WTsJEiss

1
2
3                         THE TRUMAN SHOW
4
5
6
7
8                          A Screen Play
9
10                               By
11
12                         Andrew M. Niccol
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21     FADE IN
22
23     A white title appears on a black screen.
24
25                      "One doesn't discover new lands
26                      without consenting to lose sight
27                      of the shore for a very long time."
28
29                                     Andre Gide
30
31     The title fades off, replaced by a second title.
32
33                      "We're all in this alone."
34
35                                     Lily Tomlin
36
37
38     INT.  A WOMB.  DAY.
39
40     A fiber optic camera observes a five-month-old MALE FETUS as he
41     gently floats, weightless, suspended in the amniotic fluid of
42     his mother's womb.  We focus on the unborn's hand, already a
43     tiny, exquisite work of art, moving towards his newly formed
44     lips.  He sucks his thumb.
45
46
47     INT.  HOSPITAL - DELIVERY ROOM.  DAY.
48
49     A seconds old BABY BOY - umbilical cord still attached,
50     smeared with blood and protective skin grease - is held up
51     by an anonymous pair of latex gloves to the camera.  Shocked by
52     the unaccustomed light and cool of the delivery room, the
53     newborn fights for his first, arduous breath.  Following almost
54     immediately, a cry.
55
56     From another angle we see the crying infant on a television
57     screen, the individual lines of the screen clearly visible.
58
59     MATCH DISSOLVE TO
60
61
62     INT.  CAR - UTOPIA, QUEENS.  MORNING.
63
64     The face of the baby thirty-four years later, still crying.
65     TRUMAN BURBANK, thinning hair, a body going soft around the
66     edges, appearing older than his thirty-four years sits at the
67     wheel of his eight-year-old Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.  He
68     cries without shame, making no attempt to wipe away the tears.
69
70     Pausing at an intersection in a quiet, working-class suburban
71     street, a spherical glass object suddenly falls from the sky and
72     lands with a deafening crash on the roadway, several yards in
73     front of his idling car.
74
75     Truman exits the Oldsmobile to investigate.  Amidst a sea of
76     shattered glass are the remains of a light mechanism.
77
78     He looks around him but the street is deserted.  He checks that
79     all the surrounding streetlights are accounted for, even though
80     the fallen fixture is far larger.  He looks up into the sky but
81     there is no plane in sight.  With some effort, Truman picks up
82     what's left of the crumpled light, loads it into the trunk of
83     his car and drives away.
84
85
86     INT.  CAR - TRAIN STATION PARKING LOT.  MORNING.
87
88     TRUMAN sits behind the wheel of his car, unscrews the cap of
89     a miniature bottle of Jack Daniels and empties the contents into
90     his Styrofoam cup of coffee.  Stirring it in with his finger, he
91     burns himself.
92
93                           TRUMAN
94              Shit!
95
96     As Truman drinks, he becomes aware of the delighted squeals of
97     children coming from the gymnasium of Utopia Elementary School,
98     adjacent to the parking lot.  The sound of the children triggers
99     a memory in his head.
100
101
102     EXT.  LONG, WIDE BEACH.  DAY, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
103
104     Unlike a conventional flashback, the scene in his memory appears
105     to be playing on a television screen.
106
107     A sandy-haired, SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN, runs towards a bluff on
108     the beach.
109
110     The boy's father, KIRK, late-thirties, beer bottle in hand,
111     flirts with two TEENAGE GIRLS at the shoreline.  Suddenly, the
112     father remembers his son.  He looks anxiously around.  The sight
113     of the boy at the far end of the beach causes him to drop his
114     bottle in the sand and run to him.
115
116     The boy is near the top of the cliff before his agitated father
117     comes within earshot.
118
119                           FATHER
120                      (out of breath, clutching his side)
121              Truman!  Truman!  Stop!
122
123     Truman turns from his perch and waves happily down to his
124     father.  But the smile quickly vanishes when he registers the
125     anger and distress on his father's face.
126
127                           FATHER
128              Come down now!
129
130     His father's unnatural anxiety makes the next bay even more
131     tantalizing.  The boy considers defying his father.  He puts
132     his hand on the rock above him to stretch up and sneak a peek at
133     the other side.  One good stretch would do it.
134
135                           FATHER
136                      (reading Truman's mind, enraged)
137              No!
138
139                           TRUMAN
140                      (sensing his father is keeping
141                      something from him)
142              Why?  What's there?
143
144                           FATHER
145                      (unconvincing)
146              Nothing's there.  It's the same as this.
147                      (trace of desperation)
148              Come down, please!
149
150     Truman is suddenly aware that the hundreds of other BEACHGOERS
151     have stopped their activities to stare at him.  Reluctantly
152     he starts to retrace his steps down the rocks.  When he finally
153     jumps to the sand, his father grabs him roughly by the arm and
154     drags him away down the beach.
155
156                           FATHER
157              I told you to stay close.  Don't ever leave
158              my sight again.  You gotta know your
159              limitations.  You could've been washed
160              away by the tide.
161
162
163     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN, FINANCIAL DISTRICT.  MORNING.
164
165     TRUMAN emerges from a subway exit in Lower Manhattan and walks
166     briskly down the bustling street.  A snarl of taxis, buses and
167     COMMUTER traffic.  A STREET VENDOR thrusts a pretzel under
168     Truman's nose, a CAREER WOMAN catches his eye.
169
170     Truman stops at a newspaper stand and plucks an issue of
171     Cosmopolitan from the rack, quickly flicking through the glossy
172     pages.  Glancing in the direction of the NEWSPAPER VENDOR and
173     finding him busy with another customer, Truman deftly tears a
174     portion of the open page and pockets the cutting.
175
176     He guiltily replaces the magazine, startled to find the
177     Newspaper Vendor standing close behind him.
178
179                           TRUMAN
180                      (quickly recovering)
181              Gimme a copy of "The Sydney Morning Herald".
182
183                           VENDOR
184              We ran out.
185
186                           TRUMAN
187                      (hastily departing)
188              Thanks anyway.
189
190     As Truman hurries away, the Vendor picks up the copy of Cosmo
191     and instantly turns to the torn page.  It is a Lancome
192     advertisement with ISABELLA ROSSELLINI's nose missing.
193     Truman is still in view but the Vendor makes no effort to
194     confront him, almost as if he were expecting it.
195
196     Passing one of the tall, black mirrored buildings that grow
197     out of the pavement, Truman glimpses himself in the reflective
198     glass.  He doesn't like what he sees and attempts to suck in his
199     gut, but quickly concedes defeat.  The image triggers another
200     childhood memory.
201
202
203     INT.  SCHOOLROOM.  DAY, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
204
205     Once again, the flashback appears to be playing on a television
206     screen.
207
208     The sandy-haired SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN sits in the middle row of
209     a Catholic Elementary School classroom surrounded by thirty-or-
210     so other well-scrubbed, uniformed YOUNGSTERS.  DOUGLAS, the boy
211     next to Truman is on his feet under the scrutiny of a sixty-
212     year-old NUN with a face as wrinkled as her habit is starched.
213
214                           DOUGLAS
215              I wanna be a chiropractor like my dad.
216
217                           SISTER
218                      (impressed)
219              Tell the class what a chiropractor does,
220              Douglas.
221
222                           DOUGLAS
223              He helps people by fixing their backs,
224              Sister Olivia.
225
226                           SISTER
227              That's right, Douglas.
228                      (holding her back, hamming it up)
229              Perhaps I'll be your first patient.
230
231     The CLASS titters.  Douglas sits down, pleased with himself,
232     throwing a smirk to Truman.
233
234                           SISTER
235              What about you, Truman?
236
237     Truman rises to his feet.
238
239                           TRUMAN
240              I want to be an explorer
241                      (with reverence)
242              ...like Magellan.
243
244     The Sister's face falls.
245
246                           SISTER
247              No one's going to pay you to do that,
248              Truman.
249                      (with scarcely disguised glee)
250              Besides, you're too late.  There's
251              nothing left to explore.
252
253     The class roars with laughter and Truman takes his seat.
254
255
256     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN, FINANCIAL DISTRICT.  MORNING.
257
258     From TRUMAN'S POV we see that he is staring up at relief
259     letters that proclaim, "American Life & Accident Insurance,
260     Inc." above an office building's entrance.
261
262     A POLICE OFFICER walking his beat, wanders in Truman's
263     direction.  From another angle, we observe Truman from the
264     Police Officer's POV - shaky, handheld camera - on a television
265     screen.  Truman enters the building.
266
267
268     INT.  INSURANCE COMPANY - TWELFTH FLOOR.  DAY.
269
270     In a cramped, cluttered, windowless cubicle, TRUMAN talks on
271     the telephone.
272
273                           TRUMAN
274                      (into receiver)
275              ...okay, okay, let's call it what it is...
276              I'm not gonna lie to you...life insurance
277              is death insurance...you just gotta ask
278              yourself two questions...one, in the event
279              of your death, will anyone experience
280              financial loss?...and two, do you care?
281
282     A CLERK drops a large reference book on Truman's desk.  He
283     checks the spine - "MORTALITY STATISTICS, 1986 to Present".
284
285                           TRUMAN
286                      (into receiver)
287              Hold on will ya?
288                      (to Clerk, putting receiver
289                      to chest, referring to the book)
290              This's no good.  Lumps all drownings
291              together.  I need drownings broken down
292              by category.
293
294     The Clerk shrugs, returns the book to his trolley and continues
295     his rounds.
296
297                           TRUMAN
298                      (returning to his call)
299              ...just think about what I've been
300              saying and lemme...hello?...
301
302     The person on the other end has hung up.  With an apathetic
303     shrug, Truman replaces the receiver.  He looks over his shoulder
304     and places another call.
305
306                           TRUMAN
307                      (lowering his voice)
308              Can you connect me with directory
309              inquiries in Sydney, Australia?
310                      (a long delay makes Truman
311                      even more uncomfortable)
312              ...er, yes.  Do you have a listing
313              for a Lauren Powers...
314                      (pause)
315              ...nothing listed?...what about a Sylvia
316              Powers...nothing?  Thanks...
317
318     Truman replaces the receiver, disappointed.
319
320
321     INT.  LOCAL ITALIAN DELI.  LUNCHTIME.
322
323     TRUMAN stands in line with a crush of other WHITE COLLAR
324     WORKERS.  As he reaches the counter, the store owner, TYRONE,
325     has anticipated his order and ahs already begun preparing a
326     meatball and mozzarella sandwich on Italian roll.  Truman gazes
327     at the sandwich skillfully under construction, pained by his own
328     predictability.
329
330                           TYRONE
331                      (nauseatngly cheerful)
332              How's it goin', Truman?
333
334                           TRUMAN
335                      (deadpan)
336              Not bad.  I just won the State Lottery.
337
338                           TYRONE
339                      (not listening to Truman's
340                      reply, as Truman anticipated)
341              Good.  Good.
342
343                           TRUMAN
344              Tyrone, what if I said I didn't want meatball today?
345
346                           TYRONE
347                      (not missing a beat)
348              I'd ask for identification.
349
350     Truman forces a half-smile.
351
352     We focus on another MALE OFFICE WORKER in line at the cash
353     register, watching Truman out of the corner of his eye.  About
354     to depart with his sandwich, the man receives a guarded rebuke
355     from the FEMALE CASHIER.
356
357                           FEMALE CASHIER
358                      (a whisper to prevent Truman overhearing)
359              He's right there.  You're supposed to pay
360              when he's here.
361
362                           MALE CUSTOMER
363                      (nonchalant shrug as he departs)
364              He never notices.
365
366     We re-focus our attention on Truman who is taking the wrapped
367     sandwich from Tyrone.
368
369                           TYRONE
370              Hold on, Truman.  I got somethin' to show ya.
371
372     Tyrone holds up a front page of the New York Post that
373     features a photograph of a scaled-down replica of Columbus'
374     Santa Maria, moored in front of the Manhattan skyline.  Truman's
375     eyes widen at the photograph.
376
377                           TYRONE
378                      (referring to the photo)
379              The flagship of Christoforo...our Genoese
380              navigator, huh?  I know you love this like me.
381
382                           TRUMAN
383                      (averting his eyes with difficulty)
384              Not me.  You got the wrong man.
385
386     Tyrone tries not to let his disappointment show as Truman pays
387     the Cashier and exits.
388
389                           TYRONE
390              See ya tomorrow, Truman.
391
392
393     EXT.  CITY PARK.  DAY.
394
395     TRUMAN eats lunch alone on a concrete bench in a cement park.
396     From his briefcase he pulls out an old hardcovered book, "To The
397     Ends Of The Earth - The Age Of Exploration".
398
399     A TRANSIENT in a wheelchair approaches, looking for a handout.
400     Truman gives the homeless man half of his sandwich, reconsiders
401     and gives him it all, his appetite gone.  As the transient
402     wheels himself away, Truman loses himself in his book.
403
404
405     INT.  A DIMLY-LIT ROOM SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
406
407     Close up on an old man's face.  CHRISTOF.  Hair pure white,
408     late-sixties, a vitality in his eyes that belies his years.
409
410     He stands beside a floor-to-ceiling window in a dimly-lit room.
411     Outside the window, a single palm tree swaying against a deep
412     blue Californian sky.  A news anchor-style earpiece disappears
413     down the neck of the unconventionally-cut suit he wears.
414
415     Suspended from the ceiling above his head is a television
416     monitor upon which a surveillance picture of Truman, engrossed
417     in his book, silently plays.
418
419     CHLOE, twenty-something, androgenous-looking, similarly-suited,
420     joins Christof at the window.
421
422                           CHRISTOF
423                      (never taking his eyes
424                      from the monitor)
425              You ever pass a car wreck on the side of the
426              road?  They're pulling out a body.  You know
427              you shouldn't look, but you do.
428
429
430     INT.  A CONFERENCE ROOM SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
431
432     A group of a dozen MEN and WOMEN of varying ages sit around
433     a circular conference table in a sterile, windowless meeting
434     room.  All stare at a single telephone placed in the center of
435     the table, anticipating a call.  On cue, the phone rings and one
436     of the men, after waiting for the second ring, picks up.
437
438                           MAN
439              Hello?...I'm sorry, I got more than enough
440              insurance.
