A WALK TO REMEMBER
Screenplay by
Karen Janszen
Based on the novel by
Nicholas Sparks No portion of this script may be performed, reproduced, or used by any means, or quoted or published in any medium without the prior written consent of Warner Bros.
July 27, 2000
WARNER BROS. © 2000
4000 Warner Boulevard WARNER BROS.
Burbank, California 91522 All Rights ReservedBLACK
A young man's V.O.:
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
I was born in Beaufort, North
Carolina. A place where the air always smells of pine and salt and sea. The voice is gentle. Slightly Southern in inflection. A young doctor's soothing manner.
FADE IN:
EXT. COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA (DECEMBER) (PRESENT)
A vast view of the coastline in winter -- beaches, rivers, sea marshes, inlets -- ebbing and flowing.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
For many, days and nights are spent fishing Pamlico Sound or crabbing the Neuse River.
The CAMERA FINDS a small coastal town, edged by a harbor on which fishermen toil.
EXT. BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA - MORNING (DECEMBER)
The CAMERA, MOVING inland, CROSSES OVER modest houses decked with plastic rooftop Santas...
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
While the ocean may be the focus of daily labor, churches have always tried to be the focus of life. And MOVES UPHILL TO...
EXT. MAIN STREET
Where fake snow is sprayed on store windows. The CAMERA
CONTINUES TO the far side of Main Street -- with its stately homes with big lawns, flower beds, and tasteful
Christmas garlands.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
When I lived here, there were eighteen churches within town limits alone.2.
EXT. FOUR-WAY STOP
From each corner, four churches face each other. The
Fellowship Hall Christian Church, the Church of the
Forgiven People, the Church of Sunday Atonement, and All
Saints Church.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
They sponsored pancake breakfasts, rummage sales, car washes, and softball games.
EXT. LANDON'S TRUCK - TRAVELING
The CAMERA FINDS and FOLLOWS a newish sport utility vehicle with MD plates as it passes a rummage sale and a softball game.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
You'd think that all the people here were friendly, welcoming, open-hearted... Dr. LANDON CARTER, 33, drives the truck.
INT. CAR - TRAVELING
Landon looks urban, prosperous, well-groomed -- but retains his boyish whimsy and sense of irony. A cell phone and overnight bag on the seat next to him.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
... and that money or family background or education or luck didn't matter.
Landon reaches out to adjust his side mirror, revealing a simple gold wedding band on his left hand.
EXT. STREET - TRAVELING
Landon's truck turns the corner and slows in front of the huge Southern Baptist church.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
But they did matter. They mattered to everyone. Except
Jamie Sullivan...
Landon's truck turns into a driveway just past the church and heads for a cluster of buildings. Behind the buildings, a cemetery.3.
EXT. CLUSTER OF BUILDINGS - CONTINUOUS ACTION
The truck pulls up in front of the old parsonage -- it's a different color than he remembers.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
... Astronomer. Actress.
Believer in God...
Landon hesitates a moment, then climbs out of his truck.
EXT. OLD PARSONAGE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Landon heads up the walk and onto the front porch.
Presses the DOORBELL. It RINGS inside. Landon is edgy, unsettled. ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
... Believer in me.
A nurse opens the door.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH GYM - NIGHT (NOVEMBER, 1985)
ROCK MUSIC drifts out open doors -- barely recognizable as
"Born in the U.S.A." Students hang. Brains, preps, richies, heavy metals, jocks, punk rockers, goths, geeks.
Mixing without mixing. Most are red-eyed, woozy, wasted.
A couple of boys break dance to a BOOM BOX.
Missing are the criminals...
A shiny T-top CAMARO ROARS up. Stops, TIRES SQUEALING.
VAN HALEN BLASTING. LANDON, 18, at the wheel. He is impulsive, sexy-troubled, with the nothing-to-lose courage to act on destructive whims. He is envied, copied, feared. INT. CAMARO
EMPTIES roll and CLINK on the floor. A tiny plastic skeleton dances as it hangs from the rearview mirror.
Landon stamps a joint into the ashtray.
LANDON
(impatient, edgy)
Where is he? He's supposed to be here. (CONTINUED)4.
CONTINUED:
ERIC
(from back seat)
I need to whizz.
ERIC's skinny, high-energy. A leg always jiggling.
LANDON
Eric. You're such a hummingbird.
BELINDA
I wanna dance.
BELINDA is Landon's girlfriend. Richie princess, a badgirl pretender. Big shoulder pads. Jellie bracelet.
Swatch watch.
LANDON
So go dance.
BELINDA
With you.
LANDON
I. Don't. Dance.
ERIC
(pointing, like Tattoo)
Dee plane. Dee plane.
They laugh. Clay's by the dumpster.
EXT. DUMPSTER
CLAY, obese, wearing a too-small student monitor vest, is dumping garbage from a trash can. A loud HONK. Clay turns to see the Camaro, then turns back to the school, coast clear. He quickly heaves in the empty trash can as the Camaro pulls up.
Eric pushes a door open. Empties fall from the back seat.
Clay climbs in.
CLAY
Go go go go.
PRINCIPAL ED KELLY, middle-aged, pockmarked skin, Casio calculator watch, exits the gym.
INT. CAMARO
Landon's looking at Kelly in the rearview mirror.
(CONTINUED)5.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(mocking)
Kelly. He looks like his face caught fire and he tried to put it out with a fork.
Landon inches the car forward, teasing Clay, teasing
Kelly.
ERIC
He couldn't find his own butt with both hands at high noon in a hall of mirrors.
Sniggering laughter.
CLAY
Go!
Landon presses the gas. The CAR ROARS away.
CLAY
Kelly's so old he --
LANDON
We're done with that already, bonehead. Clay smiles, good-natured. He often misses social cues.
EXT. CAMARO - TRAVELING
Landon drops Clay's student monitor vest out onto the road. Another car runs it over.
EXT. ROAD
Mr. Kelly walks over, picks up the vest. Shakes it.
Frustrated. Eyes the empty beer bottles by the dumpster.
EXT. OUTSIDE CEMETERY GATE - LITTLE LATER
Camaro is parked on the dirt access road, headlights shining through the locked rear gate. JOHN COUGAR
MELLENCAMP's "Small Town" playing.
INT. CAMARO
Landon, Clay, and Belinda sit drinking, smoking weed.
Under the MUSIC, a CB RADIO scanner CHATS quietly.
(CONTINUED)6.
CONTINUED:
ERIC (O.S.)
So which is it?
EXT. CAMARO
Eric finishes taking a leak.
ERIC
(calling over, repeating)
Landon. To save your life, you have to either go deaf or go numb in your dick and balls.
Eric climbs back in the car.
INT. CAMARO
Landon, Belinda, Clay, Eric.
LANDON
I'm thinking.
ERIC
No thinking. The doctor only gives you three seconds to decide!-- LANDON
Could I lose one ear and one nut?
ERIC
No questions, no negotiating --
BELINDA
(to Eric, annoyed)
Where do you get these stupid questions -- ?
LANDON
Hypotheticals --
ERIC
(to Belinda)
I'm just wondering --
BELINDA
Don't wonder.
Landon's looking out at the night.
(CONTINUED)7.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Jamie Sullivan.
Everyone looks up. Derisive laughter.
THEIR POV
A pale, contemplative GIRL, 17, is jumping down off the gate, caught in the headlights. Wearing clothes she probably made herself; long hair hiding her face. She lives in her mind, not her body.
BACK TO SCENE
BELINDA
Brain.
ERIC
Bible freak.
LANDON
Cherry.
EXT. CAMARO
JAMIE (GIRL), hearing the laughter, gathers herself and approaches Landon's window, her SNEAKERS CRUNCHING in the
GRAVEL. She crosses her pilly brown sweater across her chest. JAMIE
(to Landon, tentative)
Hey. Hi. Your lights. Any chance you could... turn them off!-- BELINDA
(leaning over Landon)
God give you this road?
JAMIE
No --
BELINDA
Then we'll be keeping the lights on. (CONTINUED)8.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(to Jamie, seeming nice)
If you want the lights off, I'll turn them off.
And he does. Darkness.
JAMIE
Thank you. Thank you so very much. She backs away from the car, grateful. From the car:
BELINDA (O.S.)
I can't see a friggin' thing.
INT. CAMARO
Landon switches on the dome lights for Belinda.
BELINDA
(imitating Jamie)
'Thank you. Thank you so very much.' But Landon's looking at Jamie. Almost counting the seconds... HIS POV
Jamie scaling the fence, practiced at it.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon quickly flicks the high beams. Belinda, Eric, and
Clay snicker and snort as they see --
EXT. CEMETERY GATE
Jamie, startled, paused at the top. But instead of looking bullied, her face shows determination, humor even.
A moment later, she jumps down on the far side.
Disappears.
INT. CAMARO
Belinda, Eric, Clay are still laughing. Landon's smiling.
(CONTINUED)9.
CONTINUED:
ERIC
Ten years. Where're you gonna be?
(to Belinda, mocking)
Hypothetically?
BELINDA
Paris.
CLAY
Dead.
Laughter.
LANDON
Right here. With you.
He clinks Eric's raised beer. More laughter. But
Landon's face clouds slightly -- maybe this isn't where he'd really like to be.
CLAY
'Twilight Zone.' 'One Step
Beyond.' 'Tales from the Dark
Side.'
ERIC
'Twilight Zone,' dipshit.
LANDON
Don't call him a dipshit.
ERIC
You do --
LANDON
And you don't.
(beat, re: Jamie)
What's she doing in there?
BELINDA
Nothing I'd be doing.
Laughter. Landon kisses her. With tongue.
A blinding white light dances through the car and settles on Landon and Belinda's faces.
LANDON
Shit!
He scrambles out of the car.
EXT. CAMARO
Landon looks up at the fence.10.
LANDON'S POV
Jamie sitting atop, holding a large mirror, reflecting the headlights back into the car.
BACK TO SCENE
They stare at each other. His annoyance turns to mild respect. The CB RADIO comes to life inside the car. A GARBLED
TRANSMISSION.
BELINDA (O.S.)
Landon!
INT. CAMARO
Landon leaps in. Pops out the Van Halen.
LANDON
The address?!
ERIC
York Ave.
Landon pops in a WHAM! tape. AMPS it UP. "Freedom."
LANDON
What number?
Nobody answers.
LANDON
Dildoes.
Landon turns the car around.
EXT. ACCESS ROAD
The Camaro fishtails away. TIRES CRUNCHING, red taillights bouncing on the rough road. The car turns left onto the paved road and speeds out of sight.
INT. CAMARO
Landon drives recklessly. Rushing. He makes a SCREECHING turn. LANDON'S POV - STREET AHEAD
Two fire trucks rumbling by houses, SIRENS WAILING.11.
EXT. CAMARO
Turns right, following the fire trucks.
INT. CAMARO
Landon smiles at Belinda. She smiles back. Fun. Landon takes a slug of beer. Turns his eyes back to the road.
LANDON'S POV - FIRE TRUCKS make another turn. Then a flash of light, movement. A figure on the road.
EXT. ROAD
An old man walking his little dog. Crossing the street.
INT. CAMARO - LANDON turns the wheel hard. Jams his foot on the brake.
EXT. ROAD
The Camaro swerves. TIRES SQUEALING. A LOUD, HEARTSEARING THUMP.
The old man -- sideswiped, drops to the asphalt.
The CAMARO SLAMS into a light pole. CRUNCHING METAL.
TINKLING GLASS.
INT. CAMARO
Quiet. Landon, Eric and Clay are banged up.
CLAY
Christ, man.
LANDON
You okay?
ERIC
Yeah.
Belinda's head leans on the dash. Her shoulders shake.
Landon, bleeding on the forehead, reaches over. Scared.
LANDON
Belinda?
(CONTINUED)12.
CONTINUED:
She lifts her head. Looks at him. She's laughing. He kicks his door out.
EXT. STREET
The Camaro crumpled into the light pole. Headlights askew. Clay and Eric and Belinda getting out, dazed.
Landon runs to the old man. Kneels. Shakes him. No response. The man's TERRIER BARKS at Landon.
LANDON'S FACE
Frightened, anguished. The real Landon showing for an instant. Police SIRENS WAIL in the b.g., growing LOUDER.
EXT. OLD CHEVETTE - HALF HOUR LATER
A battered Chevette steers through a working-class neighborhood. INT. CHEVETTE
Landon's mother, CYNTHIA, 35, drives. She's weary with sun-worn skin, but still attractive. She wears a skimpy black-and-white cocktail waitress uniform under her coat.
CYNTHIA
What if they expel you?
LANDON
Kelly wouldn't do that.
CYNTHIA
Why not?
LANDON
Cuz nothing happened at school.
He smiles his biggest most reassuring smile.
CYNTHIA
Don't smile at me. It's not going to get you out of this.
LANDON
Why not? It always has before.13.
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH - MONDAY (7:59 AM)
By daylight, a modern brick and glass structure.
INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - 8:05 AM
Mr. Kelly gestures for Landon to sit. Landon doesn't.
His forehead still shows a bruise.
MR. KELLY
I had hopes for you.
LANDON
Like I'd grow up to be president, another Reagan.
MR. KELLY
(not laughing)
Like you'd make it to June. Even cutting half your classes, you have a B- average.
LANDON
I'm no dummy.
MR. KELLY
That's right. You just act like one. On his desk, he places the empty bottles that rolled out of the Camaro.
LANDON
Those aren't mine.
MR.KELLY
They came from your car.
LANDON
I wasn't the one drinking.
Kelly holds up the police test finding.
MR. KELLY
Your blood alcohol level. Maybe you were legally in the clear, but
I make the rules here.
Landon scowls, knows he's defeated.
LANDON
You expelling me?
MR. KELLY
I am.
(CONTINUED)14.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Now I can do what I want.
MR. KELLY
That's right.
(sarcastic)
The world is your oyster.
EXT. SCHOOL ENTRANCE - MINUTES LATER
Landon busts out, arms high, fists tight, like a righteous political prisoner. Freedom. He struts through the courtyard. Not a care in the world.
EXT. CARTER DRIVEWAY - HOUR LATER
Landon watches a tow truck lower the crumpled Camaro. A neighbor kid, JOSH, 12, watches from across the street, on his way to school.
EXT. CAMARO - MINUTES LATER
Landon pokes and prods his car -- the engine, underneath, the body, the paint. A discouraging mess.
INT. CARTER HOUSE - HALLWAY - MINUTES LATER
Landon knocks on Cynthia's bedroom door.
LANDON
Mom. I need a ride.
INT. CYNTHIA'S BEDROOM
Dark. She wears a black eye-shield. Her waitress uniform hangs over a chair.
CYNTHIA
(sleepy, annoyed)
I'm not getting up to drive you somewhere. (beat)
What're you doing home?
EXT. GARAGE - MOMENTS LATER
Landon lifts the garage DOOR.15.
LANDON'S POV - INSIDE GARAGE
A murky place. Filled with old tools and junk and a grim old bike.
EXT. MINI-MALL - AUTO PARTS SHOP - LITTLE LATER
Landon comes out the glass door, his arms loaded, sees his bike. No way to carry. He looks around. The bus stop.
