Door always open.
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A few hours in New York
FADE IN:
EXT. WASHINGTON HEIGHTS APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY
There's movement through the dirty windows of the front door.
THREE-YEAR-OLD (V.O.)
Macky's turn! It's Macky's turn!
MAN (V.O.)
No, I think it's Butchie's turn.
ANOTHER THREE-YEAR-OLD (V.O.)
Push da button!
MAN (V.O.)
Can you do it?
SFX: Security buzzer.
MAN (V.O.)
Good job!
THREE-YEAR-OLD (V.O.)
You did it, Butchie! You did it!
In one obviously much-practiced gesture, DADDY (40ish, tired,
unshaven) swings the door open, levers a double stroller down
the front steps, and says:
DADDY
What's that!
The three-year-olds are MAC (elfin, blond, coming down with
yet another cold) and BUTCH (a future linebacker, slightly
less blond than his brother).
MAC AND BUTCH
Da Geodge Washygton Bwidge!
DADDY
Very good! Who wants to be cozy?
MAC
Cozy!
DADDY
Okay!
(tucks a ducky blanket
around them)
Let's go!
EXT. 175TH ST. "A" TRAIN STATION - DAY
They approach a street-level elevator.
BUTCH
Less go da steegy egabato!
DADDY
You want the stinky elevator?
BUTCH
Steegy egabato!
DADDY
Okay! Let's go on the stinky
elevator!
MAC
No preschool! No preschool!
DADDY
Today is Saturday. There's no
preschool on Saturday.
MAC
(satisfied)
No preschool da Satuday.
INT DOWNTOWN "A" TRAIN
The stroller faces DADDY, who's sitting near the door. MAC
and BUTCH are holding sippy cups.
DADDY
What train is this?
BUTCH
Da "A" Twain.
DADDY
That's right, it's the "A" Train.
Who wants to sing the "A" Train
song?
MAC
"A" Train Song!
BUTCH
"A" Twain Song!
DADDY
Okay. You ready?
MAC
Ready!
BUTCH
Weddy!
DADDY
(singing)
You...can take the--
MAC AND BUTCH
(gleeful)
B TRAIN!
DADDY
(much tickling)
No, not the B Train! It's the A
Train! It's the A Train!
(singing)
All...the way to Sugar Hill in
Harlem. If...you miss the--
MAC AND BUTCH
(gleeful)
B TRAIN!
DADDY
(more tickling)
No, it's not the B Train! It's not
the B Train! It's the A Train!
(singing)
You... have missed the quickest way
to--?
BUTCH
(unintelligible)
MAC
Haddam.
DADDY
Very good. Drink your orange juice.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY
A few dozen people are clumped near 59th Street. A few have
professional-quality video cameras on their shoulders. Either
it's a political rally or the local birders have found
another Scott's Oriole.
DADDY
Let's go see!
They go see. It's a Women for Obama rally.
DADDY
Let's go look at horses!
EXT. CENTRAL PARK - DAY
DADDY
That's a brown horse pulling a
white carriage with white wheels.
That's a brown horse pulling a
black carriage with black wheels.
That's a white horse pulling a
white carriage with red wheels.
That's a brown horse pulling a
white carriage.
MAC
Da white wheels.
DADDY
That's right, very good. The wheels
are white. Do you see another
carriage? Do you see the inside?
The color inside is red.
MAC
No, it's a white carriage.
DADDY
Yes, it's a white carriage, but the
inside is red. Do you see the red?
MAC
No, it's a white carriage.
DADDY
Yes, the outside is white. The
inside is red.
MAC
No, it's a white carriage.
DADDY
Butchie, do you see the carriage?
What color do you see? Butchie,
what color do you see? Butchie? Do
you see a carriage? What color is
it? Butchie? Do you see a carriage?
What color is it? What color do you
see?
BUTCH
Horsey!
EXT. CENTRAL PARK PLAYGROUND - DAY
Unlike last time, when DADDY thought 20° was a good
temperature for playing outside, there are one or two other
families here. The main attraction is the 40'-long stone
slide.
SERIES OF SHOTS:
- MAC and BUTCH hiking up the mud path and sliding down
- BUTCH making a left instead of a right and leaving the
slide area, running full tilt.
MAC
Wait! Wait! We got to get the big
slide! Wait, Butchie, wait!
Butchie, come back here!
- BUTCH running full-tilt in no particular direction.
- MAC falling on his face as he climbs around on the log
edging.
DADDY helps him up. Mac's lip is a little abraded, and it
mixes with what's coming out of his nose.
MAC
(crying)
I hurt my face! Daddy I hurt my
face!
DADDY
Yes, you hurt your face. You fell
down.
MAC
Yes.
BUTCH
(grabbing Daddy's hand)
Come on, Daddy! Wet's go!
DADDY
Butchie, I'm helping Mac right now.