441
442     He hangs up.  After a moment the phone rings again.
443
444
445     INT.  INSURANCE COMPANY.  DAY.
446
447     TRUMAN sits at his desk, making a cold call.
448
449                           TRUMAN
450                      (into receiver)
451              ...this isn't about insurance, this is
452              about the great variable - when will
453              death occur?  Could be a week, a month,
454              a year.  Could happen today...A sunbather,
455              minding his own business, gets stabbed in
456              the heart by the tip of a runaway beach
457              umbrella...No way you can guard against
458              that kinda thing, no way at all...
459
460     The prospect on the other end, unimpressed with his pitch, hangs
461     up.  Truman's supervisor, LAWRENCE, younger than Truman by
462     several years, sharper suit, sharper haircut, appears around the
463     corner of the cubicle.
464
465                           LAWRENCE
466                      (handing Truman some documentation)
467              Hey, Burbank, I got a bridge-buyer in
468              Stapleton I need you to cloes by four.
469
470     Truman turns pale.
471
472                           TRUMAN
473              Stapleton on Staten Island?
474
475                           LAWRENCE
476                      (sarcastic)
477              You know another one?
478
479                           TRUMAN
480              I can't do it.
481
482                           LAWRENCE
483                      (insistent)
484              A half hour across the bay.  Sea air.  Do
485              you good.
486
487                           TRUMAN
488              No, I...
489                      (searching for a plausible excuse)
490              ...I got an appointment uptown.
491
492                           LAWRENCE
493              This is a sure thing.
494                      (conspiratorial)
495              They're upping our quota.  You need this.
496
497     Lawrence exits the cubicle.  Truman's head drops.  He picks up
498     the framed picture of his wife from his desk.  MERYL, early
499     thirties, a petite woman easy to mistake for frail.  He deposits
500     the photo in his briefcase and departs.
501
502
503     INT.  MUNICIPAL FERRY TERMINAL.  DAY.
504
505     TRUMAN, briefcase in hand, ashen-faced, stands in line for the
506     Staten Island ferry.
507
508     As the TOURISTS and COMMUTERS impatiently brush past him onto
509     the boat, Truman remains frozen to the spot, mesmerized by the
510     scummy water rising and falling beneath the dock, triggering
511     a flashback in his head.
512
513
514     EXT.  LONG ISLAND SOUND.  DUSK, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
515
516     The flashback once again appearing an a television screen, the
517     SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN sits alongside his father, KIRK, in a
518     small sailing dinghy.
519
520                           TRUMAN
521                      (shouting above the wind)
522              Let's go further, daddy!  Let's go further!
523
524                           FATHER
525                      (shouting back)
526              It's getting late, Truman.
527
528                           TRUMAN
529                      (entreating his father)
530              Please!...
531
532     Kirk shakes his head ruefully and indulges his son by heading
533     towards the gathering storm clouds on the horizon.
534
535
536     INT.  MUNICIPAL FERRY TERMINAL.  DAY.
537
538     TRUMAN turns and begins to fight his way back against the tide
539     of PASSENGERS boarding the ferry, emerging back on the street
540     into the bright sunlight, gasping for air.
541
542     Gathering himself, he makes for the entrance of Whitehall Street
543     subway station.  Two COMMUTERS surrepticiously observe Truman as
544     he departs.
545
546                           COMMUTER 1
547                      (commenting out of Truman's earshot)
548              I can't believe he's taking the long way.
549
550                           COMMUTER 2
551              He'll never make it.
552
553
554     INT.  SUBWAY TRAIN.  DAY.
555
556     TRUMAN stands in a packed subway car, anxiously glancing at his
557     watch, wiping his perspiring hairline with a hankerchief.
558
559
560     INT. TAXI.  DAY.
561
562     A taxi crosses the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge towards Staten
563     Island.  TRUMAN keeps his eyes shut tight all the way across.
564     refusing to look down at the entrance to New York harbor.
565
566
567     EXT.  BAY STREET, STATEN ISLAND.  DAY.
568
569     TRUMAN finally reaches his destination at a well-to-do
570     condominium on Bay Street.  As he approaches the lobby, he
571     realizes he has perspiration showing through the armpits of his
572     suit jacket.
573
574
575     INT.  CONDOMINIUM.  DAY.
576
577     A middle-aged CONCIERGE behind a reception desk, is having his
578     hair brushed by a YOUNGER MAN in his mid-thirties.  Anticipating
579     Truman's arrival, the hairdresser fusses one more time and
580     swiftly departs through a rear door.  TRUMAN enters the lobby
581     and approaches the CONCIERGE, trying to keep his arms tightly at
582     his sides to hide the perspiration.
583
584                           TRUMAN
585              I'm here to see a Mr Hamilton.
586
587                           CONCIERGE
588              You from the insurance company?  You missed him.
589
590                           TRUMAN
591              When will he be back?
592
593                           CONCIERGE
594              Vacation.  Two months.  He waited as long as
595              he could.  You was supposed to be here by four.
596
597     A clock on the wall reads 4.l2pm.
598
599
600     INT.  SUBWAY.  AFTERNOON.
601
602     TRUMAN sits by himself in the rattling subway car, defeated.
603     The only other occupants in the train, a TALL WOMAN, mid-
604     thirties, reading a pulp novel and two MALE YOUTHS, late-teens,
605     sitting opposite the woman, slouching, ogling her.
606
607                           YOUTH 1
608                      (to woman)
609              You wanna read to me?
610
611     His companion smirks.
612
613                           YOUTH 1
614                      (more insistent)
615              You wannna read to me?
616
617     The woman looks up, unaware of the boys' presence until now.
618     She quickly avoids eye contact and returns to the book.  The
619     other boy reaches over and snatches the novel from her grasp.
620
621                           YOUTH 2
622                      (menacing)
623              My friend asked you a question.
624
625     The woman picks up her bag from the floor in a reflex and
626     holds it to her.  She looks around the train for assistance,
627     briefly catching Truman's eye.  The youths also look in
628     Truman's direction, staring him down, daring him to interfere.
629     Truman quickly averts his gaze.
630
631                           WOMAN
632                      (reaching for the book)
633              Please...
634
635     The boy returns the book to the woman, but before doing so rips
636     out the last page from the novel and stuffs it in his shirt
637     pocket.
638
639                           YOUTH 2
640              Now you're gonna have to ask me how it ends.
641
642     The train pulls into a deserted station.  Feeling vulnerable,
643     the woman jumps up from her seat and exits.  The youths, sensing
644     a chase, also exit.  Scanning the empty platform, the woman
645     realizes she has made a serious error.  Truman watches through
646     the train's open door as the boys corner the frightened woman
647     but still he remains in his seat.
648
649                           YOUTH 1
650              We're gonna tell you how it ends, baby.
651
652     One of the youths produces a knife from his pocket and waves it
653     in the woman's face.
654
655                           YOUTH 2
656              Don't you wanna know how it ends?
657
658     The boys pin the woman to the station wall with the weight of
659     their bodies.  The woman looks again in Truman's direction.
660     Again she makes eye contact, eyes pleading.
661
662                           WOMAN
663                      (screams)
664              Help!!  Please, help!!
665
666     The woman's second scream is muffled as the train door closes.
667     Truman looks up to the emergency handle beside the door.  There
668     is still time to act.  He stands up and half-reaches for the
669     handle but moves no further.
670
671     The train abruptly pulls away, leaving Truman time to see one of
672     the youths covering the woman's mouth while the other reaches
673     under her skirt before the train enters the tunnel.  Truman bows
674     his head in shame as the train rattles on.
675
676
677     INT.  SUBWAY STATION.  DAY.
678
679     The train safely out of sight, the YOUTHS promptly release the
680     WOMAN.  She calmly hitches down her skirt, no longer afraid.
681     The young men, no longer angry, help fix her hair and retrieve
682     her shoulder bag.
683
684                           WOMAN
685              Thanks.
686
687     The threesome walk along the platform together, as if lifelong
688     friends.
689
690                           WOMAN
691                      (pondering the incident)
692              He did nothing.
693
694                           YOUTH 1
695                      (shrugs, suddenly more couth)
696              Physical violence paralyzes him.  Always
697              has.
698
699
700     EXT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  DUSK.
701
702     The backyard of a modest but tidy one-story tract home.  Beyond
703     the plank fence at the end of the property flows a busy
704     Expressway.
705
706     TRUMAN wheels a lawnmower towards the garage as his wife, MERYL,
707     pulls up the drive in her four-year-old Toyota Camry.  She has a
708     sensible blue vinyl bag over her shoulder and carries a new
709     knife-set in a wooden block.  She kisses Truman affectionately
710     on the cheek.
711
712                           MERYL
713                      (proudly referring to the knife-set)
714              I got it free with the tune-up.
715
716     Looking over Truman's shoulder, she notices a small uncut patch
717     of grass, missed by Truman in one of his passes.
718
719                           MERYL
720              You missed a section.
721
722     Meryl enters the house.  Truman restarts the lawnmower and
723     obediantly pushes it towards the offending patch of lawn.  As
724     the mower brushes up against the unconforming blades of grass,
725     Truman pulls back abruptly.  He checks the kitchen window for
726     Meryl and wheels the mower away, leaving the patch uncut.
727
728
729     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN.  DAY.
730
731     MERYL is applying ointment to her wrists as TRUMAN enters.
732
733                           TRUMAN
734                      (referring to her hands)
735              Do they hurt?
736
737                           MERYL
738              I was afraid I'd seize up during cross.
739              One of the keys kept sticking.
740
741     Truman picks up Meryl's newspaper and skims idly through it.  He
742     notes an article headlined, "SLAYING TRIAL ENTERS SIXTH WEEK".
743
744                           TRUMAN
745                      (referring to the article)
746              Is he gonna take the stand?
747
748                           MERYL
749                      (dispassionate, matter-of-fact)
750              No point.  Two eye witnesses saw him
751              near the dumpster where they found the legs.
752
753     She flexes her arthritic wrists.
754
755                           MERYL
756              You gonna eat before you leave?
757
758                           TRUMAN
759              I'll get something out.
760
761                           MERYL
762                      (sensing something odd
763                      in his demeanor)
764              Did something happen today?
765
766     Truman turns to her too sharply, his guilt showing.
767
768                           TRUMAN
769                      (composing himself)
770              What could happen?
771
772
773     EXT.  UNOPENED FREEWAY.  NIGHT.
774
775     An abandoned freeway project in Queens.  The four hundred yard
776     stretch of deserted freeway is paved but unmarked.  At one end
777     is an off-ramp that abruptly ends in inid-air, reinforcing steel
778     protuding from the concrete.
779
780     TRUMAN stands at the end of the off-ramp with MARLON, thirty-
781     two, the kind of physique some descibe as fat, others big.
782     Marlon drinks beer from a can while Truman addresses a teed-up
783     golf ball with a number three wood.
784
785     Truman winds up and swings, making a healthy contact with the
786     ball.  The ball arches away into the night sky, lit by the
787     adjacent operating roadway.  From a new angle we see the ball
788     take a huge hop on the outside lane of the abandoned freeway and
789     continue down the asphalt.
790
791     Marlon tosses Truman another ball from a bucket of badly scarred
792     golf balls - a ball initialed with the letter, "T".  Truman sets
793     the ball up on the makeshift tee area and launches himself into
794     his second shot.  With a slight fade, the second ball carries
795     even further than the first.
796
797     Truman hands Marlon their sole golf club without comment.
798     Marlon is still looking admiringly in the direction of the shot.
799
800                           MARLON
801              Ouch.  Whose nuts were those?
802
803                           TRUMAN
804                      (opening a beer from the six pack)
805              Mine.
806
807     Marlon tees up a ball of his own. initialed with the letter "M".
808
809                           TRUMAN
810              I gotta get out, Marlon.
811
812                           MARLON
813                      (mild interest only)
814              Yeah?  Outta what?
815
816                           TRUMAN
817              Outta my job, outta Queens...out!
818
819     Marlon takes a practise swing.
820
821                           MARLON
822              Outta your job?  What the hell's wrong
823              with your job?  You gotta great job.
824              You gotta desk job.  I'd kill for a desk
825              job.
826
827     Marlon addresses the ball and swings.  A sweeping hook shot
828     that bounces off the freeway out of bounds.
829
830                           MARLON
831                      (annoyed by the errant tee shot)
832              Sonofabitch.
833
834                           TRUMAN
835              It doesn't mean anything.
836
837                           MARLON
838                      (still looking in the
839                      direction of his ball)
840              Nothing means anything.  Try stocking vending
841              machines for a living.  My biggest decision
842              of the day is whether the Almond Joys look
843              better next to the Snickers or the Baby Ruths.
844
845     Truman selects another "M" ball from the bucket and tosses it to
846     Marlon.
847
848                           TRUMAN
849                      (adamant)
850              I gotta get out.
851
852     Overcompensating with his second shot, Marlon slices the ball in
853     the other direction.  A lucky bounce keeps it on the cement
854     fairway.
855
856                           MARLON
857                      (skeptical, picking up his beer)
858              Sure and go where?
859
860     Truman gulps his beer as he prepares his answer.
861
862                           TRUMAN
863                      (unable to disguise his reverence)
864              Australia.
865
866                           MARLON
867                      (impressed)
868              No shit.  Where is Australia exactly?
869              Near England?
870
871     Truman picks up a golf ball to demonstrate.  He points to a
872     dimple on his make-shift globe.
873
874                           TRUMAN
875              See here, this is Queens.
876                      (sliding his finger around
877                      the other side of the ball)
878              All the way round here, Australia.  You
879              can't get any further away before you start
880              coming back.
881                      (tossing the world in his hand,
882                      warming to his subject)
883              Y'know, there're still places in Australia
884              where no human being has ever set foot.
885
886                           MARLON
887                      (still dubious)
888              So when are you leaving?
889
890                           TRUMAN
891              It's not that simple.  Takes money, planning.
892              You can't just up and go.
893                      (heading off Marlon's skepticism)
894              Oh, I'm gonna do it, don't worry about
895              that.  I just gotta move slow.  Pick a
896              moment.  Bonus time's just around the
897              corner.  Soon as I get a retaining wall
898              built on the back of the house I can
899              start thinking about selling up...and I'll be
900              gone.  Up and away on that big steel bird.
901                      (as if to convince himself)
902              I'm going, don't you worry about that.
903
904     Marlon nods even though the concept of taking flight is beyond
905     his imagination.