A bus approaching.
EXT. UNDER CAMARO - LATER
BANGING, RATCHETING, CLINKING. Landon's working hard. A
BOOM BOX playing SIMPLE MINDS' "Alive and Kicking."
LANDON'S POV - HIS MOTHER'S LEGS and worn terry slippers appear.
CYNTHIA (O.S.)
I want to talk to you.
He pauses, annoyed, then rolls himself out.
EXT. CARTER DRIVEWAY
The mangled front bumper's on the ground. Cynthia stands there in her bathrobe. Upset. Landon's almost too much.
CYNTHIA
You're not hanging round here all day. LANDON
I'm not hanging. I'm fixing my car --
CYNTHIA
You don't need a car you can't drive for a month. Go see Marvin.
LANDON
'Bout what?
CYNTHIA
About a job.
Landon ignores her. Slides back under his car.16.
EXT. UNDER CAMARO
CYNTHIA (O.S.)
He's going to try you as assistant manager. (beat)
You could be manager someday.
Landon can't believe this.
EXT. DRIVEWAY
Landon slides back out.
LANDON
I'm not working there.
Cynthia sets her jaw. He knows that look.
INT. RESTAURANT - KITCHEN - LUNCH HOUR
Landon is sweating, scouring pots. A crooked cap on his head, an assistant manager name tag on his shirt. He's making some headway; only two more to wash.
MARVIN, the owner, walks over. Beer belly, greasy hair.
Dumps another pile of dirty pots and pans in Landon's sink. Landon glimpses his future.
INT. PRINCIPAL KELLY'S OUTER OFFICE - EARLY AFTERNOON
Landon paces, jumpy. Kelly's secretary, MISS TARBOX, quietly locks her purse in her bottom drawer.
LANDON
Who's he in with?
MISS TARBOX
He'll be with you when he's available. The door to Kelly's office opens. Jamie Sullivan exits with her father, the tall stern REVEREND HEGBERT SULLIVAN.
Jamie eyes Landon as she passes by.
LANDON
(joking)
You expelled, too?
Nobody laughs or even smiles.17.
INT. PRINCIPAL KELLY'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Mr. Kelly makes a note in Jamie's file.
MR. KELLY
Finding the real world to your liking, Mr. Carter?
LANDON
I want to come back.
MR. KELLY
(looking up, surprised)
Back? Were you ever really here?
They both know Kelly has the upper hand. Kelly leans back in his chair, relishing it.
LANDON
(mumbling)
I want to graduate.
Kelly studies Landon, the boy who can't get out of his own way. MR. KELLY
(thinking aloud)
You could grace our hallowed halls again, if, while you're here, you make a sincere effort to be part of our little school community --
LANDON
(relieved)
I'd do that --
MR. KELLY
How would you do that, Mr. Carter?
Landon shrugs, clueless.
MR. KELLY
(smiling)
Shall I give you a few ideas?
LANDON
(smiling, too)
Please.
MR. KELLY
Besides attending all your regular classes, I'd like you to help our janitorial staff after school --
(CONTINUED)18.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
For pay?
MR. KELLY
For the inner satisfaction it will bring. (beat)
Saturday mornings, I'd like you to tutor disadvantaged students at our sister school --
LANDON
(joking)
I'm as underprivileged as they are --
MR. KELLY
The fact that you attend this school makes you privileged.
His tone quiets Landon.
MR. KELLY
Finally, I'd like you to join the drama club. Rehearsals are
Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
LANDON
(grumbling)
I'd work backstage or something?
MR. KELLY
Or something. They're doing a play for the holidays.
LANDON
When do I get time for me?
MR. KELLY
You don't. That's the point.
Landon's not happy, but he'll work with this. As he heads for the door:
MR. KELLY
(softer, trying to reach him)
Landon, none of us faculty see you the way you see yourself.
(beat)
Some of us remember how your father --
LANDON
Then you remember more than I do.19.
CLOSE ON BROOM pushing gum wrappers under a radiator.
INT. SCIENCE CLASSROOM - AFTER SCHOOL
Landon sweeps at the floor during the Star Club open house. A dozen nerds, including Jamie Sullivan (wearing her brown sweater), stand at astronomy exhibits. Students wander in, listen, look.
JAMIE
(answering question)
-- Saturn's 15 degrees to the right of red Antares and much brighter. To her small audience, she holds up a contraption made from a wire coat hanger.
JAMIE
This is a very simple device made from a coat hanger, plastic wrap and typewriter correction fluid.
Does anyone know what it is?
No one does.
LANDON
(barely audible)
A star frame.
But Jamie hears. She regards him a moment, then keeps going. JAMIE
This is a star frame.
Clay and Eric enter, checking on Landon, glancing at
Jamie.
JAMIE
A star frame will help you locate stars and planets with your naked eye --
CLAY
(scoffing, setting her up)
-- Did God create the sun?
(CONTINUED)20.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(taking him seriously)
Yes, God created the universe and all its physical laws. Even
Einstein said it's a miracle that our world is comprehensible --
ERIC
-- If God can do all that, why can't he get you a new sweater?
Landon laughs loudly. Members of the club look at him.
LANDON
That was a joke. Laugh.
Jamie smiles. She can laugh at herself. And she finds
Landon funny.
INT. CARTER KITCHEN - EVENING
Landon washes up while his mother sets the table. The
MICROWAVE HUMS in the b.g.
CYNTHIA
Your father dropped off an extra check. LANDON
I don't want his money.
CYNTHIA
It could help with a new car!--
LANDON
-- I like the car I have.
He picks up the envelope with wet hands. Without looking inside, rips it in half. Cynthia smiles, quietly happy.
INT. SCHOOL BUS - TRAVELING - SATURDAY MORNING
Enthusiastic preppies, richies, other do-gooders, singing
"Karma Chameleon." Jamie sits in an aisle seat, reading, not singing. She turns around to look at Landon. He rides in the back row, staring out the window, wearing a
Sony Walkman, glum.
HIS POV
To Z.Z. TOP'S "Sleeping Bag." Out the window -- Jefferson
High School coming into view. Bars on every window, chain-link fence around the parameter, no grass.21.
INT. JEFFERSON HIGH - LIBRARY - LITTLE LATER
A big room with tables and chairs but few books. Pairs of heads are bent over textbooks and notebooks. Landon sits with LUIS, a freshman boy of mixed ethnicity. A geometry text between them.
LANDON
(reading)
-- 'So what is the measure of angle x if A and B are similar triangles?' Luis is lost, intimidated.
LANDON
Know what 'similar' means?
Luis shrugs. Luis looks down at the book as if for the answer, then at Landon, hopeless. He gets up and walks off. Landon looks up in disbelief and catches Jamie studying him. She's at a nearby table with her student,
ISABEL.
INT. SCHOOL BUS - NOON
The DOOR SWISHES SHUT behind Landon as he hops aboard.
He's late and heads for the rear bench seat.
LANDON'S POV
Jamie sitting there. And no vacant seats save next to her. BACK TO SCENE
The bus begins to roll. Landon lurches forward.
TRAVELING - LATER
The bus is moving through Beaufort. Landon sits next to
Jamie. Putting a new tape into his Sony Walkman. His body turned away. She's reading her book.
JAMIE
You going to visit Harold?
Landon scowls. What-who is she talking about?
(CONTINUED)22.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
They let him out of the hospital yesterday. He's in a rest home on
Oak Street.
That old man.
JAMIE
He goes to my father's church. He could've died --
LANDON
-- This your idea of small talk?
JAMIE
I don't make small talk --
LANDON
-- Obviously.
JAMIE
I just wanted to tell you not to give up. Sometimes you've got to back into the teaching from somewhere else.
If he heard her, he makes no sign. She goes back to her book. A long beat, then:
JAMIE
What makes you volunteer?
(pause)
Want to know why I tutor reading?
Not really.
JAMIE
Because, growing up, books were my world. LANDON
(mean)
Were?
JAMIE
You don't know me.
LANDON
Your book and your brown sweater and your hair. What's more to know -- ?
(CONTINUED)23.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
-- I wear the sweater because I'm cold. I read because no one talks to me. My hair is my hair. What is it exactly that's bothering you? LANDON
You don't care what people say?
JAMIE
You mean care what you say? I'm worrying about other things.
LANDON
Like what? The moons of Jupiter?
JAMIE
Can't you have a normal conversation? LANDON
I don't want to have any conversation. JAMIE
Good, cuz talking to you is like trying to explain red to a blind person. She reads again. The bus pulls to a stop in front of
Beaufort High. Belinda, wearing a neck brace, is waiting, leaning on her Cabriolet. Jamie watches Landon exit the bus. JAMIE'S POV - OUT THE WINDOW
Landon greeting Belinda, kissing her.
INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - TUESDAY EVENING
Landon opens a side door, peers in at the Drama Club.
LANDON'S POV
A big space with a stage. MS. GARBER stands before six geeky boys, and a dozen fat girls and Jamie.24.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon reacts -- this girl actually chooses to be in these places? Ms. Garber looks up from her papers.
MS. GARBER
We're waiting, Mr. Carter.
He slides in a row behind the others. Leans forward and pokes a boy, EDDIE JONES. Eddie's pimply and talks with his eyes squinched up.
LANDON
What's the play?
Eddie hands him a photocopied script, The Rainmaker.
EDDIE
The-the-there's this drought an'
-- and a smooth t-t-alking guy comes and says he can m-make rain!-- LANDON
-- And the ugly farmer's daughter falls for him. I saw the movie.
EDDIE
Yeah. It's really g-g-good --
LANDON
-- It blows.
ON STAGE - MINUTES LATER
Jamie and Landon sit in folding chairs, reading from scripts. Landon's wooden, showing how lame this is.
LANDON
(as Starbuck)
'I hope your dreams come true.'
JAMIE
(as Lizzie, sad)
'They won't.'
LANDON
(as Starbuck)
'Believe in yourself and they will. Let me ask you, Lizzie.
Look in the mirror? Are you pretty --?'
(CONTINUED)25.
CONTINUED:
MS. GARBER
-- Landon, are you trying to be bad at this?
LANDON
No, it just comes naturally.
Jamie smiles. Garber taps her script -- continue.
LANDON
(as Starbuck)
'It's got to be inside you. Then one day the mirror will be the eyes of the man who loves you.
You'll look in that mirror and you'll be more than pretty.
You'll be beautiful.'
Ms. Garber eyes Landon, motions for him to keep going.
LANDON
(as Starbuck)
'Look at me. Tell me what you see!' As Lizzie, Jamie looks into his eyes.
JAMIE
(as Lizzie)
'Is it really me?'
LANDON
(as Starbuck, hamming)
'Yes. You're-you're b-bbeautiful.'
Hoots and laughter. Jamie looks away, humiliated.
MS. GARBER
Quiet!
(announcing)
Landon will play the role of Bill
Starbuck.
Groans among the boys. Jamie is horrified. So is Landon.
LANDON
(to Garber)
No way. No thanks. I can't do it!-- (CONTINUED)26.
CONTINUED:
MR. KELLY (O.S.)
(offstage)
-- You can and you will, Mr.
Carter.
Kelly's been standing in the wings.
MR. KELLY
(warning)
With all the sincerity and dignity you can muster.
Everyone stares at Landon. He's trapped.
EXT. AUDITORIUM - LATER THAT EVENING
Raining. Landon exits behind all the others. Stands under an overhang, lights a cigarette, angry, waiting for a ride. Jamie approaches, something on her mind.
LANDON
(rude)
You're like this fly, buzzing buzzing everywhere --
JAMIE
-- This play means a lot to me.
LANDON
(snorting)
This play -- ?
JAMIE
-- I know you don't suck at acting. Landon laughs. Refusing to take her seriously. Behind him, the lights go out as the school closes for the night.
JAMIE
But you have to make it a big joke because only dorks and dweebies like doing theater --
LANDON
-- What are you going on about?
Pause.
JAMIE
I can judge too.
(CONTINUED)27.
CONTINUED:
He exhales, eyeing her, daring her.
JAMIE
You don't care about classes or graduating. But you like school because you're popular and you know you'll never be on top again.
LANDON
That's deep --
JAMIE
-- Your act only works with an audience. LANDON
My act?!
She walks off toward her father's old Pontiac. The last car in the parking lot.
Fire trucks rush by on the street below. Landon's ears twitch. He looks about. No one, no ride. He sees the
Pontiac backing out of a parking spot.
EXT. PARKING LOT - MOMENTS LATER
Landon bangs on the side of her car as she drives past.
LANDON
A ride?! Please!
INT. PONTIAC
Jamie turns to look at him.
JAMIE'S POV
Landon, wet, desperate, his eyes pleading.
LANDON
(insincere)
We can talk about your helping me with my lines.
INT. OLD PONTIAC - TRAVELING - MOMENTS LATER
Jamie's at the wheel.
(CONTINUED)28.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
I know you don't want help.
LANDON
Then we both know.
(beat)
I'll point. You drive. Faster.
He points the way, to the taillights of the fire trucks.
The wet road glistens.
JAMIE
We're following fire trucks?
LANDON
Yeah.
JAMIE
Why?
LANDON
(duh)
Because that's where the fire is?
He fishes in his pocket for a tape. Pulls one out. He's searching the dash -- no cassette player.
LANDON
Fire is like a living thing.
Wild. Unpredictable.
JAMIE
Like me.
LANDON
No. Not like you.
She jerks the car across the center lane. Driving on the wrong side of the road. He grips the dash.
LANDON
What the -- ?!
JAMIE
So you agree you need help?
LANDON'S POV - OUT WINDSHIELD
Headlights looming, a car coming. Closer and closer.29.
BACK TO SCENE
LANDON
Yes!
She swings the Pontiac back to the right lane. Smiling.
A car zips by in the other direction, HORN BLARING.
JAMIE
Really?
Landon drops his attitude, his act. He toys with the glove compartment knob.
LANDON
Yeah. Kelly'll make me leave school if I screw up the play.
JAMIE
(to herself)
28 and 42.
Pause. He acts like he doesn't hear, but he's interested.
LANDON
What's with the friggin numbers?
JAMIE
28 is do something illegal. 42 is befriend an enemy.
LANDON
I'm an enemy?
JAMIE
Kinda. Yeah.
EXT. ACROSS STREET FROM FIRE - LITTLE LATER
Landon and Jamie walk around the fire, watching the fire and the firemen. Landon is just tolerating her.
JAMIE
The reason I got the part... I'm a little like Lizzie. Except I don't worry about some man rescuing me.
LANDON
Good thing.
If she's offended, she keeps it to herself.
(CONTINUED)30.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
You got some kind of list?
JAMIE
Are you asking to mock me or do you really want to know?
LANDON
Maybe a little of both.
They both smile.
JAMIE
I'll take a chance.
LANDON
Go for it.
JAMIE
It's like a to-do list, but for my life. He smirks.
JAMIE
If you can't imagine the future, you won't have one.
He lights a cigarette. She reaches for it.
LANDON
(joking)
Having a cigarette. 100.
