"GHOST" (1990)

GHOST

Written by

Bruce Joel Rubin

SHOOTING DRAFT

The CAMERA TRACKS slowly through clouds of moving dust. Shafts of muted light pierce the dense atmosphere. An eerie netherworld envelops us. Strange ghostly forms appear and disappear in the distance. They seem like apparitions.

Broken timbers and dangling cables emerge from the smoky light. We see hints of a huge demolished space.

An old white plaster wall FILLS THE SCREEN. Momentary blips of light flash across it. SOUNDS of street traffic are heard dimly in the distance.

With startling impact, the SOUND of a sledgehammer explodes out of nowhere. The wall shudders.

HAMMER BLOWS assault the audience. They are loud and jarring. The wall buckles.

Chunks of plaster CRASH to the floor. The air fills with new swirls of white dust. The SLEDGEHAMMER smashes INTO VIEW. Beams of sunlight cut through the cracks, piercing the atmosphere like searchlights in a fog. A huge section of wall falls toward camera as more plaster billows into the air. We hear voices talking.

Through jagged holes we can make out three dim figures on the other side of the wall, all wielding SLEDGEHAMMERS.

One of the figures adjusts something over his face. Isolated rays of sunlight dance around him casting long shadows in the air.

His hammer pounds the wall. Molly laughs.

ANGLE

The CAMERA MOVES IN and for the first time we see them. MOLLY JENSEN, in her late 20's, has a bandanna around her hair and a workman's mask over her nose, but we can tell from her eyes and cheekbones that she is beautiful. SAM WHEAT, in his late 30's, is also hidden behind a mask, but he has a strong forehead and handsome features. Sweat is dripping down his brow, leaving streaks in the dust. CARL BRUNER, early 30's, removes his mask revealing a good looking young man with a fashionable two-day stubble. Both men have their shirts off.

ANGLE

2 BLACKNESS AND A LOUD THUD. Suddenly a shaft of light 2 penetrates the darkness. Another thud and more light. We see a hole. The hook of a crowbar enters it, grappling with something around the edges. Then, with a tug and a loud yank, a huge section of tin ceiling crashes to the floor. Huge clouds of dust fly into the air. Molly looks up, astonished.

Carl laughs as he looks at Sam. Their bodies, covered with white powder, appear as strange, ghostly figures.

Sam glances down at his white body. They all laugh.

Sam obeys. Molly doodles on his chest, drawing a bow tie and the outline of a tuxedo jacket. Her lines are quick, accomplished, and subtly erotic.

Molly nods. She reaches out and superimposes an armless female torso over his. His stomach jumps sensually as she touches it. Molly pulls back to admire her work. He looks like a Greek statue.

Molly laughs.

ANGLE

Sam, Molly, and Carl are holding their sledgehammers. Molly begins to count.

In unison, they hit it once more. A massive section of plaster and metal topples to the ground. New clouds of dust fill the air. Suddenly, Sam spies an old jar lying on the floor. Something rattles inside it, a penny.

She glances at him lovingly. Carl looks at the two of them and grins.

As the dust settles we see, for the first time, the outlines of the space they are working in. It is a huge loft over four thousand square feet. Banks of windows run east and west. Molly steps back and admires the room.

It is morning rush hour. Sam and Carl, both wearing suits and ties, exit the Wall Street subway station and approach the Headquarters of Market Security Bank & Trust.

Sam seems preoccupied.

Sam's jacket flares open. He is wearing yellow suspenders. Carl notices.

Sam, not completely comfortable wearing them, buttons his jacket.

Carl smiles and then turns to admire a car going by.

Sam and Carl are standing on a crowded elevator. It is deadly quiet. Suddenly Carl elbows Sam and winks. There is something he wants him to do. Sam hesitates a moment, annoyed, and then relents. He clears his throat.

He sneezes. People on the elevator freeze.

We see people trying to inch away. Carl coughs again. They hold their breath. The elevator stops at the next floor. All the passengers get off.

Sam and Carl, laughing, walk through a large office area bustling with activity. Employees, in various cubicles, are talking on telephones and punching information into computers.

Sam heads into his executive office. Carl steps into a cubicle across the aisle. ROSE, Sam's secretary, approaches him.

She points to a windowed conference room. Sam turns around and sees a large group of JAPANESE MEN standing inside.

He hurries over to Carl's cubicle. He is on the phone. Carl cups the mouthpiece.

Sam pulls out his wallet and extracts a small address book. He jots the code numbers on a piece of paper and hands it to Carl.

Sam and a group of fifteen somber Japanese businessmen are sitting around a large granite conference table. Sam stands up and speaks a simple greeting to them.

The men smile happily and nod their heads in unison.

They look to Sam, expecting more. Uncomfortable, he clears his throat.

As you know, we are not the largest banking establishment in New York. (his throat goes dry and he takes a sip of water) But, with combined assets of over billion dollars, we have a firm commitment to the international marketplace.

A SECRETARY enters the room and hands Sam a piece of paper. It reads "MOLLY ON LINE 2. URGENT." She hands him a phone.

Sam looks surprised. He nods apologetically to his guests.

The entire contingent of Japanese men is staring at Sam.

Sam squelches a smile.

He hangs up and stares at the Japanese men. A short smile crosses his face.

8 A CARVED WOODEN ANGEL 8

eight feet tall, ascending into an afternoon sky. As the CAMERA PULLS BACK we see that we are inside a building and that the angel is dangling outside an open doorway high above the street.