906
907                           MARLON
908              I never knew anybody who got out.
909
910     An awkward moment.  Truman, once again, not so sure of himself.
911     He masks his doubt by teeing up another ball.
912
913     DISSOLVE TO
914
915
916     EXT.  FREEWAY.  LATER THAT NIGHT.
917
918     TRUMAN and MARLON wander down the empty freeway, retrieving
919     the golf balls.  As they return them to the bucket they check
920     the initial on each ball to determine the winner of their
921     long-drive competition.
922
923                           TRUMAN
924                      (slightly the worse for drink)
925              Tick-fucking-tock.  That's the fucking
926              problem, Marlon.  I'm thirty-four.  I'm
927              older than Jesus Christ.
928
929     Marlon looks sideways at Truman.  It sounds to him like the beer
930     talking.
931
932                           TRUMAN
933              Where do the dreams go, Marlon?
934
935                           MARLON
936                      (picking up the last ball marked with an
937                      initial "T", trying to ignore the question)
938              You win.
939
940                           TRUMAN
941              I'm serious.  Where do the dreams go?
942
943                           MARLON
944                      (humoring his maudlin friend)
945              They're still there.  Just buried under what
946              we settled for.
947
948     They approach Truman's Oldsmobile.  Truman opens the trunk to
949     deposit their humble golfing equipment.  Inside are the remains
950     of the fallen light fixture.
951
952                           TRUMAN
953                      (referring to the light)
954              You really think it could've dropped off an
955              airliner?
956
957                           MARLON
958                      (unimpressed)
959              Sure.  It's halogen.  You oughta report it.
960                      (quickly changing the subject)
961              You coming for a drink?
962
963                           TRUMAN
964              I can't tonight.
965
966
967     EXT.  EATON'S NECK POINT.  DUSK, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
968
969     The lines of a television screen signal another of Truman's
970     flashbacks.  A small group of MOURNERS in black, several openly
971     weeping, stand on the end of a small jetty, including the SEVEN-
972     YEAR-OLD TRUMAN, dry-eyed in an ill-fitting suit, his weeping
973     MOTHER, older sister, RAQUEL, and a PRIEST at the head of the
974     gathering.
975
976     The priest nods to Truman who holds an ornate wreath, heavy and
977     cumbersome in his tiny hands.  He heaves it off the dock.
978
979     MATCH DISSOLVE TO
980
981
982     EXT.  EATON'S NECK POINT, LONG ISLAND.  NIGHT, PRESENT.
983
984     A smaller, more simple wreath lands on the calm, dark water
985     beyond the jetty twenty-seven years later.  TRUMAN stares at the
986     wreath for a long moment, turns and wanders back towards the
987     shoreline.
988
989     In his work suit minus his shoes and socks, he sits on the sand.
990     He has a portable tape recorder slung over his shoulder and
991     points a corded microphone at the surf.  For a long while we
992     watch Truman's impassive face as he makes the recording of the
993     lapping waves, staring up at the handful of stars visible
994     through the gloom.
995
996     We focus on the lantern room of a nearby lighthouse.  From the
997     light's POV, through the green hue of a night vision camera, we
998     observe Truman get to his feet and walk towards the dark water.
999
1000                           TRUMAN
1001                      (shouting at the surf)
1002              I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!
1003
1004
1005     INT.  DIMLY-LIT ROOM SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
1006
1007     CHRISTOF's dispassionate face is reflected in the screen of a
1008     television monitor that displays the distraught TRUMAN at the
1009     water's edge.
1010
1011
1012     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  NIGHT.
1013
1014     At the Formica kitchen table, TRUMAN makes calculations in a
1015     school notebook, a bottle of beer close at hand.  MERYL appears
1016     in her robe, a glimpse of black negligee beneath, restless.  She
1017     throws her arms around Truman's neck.
1018
1019                           MERYL
1020                      (suggestive)
1021              What are you doing?  Come to bed.
1022
1023                           TRUMAN
1024                      (ignoring the suggestion)
1025              I figure we could scrape together eight
1026              thousand.
1027
1028                           MERYL
1029                      (suddenly exasperated)
1030              Oh.  God, everytime you and Marlon--
1031
1032                           TRUMAN
1033              --We could bum around the world for a year
1034              on that.
1035
1036                           MERYL
1037              And then what, Truman?  We'd be back to
1038              where we were five years ago.  You're talking
1039              like a teenager.
1040
1041                           TRUMAN
1042              Maybe I feel like a teenager.
1043
1044     Getting to his feet.  Truman holds Meryl by the arms, talking
1045     excitedly to her the way we imagine he did when they were
1046     courting.
1047
1048                           TRUMAN
1049              Meryl, it'd be an adventure.
1050
1051                           MERYL
1052              We said we'd try for a baby.  Isn't that
1053              enough of an adventure?
1054
1055                           TRUMAN
1056              That can wait.  I want to get away.  See
1057              some of the world.  Explore.
1058
1059     Meryl gives a derisive laugh.
1060
1061                           MERYL
1062              You want to be an explorer?  You mean like
1063              all the other great explorers from Queens?
1064              You don't even have a passport, Truman.  I
1065              bet you don't even know how to get one.
1066
1067     The words sting.  Truman turns away.
1068
1069     Seeing the pain she's caused, she changes tack.
1070
1071                           MERYL
1072              This'll pass.  Everybody thinks like this
1073              now and then.
1074                      (making one more attempt
1075                      at seduction)
1076              Come to bed.
1077
1078
1079     EXT.  A NIGHTWATCHMAN'S OFFICE SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
1080
1081     In a nightwatchman's office, two UNIFORMED GUARDS drink coffee.
1082
1083                           GUARD 1
1084              How can they have a child?
1085
1086                           GUARD 2
1087              It's not gonna be his, you idiot.
1088
1089                           GUARD 1
1090              Why not?
1091
1092                           GUARD 2
1093              You think she'd go through with it?
1094                      (reassessing his own opinion)
1095              Guess I always thought they'd adopt.
1096
1097
1098     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - BEDROOM.  NIGHT.
1099
1100     TRUMAN stands in the darkened bedroom in his Hanes underwear
1101     looking down at his bed.  MERYL has fallen asleep waiting for
1102     him, snoring lightly.  Truman rests his hand tentatively on the
1103     bed.  The surface rocks.  A waterbed.  The motion triggers a
1104     flashback in his head.
1105
1106
1107     EXT.  LONG ISLAND SOUND.  DAWN, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
1108
1109     As always the flashback appears to play on a television screen.
1110     The SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN sits on the upturned hull of a small
1111     dinghy in calm, deep water.
1112
1113                           TRUMAN
1114                      (plaintively calling into the mist)
1115              Daddy!!...Daddy!!...
1116
1117     His cries go unanswered.
1118
1119
1120     INT.  A LIVING ROOM SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
1121
1122     Two OLD WOMEN, seventies, sit beside wach other on a sofa
1123     against a bare wall, looking directly into camera as they
1124     talk.  Nothing else of the room is seen.
1125
1126                           OLD WOMAN 1
1127                      (playing amateur psychiatrist)
1128              It left him with more than his obvious fear
1129              of the water.  It's as if he felt his father
1130              had gone beyond his limitations and he vowed
1131              never to repeat the mistake.  He was never
1132              the same curious little boy again.
1133
1134                           OLD WOMAN 2
1135              We're all born with a pound of cocaine
1136              up our nose.  By the time we're eleven
1137              it runs out.
1138
1139                           OLD WOMAN 1
1140              Half the people I knew named their
1141              babies after him.
1142
1143
1144     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN.  MORNING.
1145
1146     TRUMAN emerges from the subway station and as usual stops at the
1147     newspaper stand. He picks up a copy of Vogue and flips through
1148     the glossy cosmetic ads, surreptitiously tearing CLAUDIA
1149     SCHIFFER's nose from one of the pages.  He returns the magazine
1150     to the rack and begins his daily pilgrimage to work through the
1151     rush hour pedestrian traffic.
1152
1153     Pausing to check his profile in the mirrored building, he
1154     glimpses the reflection of a HOMELESS MAN standing directly
1155     behind him.  Truman, spellbound by the man, suddenly wheels
1156     around to face him.  The Homeless Han is in his late-sixties.
1157     more well-groomed and well-fed than the average vagrant, with a
1158     serene smile on his face.
1159
1160     From a new angle we see a two-shot of Truman and the Man on a
1161     television screen.  The Homeless Man places his hand ever so
1162     gently on Truman's cheek.  Truman makes no effort to withdraw.
1163     He is transfixed by the the man's eyes.  He appears to recognize
1164     him.
1165
1166                           TRUMAN
1167                      (almost to himself, mouthing
1168                      the word)
1169              Daddy...
1170
1171     Suddenly a distinguished OLD WOMAN walking a small dog and a
1172     YOUNG MALE BUSINESS EXECUTIVE carrying a briefcase, walking in
1173     opposite directions along the sidewalk, grab the Homeless Man,
1174     one taking each arm.
1175
1176     A bus suddenly screeches to a halt beside the struggling group,
1177     doors already open, and before Truman can react, the Old Woman
1178     and the Young Executive force the Homeless Man onto the bus.
1179     Truman lurches after them, but he is met by the bus doors,
1180     closing sharply in his face.
1181
1182                           TRUMAN
1183                      (to BUS DRIVER)
1184              Hey, stop!  Stop!!
1185
1186     Truman thumps against the doors, but the BUS DRIVER ignores his
1187     cries and the bus roars away from the curb.  He starts to run
1188     after the bus, colliding with several PEDESTRIANS who make no
1189     attempt to avoid him.
1190
1191     Stepping blindly into the street, he tries to hail a taxi.
1192     A vacant cab suddenly switches off its "FOR HIRE" light as he
1193     reaches it.  Truman pleads with the TAXI DRIVER through the
1194     closed windows and locked doors of the cab but the driver is
1195     apparently oblivious to Truman's shouts.
1196
1197     Frantic, Truman, dashes into a nearby parking structure and
1198     grabs a bunch of car keys from the key rack of the unsupervised
1199     parking attendant's kiosk.  Running along the rows of parked
1200     cars, Truman desperately presses the car security buttons
1201     attached to the key rings
1202
1203     A car alarm chirps and Truman turns in time to see the car's
1204     winking sidelights.  He jumps inside a brand new BMW and guns
1205     the car.  The PARKING ATTENDANT, alerted by the squealing tires,
1206     appears from the Men's Room and attempts to wave Truman down.
1207
1208                           ATTENDANT
1209                      (running after the car)
1210              Hey!
1211
1212     Truman ignores the attendant and accelerates into the street
1213     without looking, causing a taxi and a postal van to take
1214     evasive action.
1215
1216     Catching sight of the bus in the distance, Truman leans on the
1217     car's horn as he recklessly weaves past other motorists.  He is
1218     only a couple of car-lengths from the bus.
1219
1220                           TRUMAN
1221                      (reading aloud, the
1222                      ID number of the bus)
1223              Two, four, oh, six.
1224
1225     Suddenly the taxis and cars directly in front of him start to
1226     slow for no apparent reason.  Truman looks for a way around
1227     but the cars crab across the street, blocking any passage,
1228     working together almost as if they are running interference.
1229
1230                           TRUMAN
1231                      (shouting at the cars)
1232              Outta the way!  Outta the way!
1233
1234     The bus is escaping.
1235
1236     Truman suddenly jumps the sidewalk in the car, scattering
1237     PEDESTRIANS.
1238
1239     The same cars on the street that seemed intent on slowing his
1240     progress suddenly accelerate in unison, anticipating his move.
1241     By the time Truman reaches the end of the sidewalk, the cars are
1242     clustered together on the corner in an impenetrable jam.  Truman
1243     spies the bus turn the corner at the far end of the street and
1244     disappear from view.
1245
1246     Fumbling with the gear stick. he finally finds reverse but turns
1247     to find a hostile group of PEDESTRIANS herded tightly together
1248     behind the car, leaving Truman with nowhere left to go.
1249
1250     The car door is suddenly jerked open and the out-of-breath
1251     PARKING ATTENDANT yanks Truman from the driver's seat.
1252
1253                           ATTENDANT
1254              What the fuck are you trying to pull?!
1255
1256                           TRUMAN
1257                      (cowering, the fight instantly
1258                      gone out of him)
1259              I'm sorry!  I'm sorry!  No harm done!
1260              No harm done!
1261
1262                           ATTENDANT
1263                      (feverishly inspecting the
1264                      fenders for dents, he finds none)
1265              I oughta fuck you up!
1266
1267     The Attendant looks into Truman's terrified eyes.  They get
1268     the better of him.
1269
1270                           ATTENDANT
1271              Get the fuck outta here.
1272
1273     The Attendant shoves Truman's briefcase into his arms and
1274     brushes him aside.  As he departs, Truman notices that the
1275     traffic jam in the street and the mysterious crowd of
1276     pedestrians has dissolved.
1277
1278
1279     EXT.  BUS DEPOT.  DAY.
1280
1281     Row after row of parked buses.  TRUMAN and MARLON exit an
1282     administration office.  Instead of heading for the exit, Truman
1283     begins marching down the first row of buses, inspecting the
1284     number painted on the rear of each one.
1285
1286                           MARLON
1287              What're you doing?
1288                      (gesturing to the office)
1289              The man told you there's no such bus.
1290
1291                           TRUMAN
1292              He's lying.  Two, four, oh, six was
1293              definitely the number.
1294
1295     Marlon stops walking.  Truman continues his inspection.  Seeing
1296     there is no reasoning with him, Marlon hurries to catch him up.
1297
1298                           TRUMAN
1299              I never believed he was dead.
1300
1301                           MARLON
1302                      (trying to be patient)
1303              C'mon, Truman, a lotta times they don't find
1304              a body.  You know what the currents are like
1305              in that water.
1306
1307                           TRUMAN
1308                      (shudders, a memory
1309                      flashing in his head)
1310              You had to see his face when that wave hit.
1311              He wasn't scared Marion.  It was like he
1312              was expecting it, waiting for it.  He
1313              knew it was coming.
1314
1315                           MARLON
1316              Why would he fake it?
1317                      (trying to make light)
1318              He's not Elvis Presley.
1319
1320                           TRUMAN
1321                      (ignoring the joke, pondering
1322                      the morning's events)
1323              You know what was really strange about today?
1324              An old woman with a little dog and a
1325              businessman, walking in opposite directions
1326              on the sidewalk, both react like clockwork.