She grins and takes a drag. They share the cigarette.
LANDON
So what else is on this list?
JAMIE
It's private.
LANDON
(cajoling)
You want to tell me...
She eyes him, not certain she's willing to risk sharing her dreams with him.
LANDON
(guessing, rudely)
Get very wasted. Lose your virginity --
(CONTINUED)31.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(correcting)
Spend a year in the Peace Corps.
Make a medical discovery --
LANDON
(contemptuous)
Ambitious.
JAMIE
Being negative's a lot more work than being positive.
LANDON
Like you'd know.
JAMIE
I do know.
(pause)
Be two places at once... learn to hit a baseball or turn a cartwheel... eat breakfast with chopsticks... He likes the frivolity of these.
LANDON
What's... Number one?
She looks away, embarrassed.
JAMIE
(changing subject)
If you want help with your lines,
I have two conditions.
(smiling)
You have to promise not to fall in love with me.
He's certain she's joking.
LANDON
No problem --
JAMIE
And you have to meet my father.
He looks at her like she's crazy to worry about this.
LANDON
Fathers love me.32.
CLOSE ON PARSONAGE FRONT DOOR swinging open. Reverend Sullivan looming tall. Ichabod
Crane in a collar.
EXT. PARSONAGE PORCH - WIDER - NEXT EVENING
Landon gives a cheery little wave. He's very sweaty. His bike teeters on its kickstand in the b.g.
LANDON
Hey. Landon Carter.
Landon offers his hand. The Reverend shakes reluctantly, eyeing him closely: Landon's Army boots, torn jeans, dirty t-shirt, aloof manner.
REV. SULLIVAN
(surprised)
You're in the play?
LANDON
Lead man.
Jamie slides out the door. She looks good in jeans and a white t-shirt. Almost normal. In the b.g., Landon's BIKE
CRASHES over. He bounds down the porch steps.
LANDON
(explaining bike)
They took my license for 30 days.
But nobody's pressing charges.
The Reverend looks at Jamie, concerned. Landon tries the kickstand, then leans the bike against a carefully trimmed bush. Not the best place.
JAMIE
I'll get something for us to drink --
LANDON
Don't bother!
But she's already gone. The Reverend gestures toward the open front door.
INT. SULLIVAN LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Dark and prim with stiff furniture left to fade. Landon pokes around, then stares at a photo of little girl Jamie with her parents. He looks up, aware that the Reverend is studying him closely.
(CONTINUED)33.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
You know our planet would not suffer for one nanosecond if humans died off. But if ants disappeared, that would be catastrophic. The Reverend waits, letting Landon suffer the silence.
LANDON
(confidence flagging)
Apropos of nothing... so. So so so so --
REV. SULLIVAN
Let's get something straight. You don't know me. I don't know you.
But I know what you're about.
(beat)
Keep your distance from this house -- and from Jamie.
His eyes lock with Landon's. His message clear. A NOISE and Jamie is there, carrying glasses of lemonade, all cheerful. JAMIE
I miss anything?
INT. PARSONAGE - KITCHEN - MINUTES LATER
Jamie washes the lemonade glasses, happy. Her father comes in.
REV. SULLIVAN
The Carter boy. Tell me about him. JAMIE
He wants help with his lines --
REV. SULLIVAN
He was driving the car that hit
Harold Keene --
JAMIE
By accident --
REV. SULLIVAN
Jamie, he's careless. Reckless.
(beat)
Is this really the best time to be making a new friend...?
(CONTINUED)34.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
I'm supposed to always be alone?
REV. SULLIVAN
I don't want you to see him outside school activities.
JAMIE
Fine. But I need to start deciding how to spend my time and my life.
Pause.
REV. SULLIVAN
(gentler)
I'm sorry your mother isn't here to help you become a woman.
JAMIE
Dad, I've become a woman without her. Just not a pretty one.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - ONE AM
Jamie hops out of bed, pulls on jeans and a sweatshirt.
INT. HALLWAY
Jamie peers into her father's room. He's sleeping. She tiptoes to the staircase and down. Sneaking out.
EXT. REAR ACCESS ROAD TO CEMETERY - TEN MINUTES LATER
Landon is waiting when Jamie appears. He has scripts in his back pocket. They smile at each other, laugh.
JAMIE
(re: her father)
I know. Don't say anything.
LANDON
He's a softy. Got him wrapped around my finger.
JAMIE
You think so.
LANDON
Know so.
(CONTINUED)35.
CONTINUED:
She grins, skeptical.
JAMIE
This way.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Jamie leads Landon toward the cemetery rear gate.
JAMIE
People think I'm strange, don't they? LANDON
(smiling)
Yes.
JAMIE
Because I try to be nice to people? LANDON
Yeah. Maybe. I dunno.
JAMIE
Do you think I'm strange?
Pause. Landon's caught off-guard by her frankness.
LANDON
Yeah. But that can be good.
EXT. CEMETERY - REAR GATE - NIGHT
Jamie quickly scales the fence. Landon's right after her.
LANDON
Why are we here?
INT. CEMETERY
Jamie drops down. Takes a flashlight from her bag.
JAMIE
Cuz it's dark and quiet and you can see into another world.
LANDON
(on top of gate)
The world of the dead?
(CONTINUED)36.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(being mysterious)
Could be...
He drops down, not sure what she means. She's already walking away. He follows.
JAMIE
My mother's buried near here.
LANDON
My father's alive but it's like he's dead.
She looks at Landon, feeling his sorrow, then unlocks a storage shed. Opens the door. Enters. Returns a moment later carrying several pieces of an odd-looking home-made cylindrical device.
LANDON
What is that?
JAMIE
(proud)
That is my telescope.
SAME SCENE - MINUTES LATER
The ten-inch Dobsonian telescope is pointed at the sky.
The eye-piece is at the end of the long scope; the scope rests on a plywood base. Landon looks through the eyepiece.
POV (THROUGH TELESCOPE) - CLOSE ON GOLDEN PLANET a beautiful view of a golden planet with a broad, flat ring system.
WIDEN.
LANDON
(impressed)
Saturn. Beautiful.
JAMIE
Before Voyager we expected maybe a dozen rings --
LANDON
But there are thousands of them, made of floating ice --
(CONTINUED)37.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Maybe debris from a moon that broke apart.
LANDON
Or building blocks for a world that never formed.
She looks at him. He smiles, embarrassed.
LANDON
I'm not smart. Just a sponge.
She smiles, disagreeing, then looks through the telescope and changes its view.
JAMIE
Sometimes I come here and just scan the heavens.
LANDON
(joking)
Looking for intelligent life?
JAMIE
Looking for something -- someone.
Pause. He doesn't know what to say.
LANDON
Do you believe you'll see your mother again?
JAMIE
I hope so.
(beat)
I think maybe she sees me now.
Their eyes meet. She looks away. Changes the subject.
JAMIE
(re: telescope)
I'm building a larger one to see the nucleus of Haley's Comet --
LANDON
The dirty snowball at its core.
JAMIE
Yeah.
(beat)
I'm probably not going to be around next time it comes.
(CONTINUED)38.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
In 76 years, me neither.
She likes that he knows a little about astronomy. They each lean back on a tombstone and stare at the stars.
LANDON
You're really into God, right?
JAMIE
In ten words or less?
LANDON
Yeah.
JAMIE
My relationship with God is my own. LANDON
But you think about Him -- It --
Her.
JAMIE
Don't you?
LANDON
Not really.
Pause.
JAMIE
When you do, how do you?
Landon could joke or he could reveal something.
LANDON
Like in a church painting. I see this giant hovering over the ground. He's wearing a robe, and has long flowing hair, and he's pointing his finger at something.
JAMIE
Do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?
LANDON
No.
(CONTINUED)39.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
I know there's a plan for everyone, but sometimes I don't understand what the message is -- or what the point is.
LANDON
There is no point. You live. You die. The end.
JAMIE
Maybe we're not supposed to understand, but we're supposed to have faith that someone else sees the big picture.
LANDON
You have to believe to have faith.
JAMIE
You don't believe in anything?
LANDON
The Bible. Why should I read a bunch of dumb stories about some ancient guy who supposedly worked miracles. JAMIE
Interpreted by another guy like my father. LANDON
Your father doesn't like me.
Pause.
JAMIE
He doesn't trust you.
LANDON
Sometimes I don't even trust me.
He sits up and pulls Rainmaker scripts from his back pocket. He holds one out to her. A moment passes. She takes it.
JAMIE
I'm not afraid of you.
LANDON
Likewise.40.
INT. PARSONAGE - HALLWAY - LATER THAT NIGHT
Jamie sneaks from the stairs to her room. Shuts the door.
A light glows under the door, then goes out.
INT. REVEREND SULLIVAN'S BEDROOM
He opens his eyes, listens, then turns over and goes back to sleep. Not suspecting. Not yet.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME
Dreary. Landon lies in bed, flipping the TV CHANNELS, past "Square Pegs," "Miami Vice," MTV, to a British nature documentary. After a moment, he searches for a pen and paper. Titles it "Life List." Pause. He doesn't know what to write.
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH PARKING LOT - MORNING (BEFORE SCHOOL)
Landon, Clay, Eric, Belinda. Eric's pickup is parked by
Belinda's Cabriolet. RADIOS ON, BLASTING the same station, same song: JOHN FOGERTY's "Rock and Roll Girls."
ERIC
Women are definitely evolving into men. CLAY
The moustaches on some girls.
Unbelievable.
BELINDA
Why is Jamie Sullivan staring at us? They look. Jamie's watching them. They laugh.
ERIC
She wants to jump Landon's bones.
BELINDA
That is so pitiful.
LANDON
She's very confused.
CLAY
Deluded.
ERIC
Deranged.
(CONTINUED)41.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Demented.
BELINDA
She's coming over here...
LANDON
Heart be still.
They laugh more and she's there.
JAMIE
(to Landon)
Hi.
He doesn't respond. She shifts from foot to foot.
Confused.
JAMIE
The play's going to be really good. LANDON
(mocking her)
I'm really glad you think so.
His friends snicker and guffaw. She looks at them, then back to Landon.
JAMIE
I guess you don't want to practice lines tonight.
LANDON
You guessed right.
She gives him a funny look and walks away. A better person than he and he knows it.
BELINDA
That's one girl who can't take a hint. LANDON
Because she doesn't know what a hint is.
They laugh. Landon the loudest. It feels good, but he also feels a little... bad.
INT. GARAGE - NIGHT
Cleaned up. Swept out. The Camaro is still a dented mess. But Landon drops its hood down, wipes his hands, and climbs behind the wheel. The ENGINE STARTS.42.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
No posters of pop stars. Books by Houston Smith, Thomas
Merton, Alan Watts, Carlos Castaneda. Jamie studies, listening to JONI MITCHELL's "I Wish I Had a River." The
DOORBELL RINGS.
INT. FRONT HALL - MOMENTS LATER
Jamie opens the front door. Landon. A stern voice from the living room. Reverend Sullivan's.
REV. SULLIVAN (O.S.)
Better not be the Carter boy.
Jamie shuts the door.
EXT. SULLIVAN FRONT PORCH
Landon can't believe this. He presses the BELL again.
LANDON
(talking to door)
Jamie?
(beat)
Open up.
(beat)
Open the door. Please.
(long beat)
Reverend Sullivan, I have to talk to your daught--
JAMIE
What is your problem?
She's standing in the front yard.
LANDON
You're not in a very good mood.
JAMIE
You don't miss a thing.
WIDER
He steps down off the porch.
LANDON
The play's in a couple of weeks.
JAMIE
Yes. And?
(CONTINUED)43.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
I was hoping we could run lines together. JAMIE
Oh. Just not at school...
LANDON
Yeah --
JAMIE
Or anywhere where people might see us. LANDON
Belinda's a very jealous person.
JAMIE
That would be the reason.
Pause. He thinks she might be going for this.
JAMIE
So it's like you want to be secret friends. LANDON
That's it! Exactly! You're reading my mind --
JAMIE
Then maybe you can read mine.
She walks up the porch steps, goes in the front door, and opens it. Before she goes in:
JAMIE
I thought I saw something in you, something good. But I was wrong.
INT. SULLIVAN FRONT HALL - MOMENTS LATER
Jamie leans against the closed door, trembling, almost crying. In the living room, her father looks up from his reading, sees Jamie, then parts the curtains, looks out, glowers. REVEREND SULLIVAN'S POV - OUT WINDOW
Landon standing in the front yard, confused that Jamie would reject his generous offer of friendship.44.
EXT. FRONT YARD
Landon walks to his car, then yells back at the parsonage.
LANDON
Why do you have to be so weird?!
The front door opens, startling Landon. It's the
Reverend. Red-faced with fury. Landon glares back, but then climbs in his car and drives off. Ashamed.
INT. PARSONAGE - LIVING ROOM - MINUTES LATER
Jamie sits on the sofa. Her father doesn't look up from his reading.
REV. SULLIVAN
The first time I met him I knew.
I'm proud of how you're handling yourself. Tears well and Jamie's face cracks with guilt and heartbreak. She leaves before her father can see her distress. INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT
Landon lies in bed watching another British nature
DOCUMENTARY, this one on astronomy. He reaches for his school yearbook. Flips the pages until he finds Jamie's photo. CLOSE ON JAMIE'S PHOTO
She's smiling and looks almost cute. Listed under her photo are clubs: Red Cross, Stars and Planets, Drama.
Ambition: To Witness a Miracle.
INT. JEFFERSON HIGH - LIBRARY - SATURDAY MORNING
Landon and Luis sit over the geometry text. Landon has just asked a question and Luis is shrugging sadly.
Landon's eyes wander out the window.
LANDON'S POV - BASKETBALL HOOP
BACK TO SCENE
LANDON
Let's get outta here.45.
EXT. JEFFERSON HIGH - BASKETBALL BLACKTOP - MINUTES LATER
Landon and Luis face each other across the half-court.
Landon's got a ball and is further from the basket.
LANDON
You, me, and the basket. We're the three corners of a triangle.
Take one step in.
Landon and Luis both step forward.
LANDON
Am I at the same angle to you and the basket as before?
LUIS
Yeah.
LANDON
Are you?
LUIS
Yeah.
LANDON
So what did we just make?
LUIS
A similar triangle?
LANDON
What else? What kind of triangle has three sides of different lengths. LUIS
Scalene?
LANDON
Okay. Make me an isosceles.
Luis steps outward, directly opposite Landon.
LANDON
Yes! Two sides the same.
Landon tosses him the ball. They play. Jamie glances over from a picnic table where she works with her student,
Isabel. Landon looks at her, she looks away, he looks back. Thoughtful. Watching her. But not staring.
INT. BOOK STORE - EVENING
Landon studies the books in the spiritual/religion shelf.
(CONTINUED)46.
CONTINUED:
He picks out a book, then sits in a corner.
But before he opens the text, he looks around him, suddenly taking in all the books, all the learning, all the knowledge that could be his.
EXT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - WEEK LATER
On the marquee: The Rainmaker. Under this, "All
Invited." Under this, a full parking lot.
INT. AUDITORIUM
A full house. Parents, teachers, students, churchgoers, booster club and rotary members.