A group of workmen grab for the angel, but have difficulty bringing it in. Suddenly Molly steps INTO the FRAME.

With a gutsy maneuver, Molly leans out over the sidewalk and tries to grab hold of the ropes. She can't reach them. Suddenly a pair of hands grabs her around the waist. She screams.

Sam laughs as he pulls her back into the loft. She does not think it is funny.

Sam jumps up, grabs hold of the door's top molding, and swings out over the sidewalk. Molly gasps. Sam's feet push at the angel and send it swinging away and then back toward the loft. Quickly he jumps back, grabs hold of it, and brings it in. The workmen applaud. Molly eyes him with admiration.

Suddenly we hear a voice call out.

Molly looks to Sam.

Carl enters, shakes Molly's hand, and pats Sam on the back.

Before they can answer, a WORKMAN turns to Molly.

As the angel pulls away from camera, we see the newly decorated loft for the first time. It is painted now in lovely pastels. The floor, a huge gymnasium-like expanse, is lacquered with polyurethane. Furniture and boxes are piling up along the walls. Dominating the space, with a kind of surreal presence, are a large number of Molly's sculptures and ceramics. There is also a vintage jukebox. Carl is impressed.

A mover lugs in a heavy old chair. Molly sees it.

Sam pinches her ass. Molly smiles.

Sam, Molly, and Carl are sprawled out on the floor, eating from Cartons of Chinese food. Frank, a gray cat, eats beside them. Unpacked boxes are scattered everywhere.

Suddenly, I heard this woman screaming. I thought someone'd been shot or something.

The cat begins nibbling Sam's food.

Carl smiles.

She looks at Sam and grins. Carl is staring at Molly, obviously turned on by her. He is embarrassed when she catches his gaze and quickly looks away.

Molly, dressed only in a T-shirt, is sitting at her potters wheel throwing a series of pots. Sam enters the studio. He is barefoot, shirtless, wearing jeans.

She nods and presses her hands into a pot that is forming in front of her. Sam watches the sensual movement of her fingers, molding and forming the clay. She is forceful, assured, gifted. The clay responds to her slightest effort.

Slowly, almost unconsciously, Sam reaches for her shoulders and begins kissing them.

Sam reaches over her and gently adds his fingers to the clay. Molly looks up at him.

His hands dig into the clay. Molly smiles. Their fingers seem to dance together. After a moment, she reaches up to him, her clay-covered fingers streaking his face and curving down to his chest. Sam grins and reaches down to her.

13 SAM'S FINGER 13

as it presses two buttons on his jukebox. We watch as the mechanical arm selects a record and slowly, sensuously, lowers it to the turntable. The arm hovers over the record and then descends. It begins to play. The song is "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers.

14 SAM AND MOLLY 14

are dancing in the middle of the dark loft. Moonlight pours through the windows and shines off the floor. Wads of packing paper swirl sensuously around their feet.

Molly runs her fingers down Sam's naked back. The moment is sweet and erotic. We watch as Sam slowly draws his fingers down over Molly's face, gently caressing her forehead, her eyes, her lips.

Sam slides his hands under Molly's T-shirt, slowly moving them toward her breasts. Her breathing slows. They dance silently, her hair swaying in the soft light.

We hear the sounds of their bare feet on the highly polished floor.

Sensuously, Molly's shirt lifts above her navel as Sam presses into her. Their stomachs touch and part and touch again. She bites her lip. Sam eyes her moonlit form as she strokes his chest, slowly moving her fingers down his torso, around the curve of his hips, and then digging into the back of his jeans.

Sam leans into Molly and nips at her neck. She stops dancing. Her eyes close. She stands absolutely still. Sam's hands move to her backside. He pulls her closer.

DISSOLVE:

SAM AND MOLLY, making love on the livingroom carpet. Paper and packing materials crumble beneath them and scatter across the floor. For all their sensuality, it is their hands and eyes that are most expressive, revealing a tenderness that is deeply moving. Their lovemaking is full of love.

DISSOLVE:

Sam and Molly are lying together silently. Molly gazes at him.

Molly gently strokes his head.

He smiles and strokes her cheek.

Suddenly the T.V. blares into the room. Sam jumps up, grabbing the remote control unit from under his buttocks. Molly laughs as he turns the SOUND DOWN. The news is on and they are showing the remains of an airline disaster. Sam stares at the tube.

He motions to wait. Dead bodies litter the screen.

The T.V. goes OFF. Sam, confused, spins around. Molly is holding the remote control. She nods for him to lie down.

Sam looks at her and then back at the screen.

Sam is sitting at his computer. His address book with his access codes is sitting open beside him. He seems perplexed by something happening on the screen. After pushing a series of buttons and getting the same response, he whacks the computer on the side. Carl, walking in the door, sees him. Sam looks up sheepishly.

Carl winces. Sam smiles.

Sam and Molly are sitting in the fifth row of a crowded auditorium. He is sound asleep.

ANGLE STAGE

A scene from "Macbeth".

Sam begins to snore. Molly grabs his nose. He jerks awake. Molly grins.

Bright marquee lights sparkle overhead as Sam and Molly exit the theatre. It is a beautiful brisk night.

She smiles and squeezes his arm. They walk silently down a dark street, heading toward their loft. The pavement is full of shadows.