1327              They force him onto a bus against his will,
1328              a bus that doesn't normally stop outside
1329              my building.  And when I'm giving chase, the
1330              bus never makes another stop and I get the
1331              feeling that the traffic and the pedestrians
1332              are working together to make sure I never
1333              catch up with it.
1334
1335                           MARLON
1336                      (sarcastic)
1337              Oh, so now it's also the pedestrians and
1338              the buses and the cars?  What are you
1339              saying, the entire population of Lower
1340              Manhattan is conspiring to stop you finding
1341              out that your father staged his death to
1342              pursue a life as a street person?  Oh yeah,
1343              that makes sense.
1344
1345     Truman has no answer.  We see an aerial shot of Truman and
1346     Marlon on a television screen, continuing to check the rows of
1347     buses, Marlon still marveling at Truman's obstinance.  They
1348     have come to the last bus in the final row.  Truman hangs his
1349     head.  The offending bus is not amongst them.  He makes towards
1350     the exit without comment and Marlon follows.
1351
1352     Unseen by the pair, we focus on the ID number on one of the
1353     buses they have previously checked - "2400".  A single drip of
1354     black paint trickles off the last freshly painted digit.
1355
1356
1357     EXT.  MANHATTAN STREET.  DAY.
1358
1359     TRUMAN and MARLON, drinking beer, sit in the rear doorway of
1360     Marion's delivery van, wholesale-sized boxes of candy stacked
1361     behind them.
1362
1363                           TRUMAN
1364              You think I imagined it, don't you?
1365
1366                           MARLON
1367              I think you're missing your dad.
1368                      (trying to be delicate)
1369              The anniversary was yesterday, wasn't it?
1370
1371     Truman is surprised Marlon remembered.  Marlon nods to the
1372     sidewalk.
1373
1374                           MARLON
1375              You got sand in your cuffs.
1376
1377     Truman looks down at his feet.  A small, tell-tale pile of sand
1378     has poured out of his tight trouser cuff.
1379
1380                           TRUMAN
1381              Maybe you're right.  If only the old
1382              woman hadn't left her dog behind.
1383
1384     We see a flashback in Truman's head of the earlier scene in the
1385     Lower Manhattan street.  It confirms that the old woman's DOG
1386     was abandoned on the sidewalk.
1387
1388
1389     INT.  TRUMAN'S MOTHER'S APARTMENT, QUEENS.  DAY.
1390
1391     TRUMAN stands in the corridor of his mother's cramped, fussy.
1392     doilyed apartment with his older sister, RAQUEL, late forties,
1393     prematurely grey.  Through a doorway, the figure of his MOTHER
1394     is visible asleep in bed, despite the early hour.  Truman and
1395     Raquel speak in hushed tones to avoid waking her.
1396
1397                           RAQUEL
1398              Don't you dare go in. Truman.  I just
1399              got her off to sleep.
1400
1401                           TRUMAN
1402              It was Dad. I swear.
1403
1404     Raquel fixes Truman with a contemptuous stare.
1405
1406                           RAQUEL
1407              Well, the next time he shows up. bring
1408              him over.  Until then, I'm not saying a
1409              word about this to Mom and neither are you.
1410
1411                           TRUMAN
1412              If it wasn't him, it was his twin.  Can you
1413              think of a reason he'd want to hide from us?
1414
1415                           RACQUEL
1416              I know a reason he'd want to hide from you.
1417              Look at how you treat us.  You live ten minutes
1418              away, we hardly see you from year to year and
1419              then you turn up with this story so insane you
1420              don't even believe it yourself.  Haven't you
1421              hurt her enough, Truman?  She already blames you.
1422
1423                           TRUMAN
1424                      (incredulous)
1425              I was seven years old!
1426
1427                           RAQUEL
1428              But you're here and he's not.  Has it really taken you
1429              this long to invent a story to ease your conscience?
1430
1431                           TRUMAN
1432              I'm telling you he's alive!
1433
1434                           RAQUEL
1435                      (snapping back bitterly)
1436              And I'm telling you he's fish food!
1437
1438     Truman meets her unforgiving eyes.  Without another word, he
1439     walks out of the apartment.
1440
1441     Truman safely departed, the figure in the bed, rolls out.
1442     CHRISTOF, fully clothed, relishing the danger of being so close
1443     to Truman without being detected.  Raquel's demeanor immediately
1444     changes, all trace of bitterness gone from her face, she appears
1445     younger, posture more upright, almost a different person.
1446     Christof hugs Raquel.
1447
1448                           CHRISTOF
1449              You did well.
1450
1451
1452     INT.  DRESSING ROOM SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
1453
1454     A cavernous dressing room contains a long row of identical
1455     mirrored make-up tables.  At the only occupied table, Truman's
1456     contrite father, KIRK, is having what's left of his homeless
1457     disguise cleaned from his face by a MAKE-UP ARTIST under the
1458     watchful eye of two DARK-SUITED BODYGUARDS.
1459
1460     From a mezzanine floor out of Kirk's vision, CHRISTOF and CHLOE
1461     also take in the proceedings.  Behind their heads, a monitor
1462     shows a surveillance picture of an agitated TRUMAN sitting in
1463     his car, trapped in rush-hour traffic.
1464
1465                           CHLOE
1466              We've tightened security.
1467
1468     Christof nods indifferently, knowing the damage is already done.
1469
1470                           CHLOE
1471                      (referring to Kirk)
1472              Why would he do this to us?
1473
1474                           CHRISTOF
1475              Old age.  Sentiment.  You play someone's
1476              father all those years, you are someone's
1477              father...He sees the way Truman is.  He
1478              feels responsible.
1479
1480     Christof turns and enters an office adjacent to the balcony,
1481     containing a state-of-the-art monitor and VCR.  Chloe follows.
1482     Christof plays the cued recording without comment.  We focus on
1483     the screen.
1484
1485
1486     EXT.  LONG ISLAND SOUND.  DAY, TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS EARLIER.
1487
1488     A younger-looking CHRISTOF sits in a motorboat in the calm
1489     water of Long Island Sound.  Truman's father, KIRK, twenty-seven
1490     years younger and a DARK HAIRED BOY, Truman's age at the time,
1491     acting as a stand-in, sit in the stern of a sailing dinghy.
1492     Two SCUBA DIVERS in the ocean.
1493
1494                           YOUNG CHRISTOF
1495                      (barking instructions to Kirk)
1496              ...as soon as we give the cue, tack to windward...
1497
1498     Kirk rehearses turning the tiller in the instructed direction.
1499
1500                           YOUNG CHRISTOF
1501              The freak wave will strike from the
1502              starboard side.  Remember, you don't
1503              go to the diver.  The diver goes to you.
1504
1505     To simulate the wave, one of the divers puts his full weight on
1506     the side of the dinghy to capsize it.  Kirk and the boy are
1507     tossed into the water.  While the boy immediately bobs to the
1508     surface in his life jacket, Kirk fails to surface.  After a long
1509     moment, he reappears with the second diver some distance away.
1510     now wearing a spare aqualung.
1511
1512                           YOUNG CHRISTOF
1513              ...Good!  Good!...of course, on the day you
1514              only surface once you're safely beyond the
1515              cove...Try it one more time...You okay?
1516
1517     Kirk is staring at Truman's stand-in, clinging to the upturned
1518     boat.  Kirk's expression suggests he is not a totally willing
1519     participant in the masquerade.
1520
1521     The present-day Christof freezes the monitor on Kirk's uncertain
1522     face.
1523
1524
1525     INT.  TRUMAN'S GARAGE.  DUSK.
1526
1527     A cluttered garage, dimly lit by a single work lamp.  TRUMAN
1528     looks over his shoulder before turning his attention to a dusty
1529     trunk under a canvas sheet.  The trunk is fastened with a
1530     combination lock.  He deftly dials the correct combination and
1531     opens the lid.
1532
1533     Inside, mementoes from his youth.  A "HOW TO SAIL" book, a
1534     stack of "GREAT EXFLORERS" magazines, and beneath it all, a
1535     garment in a drycleaning bag.  Truman carefully lifts up the
1536     plastic to reveal a schoolgirl's lavender cardigan decorated
1537     with pearl beading.  He puts the cardigan to his nose and
1538     breathes deeply.
1539
1540     Footsteps.  Truman hastily drops the cardigan in the trunk and
1541     shuts the lid.  MERYL, standing close behind.
1542
1543                           MERYL
1544              What're you doing out here?
1545
1546                           TRUMAN
1547                      (turning attention to an upturned
1548                      mower on the garage floor)
1549              Fixing the mower.
1550
1551     Meryl doesn't look like she buys it.
1552
1553                           MERYL
1554                      (concerned)
1555              Your sister called.  She was worried about you.
1556
1557                           TRUMAN
1558                      (matter-of-fact)
1559              I saw my father on State Street dressed as
1560              a homeless man.
1561
1562                           MERYL
1563                      (attempting to comfort)
1564              I kept seeing my brother for years after he died.
1565
1566                           TRUMAN
1567                      (irritated at her subtle dismissiveness)
1568              What do you want?
1569
1570                           MERYL
1571              I made macaroni.
1572
1573                           TRUMAN
1574              I gotta go out.  About a replacement...
1575                      (hastily adding)
1576              ...mower blade.
1577
1578     Meryl nods, not at all convinced.  After an uncomfortable
1579     pause, she turns and heads back to the house.
1580
1581
1582     EXT.  CAR WASH.  DUSK.
1583
1584     TRUMAN ruefully examines the broken car aerial on his freshly
1585     washed Oldsmobile.  In the background is the warning sign he
1586     has just ignored, "CLOSE WINDOWS, LOWER AERIALS".
1587
1588     Truman removes the metal coathanger from beneath the lavender
1589     cardigan and forces the bent wire into what's left of the
1590     severed aerial.
1591
1592
1593     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  DUSK.
1594
1595     TRUMAN motors down a busy shopping street, crowded on both sides
1596     with PEDESTRIANS.  As he drives, he tests his car radio.
1597     Adjusting the tuner knob, he finds a station.
1598
1599                           FEMALE VOICE (from radio)
1600              ...west on Atlantic...he's making a right
1601              on Woodhaven...
1602
1603     Truman glances up at the street signs along his route and finds
1604     that they coincide exactly with the streets quoted on the radio.
1605     Distracted, he almost bowls over an OLD LADY on a crosswalk.
1606
1607                           MALE VOICE (from radio)
1608              ...God, Truman almost hit Marilyn!...he's
1609              on the move again, passing the Burger King...
1610
1611     Truman readjusts the radio as it starts to fade out. Suddenly
1612     there is a piercing blast of feedback.  He looks up and, as far
1613     as the eye can see, every PEDESTRIAN, MOTORIST and SHOPKEEPER
1614     along the street suddenly winces in pain and holds their right
1615     ear at exactly the same moment.
1616
1617                           MALE VOICE
1618                      (from radio, in distress himself)
1619              ...something's wrong.  Change frequencies...
1620
1621     Truman tries to pick up the channel once again but without
1622     success.
1623
1624
1625     EXT.  DRUG STORE.  DUSK.
1626
1627     Still shaken by his experience with the radio, TRUMAN exits
1628     a Drug Store with a small, brown paper bag.  Out of the corner
1629     of his eye he catches a MALE BYSTANDER still checking his right
1630     ear with his finger.  He goes to say something to the by-stander
1631     but thinks better of it.
1632
1633
1634     EXT.  REDLIGHT DISTRICT, QUEENS.  NIGHT.
1635
1636     HOOKERS in white heels and spray-on skirts display their wares.
1637     TRUMAN cruises slowly past in his Oldsmobile, the expression of
1638     the prostitutes turning from seductive to contemptuous as each
1639     is by-passed.
1640
1641     Suddenly Truman pulls sharply into the curb beside a leggy,
1642     prostitute, VERONICA, wearing a platinum blonde wig.  She is in
1643     deep discussion with a fellow WORKING GIRL.  Veronica recognizes
1644     the car and instantly bends down to the open passenger window.
1645
1646                           VERONICA
1647              Hey, Truman!  Where you bin?  You bin
1648              cheatin' on me?
1649
1650     Veronica opens the door and folds herself into the passenger
1651     seat.
1652
1653
1654     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  NIGHT.
1655
1656     VERONICA knows the form.  As TRUMAN pulls away from the curb,
1657     she is already removing the lavender cardigan from the
1658     drycleaning bag on the back seat.  She drapes the cardigan
1659     around her shoulders.
1660                           VERONICA
1661              Bout time you got this thing cleaned.
1662                      (half-joking)
1663              Don't tell me you bin makin' your old lady
1664              wear it.
1665
1666     Truman passes her the brown paper bag without reply.  Veronica
1667     removes a bottle of perfume and proceeds to liberally apply it.
1668
1669                           VERONICA
1670                      (examining the bottle)
1671              God, do they still make this stuff?
1672              What's the Sell-By Date?
1673
1674
1675     INT.  FLUSHING MEADOW PARK.  NIGHT.
1676
1677     From a vantage point in a disused tower high above the park.
1678     CHRISTOF and CHLOE watch as Truman's Oldsmobile enters the park
1679     grounds and comes to a stop near the large metal framed globe,
1680     the Unisphere.  Both Christof and Chloe wear earpieces, a
1681     miniature television propped at their feet shows a close-up
1682     picture of TRUMAN and VERONICA inside the car.
1683
1684                           CHLOE
1685                      (into a flip-phone,
1686                      condescending)
1687              ...you see him messing with the antenna...what
1688              did you think would happen?..."lapse of
1689              concentration", is that what you call it?
1690              I call it amateur-hour...
1691                      (sarcastic)
1692              In case you hadn't noticed, we don't get to
1693              do it over.
1694
1695     Christof, totally unfazed, regards his zealous young assistant
1696     with affection and even a mild amusement.
1697
1698                           CHLOE
1699                      (as she hangs up, querying the
1700                      smile that plays around his lips)
1701              You think this is funny?
1702
1703                           CHRISTOF
1704              The mask has slipped before.  Everything
1705              can be explained.
1706
1707     TRUMAN kills the lights and he and VERONICA exit the car
1708     unaware that they are being observed.