ON STAGE
The set is a wealthy Midwestern ranch house of the 1950s.
Eddie and two other BOYS play other characters. The play's underway...
STAGE LEFT
Landon watches, dressed as Bill Starbuck in a nicely fitted suit. Waiting for his entrance.
LANDON'S POV - STAGE
BOY #1
(as H.C., the father)
'Then why don't you talk to her?'
EDDIE
(as Jim)
'Because if we do, she'll think we're trying to get rid of her.'
BOY #1
(as H.C., the father)
'She'll sure think the same if I do it. You're her father and comes a time when a father's gotta mention.' BACK TO SCENE
From stage right, Jamie makes her entrance as Lizzie. A collective gasp from the audience.47.
LANDON'S POV
Jamie, wearing makeup, a dress that clings, her hair pulled back.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon can't take his eyes off her.
JAMIE
(as Lizzie)
'Morning, Pop. Boys. I dreamed we had a rain, rain coming down in sheets! Lightning flashed, thunder rolled up and down the canyon like a kid with a big drum!' AUDIENCE
Reverend Sullivan -- enraptured. Principal Kelly -- hopeful. Cynthia Carter -- uncertain. Clay, Eric, and
Belinda -- rocking in their seats, snickering.
JAMIE
(as Lizzie)
'I know why you sent me to
Sweetriver. Six boys in that family. The first three days, I stayed in my room.'
BOY #2
(as Noah, the brother)
'What'd you do that for?'
BACK OF AUDITORIUM
A well-dressed man, DR. JONATHAN CARTER, Landon's father, slips in and takes a seat a couple of rows behind Cynthia.
JAMIE (O.S.)
(as Lizzie)
'I knew what I was there for and they knew it, too!'
BACK OF AUDITORIUM - LATER
Dr. Carter hangs on every word. Others sit on the edge of their seats. Even Clay, Eric, and Belinda. Belinda leans forward to take a photo.48.
BELINDA'S POV THROUGH CAMERA LENS
As she ZOOMS -- Landon and Jamie on stage, growing larger.
ON STAGE
Landon, Jamie, and the three boys.
ON STAGE - LANDON is Starbuck.
LANDON
(as Starbuck, genuine)
'... You'll look in that mirror and you'll be more than pretty.
You'll be beautiful. Look at me.
Tell me what you see!'
Jamie looks. She sees something in his eyes she hasn't seen in them before. Love.
JAMIE
(as Lizzie, choked up)
'Is it really me?'
LANDON'S POV
Jamie, her face lovely. Her eyes shining, radiating, looking directly at him.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon is dumbstruck.
LANDON
(as Starbuck, heartfelt)
'Yes.
(beat)
You're beautiful.'
Landon changes the line and nails it. Surprising himself.
Surprising her. They both know it's sincere. A moment passes. Her stomach churns with anticipation.
He leans in. She closes her eyes. They kiss. Gently, genuinely. When Jamie opens her eyes, they are filled with tears.
(CONTINUED)49.
CONTINUED:
The curtain crashes down. End of act two.
CLAPPING from the other side of the curtain. Landon tries to meet Jamie's gaze. But she's looking at the floor.
AUDIENCE
Principal Kelly, pleased. Cynthia Carter, proud. Clay and Eric, surprised. Reverend Sullivan, frowning, concerned. Belinda's face is cold, hard.
EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - HOUR LATER
Landon runs out, looking for his friends. Mr. Kelly shakes his hand, then deals with parents.
LANDON'S POV
Belinda getting into her car.
WIDER
LANDON
Belinda!
Belinda stops.
BELINDA
What?!
She waits. Landon struggles with what to say.
BELINDA
That's what I thought!
Landon watches her START her CAR, back from a parking space --
DR. CARTER
Landon.
Landon turns. His father is standing on the curb.
DR. CARTER
Fine performance.
LANDON
Who invited you?
(CONTINUED)50.
CONTINUED:
DR. CARTER
Ed Kelly. I thought we might get a bite --
LANDON
Not hungry.
Landon moves toward his Camaro.
DR. CARTER
Landon! Please. Don't walk away from me.
LANDON
Like you walked away from us?
Landon opens his car door and gets in. Not forgiving.
INT. BEAUFORT HIGH - CORRIDOR - NEXT MORNING
Landon waits by Jamie's locker. The BELL RINGS. No
Jamie.
INT. CAFETERIA - NOON
Landon walks along the lunch line, looking. No Jamie.
INT. LIBRARY - LATER
Many many books. Landon cruises the stacks. No Jamie.
Belinda, sitting at a table with a girlfriend, sees Landon and turns away. He doesn't pursue it.
EXT. CARTER DRIVEWAY - DUSK
Eric and Clay watch Landon hammer out dents in the Camaro.
They're smoking, sharing some beers. Josh, the neighbor kid, stands across the street, wanting to be invited over.
ERIC
(contemptuous)
She's like some Puritan.
LANDON
She's not. She's got her own ideas. CLAY
Mutant ideas.
(CONTINUED)51.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Maybe to you.
Eric and Clay exchange a look -- is Landon defending her?
ERIC
Belinda's telling everyone that kiss was real.
LANDON
It was.
Eric and Clay smirk in disbelief.
ERIC
And that you're scamming on Jamie
Sullivan.
LANDON
(not denying it)
Scamming's a strong word.
INT. BEAUFORT HIGH - CORRIDOR - NEXT MORNING
Landon's waiting when Jamie approaches her locker. Her hair pulled back. She looks good in a simple, fresh way.
LANDON
You weren't in school yesterday.
JAMIE
I went to the doctor with my father. LANDON
He okay?
JAMIE
Healthy as can be.
Pause. She doesn't help him. She opens her locker, gets what she needs.
LANDON
You were great the other night.
JAMIE
Thank you. So were you.
Pause. He tries to touch her hair. She ducks.
LANDON
I haven't been nice to you.
(CONTINUED)52.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
You're hardly nice to anyone.
LANDON
(sincere)
I'm sorry.
JAMIE
(walking away)
I wish I could believe you.
INT. CAFETERIA - LATER
Jamie sits alone, reading, wearing her old brown sweater.
Landon walks by Clay and Eric at a table.
ERIC
Landon!
LANDON
Later.
Puts his tray down on Jamie's table and sits. Making a public statement.
JAMIE
People can see.
LANDON
And that would ruin your reputation how?
She goes back to her book. Ignoring him.
LANDON
(re: her book)
What's that?
She doesn't look up. Shows him the spine: The Scarlet
Letter.
JAMIE
I'm reading all the novels on Mr.
Rothberg's best American authors list. LANDON
How many books are there?
(CONTINUED)53.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(annoyed)
A hundred. Then there's his classics list. And his European list. Landon realizes this is why she's always reading.
LANDON
That on your 'Life List.' To read all those books?
She doesn't deny it. He just dives in.
LANDON
Jamie. Maybe I want to try being positive. She looks up. Examines his face for the truth.
LANDON
Maybe I miss doing that dumb play with you.
Students seated near them have overheard. Whisper.
LANDON
Maybe you inspire me.
JAMIE
That sounds like horseshit.
LANDON
Which part?
JAMIE
All of it.
LANDON
It's not.
JAMIE
Prove it.
She picks up her books and tray. Everyone is watching.
LANDON
I just did!
EXT. PARKING LOT - AFTER SCHOOL
Landon follows Jamie out of the building. Catches up.
(CONTINUED)54.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Jamie --
JAMIE
You lack honor. You lack compassion. You lack honesty.
You lack humanity.
She heads to the old Pontiac. Landon jogs after her.
LANDON
Okay. Maybe some of that is true!-- JAMIE
You don't know the first thing about being someone's friend --
LANDON
I don't want to be just your friend --
JAMIE
You don't know what you want --
LANDON
You don't either. Take a look at yourself. Maybe you're scared that someone might actually like you --
JAMIE
And why would that scare me?
LANDON
Because then you couldn't hide behind your books and your telescope and your sweater and your God.
She gets into her car. Slams the door. STARTS the
ENGINE. She recognizes the truth.
LANDON
But the real reason you're scared?
You like me!
She drives off. Clay and Eric, watching, guffaw at
Landon's spectacle.
LANDON
If you were really my friends, you'd be helping me, not running me down.
(CONTINUED)55.
CONTINUED:
ERIC
The only one running you down is you. EXT. BRIDGE OVER INTERCOASTAL WATERWAY - NIGHT
Landon sits alone. Legs dangling over. Lighting and dropping matches into the black beyond his feet. His body caught in the occasional sweep of car headlights.
Nearby, an abandoned car. A rusty old Yugo.
INT. CARTER KITCHEN - NIGHT
Landon comes in from outside. Is surprised to find
Cynthia sipping tea, wearing her uniform.
CYNTHIA
Out with Belinda?
LANDON
That's over. Way over.
CYNTHIA
I can't know things if you don't tell me.
Pause.
LANDON
Dad came to the play.
CYNTHIA
(surprised)
You saw him?
LANDON
We talked. He wanted to get a bite -- after. I said no.
CYNTHIA
(disbelief)
After he moved out, I invited him to every practice, every game, every parent-teacher conference you ever had. He didn't show, not once. LANDON
He wants to show now.
(CONTINUED)56.
CONTINUED:
CYNTHIA
You going to let him? You going to reward him by being the son he was never man enough to be a father to?
Landon doesn't answer.
CYNTHIA
(angry)
You do that.
INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE SCIENCE LAB - NEXT AFTERNOON
The door is open to a lab where Jamie and the Star Club is meeting. Landon mops, working hard, while listening in.
Inside, Jamie ignores him.
Mr. Kelly watches from near the trophy case. Almost approving. MR. KELLY
Mr. Carter. Don't wear a hole in that one spot there.
Landon grins and moves on. Behind Landon's back, Mr.
Kelly peeks into the science lab. Sees Jamie. Looks back at Landon. Wonders.
EXT. JEFFERSON HIGH - SATURDAY (DECEMBER)
Landon parks his Camaro. It's shiny and buffed and perfect again.
INT. JEFFERSON HIGH - LIBRARY - MINUTES LATER
A Christmas party for the tutors and tutored. A ROCK 'N'
ROLL CHRISTMAS CD plays. A raffle ticket box by the door.
A sign reads: "Win Movie Tickets."
Landon enters, buys a ticket, then takes off his leather jacket. Underneath, a nice shirt and tie.
LANDON'S POV
Across the room -- Jamie, looking pretty in a dress, laughing with her student, Isabel. Mr. Kelly talking with
MR. REGINALD ADAMS, principal of Jefferson High.
Luis runs over, diverts Landon's attention.57.
FRONT OF ROOM
Mr. Adams goes to a microphone. Taps it.
MR. ADAMS
Everyone? Quiet please. As you all know, we're here to celebrate the holidays and to raise money to buy books for our library. The book drive is being led by
Beaufort High's Jamie Sullivan.
Applause. This is new. Landon looks at Jamie, who's smiling. She steps to the microphone.
JAMIE
Thank you for buying tickets.
We've raised two hundred and eighty-five dollars.
More applause. She steps down.
LANDON AND LUIS
Off to one side.
LANDON
(to Luis)
About enough to buy maybe five volumes in a set of encyclopedias.
Luis smiles. Jamie overhears.
JAMIE
It's a start.
LANDON
Yeah, with a finish in about a decade. She smiles. He looks at her.
LANDON
So you're talking to me?
JAMIE
When I have something to say.
He smiles.
LANDON
What's number one on your list?
She shakes her head.
(CONTINUED)58.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
My number one would be getting out of Beaufort.
JAMIE
Getting out won't be your problem.
It'll be figuring out what you want when you get somewhere.
She walks away.
LANDON
What does that mean?!
JAMIE
(turning back)
It means you can do anything.
Landon smiles, not sure why she believes in him.
EXT. CARTER HOUSE - CHRISTMAS EVENING
Hanging on the front door: a simple evergreen wreath with a plaid bow.
INT. CARTER HOUSE - LIVING ROOM
Dark save for a gilded fake tree lit with tiny blinking lights and the glow of Cynthia's cigarette in the dark.
CYNTHIA
Landon! Come enjoy the tree!
Landon?!
Landon comes down the stairs. Sits on the sofa. Wearing another good shirt. She tries to reach out.
CYNTHIA
You look nice. I should have dressed. LANDON
You're fine like that, Mom.
CYNTHIA
There's hot cider in the kitchen.
LANDON
(not moving)
Thanks.
(CONTINUED)59.
CONTINUED:
CYNTHIA
I haven't seen Clay or Eric lately. LANDON
Me neither.
CYNTHIA
No great loss --
LANDON
I need to go out.
Pause.
CYNTHIA
(hurt)
To see your father?
LANDON
No. I won't be long.
He senses her hurt, but leaves anyway.
INT. PARSONAGE - LIVING ROOM - EVENING
A Christmas tree with large colored lights stand in a corner. Jamie and her father playing cards. The DOORBELL
RINGS. Then urgent BANGING.
JAMIE/REV. SULLIVAN
(recognizing)
Landon Carter.
EXT. PARSONAGE - FRONT PORCH - MOMENTS LATER
Landon slides his backpack off his shoulder. Pulls out a shopping bag. Holds it out to Jamie.
LANDON
(awkward)
It's a present. Take it.
She does. She opens the bag, pulls out a beautiful pink sweater. She's overwhelmed.
Without a word, just a happy smile, Landon hops down the steps toward his car. Reverend Sullivan appears in the doorway. LANDON
(calling back)
Merry Christmas! And to all a good night!60.
INT. PARSONAGE - JAMIE'S ROOM - MINUTES LATER
Jamie hums to herself as she brushes her hair. She's wearing the new sweater. Her father KNOCKS. Enters.
REV. SULLIVAN
What's Landon Carter up to?
JAMIE
(innocent)
Up to?
REV. SULLIVAN
I thought we had rid ourselves of his disagreeable companionship.
JAMIE
Dad, why don't you get to the point where you get to the point.
REV. SULLIVAN
Why is he giving you a gift?
Jamie doesn't answer.
REV. SULLIVAN
Did you give him a gift?
JAMIE
No.
REV. SULLIVAN
I saw the way he looked at you.
The way he kissed you.
JAMIE
It was a play.
REV. SULLIVAN
(unconvinced)
Boys like him have -- expectations. JAMIE
I have expectations, too.
Pause. He's feeling her grow up, grow away.
REV. SULLIVAN
I'm not changing the rules.
JAMIE
I haven't asked you to.
They eye each other. He's losing her.61.
INT. RETIREMENT HOME - HALLWAY - LATER THAT EVENING
A nurse points Landon toward a patient room. He carries a battered liquor-store box.
INT. PATIENT ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
A TV flickers. Landon comes in. Opens the box. Pulls out the evergreen wreath with the plaid bow.
LANDON
For me. Christmas is all about the smells.
Landon leans the wreath in the window. HAROLD KEENE -- the old man from the accident, watches from his bed, baffled. LANDON
Pine's my favorite. That and cider with cloves.
