We're happy in my

- In my

- Blue heaven

-How about that?

People think, you know,

that, turning 90,

maybe you change,

but it's everybody else

who changes.

Suddenly, I'm extremely wise,

and everybody's

asking me for advice,

and I am sometimes applauded

for walking across a room.

But the sound and the fact of 90

has got everybody believing

I'm some kind

of special intelligence.

But, I mean,

I think about it now

as wondrous,

what I got to experience.

-You know what I like

about you, Archie?

-What's that, Maude?

-Nothing.

-I have never been

in a situation in my life,

however tragic,

where I didn't see some comedy.

-Norman Lear has changed

the face of television,

and at least

120 million Americans

watch Norman Lear shows

every week.

-Oh, no, sir,

Master Jefferson,

you done showed me the way!

-Stop it!

Stop it!

-Say "please."

-We've gone

from straight comedy

into something else,

and that other thing is satire.

And it's never been done

on television before.

-I'm telling you that whites

should only dance with whites.

You don't believe me,

look at the movies.

-Do you have a quick answer

for the people

who say the show

reinforces bigotry?

-Yes, my quick answer is "no."

-That's the quick answer?

-I gravitate to subjects

that matter,

the things

that people talk about,

and I think

America has responded.

I think human beings

are just a little foolish.

That knits us all together.

[ Applause ]

Isn't it amazing?

I've lived my life moment

to moment, day to day,

and even though I appear 93,

I never lost my childlike view

of the world.

-Norman!

-[ Laughs ] Hi.

-Oh! Hello, friend.

-Oh, how are you guys?

-Hi.

Are you ready for tonight?

-God, I like you.

-Take your time.

Please think about this.

Make this --

I need it to be long

but brief, heartfelt.

[ Laughs ]

[ Cheers and applause ]

-He has been around

approximately forever.

He is 92 years old.

He has spent the last six

of those years

writing his memoir.

It is called "Even This,

I Get to Experience."

Ladies and gentlemen,

Norman Lear.

[ Cheers and applause ]

-Yo!

-You guys know each other.

There is

a mutual admiration society.

-Do we know each other?

-Right?

-Yes.

-You have called

"All in the Family"

the best show

on television, ever.

-I think so.

My son's name is Archie.

[ Laughs ]

[ Laughter ]

-You both talk a lot

about where you came from,

about your upbringing.

You talk a lot about your dad.

Archie Bunker,

you have said,

bears no small resemblance

to your dad.

-Mm-hmm.

-True?

-We're good to go.

"When I was a boy," pickup one.

-When I was a boy,

I thought that if I could turn

a screw in my father's head

just 1/16 of an inch one way

or the other,

it might help him tell

the difference

between right and wrong.

My father was extremely outgoing

and affectionate,

but the underside

of his good nature

was not admirable.

Herman Lear was a man

of supreme optimism.

He went out into the jungle

each day with a shoeshine

and a smile,

pledging to come home,

his fortune made, in 10 days

to two weeks -- tops.

My father was about

to take a plane to Tulsa.

He was traveling on some kind

of business.

"Monkey business,"

said my mother,

who sensed the men

he had fallen in with

were not to be trusted.

"Herman, I don't like this,"

she told him,

but Herman, as always,

knew better.

"Jeanette," he screamed,

the veins in his neck bulging,

"Stifle!"

And off he went.

The next time I saw him,

he had a hat

in front of his face,

and he was manacled

to a detective,

and they were coming down

the steps of the courthouse.

Nobody explained to me.

Nobody ever talked to me,

explained to me.

My father simply went to jail.

At 9, I was forced

to become an adult.

But that kid

still existed inside me...

well through my life,

if not to this very minute.

I asked my mother, years later,

"Where the hell were you?

How come I have no memory

of you?"

And, inevitably,

the discussion

would end with, "Please!

Oh, please!"

I was shipped off to an uncle,

lived there for a while.

Shipped off to another uncle,

lived there for a while.

And I wind up

with my grandparents.

But I had to pay my own way.

-Hurry! Hurry!

Step this way!

The strangest sights

on the island!

It's just starting,

so hurry, hurry!

Look them over.

The lady without a head!

They're all inside!

-I held three jobs

at Coney Island.

I used to take photographs.

I had a photo booth,

and we sold a lot of pictures.

But I remember the, "Hey! Hey!

You ought to be in pictures,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Unknown

The writer of this script is unknown. more…

All Unknown scripts | Unknown Scripts

4 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/norman_lear:_just_another_version_of_you_14937>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.