1709
1710                           CHRISTOF
1711                      (adopting a more serious tone
1712                      as he returns his attention to Truman)
1713              What's dangerous is that he makes the connection
1714              between what happened today and the girl.
1715
1716     We focus on Truman and Veronica as they take a seat at the edge
1717     of the pool surrounding the great steel globe.
1718
1719                           VERONICA
1720              Like I say, I don't normally do this.
1721              I gotta charge extra.
1722
1723     Truman nods his agreement and forks over several bills.
1724     Veronica deposits the money in her purse and perches herself as
1725     modestly as possible on the edge of the fountain.
1726
1727     When she is ready, Truman tenderly places his arm around her
1728     shoulder.  Veronica responds, hesitantly, becoming immersed in
1729     her role.  She reaches out her own hand and rests it on the
1730     nape of his neck.  Slowly both heads drift together, but stop
1731     just short of their lips meeting, agonizingly close.  So close
1732     they can feel each other's breath, barely a sliver of daylight
1733     separating them.  Then finally their lips touch in the most
1734     gentle of caresses.
1735
1736     They hold the kiss for another long moment and then
1737     simultaneously break.  As they look into each other's eyes,
1738     Truman goes to say something but Veronica hushes him by placing
1739     a finger to his lips.  Then abruptly she moves out of frame, the
1740     cardigan falling from around her shoulders in her haste.
1741
1742     From Truman's POV we focus on the cardigan on the pavement,
1743     triggering a flashback in his head.
1744
1745
1746     INT.  HIGH SCHOOL CORRIDOR.  DAY, SEVENTEEN YEARS EARLIER.
1747
1748     As with Truman's previous flashbacks, this scene appears to be
1749     playing on a television screen.  However, on this occasion it is
1750     also accompanied by CHRISTOF's comments from his perch in the
1751     tower above the park.
1752
1753                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
1754              He's re-created the event on and off for a
1755              number of years.  We've never understood what
1756              prompts him to indulge the fantasy, or for that
1757              matter what inspired such a painfully shy boy
1758              to approach her in the first place...
1759
1760     A SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN, carrying a stack of books, spies
1761     LAUREN, sixteen going on thirty-five, wearing the lavender,
1762     beaded cardigan at her open locker.  She is entertaining two
1763     GIRLFRIENDS with what appears to be a lewd tale.
1764
1765                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
1766              We'd noticed them making eyes at each other
1767              for some weeks but never thought he'd say
1768              anything.  She was a year older, wrote poetry,
1769              way out of his league...
1770
1771     Truman, obviously terrified, musters the nerve to approach the
1772     lockers.  The three girls look up, surprised by the
1773     interruption.
1774
1775                           TRUMAN
1776                      (to Lauren, tongue-tied, a strangled greeting)
1777              Hi.
1778
1779                           GIRLFRIEND 1
1780                      (to Lauren as the two girlfriends
1781                      abruptly depart)
1782              See you in class.
1783
1784     Lauren is unsure whether or not to follow her friends.
1785
1786                           TRUMAN
1787              Lauren, right?
1788
1789     Her name is carefully written in blue ink on the covers of her
1790     text books.
1791
1792                           LAUREN
1793              No.
1794
1795                           TRUMAN
1796                      (ignoring her lack of interest)
1797              Look.  I was wonder--
1798
1799                           LAUREN
1800              --I can't go out with you.
1801
1802                           TRUMAN
1803              I haven't asked you yet.
1804
1805                           LAUREN
1806              Well when you do, that's my answer.
1807                      (softening)
1808              I'm sorry.  It's not up to me.
1809
1810                           TRUMAN
1811                      (summoning up courage from somewhere)
1812              Why, you married?
1813
1814     Lauren smiles despite herself.
1815
1816                           TRUMAN
1817              I'm not asking you to have my children,
1818              just a pizza.  How about Saturday?
1819
1820                           LAUREN
1821                      (adamant)
1822              No.
1823
1824                           TRUMAN
1825              Friday?
1826
1827     Lauren looks around the deserted school corridor.
1828
1829                           LAUREN
1830              Now.
1831
1832                           TRUMAN
1833              Right now?  We got finals.
1834
1835                           LAUREN
1836              If we don't go now, it won't happen.
1837
1838     Truman hesitates.
1839
1840                           LAUREN
1841                      (impatient, looking anxiously around)
1842              Well, what do you want to do?
1843
1844     THE PICTURE ON THE TELEVISION SCREEN SUDDENLY FAST-FORWARDS AT
1845     SUCH SPEED IT BECOMES A BLUR - THEN RETURNS TO NORMAL SPEED.
1846
1847
1848     EXT.  FLUSHING MEADOW PARK.  DUSK.
1849
1850     The SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN and LAUREN enter the park near the
1851     Unisphere.  The park is deserted on a hot June afternoon.
1852
1853                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
1854              We knew we were taking a risk.  She hadn't
1855              been properly coached, but we were torn...
1856              He'd summoned the courage to make the
1857              approach...We wanted to reward that.  Of
1858              course she took full advantage...
1859
1860     Truman and Lauren run up to the ledge of the pool surrounding
1861     the steel sculpture.
1862
1863                           LAUREN
1864              I never knew this place existed.
1865
1866     They both stare down at the inviting water.  Lauren suddenly
1867     throws off her cardigan and jumps into the pool without another
1868     thought.  She comes splashing to the surface.  Truman stares
1869     down, transfixed hy the shimmering water.
1870
1871                           LAUREN
1872              Come on!  Come on!  It's wonderful!
1873
1874                           TRUMAN
1875                      (nervous)
1876              I...I can't.
1877
1878     Lauren suddenly stops splashing.
1879
1880                           LAUREN
1881              That's right.  Oh, God, I'm sorry.
1882
1883     She quickly climbs out of the pool, dripping wet.
1884
1885                           TRUMAN
1886                      (confused)
1887              Why? You've got nothing to be sorry about.
1888              Has someone been talking to you?
1889
1890     Lauren wrings out her dress.
1891
1892                           LAUREN
1893                      (to the sky, upset)
1894              Get me out of here.  I don't want to
1895              be here.
1896
1897     Lauren starts walking away.
1898
1899                           TRUMAN
1900                      (confused, calling after her)
1901              What are you talking about?  Lauren!  Lauren!
1902
1903     Truman runs after Lauren and holds her by the arms, forcing
1904     her to face him.
1905
1906                           LAUREN
1907                      (distraught)
1908              My name's not Lauren!  It's Sylvia!
1909
1910     Truman looks into her eyes and believes her.
1911
1912     THE PICTURE FAST-FORWARDS AGAIN AT HIGH SPEED FOR A MOMENT AND
1913     RETURNS TO NORMAL.
1914
1915     TRUMAN and SYLVIA (as she is now called throughout the remainder
1916     of the movie) sit on the ledge of the pool - the same spot as
1917     Truman and the hooker, Veronica, seventeen years later.  As we
1918     have just seen imitated, Sylvia and Truman kiss with great
1919     delicacy.  Truman goes to say something but she covers his lips
1920     with her finger.
1921
1922                           SYLVIA
1923              In a minute someone's going to come and
1924              stop me talking to you.
1925
1926                           TRUMAN
1927                      (looking around the deserted park)
1928              Who?  There's no one around.
1929
1930                           SYLVIA
1931                      (covering his lips once again)
1932              You remember when you were a little boy,
1933              you stood up in class and said you wanted
1934              to be an explorer like Magellan.  And your
1935              teacher, Sister Olivia said, "You're too
1936              late, Truman.  There's nothing left to
1937              explore."  And all the other kids laughed.
1938              And you sat down.
1939
1940                           TRUMAN
1941                      (incredulous)
1942              How do you know about that?
1943
1944                           SYLVIA
1945              It doesn't matter.  You've forgotten about
1946              that boy, Truman.  You got scared.  Just
1947              because something happens, doesn't mean you
1948              can't take another chance in your life.
1949
1950                           TRUMAN
1951              I don't understand.
1952
1953                           SYLVIA
1954                      (looking over her shoulder nervously)
1955              There isn't much time.  Just listen.
1956              Everybody's pretending Truman.  Everybody
1957              but you.
1958                      (pointing to the
1959                      buildings on the horizon)
1960              Look at that project.  You think anybody
1961              lives there?  It's all for you, Truman.
1962              A show.  The eyes are everywhere.
1963
1964                           TRUMAN
1965                      (protesting)
1966              Eyes?  Where?
1967
1968                           SYLVIA
1969                      (frustrated, raving)
1970              Everywhere, disguised...Truman, they're
1971              going to fill your head with lies.
1972              You've got to make yourself deaf, you
1973              understand?  When you're afraid the most, it
1974              means you're on the right track.  Trust that
1975              boy.  Promise me you'll do that?
1976
1977     Truman nods, unsure of the commitment he is making.
1978
1979     Suddenly a 1962 Plymouth roars towards the fountain out of
1980     nowhere.
1981
1982                           SYLVIA
1983                      (scared)
1984              I told you, Truman!
1985
1986     The car skids to a stop and a large MAN, 40ish, with a shock of
1987     dark hair jumps from the car.  The man yanks the frightened
1988     Sylvia to her feet causing her cardigan to fall to the ground.
1989
1990                           TRUMAN
1991                      (shocked)
1992              Hey!
1993
1994                           MAN
1995                      (to Sylvia)
1996              Get in the car, Lauren!
1997
1998     Truman jumps up.
1999
2000                           TRUMAN
2001                      (to the Man)
2002              Who are you?!
2003
2004                           MAN
2005              I'm her father!
2006
2007                           SYLVIA
2008              No he's not!  He's just saying that!
2009              Does he look anything like me?!
2010
2011                           TRUMAN
2012              Shut your mouth!
2013
2014     The man backhands Sylvia roughly across the face and bundles
2015     her into his car.  Truman rushes at the man.
2016
2017                           TRUMAN
2018              Leave her alone!
2019
2020     The man easily fends Truman off, knocking him to the ground.
2021     He slams shut the passenger door of the Plymouth.
2022
2023                           MAN
2024                      (to Sylvia)
2025              I told you not to come here anymore!
2026                      (to Truman, who is getting
2027                      to his feet)
2028              Which one are you?
2029
2030     Truman is suddenly struck dumb, the doubts start crowding back
2031     into his head.
2032
2033                           SYLVIA
2034                      (calling out from the car)
2035              Don't listen to him, Truman.  Make yourself
2036              deaf.  Come find me.
2037
2038                           MAN
2039                      (to Truman, getting into the car)
2040              Don't bother!  We're moving to Australia.
2041              New York's done something to her head.
2042
2043     The Plymouth roars away.  Truman stares after it and then
2044     turns back to the cardigan left on the ground.
2045
2046                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
2047              Why did he say Australia?  Why couldn't he
2048              have said New Jersey?
2049
2050
2051     EXT.  FLUSHING MEADOW.  DUSK, PRESENT DAY.
2052
2053     VERONICA'S head suddenly appears back in frame beside TRUMAN.
2054
2055                           VERONICA
2056              You want me to do it again?  I think I
2057              could do it better.
2058
2059                           TRUMAN
2060                      (coming back to reality)
2061              No...thank you.
2062
2063     Truman picks up the cardigan.  They return to the car.
2064
2065
2066     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  NIGHT.
2067
2068     TRUMAN drives VERONICA back to her turf.  She smokes a
2069     cigarette, flicking ash out of the window.
2070
2071                           TRUMAN
2072              Veronica, what do you know for sure?
2073
2074                           VERONICA
2075              For sure?
2076                      (taking a long drag on her cigarette
2077                      as she gives the question due
2078                      consideration)
2079              The nuns at my school, they used to say,
2080              "The whole of life is faith."
2081
2082     Truman regards his companion in a new light.  He comes to a stop
2083     at the corner where he picked her up.
2084
2085                           VERONICA
2086                      (giving Truman an affectionate
2087                      peck on the cheek)
2088              On the house.
2089
2090
2091     INT.  HIGH SCHOOL CORRIDOR.  DAY, SEVENTEEN YEARS EARLIER.
2092
2093     Another televised flashback.  The SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN
2094     stands reflectively beside Sylvia's open and vacated locker.
2095
2096                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
2097              We removed all physical trace of her
2098              but we couldn't erase the memory...
2099
2100     ANOTHER SHORT BURST OF FAST-FORWARD AND THEN THE PICTURE RETURNS
2101     TO NORMAL SPEED.
2102
2103
2104     INT.  HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY.  DAY
2105
2106     In a secluded corner of the library the SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD
2107     TRUMAN sits at a table surrounded by a stack of glossy women's
2108     magazines.  By tearing out individual facial features - eyes.
2109     nose, mouth, ears, chin, hair - from photographs of YOUNG WOMEN
2110     in the magazine's advertisements, Truman has been able to
2111     improvise a composite picture of Sylvia.
2112
2113     The montage is a passable likeness although Truman is not
2114     completely satisfied with Sylvia's nose.  He toys with
2115     several nose examples before reluctantly settling for one.
2116     He stares wistfully at the completed picture.
2117
2118     ANOTHER BURST OF FAST-FORWARD
2119
2120
2121     INT.  SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  DAY.
2122
2123     SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN enters the front door.  His older
2124     sister, RAQUEL, has been awaiting his arrival.
2125
2126                           CHRISTOF (V.O.)
2127              When he decided to go after Sylvia, we
2128              were forced to intervene once again...
2129
2130                           TRUMAN
2131                      (excited)
2132              I've got something to tell you, Sis.
2133
2134                           RAQUEL
2135                      (adopting a low, serious tone)
2136              I've got something to tell you too.
2137
2138                           TRUMAN
2139                      (unable to contain his news)
2140              I'm going to Australia.
2141
2142                           RAQUEL
2143              Mom's real sick.
2144
2145     Truman's face falls.  As he enters the bedroom where his ill
2146     MOTHER lies gazing at the ceiling, we focus on his EXCHANGE
2147     STUDENT APPLICATION that he has inadvertently crushed in his
2148     hands.
2149
2150     THE FLASHBACK SEQUENCE OVER, WE RETURN TO THE PRESENT TIME WITH
2151     THE IMAGE NO LONGER APPEARING ON A TELEVISION SCREEN.
2152
2153
2154     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  NIGHT
2155
2156     TRUMAN turns into his street but stops several houses short of
2157     his own driveway and kills the car's engine.  In the light of a
2158     streetlamp, Truman opens his briefcase and removes the framed
2159     photograph of his wife, MERYL.  But he turns his wife's face
2160     away from him and opens the clasps on the back of the frame.