Landon pulls a Thermos from his coat pocket. Unscrews the cap. Finds a drinking cup. Pours in cider. Offers
Harold the cup.
HAROLD
Who are you?
LANDON
Landon Carter. I was driving the car that --
HAROLD
You.
LANDON
Me.
Harold takes the cup, looks Landon over. Landon appears genuinely contrite.
LANDON
I'm very sorry --
HAROLD
What kind of a man are you, son?
Pause.
LANDON
(honest)
I don't know that I am -- a man.
Yet. I'm working on it.
(CONTINUED)62.
CONTINUED:
Pause.
HAROLD
I've worked on it my whole life.
Harold reaches under his pillow. Pulls out a small bottle of liquor. Tops off his cider.
HAROLD
Get yourself a glass.
LANDON
No. Thanks. Gotta keep my wits for the drive home.
Harold nods, liking Landon.
HAROLD
You'll sit a while.
LANDON
I will.
EXT. RURAL ROADS - LATER THAT NIGHT
Landon speeds, the windows open, WIND WHIPPING, DIRE
STRAITS BLASTING. The Camaro turns and brakes and turns again, kicking up gravel, raising hell. The car slides to a stop.
INT. CAMARO
Landon turns OFF the RADIO. Sits still. Wipes the rearview mirror clean, spotless. Unties the dangling plastic skeleton and pockets it.
EXT. USED CAR LOT - NEXT MORNING
Colorful banners and flags flap in the brisk WIND. Landon talks with a used car SALESMAN.
SALESMAN
Eight hundred.
LANDON
It's got a new V-6 and transmission. Alloy wheels.
(beat)
Twelve hundred.
(CONTINUED)63.
CONTINUED:
SALESMAN
Nine-fifty.
LANDON
New paint. Extra chrome. Not a scratch anywhere.
SALESMAN
The interior is --
LANDON
Reconditioned. Completely. Be a collector's someday. Twelve hundred. They look at the Camaro. Shining in the sun.
SALESMAN
You can't expect me to pay you for your -- attachment to that car.
Landon gazes at another dealership across the street, then adopts the surly, vaguely-threatening attitude of old.
LANDON
I don't. I expect you to pay me for yours.
The Salesman looks from Landon to the car. He pulls a wad of cash from his pocket. Wearily counts out twelve bills.
Landon takes the money, touches the Camaro's hood, then walks away.
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH - FRONT LAWN - NEXT MORNING
The marquee reads, "HAPPY HOLIDAYS!"
EXT. SCHOOL PARKING LOT - SAME TIME
One car. An old station wagon. At the parking space, a sign: "School Principal Only."
INT. PRINCIPAL KELLY'S OFFICE
Kelly looks up from paperwork.
MR. KELLY
Landon?
Landon drops a folded wad of hundreds on the desk.
(CONTINUED)64.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
For Jefferson High. For books.
MR. KELLY
(suspicious)
Where did you get -- ?
LANDON
(angry)
It's mine to give. I didn't steal it. MR. KELLY
I didn't say you did.
But his tone implied it and Landon's already gone. Kelly is immediately sorry. He goes to his window and sees
Landon pedal away on the old bike.
EXT. CARTER DRIVEWAY - NEXT DAY
Landon watches a tow truck lower the abandoned Yugo. When the car is down, he sees Jamie standing on the sidewalk.
EXT. FOOT OF DRIVEWAY - MOMENTS LATER
Landon faces Jamie.
LANDON
Hey.
JAMIE
I heard what you did. Thank you.
He nods, but quickly changes the subject.
LANDON
(re: the Yugo)
She great or what?
JAMIE
Why are you doing all this? To impress me?
LANDON
No.
(beat)
But are you -- impressed?
She smiles.
(CONTINUED)65.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Like fire.
LANDON
What?
JAMIE
You.
She heads for her father's old Pontiac.
LANDON
New Year's Eve. Would you go out with me?!
She stops. Turns around. Surprised.
JAMIE
Yes. But not as a date date.
LANDON
Why not?
JAMIE
I'm not allowed to date.
She smiles and gets in the car.
EXT. SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH - NEXT AFTERNOON
Landon follows signs for the church office.
INT. HALLWAY BY REVEREND SULLIVAN'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER
Landon looks into the Reverend's office.
LANDON'S POV
Reverend Sullivan is sitting behind his desk, examining legal-looking documents and records. He takes his glasses off, rubs his eyes.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon knocks. The Reverend looks up, furrows his brow.
LANDON
Reverend Sullivan. Can I ask you something? (CONTINUED)66.
CONTINUED:
REV. SULLIVAN
Does it have to do with Jamie?
LANDON
Yes, sir.
The Reverend makes a small motion and Landon enters.
INT. REVEREND'S OFFICE
Landon doesn't sit.
LANDON
I'd like to take Jamie to dinner on New Year's Eve.
REV. SULLIVAN
That won't be possible.
He looks back to his papers. End of conversation.
LANDON
I'm sorry I haven't always treated
Jamie the way -- I should have.
She deserves better.
Reverend Sullivan glances up. As if surprised Landon is still there.
LANDON
I care for her.
REV. SULLIVAN
I don't want to see her hurt.
LANDON
I wouldn't do that --
REV. SULLIVAN
This week.
LANDON
Ever again.
The Reverend looks out the window. A gray day, cold, bitter, stark. He considers his options.
REV. SULLIVAN
Have her home by one. And drive carefully.67. EXT./INT. YUGO (CARTER DRIVEWAY) - FEW DAYS LATER
Landon's under the Yugo's hood. Josh, the kid from next door, is in the driver's seat.
LANDON
Start the engine.
Josh turns the key. Nothing happens. Under the hood,
Landon changes something.
LANDON
Again.
Josh tries the engine again. Still no go. Landon changes something else.
LANDON
One more time.
Josh tries one more time. The ENGINE ROARS, then DIES, then amazingly STARTS again. It's running. Landon highfives Josh, then sees an old station wagon turn in.
EXT./INT. STATION WAGON - MOMENTS LATER
Kelly hands a paper to Landon.
MR. KELLY
Your grades for fall semester.
They're -- good.
LANDON
(incredulous)
You came here to give me my report card? MR. KELLY
I've seen students with records like yours go to J.C. for a couple of years, then transfer to a good college. Landon understands what Kelly is implying.
MR. KELLY
I'd gladly write you a letter of recommendation. LANDON
Thank you.
MR. KELLY
You're welcome.
They shake hands.68.
INT. LANDON'S BATHROOM - NEW YEAR'S EVE
Landon, dressed with care, faces the mirror and wet combs his hair.
INT. FLAUVIN'S - HOUR LATER
A seafood joint on the waterfront. Quaint, not fancy.
Twinkle lights illuminate Jamie's face. Landon finds her lovely. Jamie picks.
JAMIE
I can't believe you asked my father's permission.
LANDON
I wanted this to be a date.
She watches Landon, happy, then perplexed.
JAMIE'S POV
Landon wolfing down his food.
BACK TO SCENE
JAMIE
Is there a rush?
LANDON
I have to get you home by one.
JAMIE
It's only 7:30.
LANDON
We're going somewhere. After.
And no. I didn't ask your father.
INT. YUGO - TRAVELING - NIGHT
Landon drives. The CARS' "Tonight She Comes" PLAYS. He belches loudly, dramatically.
JAMIE
Excuse you.
LANDON
Your turn.
(CONTINUED)69.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(laughing)
No.
LANDON
I know you want to.
She grins. And tries. A small burp.
LANDON
Bring the air all the way up from your stomach.
He belches again. Just as loud. She tries again, laughing. EXT. YUGO
Landon steers the car into a parking lot for a miniature golf course with a castle-shaped video arcade and Little
League diamond. A family entertainment center.
INT. YUGO
Jamie sees where they are.
LANDON
Before we do this.
JAMIE
We're doing something -- ?
LANDON
Before we do this, I just want to say that a good life's gotta be about more than achieving stuff -- like on your list.
She waits for more.
LANDON
It's about working with what you already have -- right now -- at your fingertips -- you know, spontaneously. JAMIE
What are you talking about?
LANDON
That little bit of larceny in your heart. (CONTINUED)70.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Excuse me?
LANDON
Fun.
INT. BATTING CAGE - NIGHT
Jamie's in the cage with a helmet on. A machine tosses balls. Landon coaches from outside.
LANDON
Swing! Keep your bat parallel to the ground. Follow through.
Follow through!
Jamie is laughing too hard to hit anything. The balls keep coming. She ducks out of the way and grasps the fence and leans in. Landon leans in on his side. They'd be embracing if the fence weren't there.
In the b.g., kids from their school. Giggling, whispering. Landon looks over at them.
LANDON
(to Jamie)
Let's go.
EXT. HIGHWAY - TRAVELING - NIGHT
The YUGO ROARS down the asphalt. A sign for the approaching state line whips by.
INT. YUGO - TRAVELING - NIGHT
Jamie and Landon. With STEVIE NICKS' "Talk to Me" ON the
RADIO.
LANDON
The cells in our bodies are always changing. In six or seven years all your cells have changed. You could be like a completely new person from the inside out.
JAMIE
That what's happening to you, only faster? (CONTINUED)71.
CONTINUED:
He grins. Pulls the car over.
LANDON
Get out. Come on.
He leaps out, leaving the headlights on.
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT
Landon takes Jamie's hand and pulls her toward some invisible place.
JAMIE
Where -- what -- are we -- ?
He keeps tugging her. She follows him. Laughing.
LANDON
Stand right here.
JAMIE
Where?
He leans down and lifts one of her feet a foot from the other. He notices a large bruise on her leg. She brushes her dress down.
JAMIE
You're acting like a crazy person.
LANDON
You're straddling the state line.
You're in two places at once.
She's thrilled at his solution to her wish. He walks to the shoulder of the road.
LANDON
Repeat after me.
Huh? He does a cartwheel. She laughs.
JAMIE
I can't.
LANDON
I'm gonna teach you.
EXT. BEACH (NEUSE RIVER) - LATE NIGHT
A starry night with a bright moon. Glimmering silver water. Jamie and Landon walk onto a dock. DISTANT
FIREWORKS BOOM.
(CONTINUED)72.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
It's places like this that make me certain there's a God.
LANDON
(surprised)
You're sometimes not sure?
JAMIE
I'm sure. Pretty sure.
They reach the end of the dock. She turns to face the
WIND. It blows her hair. She turns his face the same way. JAMIE
It's like the wind. I can't see it but I feel it.
He closes his eyes. Feeling the wind. Opens them again, rejecting the idea.
LANDON
We can measure wind.
JAMIE
Uncertainty makes you uncomfortable. LANDON
What do you actually know with religion? JAMIE
Wonder. Beauty. Joy.
(beat, quieter)
Love.
She's embarrassed. She tries to avoid implying anything.
JAMIE
My mother told me God is love, so when you're feeling love, you're feeling God.
(beat)
I think talking about these things
-- threatens their very beauty and mystery. Her tone is matter-of-fact, but Landon's got a serious and tender look on his face. He touches her hair.
(CONTINUED)73.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(almost a whisper)
I don't understand...
LANDON
Maybe you're not supposed to.
He moves closer.
LANDON
I might kiss you.
She looks down. Shy.
JAMIE
I might do it wrong.
LANDON
(tenderly)
Not possible.
He touches her neck, her cheek, her mouth. Then leans in and kisses her. A tender, soft kiss. He pulls away.
They look at each other a moment.
LANDON
I love you, Jamie.
There, he put it out there, risked looking and feeling foolish. Not the old Landon. Jamie looks away. Mixed emotions. Happy and sad.
LANDON
(gently)
Now's when you say something.
JAMIE
(overwhelmed)
I can't.
(beat)
I can't -- explain.
She turns back to him, her eyes shining. She touches his face and they kiss again, deeply.
But after a few moments, she drops her chin onto his shoulder. Smiling, glowing even, but slightly aloof, staring at the water. He pulls away slightly to study her face. He touches her cheek and brings her back from wherever she's been.
JAMIE
You make me feel...
(CONTINUED)74.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(hopeful)
Loved?
JAMIE
(smiling)
That. And less strange.
Tears run down her cheeks. Landon wipes them away with his thumbs, attributing them to happiness.
EXT. PARSONAGE - FRONT PORCH - LATER
Landon follows Jamie up the steps. The lights in the living room are on. THROUGH the windows, they can see her father taking down the Christmas tree.
JAMIE
Be very quiet.
He pulls her to him. Kisses her. The front door opens.
REV. SULLIVAN
(embarrassed)
Hello, Landon.
Landon and Jamie separate, but Landon keeps an arm over her shoulder.
LANDON
Hey, Reverend.
Reverend Sullivan studies the two young people.
LANDON
(whispers to Jamie)
Happy New Year.
And he goes. Jamie walks by her father and into the house. Not saying anything. He watches her. What has he allowed? EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH - COURTYARD - DAY
Landon and Jamie head into school. Landon nods to
Belinda, others. They glare back.
LANDON
(to Belinda and others)
What's your damage?75.
INT. CORRIDOR - MOMENTS LATER
Landon and Jamie arrive at his locker. It's been kicked in. LANDON
Assholes. This happen to you?
JAMIE
Twice a year.
Bang, bang, bang. Landon kicks in every locker in his row. A dozen in all. Jamie watches, a little frightened by his anger. But then he turns to her and grins.
LANDON
Now they all match.
INT. CAFETERIA - NOON
Landon eats alone, ignored by Eric and Clay. Jamie approaches with her tray, red-faced, tearful.
She hesitates about sitting -- feeling bad that Landon's being diminished, ostracized. She thinks he doesn't see her. But as she turns to leave, he pulls a chair out for her and smiles. She sits. Landon sees her face.
LANDON
What's wr--?
JAMIE
(choked up)
The Challenger exploded.
Principal Kelly's about to make an announcement. The PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM CRACKLES. Landon takes Jamie's hand as the room hushes.
LANDON
Come on.
JAMIE
Where?
LANDON
Away from here.
EXT. FIRE TOWER (CONSERVATION LAND) - STAIRS - HOUR LATER
Landon leads Jamie up, round and round, to the top of the tall steel tower.76.
EXT. TOP OF TOWER - VIEWING AREA
They exit the staircase to a small 360 degree overlook.
Jamie's amazed at the view.
JAMIE
How do you know this place?
LANDON
Before the divorce. My father used to take me here. Fire spotting was his summer job.
They look off to the curve of the horizon, where sea meets sky. LANDON
From here he proved to me the earth isn't flat.
(beat)
On rainy days, we'd be above the clouds. JAMIE
What would you do up here?
LANDON
Look. Talk. Not talk.
He pulls a deck of cards from his jacket pocket. They sit and he starts to shuffle. Not too well. Jamie takes the deck. Shuffles like a card shark.
EXT. CEMETERY - REAR GATE - NIGHT (FEW DAYS LATER)
Jamie is already waiting when Landon's Yugo pulls up. He gets out, walks to her, they kiss.
LANDON
What'd you tell your father?
JAMIE
The truth. I just left you out of it. She climbs up and over the wall. He follows.
EXT. INSIDE CEMETERY - MINUTES LATER
Jamie fits the pieces of her telescope together.