BUTCH
(pulling)
Come on, Daddy! Wet's go!
DADDY
Hold on, Butchie. Macky, do you
want to play some more?
MAC
No, I want to eat Cheerios.
- MAC sitting on steps, eating Cheerios
MAC
(eating Cheerios from a
Ziploc bag)
Num. Num num num. Num num num num
num. Num num! Num! Num num! Num
NUM! Num NUM NUM NUM! NUM NUM NUM!
NUM NUM NUM NUM NUM!
- BUTCH running full-tilt in no particular direction.
- MAC and BUTCH jumping up and down on the little chain
suspension bridges.
- MAC walking all the way around the lip of a raised seating
area. Two million times.
- BUTCH running full-tilt in no particular direction
EXT. 6TH AVENUE IN THE 40S - DAY
DADDY pushes MAC and BUTCH in the stroller. They're walking
all the way down to 34th Street because Daddy doesn't want to
deal with the stairs at 59th.
DADDY
Who's that? Do you see that? Who is
it?
Half a block ahead is ELMO.
Or anyway, someone dressed as Elmo, which--Elmo not actually
being a real person in the first place, is as real as Elmo
gets.
MAC AND BUTCH
(beam delightedly but say
nothing)
ELMO
(makes some weird high
pitched sounds)
DADDY
Bye-bye, Elmo!
AT 42ND STREET
Both boys are asleep. Planning on buying Mommy a little more
time, Daddy bumps the stroller up the steps to the WichCraft
kiosk, orders cappuccino and a brownie, and waits.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
Hello, we are doing a story for
Shanghai television on the coffee
culture here in New York. Do you
think we could talk to you?
DADDY
Sure.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
Yes? Good, thank you.
The news crew positions Daddy.
CAMERAMAN
Tilt the cap up, if you would.
Daddy tilts his cap up. The interview starts.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
Pleae tell us, do you drink a lot
of coffee?
DADDY
Actually, no. I drink mostly tea.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
(eyes widening in
surprise)
You drink a lot of tea? Why?
DADDY
Well, I'm the father of three-year
old twins, and I need as much
caffeine as I can get.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
And tea has more caffeine than
coffee?
DADDY
The way I make it? Yeah.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
So you don't like coffee?
DADDY
Well, I'm a writer, so I like
coffeehouses, because I can sit in
them and write, but coffee... it's
fine.
PRETTY ASIAN REPORTER
Do you have a favorite flavor of
coffee?
DADDY
Do they make tea-flavored coffee?
INT UPTOWN "B" TRAIN
CONDUCTOR
(over PA system)
59th Street, Columbus Circle.
It's a packed train. A THUGGY FAMILY (father, mother, baby
in stroller) rise as the train slows. DADDY and the double
stroller of sleeping boys are between that family and the
subway door.
THUGGY FATHER
Strolla heah!
DADDY
You getting off?
THUGGY FATHER
Yeah.
INT 59TH STREET STATION
When the train doors open, Daddy backs the double stroller
between masses of people onto the platform. The Thuggy
family exits.
The doors close, leaving Daddy, Mac, and Butch still on the
platform. Daddy just shakes his head.
THUGGY FATHER
He close the door on you?
DADDY
Yeah.
THUGGY FATHER
(top of his lungs at the
conductor)
HEY, STROLLA HEAH!
The doors open.
DADDY
(wheeling in)
Thanks.
THUGGY FATHER
Yeah.
(top of his lungs at the
conductor)
FUCKIN' RETARD!
INT 145TH ST. STATION
DADDY disembarks with the stroller. MAC and BUTCH are still
sleeping. There's no elevator here. He looks up the stairs.
DADDY'S POV
Four flights of stairs, going waaaay up.
He blows air out his cheeks and sets to hauling 150 pounds up
the stairs. Halfway to the first landing, he glances down at
the platform, where a model-beautiful woman, obviously made
up to impress someone, is looking uncertainly up at him.
WOMAN
Would you like help with that?
DADDY
No, that's all right, thanks. I do
this all the time.
WOMAN
Are you sure?
DADDY
Yes, really, thanks.
WOMAN
(hesitates, then goes up)
Let me help you with that.
She lifts the bottom of the stroller.
DADDY
Are you sure about that?
From her face... no she's not. But at the landing, three
YOUNG MEN take over. At the top of the second flight, they
pause on a different platform.
DADDY
Thanks very much.
YOUNG MAN
You going all the way up?
DADDY
(looking around)
We're going to the "A" Train.
YOUNG MAN
(relieved)
That's right here.
INT APARTMENT - DAY
MAC and BUTCH sleep in their stroller.
FADE TO BLACK.
The end credits roll.
FADE IN:
INT APARTMENT - NIGHT
Nine square feet of wooden floor are covered in black
permanent marker scribbles.
MAC
Daddy, I draw da floor!
FADE TO BLACK.
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