2161
2162     Removing the backing, he exposes the composite picture of SYLVIA
2163     we witnessed in the flashback of his youth, worn and faded by
2164     the years.  With the frame on his lap, Truman retrieves a
2165     handful of paper fragments from his jacket.  Noses.  He tests
2166     the likeness of each one in turn.  Unsatisfied that any of the
2167     new noses is an improvement, Truman tosses them out of his car
2168     window.  We watch the paper fragments blowing in the breeze as
2169     Truman's car proceeds down the street and into his driveway.
2170
2171
2172     EXT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DAY.
2173
2174     Close up on a nose.  We pull back to reveal that the nose
2175     belongs to SYLVIA, seventeen years older than Truman's composite
2176     picture - slimmer in the face, wearing her hair shorter.
2177     She is standing at the water's edge on a long, deserted
2178     windswept beach, several sailing dinghys pulled up beyond the
2179     high-water line.  In the background, a solitary, white
2180     beachfront house - an other-worldliness to the idyllic scene.
2181
2182     Looking up into the sky, Sylvia's attention is drawn to a piece
2183     of paper carried on the ocean breeze.  The paper catches on the
2184     mast of one of the sailing dinghys.  A page from a newspaper,
2185     carrying a photograph of TRUMAN in the street where he
2186     encountered his father.  Sylvia retrieves the page.  The
2187     article's headline reads, "TRUMAN'S FATE IN DOUBT".
2188
2189     Spying a MAN, late-thirties, kindly face, riding up to the beach
2190     house on an old bicycle, Sylvia secrets the page under her
2191     sweater.  The man waves cheerfully as he comes to join her on
2192     the sand.  Sylvia waves cheerfully back.
2193
2194
2195     INT.  BAR SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
2196
2197     In a quiet bar, a WAITRESS patiently explains her viewpoint to
2198     the BARMAN.  A PATRON on a barstool, eavesdrops.
2199
2200                           WAITRESS
2201              She was willing to lose him if it meant he
2202              could find himself.
2203                      (registering the barman's blank look)
2204              Never mind.
2205
2206
2207     EXT.  TRAIN STATION PARKING LOT.  MORNING.
2208
2209     TRUMAN sits in his car, about to lace his coffee.  From inside
2210     the adjacent Elementary School gymnasium, he hears the familiar
2211     excited squeals and shouts of SCHOOL CHILDREN.  Truman suddenly
2212     throws aside his miniature of Jack Daniels and sprints across
2213     the parking lot and into the school.
2214
2215
2216     INT.  UTOPIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.  MORNING.
2217
2218     TRUMAN slams through the front doors into the reception area.
2219     It is deserted, no one stationed at the administration desk, the
2220     corridors empty.  He runs down a vacant corridor, pushing open
2221     classroom doors as he goes.  They are all unoccupied.
2222
2223     Finally, he stands outside the gymnasium.  The childrens'
2224     voices can still be heard.  Truman takes a deep breath and
2225     bursts through the double doors.
2226
2227     The room is empty save for a large reel-to-reel tape recorder
2228     in the middle of the basketball court playing a continuous tape
2229     of childrens' voices.  The recorder is attached to speakers on
2230     tall stands facing the ventilation ducts.  Truman stares at the
2231     machine in disbelief.
2232
2233
2234     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN STREET.  MORNING.
2235
2236     TRUMAN exits the subway, still lost in thought.  He stops at
2237     the newstand and picks up a copy of Vanity Fair to resume his
2238     ritual search but his heart is not in it.
2239
2240     He starts his trek to work, pausing to stare at his reflection
2241     in the mirrored building, hoping that the Homeless Man will
2242     appear at his side once again.  But no one joins him.
2243
2244     However, as Truman continues to stare, it is the building itself
2245     that takes his interest.  An imposing forty-story office
2246     building, a black, sheer mirrored box clad in the kind of
2247     reflective glass that shields its occupants from the world, a
2248     building Truman passes every day.
2249
2250     As usual, a steady stream of EMPLOYEES and VISITORS enter and
2251     exit the building's high-ceilinged lobby past an intimidating
2252     security desk manned by two UNIFORMED GUARDS.  Beyond security
2253     are banks of elevators, ferrying executives, clerical staff and
2254     delivery personnel to and from their floors of business.
2255
2256
2257     Truman abruptly enters the building.  He strides confidently
2258     past the security desk trying to look as if he belongs.
2259
2260                           SECURITY GUARD 1
2261                      (to Truman)
2262              Can I help?
2263
2264                           TRUMAN
2265                      (sneaking a glance at the
2266                      building directory)
2267              I have an appointment at, er...Diamond
2268              Enterprises.
2269
2270                           SECURITY GUARD 1
2271              They went bust.
2272
2273     The second Security Guard is rising from his seat to block
2274     Truman's path to the elevators but Truman reads his mind
2275     and makes a dash for it.
2276
2277     He slips into an elevator just as the doors are closing,
2278     defeating the flailing arm of the pursuing guard.  A WOMAN
2279     EXECUTIVE in the elevator looks in horror at Truman.  The cause
2280     of her concern becomes all too apparent.  Looking beyond the
2281     woman, Truman discovers that there is no back to the elevator
2282     car.
2283
2284     The elevator is simply an opening into the body of the building.
2285     Truman pushes past the Woman to be confronted with the fact that
2286     the entire office block is nothing but a giant, empty shell with
2287     no floors above the ground floor.
2288
2289     The PEOPLE Truman has just witnessed entering the other
2290     elevators are milling around a refreshment table, sitting on
2291     folding chairs, changing their clothes behind temporary
2292     curtained cubicles or lining up to re-enter the bogus elevator
2293     cars.  Gradually, they all turn to gape at Truman, who in turn
2294     stares back, appalled.
2295
2296     The Security Guards suddenly appear at Truman's side and take
2297     him by the arm.
2298
2299                           SECURITY GUARD 1
2300              You gotta leave.
2301
2302                           TRUMAN
2303                      (riveted by the equally-stunned
2304                      building occupants)
2305              What're they doing?
2306
2307                           SECURITY GUARD 2
2308              You gotta leave.
2309
2310     The Guards frog-march Truman out of the huge facade towards an
2311     Emergency Exit.
2312
2313                           TRUMAN
2314                      (not going quietly)
2315              Just tell me what the hell's going on?
2316
2317                           SECURITY GUARD 1
2318              We're re-modelling.
2319
2320                           TRUMAN
2321              Like fuck!  What're they doing?
2322
2323
2324     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN STREET.  DAY.
2325
2326     TRUMAN continues to struggle as the GUARDS usher him to the
2327     street.
2328
2329                           TRUMAN
2330              You don't tell me, I'll get you investigated!
2331
2332                           SECURITY GUARD 2
2333              Investigate what?  You're trespassing!
2334
2335     Truman sees there is no point in arguing further.  His
2336     shouts are attracting the interest of PASSERS-BY.  A thought
2337     occurs to him.
2338
2339     He starts to run along the street, suddenly entering another
2340     building at random.  An office block with a bank on the ground
2341     floor.  As he skirts the bank, he feels the eyes of the BANK
2342     STAFF and CUSTOMERS on him.  Is he so suspicious-looking or
2343     were they expecting him?
2344
2345     Truman rushes to the elevators.  The lights above the doors
2346     show all the elevators on upper floors.  Frantic pressing
2347     of the elevator button gets no response.  Truman heads for the
2348     stairs but is intercepted by a BANK OFFICIAL who bars his way.
2349
2350                           OFFICIAL
2351              You can't--
2352
2353                           TRUMAN
2354                      (anticipating his response)
2355              --I know.
2356
2357     Truman backs away out of the office and continues to run down
2358     the streets of Lower Manhattan's financial district.  Every
2359     building he encounters seems to have a SECURITY GUARD
2360     anticipating his arrival or a building OFFICIAL hanging a CLOSED
2361     FOR BUSINESS sign on the front door.
2362
2363     He feels the eyes of PEDESTRIANS.  Is he simply drawing
2364     attention to himself by his behavior?  Truman wheels around,
2365     trying to make eye contact with passers-by.  They shy away.
2366     Truman stops still, his head reeling.
2367
2368
2369     INT.  INSURANCE COMPANY.  DAY.
2370
2371     From the office window on the twelfth floor, TRUMAN can observe
2372     the glass building down the street.  He ponders the black,
2373     mirrored box.  LAWRENCE appears at his side.
2374
2375                           TRUMAN
2376              You ever been into the AMT Building?
2377
2378                           LAWRENCE
2379                      (following Truman's gaze)
2380              Not since they begun reconstruction.
2381                      (referring to the file
2382                      in Truman's hands)
2383              What're you doing with that?
2384
2385                           TRUMAN
2386                      (defensive)
2387              I'm going to visit a site.
2388
2389                           LAWRENCE
2390              What for?
2391
2392                           TRUMAN
2393              Because I never do.
2394
2395                           LAWRENCE
2396                      (placing a hand on Truman's arm)
2397              That's why we got adjusters.
2398
2399                           TRUMAN
2400                      (looking at Lawrence's hand
2401                      on his arm)
2402              You got a problem with me going?
2403
2404                           LAWRENCE
2405              I got a problem with you not doing your job,
2406              Burbank.  You already screwed up once this week.
2407
2408                           TRUMAN
2409              Let me worry about that.
2410
2411     Truman exits with the report.  After waiting only a matter of
2412     seconds for an elevator, he impatiently enters the stairwell.
2413
2414     As soon as he disappears from sight, a grim CHRISTOF emerges
2415     from a nearby office, shadowed as always by CHLOE.   They
2416     approach Lawrence with the familiarity of business associates.
2417
2418                           LAWRENCE
2419              680 West 89th.
2420
2421     Christof nods.  Chloe opens a flip-phone to make a call.
2422
2423
2424     INT.  INSURANCE CO. - STAIRWELL.  DAY.
2425
2426     An out-of-breath TRUMAN arrives on the second floor landing of
2427     the stairwell to find two burly MOVERS blocking his path
2428     with a large office desk they are attempting to transport.
2429     Truman considers retracing his steps, then without warning
2430     clambers over the mahogany barrier.
2431
2432                           MOVER 1
2433              Hey, would it kill ya to wait?!
2434
2435
2436     INT.  SUBWAY.  DAY.
2437
2438     TRUMAN paces impatiently on an empty subway platform with other
2439     frustrated passengers.  He loses patience and suddenly
2440     turns and runs up the stairs.
2441
2442     INT.  TAXI CAB.  DAY.
2443
2444     TRUMAN sits seething in a traffic jam that exists for no
2445     apparent reason.
2446
2447                           TRUMAN
2448                      (impatiently to driver)
2449              Is there another way?  Can't you get around
2450              this?
2451
2452
2453     EXT.  A CHARRED APARTMENT BUILDING ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE.  DAY.
2454
2455     TRUMAN exits his taxi and takes in the scene.  A partially
2456     burnt building, waterlogged, still faintly smoldering.  Truman
2457     checks the address on his file.  A small, serious-looking BOY
2458     straddles his bicycle on the sidewalk.
2459
2460                           TRUMAN
2461                      (to the boy)
2462              When was the fire?
2463
2464                           BOY
2465                      (shrug)
2466              Week ago.
2467
2468                           TRUMAN
2469              How come it's still smoking?
2470
2471                           BOY
2472              Started up again.
2473                      (dismissive)
2474              Kids.
2475
2476                           TRUMAN
2477                      (referring to his claims report)
2478              Says here it burnt to the ground.
2479
2480                           BOY
2481              Wishful thinking maybe?
2482
2483     The boy is wise well beyond his years.  Truman fixes him with a
2484     glare.
2485
2486                           TRUMAN
2487              Someone send you to tell me all this?
2488
2489                           BOY
2490                      (unfazed)
2491              You the one askin' questions.
2492
2493     The boy casually rides away.
2494
2495
2496     EXT.  CITY PARK.  DAY.
2497
2498     TRUMAN wanders aimlessly through a city park, observing.  We
2499     sense, truly observing for the first time.
2500
2501     A group of YOUTHS play a pick-up game of basketball.  A YOUNG
2502     WOMAN walks a pair of AFGHAN HOUNDS.  An OLD MAN answers the
2503     incessant questions of his GRANDCHILD.  Nothing appears amiss.
2504
2505
2506     EXT.  TIMES SQUARE.  DAY.
2507
2508     TRUMAN stands amidst a throng of TOURISTS and COMMUTERS marooned
2509     on Times Square.  Mesmerized by the two fast-moving rivers of
2510     vehicles flowing through the intersection.
2511
2512     Truman stares down at the street, contemplating stepping out
2513     into the traffic.  However as his foot is poised, the stream
2514     of cars that passed so close by seconds earlier, now appear to
2515     be giving him a wider berth.  He steps off the sidewalk and.
2516     to an acompaniment of car horns, begins to wander back and forth
2517     without fear through the traffic, confident that each vehicle
2518     will take evasive action.
2519
2520     Safely on the other side of the street, he stands in front of
2521     the window of an electronics store.  He watches a local TV
2522     news show covering the Santa Maria replica moored near Pier 13.
2523
2524     However Truman is forced to look away when he glimpses his own
2525     face on another TV taking a feed from a camcorder aimed out the
2526     store window.  He shudders at his video reflection.
2527
2528
2529     INT.  DIMLY-LIT ROOM SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
2530
2531     TRUMAN'S face stares out from a televison monitor.  We slowly
2532     pull back to reveal that other smaller monitors surround the
2533     first until we find ourselves staring at a video wall in a room
2534     the size of a football field.
2535
2536     The curved bank of monitors, suspended by cables from the
2537     ceiling, gives the appearance of a giant patch-work mobile.
2538     Investigating the screens we discover surveillance pictures from
2539     all over New York City, covering every facet of Truman's life.
2540     Camera angles from the interior of Truman's house, his backyard,
2541     car, subway station, office, the deli he frequents, the seashore
2542     to which he is drawn, the park he visits with Veronica, the
2543     abandoned freeway where he golfs with Marlon, many of the
2544     locations strangely devoid of people.