LANDON
When did you build this?
(CONTINUED)77.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
I was twelve.
Landon shakes his head, amazed.
JAMIE
It's not that complicated.
Landon doubts this.
JAMIE
It's an alt-azimuth design with one parabolic mirror and one secondary flat one.
LANDON
Where's the one you're building?
JAMIE
In my back yard.
(pause, embarrassed)
I lied before. It's hardly started. But when it's done, it will have twice the power of this one --
LANDON
Wait, back up. You lied?
JAMIE
Kinda. Yeah.
He grins, loving her even more.
JAMIE
So what do you want to see?
LANDON
Mars.
JAMIE
Mars doesn't rise until 2:30
A.M. --
He opens his backpack. Pulls out the contents.
LANDON
A Thermos of hot coffee. A blanket. Socks.
JAMIE
You planned this --
(CONTINUED)78.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Hoped for it.
Pause.
JAMIE
Are you trying to seduce me?
LANDON
No. Why? Are you seducible?
JAMIE
(firm, but smiling)
No.
LANDON
That's what I thought.
He reaches back into his backpack. Pulls out a second blanket. LANDON
Ergo, a second blanket. One for me, one for you.
He hands her one. She takes it, smiling, reassured.
JAMIE
Ergo?
LANDON
(slightly embarrassed)
What about your father?
JAMIE
I'm always home by midnight and he's always asleep.
INT. PARSONAGE - REVEREND SULLIVAN'S BEDROOM - MIDNIGHT
Reverend Sullivan sits up in bed. His feet find slippers on the floor.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Reverend Sullivan, wearing a robe, enters quietly.
Checking on his daughter. Her bed is empty.
EXT. STREET TO ACCESS ROAD - LATER
The old Pontiac slows.79.
INT. OLD PONTIAC
Reverend Sullivan looks down the access road to the rear cemetery gate.
REVEREND'S POV
The Yugo parked by the gate.
BACK TO SCENE
The Reverend struggles with what to do. After a moment, he decides not to interfere; he'll pick his moment. He keeps driving.
INT. CEMETERY
Jamie and Landon are looking at the heavens through the telescope. LANDON
Where's Pluto?
JAMIE
In Virgo, but it's about 1000 times too faint to see.
LANDON
What's the best thing I can see tonight? JAMIE
Me.
He draws her close, they kiss. She shyly pulls away.
Their hands still touching until she looks again into the telescope eyepiece.
JAMIE
The second best thing is Jupiter.
She swivels the telescope into position for Jupiter and steps aside so he can look. But he picks up the flashlight, pulls a diagram from his pocket.
LANDON
Can you locate XXI5639I?
JAMIE
Sure.
She takes the diagram, studies it, and adjusts the scope.
(CONTINUED)80.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Here. Why am I looking at this star? LANDON
Because I had it named for you. I know it's not an official designation --
She couldn't be happier. She reaches for his hand.
JAMIE
It's wonderful. I love you.
It's the first time he's heard it. He pulls her into his arms. They kiss. Passionately. She starts to object.
LANDON
(respecting her boundaries)
Okay. I'm stopping.
And he does. They snuggle. Silence, then:
LANDON
What's number one?
Long pause.
JAMIE
(very shy)
In April when the dogwoods and wisteria are blooming... Get married. He doesn't make fun. He strokes her hair. Kisses her forehead. INT. KITCHEN - 5 AM
Landon enters from outside. Cynthia, still in her waitress uniform, is sitting at the table, drinking coffee. CYNTHIA
A late night or an early morning?
LANDON
(honest)
Late night.
(smart-aleck)
You?
(CONTINUED)81.
CONTINUED:
CYNTHIA
Were you with Jamie?
LANDON
Yeah.
CYNTHIA
You sleeping with her?
Landon doesn't dignify this question with an answer.
CYNTHIA
I was cleaning yesterday. I found this. She pulls Landon's Life List from her pocket. Landon is horrified. She reads it.
CYNTHIA
Scuba dive. Touch a moon rock.
Learn to read Egyptian hieroglyphs. Go to college?
(pause)
She talking to you 'bout this stuff? Landon doesn't answer. She puts the list on the table.
Smoothes it. Gently discouraging.
CYNTHIA
Honey, some of this is... farfetched. You take after me.
People skills and common sense.
Good dependable qualities.
LANDON
I could take after Dad, too.
CYNTHIA
You do. You're handsome and charming. LANDON
I meant he's a doctor.
CYNTHIA
That's eight years of school and training -- after college. And all that doesn't necessarily make you a better human being.
LANDON
I could do it if I tried. Even
Kelly thinks so.
(CONTINUED)82.
CONTINUED:
CYNTHIA
That'd be something.
She doesn't want to discourage him, but she wants him to be practical and realistic.
CYNTHIA
But if it doesn't happen, grab for something within reach. Life's tough enough without causing yourself disappointment --
LANDON
(angry now)
Whatever my life is, I'm going to be friggin' sure I'm never disappointed --
CYNTHIA
(honest)
Disappointment isn't something anyone plans for.
(quieter)
It catches you by surprise.
Long pause. They are both sorry to have raised their voices. CYNTHIA
Have I told you how proud I am of you -- ?
LANDON
Mom, great. But what I want is for me to be proud of me.
INT. PARSONAGE - SULLIVAN DINING ROOM - EVENING
Landon eats dinner with Jamie and Reverend Sullivan.
Silence, then:
REV. SULLIVAN
Landon. You're not the quiet type. LANDON
No.
REV. SULLIVAN
So talk to us about something.
LANDON
Like what, sir?
(CONTINUED)83.
CONTINUED:
REV. SULLIVAN
You decide.
Landon searches his mind for just the right subject.
REV. SULLIVAN
How about your family?
LANDON
Okay. Sure.
(beat)
My grandfather. When he was seven, he shook the hand of an old guy, a war vet or something, who had once shaken President
Lincoln's hand.
(pause)
Made a big impression on him.
Reverend Sullivan looks at his daughter. She's nodding, interested. LANDON
My cousin Mike. He's from a big family. He's the fifth kid. He heard that every fifth child in the world is Chinese. So he thought he was.
Jamie smiles.
LANDON
We didn't tell him any different for years --
REV. SULLIVAN
(getting to the point)
Your parents are divorced?
LANDON
Since I was five. My mom's a cocktail waitress.
REV. SULLIVAN
How do you -- the two of you -- get by?
LANDON
Materially or spiritually?
REV. SULLIVAN
(surprised)
Either. Both.
(CONTINUED)84.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(honest)
I don't know. We used to try to believe in each other.
His eyes meet the Reverend's. The Reverend's got to respect him some.
INT. SULLIVAN KITCHEN - NIGHT
Reverend Sullivan looks out the window into the back yard.
HIS POV
Jamie showing Landon the junk pile that will become her newer, larger telescope. They are laughing, jostling each other, comfortable, happy.
INT. PARSONAGE - SULLIVAN KITCHEN - LATER THAT NIGHT
Reverend Sullivan and Jamie put the dishes away.
REV. SULLIVAN
You and the Carter boy. Want to catch me up on recent developments? JAMIE
You're asking if we're involved?
REV. SULLIVAN
I'm asking how much.
JAMIE
Dad --
REV. SULLIVAN
It's time to tell him.
(pause)
It would be the right thing.
She turns to him, upset. Her anger spilling out.
JAMIE
Maybe. But that's not the real reason. You think if I tell, he'll disappear and that's what you want! Me all to yourself!
(CONTINUED)85.
CONTINUED:
REV. SULLIVAN
(calm, stung)
No. I want what's best for you.
JAMIE
This -- him -- Landon -- is what's best for me!
REV. SULLIVAN
You're sure? You're sure you can trust him?
He's playing to her old insecurities. She's not one hundred percent sure.
REV. SULLIVAN
(gentler)
Isn't it better to know?
Their eyes meet. She knows he's right.
EXT. MOVIE THEATER - EVENING (EARLY FEBRUARY)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Three Amigos! on the marquee.
Landon and Jamie exit as Belinda and a new boyfriend buy tickets. Clay and Eric and a crowd behind them.
LANDON
Hey, Belinda.
She takes her boyfriend's arm, turns away, snubbing him.
LANDON
Clay, Eric.
Eric says something inaudible and the whole crowd sniggers and laughs. He's become Landon. Landon reddens, now realizing for certain that he's become a Jamie Sullivan.
EXT. SIDEWALK (DOWNTOWN BEAUFORT) - MOMENTS LATER
Landon and Jamie walk. The theater in the b.g.
JAMIE
(re: his status)
From citizen high to citizen low.
LANDON
I don't care.
(CONTINUED)86.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Care, but just don't let it get to you. It gives them power.
LANDON
That what you do?
JAMIE
Yes. I try to keep my power.
He's impressed with how she manages.
LANDON
One of your secrets.
JAMIE
(serious)
Yes, one of many.
He doesn't notice her tone.
INT. YUGO - TRAVELING - NIGHT
WHITNEY HOUSTON's "How Will I Know?" ON the RADIO. Jamie flips the RADIO OFF. She's got something on her mind.
Landon notices only that she seems a bit remote.
LANDON
You're worried about your college applications. JAMIE
I'm not applying to college.
LANDON
(stunned)
But you said --
JAMIE
No, you assumed.
He looks at her, questioning. She's looking out her window. LANDON
You're going to take a year off?
Join the Peace Corps -- ?
JAMIE
No.
LANDON
What are you going to -- ?
(CONTINUED)87.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Pull over.
LANDON
Where? Why?
JAMIE
Pull over. Now. Please.
Tears are running down her face. He pulls the car over.
EXT. WOODS BY SIDE OF ROAD - MOMENTS LATER
Jamie gets out of the car. Landon quickly follows.
LANDON
Jamie --
JAMIE
I'm sick.
LANDON
Then I'll take you home. You'll feel better tomorrow.
He tries to take her arm. She shakes off his hand, steps back. Wanting to be heard and understood.
JAMIE
Landon. I'm sick -- with leukemia. Landon tries to say something. Nothing comes out. His soul numb.
JAMIE
I found out last winter. I'm not responding to treatment anymore.
His face crumples with pain and anguish.
LANDON
Why didn't you tell me?
JAMIE
The doctors said to do everything the same as long as possible.
(pause)
I didn't want anyone being -- weird around me.
LANDON
Including me?!
(CONTINUED)88.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
Especially you.
(long beat)
God gives me an illness, then you.
A cruel joke.
She gets in the car. Slams her door shut. He stands there, not knowing what to do.
EXT. YUGO - TRAVELING - LATER
Landon pulls up in front of Jamie's house. A long quiet ride. LANDON
I'm not letting you die.
Jamie just looks at him. Feeling sorry for him -- what he wants doesn't matter.
INT. SULLIVAN KITCHEN - LATE NIGHT
The Reverend and Landon drink coffee.
REV. SULLIVAN
It's her decision and she's decided not to tell people -- at least for now.
LANDON
How -- how long does she have?
REV. SULLIVAN
Two, three months. Maybe less.
Maybe more.
LANDON
So you've given up.
Reverend Sullivan hears the challenge in his voice.
REV. SULLIVAN
Her doctors have. Jamie and I.
We're still praying for a miracle.
LANDON
(disdainful)
Praying.
REV. SULLIVAN
Landon. We've lived with this for over a year now and --
(CONTINUED)89.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
If there is a God, how could he let this happen??!!
It's a long answer and by the time the Reverend opens his mouth to explain, Landon's out the door.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
Moonless dark. Few cars. The YUGO RIPS down the road.
Landon opens a map over the steering wheel. Turns on the dome light. Looks at the return address on an old letter.
EXT. CITY STREETS (RALEIGH) - 3 A.M.
Landon's Yugo winds through city streets.
EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD (RALEIGH) - MINUTES LATER
Mansions. Big lawns. The Yugo slows as Landon leans forward to read a street sign. His face is tear-streaked.
He flicks his headlights to bright, then low again.
The car turns left.
EXT. DR. CARTER'S HOME - MINUTE LATER
Large new colonial. Landon slams his car door and stands in the street. Staring at his father's house. He heads up a flagstone path for the front door.
EXT. FRONT DOOR - MOMENTS LATER
Landon RINGS the resounding DING-DONG BELL, then bangs on the heavy wood door. Grief-stricken.
LANDON
Dr. Carter!... Carter!... Dad!
Please!! I have to talk to you!!
INT. DR. CARTER'S HOME
Elegant, thick carpets. Dr. Carter, putting on his robe, parts the silk drapes in the upstairs hall.90.
DR. CARTER'S POV
His son standing on the front lawn. Distraught, tearful.
LANDON
Open the door! Please!!
EXT. DR. CARTER'S HOME
Landon backs away from the house. Angrily kicks over a decorative planter. Is halfway to his car when Dr. Carter opens the door and comes out.
DR. CARTER
Landon!
Landon doesn't hear.
DR. CARTER
Landon!!
Landon turns around. Sees his father. Breaks down, sobbing. His father goes to him. Hugs him, a big bear hug. LANDON
You have to save her!
DR. CARTER
Landon, who? Is your mother all right? Lights pop upstairs.
LANDON
It's Jamie -- my girlfriend -- she has cancer -- you have to come look at her -- right now!
DR. CARTER
(calm, trying to diffuse)
It's the middle of the night --
LANDON
I don't give a shit what time it is! Landon pulls away. Angrier.
DR. CARTER
Landon, I'm a cardiologist, not an oncologist --
(CONTINUED)91.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
You're a doctor, aren't you?!!
He waves his father off, dismissing him.
DR. CARTER
Landon! I'll look into it!!
But Landon hasn't heard. He's in his car. Dr. Carter watches his son's car move away, regretful.
INT. CARTER KITCHEN - DAWN
Landon quietly shuts the back door. Exhausted. Starts making coffee. Cynthia appears.
CYNTHIA
Your father called.
No response.
CYNTHIA
Jamie's a patient at his hospital.
He's having a colleague look at her chart this morning.
Long pause.
CYNTHIA
I'm sorry. I didn't know.
LANDON
I didn't know either.
EXT. PARSONAGE - EARLY MORNING
The Yugo parked in the driveway. The morning paper lying on the grass. Landon paces in front of the front porch.
Incapable of ringing the bell, lacking the courage, lacking the right words.
Upstairs, the curtains move.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM
Jamie looks out the window.
JAMIE'S POV
Landon pacing, talking to himself.92.
BACK TO SCENE
She starts to raise the window, to say something, to help him, but then lets the curtain drop. She needs for him to decide, for him to be ready to face this with her.
The sound of a CAR. She looks out the window again.
JAMIE'S POV
The Yugo driving away.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - LATER THAT DAY
Landon lies on his bed in the dark. The PHONE RINGS.
Landon stares at his extension. The RINGING STOPS. A voice from downstairs.
CYNTHIA (O.S.)
It's your father.
Landon picks up his phone.
INT. UPSTAIRS HALL - TWO MINUTES LATER
The door to Landon's room is ajar. Cynthia waits outside.
Listening. Hearing nothing. She pushes the door open.
CYNTHIA'S POV
Landon sitting on his bed. Deflated.
LANDON
He can't do anything.
BACK TO SCENE
Cynthia is pained to see his suffering.
CYNTHIA
If it's incurable --
LANDON
I told him to leave me alone.
CYNTHIA
Landon --
LANDON
(re: Jamie)
It was the only thing I've ever asked him!93.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - EVENING (NEXT DAY)
Landon's still in bed. Facing the wall. Cynthia KNOCKS.
Enters with a plate of food.
CYNTHIA
I brought some dinner.
No response. She leaves the tray and goes.
INT. PARSONAGE - SULLIVAN KITCHEN - SAME TIME
Jamie and her father eat dinner. Jamie is red-eyed, heartbroken. JAMIE
(not sure at all)
He'll call.
REV. SULLIVAN
I wanted to think he'd changed.
JAMIE
(angry)
No you didn't.
(beat)
But he did change. Just not enough. REV. SULLIVAN
Jamie, you're not mad at me.
You're mad at Landon --
JAMIE
(furious)
I am mad at you! And at Landon!
And the universe! And God!
(quieter)
I don't even know where to put all my anger.
REV. SULLIVAN
That's normal. God accepts your anger. He won't punish you.
JAMIE
By making me ill, he is punishing me! (quieter)
I just don't know what for.
She flees the room.94.
ANOTHER ANGLE - CONTINUOUS ACTION
Goes up the stairs. Keeps going. Up another flight to the attic.
INT. PARSONAGE ATTIC - MINUTE LATER
Jamie opens a closet door. Pulls out a dress, a scarf, jewelry, a worn book -- her mother's belongings. She opens the book and starts to weep. Missing her mother.
FOOT OF ATTIC STAIRS
Reverend Sullivan stands, looking up at the attic stairs.
Frustrated, angry, worried.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - NEXT DAY
Landon is still in bed. Cynthia enters. Pulls back the curtains. Yanks up the shades.
CYNTHIA
I don't care if you don't leave the house. But you have to get out of bed.
INT. CARTER KITCHEN - FEW MINUTES LATER
Landon sits at the kitchen table. Cynthia pours him a cup of coffee.
CYNTHIA
You and I may not be communicating very well right now. But let me be clear. Don't make this about you. It's about her.
Pause. Her words sink in.
LANDON
I have no idea what to say. How to act. What if I do the wrong thing? CYNTHIA
(gently)
Be yourself and I don't think there is a wrong thing.
(beat)
Let Jamie take the lead. She'll let you know what she needs.95.
EXT. PARSONAGE - FRONT PORCH - LITTLE LATER
Before Landon can ring the bell, the front door opens.
The Reverend. Landon runs past him into the house.
LANDON
Where's Jamie?!
REV. SULLIVAN
At school. Where you should be.
Oh.
INT. BEAUFORT HIGH - CORRIDOR - HALF HOUR LATER
Deserted, classes are meeting. Landon runs, sliding to a stop at one classroom door. Looks in, keeps going, stops at another. Searching.
This is JAMIE'S POV from the top of the hallway.
JAMIE
She stands, holding her books, watching him, unsure.
LANDON
finally feels her gaze, turns to look.
JAMIE
turns away, still angry and disappointed.
LANDON
runs to her.
LANDON
Jamie!
He catches up to her.
JAMIE AND LANDON face each other. Neither sure what to say.
LANDON
I'm so sorry. I'm a coward --
(CONTINUED)96.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
I should have told you sooner --
LANDON
(guilt-ridden)
I made you do too many things, kept you up all night --
JAMIE
No. The drugs just stopped working. If anything, doing things I love kept me healthy longer. Pause.
LANDON
Are you frightened?
JAMIE
All the time.
(beat)
I feel like I have no one.
She means not even God and he gets this.
LANDON
You have me.
He hugs her close, rocking her, comforting her and himself. JAMIE
Help me live until I die?
LANDON
I will.
INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - EVENING (MID-FEBRUARY)
A small group of students sit on stage reading from Our
Town, rehearsing. Jamie and Landon sit together in the third row, holding hands. Landon glances at her, realizes she's asleep. Pulls her sweater over her.
INT. JEFFERSON HIGH - LIBRARY - SATURDAY MORNING
Landon sits with Luis; Jamie at the next table with
Isabel. She looks pale. He catches her eye. They both smile, a little sadly, then turn back to their students.97.
INT. YUGO - TRAVELING
Landon drives them home from Jefferson High. No music.
LANDON
They're going to build a tunnel under the English Channel.
They're calling it The Chunnel.
No response.
LANDON
You hungry?
JAMIE
Nope.
LANDON
Anything you want.
JAMIE
Nothing.
He reaches into a cooler on the floor of the back seat.
LANDON
Slim Jim? Apple? Yogurt? You like yogurt.
JAMIE
I used to like yogurt.
He places a red heart-shaped box in her lap.
LANDON
(apologetic)
Not very original. Happy
Valentine's Day.
He grins. She looks crestfallen, feels terrible.
JAMIE
I didn't even think about it.
He takes a chocolate. Pops it in his mouth. Grins.
LANDON
There. You gave me a chocolate.
LANDON'S POV (THROUGH JAMIE'S TELESCOPE) - VAST STAR
FIELD
PULL BACK to reveal...98.
EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHT
Jamie and Landon are looking at stars. A long quiet moment. LANDON
What are you thinking?
JAMIE
(honest)
That I want you to take me home.
LANDON
Now? We just --
JAMIE
I don't want to come here anymore.
She begins taking the telescope apart. Depressed.
EXT. CEMETERY GATE - HALF HOUR LATER
Jamie looks at the high fence, weary, then reaches into a pocket for a key. Unlocks the gate. Swings the gate open. Landon's astonished.
LANDON
You have a key?
JAMIE
Yeah. I've just never needed it.
(pause)
Will you talk to my father?
LANDON
I've talked to your father.
JAMIE
That's what I mean.
Their eyes meet. Her look is serious.
EXT. PARSONAGE - BACK YARD - NEXT DAY
Reverend Sullivan is up a ladder. Cleaning a gutter.
Landon stands below, a few feet away, gathering his nerve.
He walks over.
ON LADDER
The Reverend is busy ignoring Landon standing below. A long beat, then:
(CONTINUED)99.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(calling up)
Sir. Being ignored is beginning to feel preferable to being noticed. The Reverend looks down.
LANDON
I'll be honest. I don't know if I can pray, but I can do just about anything else.
Neither Landon nor the Reverend see Jamie come out of the house and walk over.
ON GROUND
Landon shields his eyes with a hand to see the Reverend better. LANDON
Whatever you need. Whatever Jamie needs. I'm here.
(beat)
I could start by driving her to school --
JAMIE
I'm not going back to school.
Landon and her father both turn to her. Pale, wane. They understand what she is saying.
JAMIE
You can tell anyone you want. I don't care.
She goes into the house. Landon and Reverend Sullivan look at each other, then away, uncomfortable. That didn't sound like her.
INT. BEAUFORT HIGH - HALLWAY - MONDAY MORNING
Landon, looking haggard, moves slowly as he cleans out
Jamie's locker.
Students stare as he carefully places her things, including the pink sweater, in a shopping bag. They part and hush as he passes by. News travels fast. Clay and
Eric step forward.
(CONTINUED)100.
CONTINUED:
CLAY
Hey. Landon.
ERIC
We heard 'bout Jamie Sullivan.
She --
LANDON
(fierce)
Say nothing. Nothing 'bout her.
ERIC
(misunderstood, genuine)
No. Hey. We're sorry, man!
Landon turns back. Surprised. Inspects Belinda. Eric.
Clay. Others. No one speaks.
LANDON
Too late and not enough.
He pushes past Belinda's new boyfriend, heading for the office. INT. PRINCIPAL KELLY'S OFFICE - DAY
Mr. Kelly and Landon.
LANDON
I know it means not graduating, but I need to be excused from all school acti--
MR. KELLY
You're excused.
Landon heads for the door.
MR. KELLY
How is she?
Landon can't answer. Too emotional.
MR. KELLY
You will graduate.
Landon looks up, astounded.
MR. KELLY
If I have to tutor you myself.
Landon nods, accepting, appreciative.101.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - LATER
Landon puts away the contents of the shopping bag.
Jamie's in bed, wearing the sweater.
JAMIE
Yesterday I felt sick, horrible.
Today I feel like riding my bike.
Or dancing.
He turns on the CLOCK RADIO next to her bed. Finds a
WALTZ. Offers his hand. Pulls her out of bed. She's in pajamas. JAMIE
You know how to waltz??
LANDON
(bashful)
I was going to fake it.
JAMIE
I always fake it.
So they waltz, faking, stumbling and laughing, holding each other.
INT. PARSONAGE - STAIRCASE - SAME TIME
Reverend Sullivan hears the MUSIC and LAUGHTER. He frowns, afraid for Jamie's health.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM
Jamie grips Landon's arms, seems to slip, suddenly too exhausted to carry her weight. Landon picks her up, gently carries her back to bed. Settles her in.
LANDON
How you doing?
JAMIE
(murmurs)
Tired.
Landon sits on her bed. Strokes her hair. They look at each other. Landon reaches for her hand. When he looks at her face again, she's asleep.
EXT. LANDON'S HOUSE - BACK YARD - ANOTHER DAY
Landon's sitting on his childhood tree swing, twisting side to side. Pensive. His mother comes out of the house. (CONTINUED)102.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
Time seems to be slowing down and speeding up at the same time.
She reaches to put a hand on his shoulder. He lets her.
EXT. CEMETERY - EARLY MARCH
The rear gate is open. A caretaker waits while Landon carries pieces of the older telescope to his car. A tall pile of parts is already at his car.
Eric and Clay drive up in Eric's pickup. Gravel flying.
MUSIC BLASTING.
INT. PICKUP
Eric and Clay spy Landon.
EXT. CEMETERY
Landon freezes, not sure what to expect.
EXT. PICKUP
The truck makes a circle around Landon, then stops. The
MUSIC QUIETS. Eric and Clay jump down. A long tense moment, then:
ERIC
Hey.
LANDON
Hey.
Without a word, Clay walks to the Yugo, lifts the heaviest telescope part, and carries it to the bed of the pickup.
Eric follows suit.
EXT. PARSONAGE - BACK YARD - LATER
Landon studies the pieces of the smaller telescope and how they fit together. They are like a map for how to build the bigger one.
EXT. PARSONAGE DRIVEWAY - NEXT DAY
Landon unloads an impossibly large round cardboard concrete form-tube from his car. Carries it around the house toward the back yard.103.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - SAME TIME
Jamie wakes from a nap. She looks thinner, grayer. She hears HAMMERING. She hauls herself up and to a window.
JAMIE'S POV
Landon working on the new telescope. He looks up at her window. Sees her there. Smiles.
BACK TO SCENE
Reverend Sullivan comes in to check on Jamie. She's standing at the window.
REV. SULLIVAN
What's that boy doing?
She turns to look at him and collapses into his arms.
INT. HOSPITAL - PATIENT ROOM - NIGHT
Jamie lies in bed, eyes closed. Hooked to monitors, pumps, an IV drip. Landon holding her hand. Reverend
Sullivan talks quietly with a doctor. Hearing bad news.
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAWN
The sky is pink. A squirrel runs along a telephone wire.
The Yugo is the only car in the visitor lot.
INT. PATIENT ROOM
Landon, in yesterday's clothes, dozes lightly. Jamie moves and he starts, fully awake. She opens her eyes.
LANDON
You okay?
She nods. Sleepy. Closes her eyes again. He rests his head on her shoulder and weeps. Her eyes open, then close again. There's nothing to say.
INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE JAMIE'S ROOM - SAME TIME
Reverend Sullivan looks through the window in the door at the scene within. He hesitates, then pushes the door open.104. INT. PATIENT ROOM
Reverend Sullivan enters.
REV. SULLIVAN
Landon. You go on home.
LANDON
I'm not tired.
REV. SULLIVAN
I need to be with her.
There's only one chair. Landon nods and goes.
The Reverend sits, closes his eyes a moment. When he opens them, she's looking at him.
JAMIE
Dad.
He kisses her forehead, then sits back.
JAMIE
So serious.
REV. SULLIVAN
Jamie, God is not punishing you.
No God I know wants anyone to be sick or feel pain or suffer.
Pause.
JAMIE
When Mom died you told me God wanted her more, loved her more --
REV. SULLIVAN
I was wrong. Nobody could have wanted or loved your mother more than we did. Not even God.
He lets this sink in.
REV. SULLIVAN
God loaned you to me, entrusted you to my care. I'm failing you.
She looks away, agreeing without saying so.
REV. SULLIVAN
Jamie. I make you the same promise that God does.
(beat)
I will always be with you.
(CONTINUED)105.
CONTINUED:
She sits up and embraces him. He wraps his arms around her. Tight. She closes her eyes, tears welling, never wanting to let him go. Her father.
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH SCHOOL - HOUR LATER
On the marquee on the front lawn: "WELCOME HALEY'S
COMET." The Yugo parks in the b.g.
INT. PRINCIPAL KELLY'S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER
Landon picks up a pile of books and assignments.
Looks through them, then eyes Miss Tarbox.
LANDON
Where's Jamie's book?!
MISS TARBOX
That's everything Mr. Kelly gave me. LANDON
(insistent)
The next book on that list! The
Old Man and... and...
MISS TARBOX
The Sea.
LANDON
Yeah. I need it today!
Mr. Kelly steps out of his inner office. Sees Landon's anguished face, his exhaustion.
MR. KELLY
I'll drive a copy over to her.
Landon nods his appreciation.
INT. HOSPITAL - PATIENT ROOM - DAY
Jamie looks smaller. Her eyes have blue circles beneath.
The Hemingway novel on the bedstand. Belinda pushes the door open. Peeks in. Not sure she is welcome.
Landon is sitting in a chair. He sees her, motions for her to come in. Quietly.
BELINDA
She asleep?
(CONTINUED)106.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
I'll tell her you were here.
Pause. Awkwardness.
BELINDA
Give her this, okay?
She hands Landon a small photo album.
BELINDA
Pictures from the play. Jamie looks pretty --
LANDON
I'm sorry about how we --
BELINDA
(conciliatory)
No. You're with who you should be. It's like she chose you.
LANDON
(agreeing)
And I have no idea why.
BELINDA
I do.
She hugs him quickly, then leaves. Landon goes to the window, looks out.
SAME SCENE - HOURS LATER
The sky is grayer, darker. Landon is still at the window.
Jamie wakes.
JAMIE
Hi.
He goes to her side.
LANDON
Hey.
He kisses her.
JAMIE
I have something for you.
She reaches under her pillow for the worn book from the attic. She offers it to Landon.
(CONTINUED)107.
CONTINUED:
JAMIE
(smiling)
Don't worry. It's not a Bible.
He takes it.
JAMIE
My mother made it for me before I was born.
(beat)
It's got quotes from famous people. Her favorite lines from books. Her thoughts.
Landon looks at a page.
LANDON
(reading)
'What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.'
Aristotle.