2545
2546     Beneath the video wall is a state-of-the-art mixing desk, its
2547     illuminated buttons glowing brightly in the gloom.  Facing the
2548     desk, several OPERATORS in high-backed, high-tech swivel chairs,
2549     wearing the slimmest of headsets.  SIMEON, a meticulous young
2550     man with a penetrating gaze, sits directly in front of the
2551     largest of the monitors, co-ordinating camera angles.
2552
2553     CHRISTOF stands over Simeon's shoulder, staring intently at the
2554     live picture of Truman now seated at a streetside cafe,
2555     continuing to inspect his surroundings.  CHLOE hovers in the
2556     background.
2557
2558     There is an uncomfortable silence in the control room as the
2559     production crew feel themselves under scrutiny for the first
2560     time.  Christof leans forward and talks soothingly into a
2561     microphone on the control panel.
2562
2563                           CHRISTOF
2564              ...Everybody stay focused...remember who
2565              you are...
2566
2567
2568     EXT.  STREETSIDE CAFE, LITTLE ITALY.  DAY.
2569
2570     TRUMAN sits alone at the table, still looking for a false move.
2571
2572     A DELIVERY MAN unloads boxes from the back of his truck and
2573     carries them into a Restaurant Supply store.  Further down the
2574     street CONSTRUCTION WORKERS take their time tending to an
2575     electrical repair in an exposed manhole.  A POSTAL WORKER does
2576     his rounds.  An OLD WOMAN struggles with two heavy shopping
2577     bags.  Everybody appears natural, places to go.
2578
2579     Truman turns his attention to a group of ITALIAN-LOOKING MEN
2580     at the only other occupied table at the cafe.  We see extreme
2581     close-ups as Truman scans the men's faces for any sign of
2582     phoniness.  They are talking loudly, making suggestive comments
2583     to the WAITRESS and generally showing off like schoolboys.
2584     Their behavior passes the test, all seems genuine.
2585
2586     Truman idly regards his three-stone wedding ring with which he
2587     has been fidgeting.
2588
2589
2590     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
2591
2592     The on-air monitor shows TRUMAN from the ring's POV, revealing
2593     that the small center diamond contains a miniature, hidden
2594     camera.  Truman suspects nothing.
2595
2596     He looks up to find two well-to-do 3OGGERS, out for a lunchtime
2597     run, making their way down the street towards the cafe.  Truman
2598     happens to glance at the sneakers of one of the joggers.  He
2599     springs to his feet and blocks the joggers' path.
2600
2601                           CHRISTOF
2602                      (staring at the monitor)
2603              Damn!
2604
2605     Unseen by Christof, his Assistant Director, Simeon takes a
2606     moment of pleasure from the older man's distress.
2607
2608
2609     EXT.  STREETSIDE CAFE, LITTLE ITALY.  DAY.
2610
2611                           TRUMAN
2612                      (to the jogger with
2613                      the familiar sneakers)
2614              Small world.
2615
2616                           JOGGER 1
2617                      (attempting to sidestep Truman)
2618              Excuse me.
2619
2620     Truman blocks the man a second time.
2621
2622                           TRUMAN
2623              You don't remember?  Two days ago I gave you
2624              my meatball sandwich in the park.  You were
2625              in a wheelchair.  Same sneakers.
2626
2627     An almost subliminal flashback appears in Truman's head
2628     confirming that the JOGGER and the HOMELESS MAN in the
2629     wheelchair two days earlier are one and the same.
2630
2631                           TRUMAN
2632                      (commenting ironically on his
2633                      new-found mobility)
2634              A miracle!
2635
2636                           JOGGER 2
2637                      (coming to his companion's aid)
2638              Get the hell outta here.
2639
2640     The second jogger pushes Truman back against the cafe table
2641     causing him to stumble.
2642
2643
2644     EXT.  WAREHOUSE - MARLON'S WORK.  DAY.
2645
2646     MARLON is loading boxes of candy into the back of his van.
2647     TRUMAN hurries up to him.
2648
2649                           TRUMAN
2650              Marlon. I've gotta talk to you.
2651
2652                           MARLON
2653                      (surprised)
2654              Truman!  Sorry, I'm up against it today.
2655
2656                           TRUMAN
2657              I've fallen over something, Marlon.
2658              Something to do with my Dad. I think.
2659
2660                           MARLON
2661                      (looking at him for the first time)
2662              Are you okay? You look like shit.
2663
2664                           TRUMAN
2665                      (ignoring the inquiries
2666                      about his health)
2667              It's big, Marlon.  You wouldn't believe
2668              who's in on it.
2669
2670                           MARLON
2671                      (distracted)
2672              In on what?
2673
2674                           TRUMAN
2675              There's no point trying to show you, they cover
2676              their tracks too well.  But I've been going
2677              into a lotta strange buildings, seeing a lotta
2678              familiar faces, y'know what I mean?
2679
2680                           MARLON
2681                      (still engrossed in his own problems)
2682              Something's definitely in the air.  My last
2683              delivery, a kid got crushed to death.
2684              tilting a vending machine.  They won't even
2685              let me take the rest of the day off.
2686
2687                           TRUMAN
2688              Do it, anyway.
2689
2690     Marlon scoffs at the suggestion then realizes Truman isn't
2691     joking.
2692
2693                           TRUMAN
2694              I'm deadly serious. Marlon.  We can't talk
2695              here.  I'm being followed.
2696
2697                           MARLON
2698                      (suddenly concerned)
2699              Who?
2700
2701                           TRUMAN
2702              I don't know.  They look just like regular
2703              people.
2704                      (producing a notebook from
2705                      his jacket pocket)
2706              But I've been writing down numbers - license
2707              plates, taxi numbers, ID numbers - the same
2708              ones keep cropping up over and over.
2709
2710                           MARLON
2711              Is someone leanin' on you, Tru?  Cos I got
2712              some friends here, they owe me.  We can lean back.
2713                      (pointing out a taxi
2714                      parked outside the yard)
2715              Is he one of them?
2716
2717                           TRUMAN
2718                      (anxious)
2719              I don't know.  Could be.  One thing's certain.
2720              The key is spontoneity.  Be unpredictable.
2721              They can't stand that.  That's why we've got
2722              to get outta here.  Can you come with me?
2723
2724                           MARLON
2725                      (weakening)
2726              Christ, Truman.  You're gonna get both our
2727              asses fired.
2728
2729     Marlon shuts his van and gets in.  Truman enters the
2730     passenger side.
2731
2732                           MARLON
2733              Where're we going?
2734
2735                           TRUMAN
2736              The beach.
2737
2738
2739     INT.  CONFERENCE ROOM.  DAY.
2740
2741     CHRISTOF is in deep conversation with two executives.  MOSES, a
2742     contemporary of Christof but more jaded and debauched-looking
2743     and ROMAN, a fresh-faced, younger man.  CHLOE hovers in the
2744     background.  A monitor, suspended from the ceiling shows a
2745     surveillance shot of TRUMAN and MARLON pulling into a beach
2746     parking lot in Marlon's van.
2747
2748     The glass conference room looks out onto the vast control
2749     facility where SIMEON continues to call the shots, all too aware
2750     of the closed-door discussion taking place in the background.
2751
2752                           CHRISTOF
2753                      (marveling, excitedly referring
2754                      to Truman on the monitor)
2755              I can't believe how much he's shoved down.  That he
2756              sensed the significance at aged seven and clung
2757              to it so fiercely.
2758
2759     Roman paces, agitated, unimpressed.  Moses, mnore respectful.
2760
2761                           CHRISTOF
2762                      (gesturing to the clifftop on the
2763                      monitor pointedly excluding Roman
2764                      from the conversation)
2765              You remember, Moses, it used to end right
2766              there, before the expansion.
2767
2768                           ROMAN
2769                      (unable to contain his anxiety
2770                      any longer)
2771              Christof, the cracks are starting to show.
2772
2773                           CHRISTOF
2774                      (reassuring, keeping
2775                      himself in check)
2776              I'll paper over them.
2777
2778                           CHLOE
2779                      (coming to the defense of her mentor)
2780              Truman's had bouts of paranoia before and
2781              recovered.
2782
2783                           ROMAN
2784                      (adamant, faintly hysterical)
2785              No, not like this.  It's compromised.
2786              Becoming unwatchable.
2787
2788     Too much for Christof.  He wheels on the young man.
2789
2790                           CHRISTOF
2791              Fear?  Doubt?  Is that what you have
2792              trouble watching?  Perhaps you don't like
2793              watching yourself.
2794
2795     Roman is stung into silence.
2796
2797                           MOSES
2798                      (realizing his colleague is in
2799                      over his head, including Chloe
2800                      to save Roman's face)
2801              Why don't you two wait outside?
2802
2803     Reluctantly Roman and Chloe exit and join Simeon at the video
2804     wall.
2805
2806                           CHRISTOF
2807                      (instantly more comfortable in the
2808                      company of a man his own age)
2809              He's jumped the rails, Moses, that's all.  We'll
2810              get him back on.
2811
2812                           MOSES
2813              You know why they're so nervous.  The birth of
2814              Truman's child is going to double revenue.
2815              For God's sake don't let him upstage you.
2816                      (indicating Simeon through
2817                      the glass walls)
2818              You've been grooming a successor.
2819
2820                           CHRISTOF
2821              He's not ready.
2822
2823                           MOSES
2824              Him or you?
2825
2826                           CHRISTOF
2827                      (jaw setting firm, referring
2828                      to Truman on the monitor)
2829              You can't pull him back in without me.
2830                      (more reflective)
2831              He's just acting out of character.
2832
2833                           MOSES
2834              What if he's in character?  What if he's
2835              starting to act in character at last?  Have
2836              you ever considered that?
2837
2838
2839     EXT.  LONG ISLAND BEACH.  DAY.
2840
2841     TRUMAN runs down the beach towards the cliff he attempted to
2842     scale as a seven-year-old boy.
2843
2844
2845     EXT.  CLIFFTOP.  DAY.
2846
2847     TRUMAN sits on the clifftop, staring out at the view his father
2848     had been so desperate for him not to see twenty-seven years
2849     earlier.  However the deserted bay beyond is exactly as his
2850     father described - almost identical to its neighbor.  MARLON,
2851     laboring, crests the rise and joins his friend on the clifftop.
2852
2853                           MARLON
2854              What're we doing here, Truman?
2855
2856                           TRUMAN
2857              This is where it started.
2858
2859                           MARLON
2860              Where what started?
2861
2862                           TRUMAN
2863              Things.  Things that don't fit.  Loose threads.
2864              False steps.  Slips of the tongue.
2865
2866                           MARLON
2867                      (irritated)
2868              Make sense, Truman.  You going religious on me?
2869
2870                           TRUMAN
2871                      (tears of bitterness welling in his eyes)
2872              My father didn't want me to see what was over here.
2873              Whatever it was, it's gone now.  I never shoulda
2874              listened to him that day.  I knew it was wrong.
2875
2876     We see a quick flashback of SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN on the cliff-
2877     face twenty-seven years earlier.
2878
2879                           TRUMAN
2880              There were a hundred people on the beach that
2881              day.  Everybody knew what was going on except me.
2882
2883                           MARLON
2884              I don't want to put you down but why would
2885              anybody go to all this trouble over you?
2886
2887                           TRUMAN
2888              Maybe I've been mistaken for somebody else.
2889                      (a memory triggered)
2890              A couple of years ago, I tried to get hold of a
2891              copy of Time Magazine.  The week before an ad said,
2892              "Next Week:  Truman Burbank and the Lost Generation".
2893
2894     Marlon shrugs, unimpressed.
2895
2896                           TRUMAN
2897              A guy with the same name as me in Time
2898              Magazine.  It ain't a common name so I
2899              looked out for it.  But the day it came
2900              out, every newstand was sold out.  No
2901              library had it.  I even wrote off for a
2902              back-issue.  Never seen a copy to this day.
2903
2904     Marlon remains unconvinced.
2905
2906                           TRUMAN
2907              Maybe I'm being set up for something.  You
2908              ever feel like that, Marlon?  Like your
2909              whole life has been building to something?
2910
2911     Marlon looks skeptically at Truman.  He hasn't had that feeling.
2912
2913                           MARLON
2914                      (becoming testy)
2915              A coincidence.  Haven't you ever heard
2916              of a coincidence?
2917
2918                           TRUMAN
2919              I'm a walking coincidence.  I can't count 'em.
2920              No something's happening, Marlon.  I've got
2921              to get to the bottom of it.
2922
2923                           MARLON
2924                      (shaking his head in exasperation)
2925              Of what?!  Why're you doing this to yourself?
2926
2927                           TRUMAN
2928              I'm scared, Marlon.  I'm as scared as hell.
2929              But I've never felt more alive.  It's just
2930              like she said.
2931
2932                           MARLON
2933                      (suddenly intrigued)
2934              Who?
2935
2936                           TRUMAN
2937              It doesn't matter.  She was too beautiful for here.
2938
2939     Now Marlon is really confused.
2940
2941                           TRUMAN
2942              Can you lend me some money?  A hundred bucks.
2943
2944                           MARLON
2945              All I got on me is the takings from the machines.
2946              Why do you need it?
2947
2948                           TRUMAN
2949              I'm going away for a while.
2950
2951
2952     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DUSK.
2953
2954     The comfortably furnished room of a writer.  Walls lined with
2955     books.  Desk overlooking the sea, strewn with notes, photos and
2956     other reference material.  Sylvia's name on the spine of several
2957     published volumes.  Pages of unfinished manuscript, handwritten
2958     in blue ink.
2959
2960     SYLVIA stands at a bookcase, looking for inspiration.  As she
2961     pulls out a book, a magazine falls to the floor.  Truman's
2962     missing copy of Time Magazine.  His face on the cover with the
2963     headline,  "Truman Burbank and the Lost Generation".
2964
2965     Sylvia retrieves the magazine.  In front of a nearby mirror, she
2966     holds Truman's photographed face next to her own, for a moment
2967     imagining them together.  Then, catching herself, she quickly
2968     lowers the magazine, left alone with her own reflection.
2969
2970
2971     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  NIGHT.
2972
2973     We see TRUMAN's disturbed face reflected in the screen of his
2974     television set, montaged over that of ROBIN LEACH, host of
2975     "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous".  MERYL, wearing her robe,
2976     head against Truman's chest, sips from a bottle of beer.