JAMIE
Lower. Same page.
LANDON
(reading)
'Find out who you are and do it on purpose.' Dolly Parton.
A bookmark falls out. He studies that page a moment.
CLOSE ON PASSAGE from Corinthians.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon reads it.
LANDON
'Love is always patient and kind.
It is never boastful or conceited -- '
JAMIE
That was read at my parents' wedding. He takes her hand. Holds it.
(CONTINUED)108.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
How're you doing?
JAMIE
(looking away)
Better. I was really angry.
LANDON
I know.
JAMIE
It's gone now.
LANDON
(gently)
Because you have hope that you'll get better?
JAMIE
No.
(pause, shrugging, accepting)
Maybe I believe God has a bigger dream for me than I had for myself. (beat)
Maybe I believe the journey, the big adventure, never ends...
He kneels on the floor. Puts his head on her pillow next to hers.
JAMIE
Maybe I believe God sent you to me because I am ill. To help me through. He touches her face tenderly.
JAMIE
(almost whispering)
I want to go home.
Pause. He gets her meaning.
LANDON
(trying not to break)
I'll talk to your father.
JAMIE
(looking away)
It's not that simple.
(pause)
It costs money to do this at home.109.
INT. CARTER LIVING ROOM - EVENING
Cynthia pacing, talking on the phone, worried. The front door is wide open.
CYNTHIA
(into phone)
... He doesn't talk to me, maybe not to anyone, except Jamie...
She stands in the doorway and looks out.
CYNTHIA'S POV
Landon in his car in the driveway.
INT. LANDON'S CAR
Landon just sits. Exhausted, despondent.
INT. CARTER LIVING ROOM
Cynthia pacing.
CYNTHIA
(into phone)
... I've never asked you for extra. But we need it now... as soon as possible...
INT. HOSPITAL - PATIENT ROOM - ANOTHER AFTERNOON
Jamie's breathing is shallower. Landon's reading her The
Sheltering Sky. He pauses, looks up. Isabel, Jamie's student, is standing in the doorway. Jamie sees her too.
She smiles weakly.
JAMIE
Isabel?
ISABEL
(shy)
Hi.
Isabel comes in. Landon offers her the book. She takes it and keeps going from where Landon left off. Stumbling but reading. Jamie grins.
JAMIE
Who's been working with you?
Isabel looks shyly at Landon. Jamie shakes her head, amazed. Landon nods to Isabel and she begins reading again.110. EXT. CARTER BACK STEPS - THAT NIGHT
Landon quietly opens the back door to the kitchen.
HIS POV
Cynthia sits at the table with Dr. Carter, his father.
CYNTHIA
Sit with us a minute.
INT. CARTER KITCHEN
Landon enters, but doesn't sit.
LANDON
(to his father)
What are you doing here?
CYNTHIA
He wants to talk to you.
LANDON
(to his mother)
Now it's okay?
CYNTHIA
Landon. You have two parents.
We're both here for you even --
DR. CARTER
-- even if we're not here for each other anymore.
Landon is listening.
DR. CARTER
I want to do this. Please let me.
He holds out a check. For a lot of money. Landon takes it. Grateful.
LANDON
(quietly, to both parents)
Thank you.
INT. PARSONAGE - JAMIE'S BEDROOM - DAY
A smaller Jamie lies in a hospital bed, seemingly asleep.
Hooked to an IV. Bottles of pills. Landon dozes in a comfortable chair. A nurse sits in a corner, reading.
(CONTINUED)111.
CONTINUED:
Eric and Clay stand in the doorway, not sure what to do.
Jamie opens her eyes, smiles.
JAMIE
Don't wake Landon.
They tiptoe in. Stand on either side of her bed.
JAMIE
Do I look scary?
ERIC
Not too bad.
CLAY
You all right?
A dumb question but she handles it well.
JAMIE
(smiling)
Things could be better.
Awkward pause.
CLAY
We thought you'd be asleep --
JAMIE
(trying to help)
I don't know what to say either.
Clay hands her an envelope.
JAMIE
What is it?
She pulls out a stack of worn bills.
CLAY
For the book drive. Landon told us about it --
ERIC
We told everyone at school.
Jamie takes their hands, holds them. Thanking them silently. Her eyes shining with tears.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - LATE NIGHT
Landon sits at his desk, sketching the larger telescope, making a few computations.
(CONTINUED)112.
CONTINUED:
A library book on Haley's Comet is open. A stack of similar books by his elbow.
Cynthia enters wearing her waitressing outfit.
CYNTHIA
What can I do?
He shrugs. Tears fill his eyes.
LANDON
Everything's being done but it's not enough. I have to find something -- more.
CYNTHIA
(gently)
Landon, honey. There's nothing more. LANDON
I don't mean about Jamie being sick. I mean about Jamie and me.
CYNTHIA
Be with her when she wants. Make sure she never feels alone.
Landon thinks his mother is also talking about herself.
LANDON
Mom, I'm not going anywhere. Not yet anyway.
Pause.
CYNTHIA
When you are ready, I want you to feel free to go.
They embrace.
INT. LANDON'S BEDROOM - LATER
Landon opens Jamie's mother's book. A photo of Jamie falls out -- one taken by Belinda.
CLOSE ON PHOTO
Jamie, beautiful, smiling at the audience.113.
LANDON
considers the photo, finds a page to tuck it into.
CLOSE ON HANDWRITTEN JOTTING
"For Landon" above some underlined text, a Psalm from the
Bible.
LANDON
(reading aloud)
'I cry to you my Lord, my rock!
Do not be deaf to me, for if you are silent, I shall go down to the pit like the rest. Hear my voice raised in petition as I cry to you for help, as I raise my hands, my
Lord, toward your holy of holies.'
Landon knows Jamie underlined this for him.
INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Landon tears down the steps. Past his mother to the front door. He's out the door before she even turns around.
INT. PARSONAGE - REVEREND SULLIVAN'S BEDROOM - MIDNIGHT
Reverend Sullivan sits up in bed. His feet find slippers on the floor. He looks haggard, his hair thinner, his face defeated.
INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The Reverend, wearing his robe, checks on his sleeping daughter. The night nurse nods as he tucks in blankets.
A SOUND. Then another. Reverend Sullivan goes to the window. Parts the drapes. Looks out.
HIS POV
A dozen flashlights in a big circle. Landon in the middle, working feverishly on the new telescope.
EXT. BACK YARD - MOMENTS LATER
The back porch light comes on. Reverend Sullivan steps out onto the back porch. Landon looks up.
(CONTINUED)114.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(flushes, almost manic)
I have to finish it tonight.
Without a word, the Reverend turns around and goes back inside. Leaving the porch light on. Landon goes back to work. EXT. BACK YARD - MINUTES LATER
Reverend Sullivan comes out. Dressed. He carries two mugs of coffee and a brightly burning kerosene camp lantern. Peace offerings.
He walks over, sets down the lantern, hands Landon a mug.
Ready to work.
LANDON
I've almost finished the rocker.
Did she order mirrors?
REV. SULLIVAN
In there.
As they walk to the garage.
REV. SULLIVAN
You have materials for the side bearings? LANDON
I'm using an old phonographic turntable. REV. SULLIVAN
For the focuser?
LANDON
A chrome-plated brass pipe from a drain line.
The Reverend nods, impressed. He yanks the garage door up. Goes in.
LANDON
You know about this stuff?
REV. SULLIVAN
I helped Jamie with the first one.
(CONTINUED)115.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
(surprised)
I thought she built it herself.
REV. SULLIVAN
She did. But hardly anyone does anything truly alone.
The Reverend carries out a large cardboard postal package.
Landon takes it as the Reverend lowers the garage door.
LANDON
(serious)
I need to do this alone.
Reverend Sullivan searches Landon's face for a long moment, understanding, then turns and heads for the back door. INT. CHURCH - REVEREND'S OFFICE - NEXT MORNING
Landon stands in the doorway. The Reverend is wiping his glasses, his face, maybe of tears. He sees Landon.
REV. SULLIVAN
You finish?
LANDON
A few minutes ago. I have to ask you something.
Long pause.
REV. SULLIVAN
When I was seventeen, I was sent up for a year for stealing a car.
(beat)
Sometimes I still feel that boy inside me and I don't like him.
(beat)
But I like you.
The Reverend stands, offers Landon his hand. Landon takes it. The two men shake. Allies now.
INT. JAMIE'S ROOM - THAT EVENING
Jamie opens her eyes. But can barely keep them open.
Groggy from pain medication. Landon's standing there.
Showered, clean clothes.
(CONTINUED)116.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
We're going out.
He starts helping the nurse disconnect her IV.
JAMIE
Can I -- go out?
LANDON
You'll be fine for a few minutes.
Jamie looks at the nurse. Uncertain. The nurse nods.
EXT. PARSONAGE ROOF - NIGHT
Landon carries Jamie out a large attic window. The finished large telescope is set up. Pointing at the sky.
She's in her nightgown, wrapped in a blanket.
JAMIE
(grateful, touching it)
It's beautiful... Thank you.
But she looks at the lights of the house and streets around them.
JAMIE
I don't know what we'll be able to see... Help me stand.
He checks his watch.
LANDON
Wait a sec.
As she turns to him, questioning, the neighborhood suddenly darkens as the street lamps and lights in every nearby house are switched off.
EXT. DOWN STREET
Neighbors step outside. Hold up binoculars.
EXT. BEAUFORT HIGH - PARKING LOT
Members of the Star Club and other students look through traditional telescopes.117.
EXT. PARSONAGE ROOF
Jamie hugs Landon in gratitude.
LANDON
We have five minutes.
Jamie, tears streaming, braces herself against Landon and she peers into the telescope eyepiece. She pulls back, wipes her eyes, then looks again. She swings the telescope into the correct position.
HER POV THROUGH TELESCOPE
Haley's Comet, its icy nucleus issuing the jets and streamers of gas, dust, and debris that form the comet's hazy head and long tail.
JAMIE (O.S.)
The comet of the century...
BACK TO SCENE
She steps back so he can see. He looks quickly, then moves aside so she can keep looking. She's completely engrossed. A long, quiet moment, then:
LANDON
You love me?
She leans away from the eyepiece and looks at him -- yes.
LANDON
Will you do something for me?
JAMIE
Landon. I can't even do for myself. LANDON
But if you could, you would?
JAMIE
Yes.
His throat tightens with nervousness, with hope, fear, sadness, and love.
LANDON
Will you marry me?
HER FACE
Illness, happiness, disbelief.118.
EXT. SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH - EARLY APRIL
A sea of pink, purple, and white blossoms. Dogwoods, wisteria, azaleas, and roses blooming.
INT. SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH
Bursting with everyone who knows Jamie and Landon -- every kid in their high school, including Eric, Clay, Belinda; teachers, including Ms. Garber; Mr. Kelly; Luis and Isabel and others from Jefferson High; her father's congregation;
Cynthia Carter; Dr. Carter's new wife and their two kids; neighbors; hospital staff and home nurses.
Landon stands with his father by the altar.
The "WEDDING MARCH" begins...
The double doors at the back of the church open. Everyone turns to look at the bride. Gasps of joy and sadness.
LANDON'S POV - JAMIE
Flanked by a nurse and Reverend Sullivan. She's wearing her Lizzie dress from the play. It hangs loosely, but still becomes her. She's a beautiful bride.
BACK TO SCENE
Landon swells with pride.
Jamie smiles. Then, leaning on her father, she slowly makes her way down the aisle.
In the pews -- few dry eyes follow her.
Jamie -- halfway -- stops to rest and catch her breath. A moment later, she and her father continue.
A long, difficult walk. A walk to remember.
AT ALTAR
The nurse rolls a wheelchair up as Jamie and her father near. Applause breaks out as Jamie reaches Landon's side.
Jamie sits. Exhausted.
(CONTINUED)119.
CONTINUED:
Landon kneels to be the same height as Jamie in her chair.
Pause. Dr. Carter kneels. Showing solidarity with his son. Reverend Sullivan, standing, leans down to kiss Jamie's cheek. Trying to keep his emotions in check.
LANDON AND JAMIE'S POV
Reverend Sullivan towering over them.
BACK TO SCENE
Reverend Sullivan kneels, too.
Jamie takes Landon's hand in her right hand, her father's hand in her left. Linking the three together.
The congregation silences.
Reverend Sullivan looks up from his Bible. Struggling.
REV. SULLIVAN
As a father, I'm supposed to give away my daughter. But I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But I can let another share in the joy she has given me. May God's blessings be with you both.
He reaches out, offering a hand to Landon. Completing the circle. REV. SULLIVAN
Landon, repeat after me. Do you take... As words are spoken and vows and rings exchanged, the
CAMERA MOVES ACROSS the faces of those at the altar --
Jamie, Landon, Dr. Carter.
TO the first row of the congregation -- Cynthia Carter,
Josh, Eric, Clay.
Then BACK row by row as the Reverend begins reading a passage from the book Jamie's mother made for her. His voice soft and melodious, like a poet reading his own work. (CONTINUED)120.
CONTINUED:
REV. SULLIVAN (O.S.)
'Love is always patient and kind.
It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes...' And the CAMERA MOVES OUT the double doors to find...
PARSONAGE
in a different season. Winter.
UP the front steps and INTO...
LIVING ROOM (PRESENT DAY)
As it is now, in present day.
The nurse disappears, leaving Landon Carter, 33, waiting.
Looking at a framed photo of Jamie as Lizzie in The
Rainmaker...
The nurse returns, helping an old man as he shuffles in.
Reverend Sullivan. He's stooped, thin, balding. His skin parchment thin.
The two men embrace. Stiff, uncomfortable, uncertain.
REV. SULLIVAN
You've been well?
LANDON
Yes. You?
REV. SULLIVAN
Getting by.
Pause. Why is he here? The Reverend waits.
LANDON
(fumbling)
I'm -- I'm returning something.
He twists the ring on his finger. Removes it.
(CONTINUED)121.
CONTINUED:
LANDON
This belongs to you.
He gives his wedding ring to the Reverend. Pause. Landon searches for something meaningful to say.
LANDON
She taught me -- everything. She saved my life.
The Reverend turns away, overcome with sadness. Realizing now why Landon has come.
REV. SULLIVAN
You're marrying again.
LANDON
Yes.
REV. SULLIVAN
Jamie wanted that. She told me.
Landon is grateful to know this. He makes a move to go.
Then turns back.
LANDON
I'm sorry she never got her miracle. REV. SULLIVAN
She did. It was you.
Landon, deeply touched, embraces the old man again.
Warmly, fully. Two men still grieving, saying good-bye.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
Jamie once said when you're feeling love, you're also feeling
God.
EXT. NEUSE RIVER - THAT AFTERNOON
Landon walks alone. His hair and clothing tousled by a steady gentle wind.
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
She made me a believer. In love.
In life. In the journey that never ends...
Landon stops. Faces the wind. Lets the air swirl over him. (CONTINUED)122.
CONTINUED:
ADULT LANDON (V.O.)
... And in the mystery of all things you can't see but feel everywhere around you...
He closes his eyes. She's there...
FADE OUT.
THE END