2977
2978                           MERYL
2979                      (attempting to open him up)
2980              What's going on, Truman?  You're not yourself.
2981
2982                           TRUMAN
2983                      (vague)
2984              Maybe you just don't know me very well.
2985
2986
2987     INT.  DINING ROOM SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
2988
2989     CHRISTOF eats a sumptuous meal in an ornate private dining
2990     room with an elegant WOMAN, thirty years his junior.  Playing
2991     silently on a monitor on an antique side table is a surveillance
2992     shot of TRUMAN and MERYL slumped in front of their television.
2993
2994     CHLOE, enters the room and nods an apology to Christof's dinner
2995     companion - a woman her own age.  Christof's companion shrugs
2996     resignedly.  Christof registers Chloe's thinly disguised
2997     resentment, enjoying the rivalry.
2998
2999     Chloe inserts a cassette tape into a nearby VCR.  Christof
3000     wipes his mouth with his napkin and picks up his wine glass as
3001     he gives the television his full attention.  A commercial for
3002     "GLOBAL TRAVEL" begins to play.
3003
3004
3005     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  NIGHT.
3006
3007     TRUMAN continues to watch "Lifestyles" restlessly.  However, as
3008     he goes to get up from the sofa, MERYL starts to slide down his
3009     chest towards his lap.
3010
3011                           MERYL
3012              We could do it right here, like we used to.
3013
3014     The program cuts to a commercial break.  The commercial
3015     is for "Global Travel".
3016
3017                           NARRATOR
3018                      (from television)
3019              Travelling Down Under?  Global Travel is
3020              turning rates to Australia upside down.  Round
3021              Trip to Sydney only $829.  One way, $465.
3022              Global Travel at Broadway and 44th...
3023
3024     Truman perks up at the commercial while Meryl's attention is
3025     elsewhere.
3026
3027                           TRUMAN
3028                      (abruptly getting up)
3029              Lemme go to the bathroom.
3030
3031                           MERYL
3032              Don't be too long.
3033
3034     Truman exits the living room.  However, on his way to the
3035     bathroom he hesitates at the kitchen table.  He surreptitiously
3036     lifts the platic-coated plaid tablecloth to reveal numerous
3037     bills laid out flat beneath it to keep the stash hidden.
3038
3039
3040     INT.  CHRISTOF'S BEDROOM.  DAWN.
3041
3042     CHLOE pulls back long, white silk drapes to reveal a spectacular
3043     view overlooking the Hollywood Hills.  CHRISTOF rouses from his
3044     enormous round bed.  His DINNER COMPANION also stirs, waving
3045     coyly to Chloe as she modestly covers herself, only mildly
3046     perturbed by the intrusion.  Chloe switches on the television
3047     set in the extravagent bedroom.  Playing on the set are TRUMAN
3048     and MERYL still fast asleep in their own bed.
3049
3050                           CHRISTOF
3051              What happened overnight?
3052
3053                           CHLOE
3054              He couldn't do it, even on the sofa.
3055
3056                           CHRISTOF
3057                      (smiling to himself)
3058              God, that thing of his must be psychic.
3059                      (matter-of-fact)
3060              He didn't masturbate?
3061
3062                           CHLOE
3063              Not for the last two inonths.
3064
3065     Chloe exits and Christof climbs out of bed.
3066
3067
3068     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  MORNING.
3069
3070     MERYL emerges from the bathroom, ready for work, surprised to
3071     find TRUMAN sitting at the kitchen table.
3072
3073                           MERYL
3074                      (rubbing ointment into her wrists)
3075              Aren't you gonna be late?
3076
3077                           TRUMAN
3078              I got a call in the area.
3079                      (nodding to her wrists)
3080              What's the case?  Anything interesting?
3081
3082                           MERYL
3083                      (dispassionate)
3084              Rape on the subway.
3085
3086     Truman's eyes widen.  We see a quick flashback in Truman's head
3087     of the two YOUTHS assaulting the WOMAN on his train.
3088
3089                           MERYL
3090              They're guilty as hell but they'll walk.  No
3091              witnesses.  Her word against theirs.
3092                      (picking up her bag to leave)
3093              Maybe we could meet for lunch today.
3094
3095     Meryl gives him an affectionate kiss and exits the back door.
3096     Truman waits for the sound of Meryl's car to disappear down the
3097     road and exits himself.
3098
3099
3100     INT.  COURT BUILDING.  MORNING.
3101
3102     TRUMAN enters the courtroom building.  A crush of DEFENDENTS,
3103     FAMILIES, ATTORNEYS and POLICE OFFICERS.  Truman goes to enter
3104     a courtroom but a SECURITY GUARD blocks his path.
3105
3106                           SECURITY GUARD
3107              You a witness?
3108
3109                           TRUMAN
3110              Er, yes...
3111                      (suddenly losing heart)
3112              No, no I'm not.
3113
3114                           SECURITY GUARD
3115              Closed session.
3116
3117     Before the guard can move him on. Truman sneaks a look at
3118     proceedings through the courtroom door window.
3119
3120     He recognizes the two YOUTHS sitting at the defendent's table.
3121     A PROSECUTOR is on his feet, addressing the JURY.  MERYL is
3122     working attentively at her stenotype machine, her fingers
3123     rapidly pressing the keys.  However, Truman notices a glaring
3124     omission.  There is no paper emerging from Meryl's machine.  The
3125     roll of paper tape sits on the floor beside her chair leg.
3126         
3127
3128     INT.  TRAVEL AGENCY.  DAY.
3129
3130     The EMPLOYEES and CUSTOMERS inside GLOBAL TRAVEL are all doing
3131     a last-minute primp, fixing their hair and checking their
3132     clothes.  Suddenly, in unison, they take their positions and
3133     begin working.  As TRUMAN enters GLOBAL TRAVEL, one CUSTOMER
3134     looks up a fraction too quickly, anticipating his arrival.
3135
3136     Truman takes a seat at the only unoccupied desk, opposite a
3137     female TRAVEL AGENT.  Feeling uneasy about a surveillance camera
3138     in the corner of the room, he nervously obscures his face with
3139     his hand.
3140
3141                           TRUMAN
3142              I wanna book a flight to Australia.
3143
3144                           AGENT
3145              Where exactly?
3146
3147                           TRUMAN
3148                      (believing she is being
3149                      deliberately obtuse)
3150              Australia.
3151
3152                           AGENT
3153                      (a trace of condescension)
3154              Where in Australia?  What city?
3155
3156                           TRUMAN
3157              Sorry, Sydney.  Sydney, Australia.  That's right.
3158
3159                           AGENT
3160                      (entering the destination in her
3161                      computer)
3162              For how many?
3163
3164                           TRUMAN
3165                      (finding the question suspicious)
3166              One.
3167
3168                           AGENT
3169              When do you want to leave, remembering, of
3170              course, that you do lose a day on the way there?
3171
3172                           TRUMAN
3173                      (more urgent than he intended)
3174              Today.
3175
3176                           AGENT
3177                      (reading off her computer screen)
3178              I'm sorry.  I don't have anything for a
3179              week.
3180
3181                           TRUMAN
3182                      (suspicious)
3183              A week.
3184
3185                           AGENT
3186                      (patiently explaining)
3187              It's the busy season.
3188
3189                           TRUMAN
3190                      (paranoia showing)
3191              You sure you're not trying to keep me here?
3192              You are a travel agent, aren't you?  Your
3193              job is to help people travel, not keep 'em
3194              where they are.
3195                      (pointing to the agent's
3196                      name tag, "DORIS - Travel Agent")
3197              Or maybe you're a different kind of agent, Doris?
3198
3199                           AGENT
3200                      (showing amazing restraint)
3201              I do have a fabulous rate on a cruise ship
3202              departing for Australia tomorrow.  But you
3203              wouldn't want to do that.
3204
3205                           TRUMAN
3206              Why wouldn't I?
3207
3208                           AGENT
3209              I thought you were in a hurry.
3210
3211                           TRUMAN
3212                      (calming down)
3213              That's right.
3214
3215                           AGENT
3216              You want to book the flight?
3217
3218     Truman pulls out a wad of money from his pocket and several
3219     rolls of quarters from Marlon's vending machines.  The agent
3220     looks askance at the pile of cash.
3221
3222                           TRUMAN
3223              You were expecting me, weren't you?
3224
3225     The travel agent ignores the question and prints the ticket.
3226
3227                           AGENT
3228              It's non-refundable.
3229
3230
3231     EXT.  SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.  DAY.
3232
3233     CHRISTOF stands with a PRODUCTION MANAGER, mid-thirties, on the
3234     forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, its sail-like roofs soaring
3235     above them.  Framing the background, the coathanger-shaped
3236     Sydney Harbor Bridge.
3237
3238                           PROD. MANAGER
3239                      (unable to conceal his pride)
3240              Happy?
3241
3242     Christof gives a grudgingly complimentary nod.
3243
3244                           CHRISTOF
3245                      (staring out at the pleasure
3246                      craft littering the harbor)
3247              Can we contain him long enough?
3248
3249                           PROD. MANAGER
3250              I think so.
3251
3252     Christof looks skyward at the cottonwool clouds above the
3253     harbor.
3254
3255                           PROD. MANAGER
3256                      (anticipating his next question)
3257              He flies at night.  Thick cloud cover to
3258              disorient him.  Hopefully we'll knock him
3259              out with complimentary cocktails, pull the
3260              shades down during the movies.  He'll never know.
3261
3262     Christof gives another grudging nod of approval.  The Production
3263     Manager is beckoned by a group of CONSTRUCTION WORKERS who are
3264     putting the finishing touches to a corner of the Opera House.
3265     CHLOE drifts to Christof's side, a Watchman TV in her hand.
3266
3267                           CHLOE
3268                      (referring to the surrounding scene)
3269              Why go to all the trouble?
3270
3271     Christof glances at the TV screen in her hand, showing TRUMAN
3272     sitting in his office gazing at his composite picture of SYLVIA.
3273
3274                           CHRISTOF
3275              He believes she has the answer.
3276
3277                           CHLOE
3278              Why not just tell him she's dead?
3279
3280                           CHRISTOF
3281              It's too late for that.  That won't satisfy
3282              him.  He's going to have to find out for himself.
3283              See it with his own eyes.  Right now he needs
3284              something genuine.
3285                      (rueful, all too aware
3286                      of the contradiction)
3287              Even if we have to fake it.
3288
3289
3290     INT.  INSURANCE COMPANY.  DAY.
3291
3292     Close up on typewriting appearing on a page.
3293
3294              "Please accept my resignation from
3295              American Life & Accident, Inc. to
3296              take effect immediately.
3297
3298              Yours tru"
3299
3300     TRUMAN gets up from the typewriter in mid-word and strolls to a
3301     fellow AGENT's desk.
3302
3303                           TRUMAN
3304                      (to agent, picking up
3305                      a dictionary)
3306              "Yours truly..."  You spell "truly"
3307              "l...y" or "e...l...y"?
3308
3309                           INSURANCE AGENT
3310              I always write "Yours faithfully..."
3311
3312     Truman finds the appropriate page in the dictionary and gazes at
3313     the entry for a long moment.  He looks up, staring into the
3314     middle distance.  His eyes widen as something clicks in his
3315     mind.  Suddenly LAWRENCE snatches the dictionary from his hand.
3316
3317                           LAWRENCE
3318              Where the hell have you been, Burbank?
3319              What the hell's going on?
3320
3321                           TRUMAN
3322              That's what I'd like to know, Lawrence.
3323
3324     The AGENTS in the other cubicles turn in their direction.
3325
3326                           TRUMAN
3327              I was just about to resign.  Isn't that
3328              a laugh?  I just realized there's nothing
3329              to resign from, is there?
3330
3331                           LAWRENCE
3332              Listen, don't bother with the resignation.
3333              Just get the fuck outta here.
3334
3335                           TRUMAN
3336                      (addressing the whole office)
3337              Why're you all pretending?  Huh?
3338                      (gesturing to a computer terminal)
3339              What is this a front for?  Why aren't I in
3340              on the joke?  Was I away that day?!
3341
3342     Noting two colleagues exchanging a look, he pulls the computer
3343     off the desk to get their attention.  It lands on the floor with
3344     an expensive crash.
3345
3346                           TRUMAN
3347                      (hysterical)
3348              I'm talking to you!  Who am I?!
3349
3350                           LAWRENCE
3351                      (taken aback by the sudden violent act)
3352              You better get outta here or I'm calling Security.
3353
3354                           TRUMAN
3355                      (mimicking)
3356              "Security!  I'm calling Security".
3357
3358     Truman picks up the framed photograph from his desk, containing
3359     SYLVIA's hidden likeness.  Suddenly he wheels on Lawrence,
3360     pinning him to a cubicle wall.
3361
3362                           TRUMAN
3363              You don't believe a single word you're saying!
3364                      (to the assembled group)
3365              None of you do!
3366                      (suddenly talking to a sprinkler
3367                      head in the ceiling)
3368              You hear me?!
3369
3370     We see Truman's manic face from the sprinkler head's POV.
3371     Truman stomps off down the corridor, other Insurance Agents
3372     giving him a wide berth.  He shoves computers, desk lamps and
3373     pot holders off desks as he goes.
3374
3375
3376     EXT.  MANHATTAN STREET.  DAY.
3377
3378     TRUMAN steps out of the office, suddenly able to breathe
3379     again, pleased to be outdoors despite the gloomy sky overhead.
3380
3381
3382     INT.  CONTROL ROOM SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
3383
3384     CHRISTOF is once again standing at the picture window in the
3385     dimly-lit control room where we first encountered him.  Behind
3386     him, the fronds of the palm tree sway in a gentle breeze.  The
3387     sky, a cloudless, cobalt blue in sharp contrast to the overcast
3388     day in New York City.
3389
3390     SIMEON, co-ordinating camera angles, sits in front of the
3391     largest of the monitors that shows a live picture of TRUMAN
3392     stuck in his car in gridlock.
3393
3394                           SIMEON
3395                      (talking quietly into a
3396                      slim headset)
3397              ...and back to the close-up...
3398
3399     CHLOE's attention is focused on a subsidiary monitor displaying
3400     a freeze frame of TRUMAN reading the dictionary a few minutes
3401     earlier.
3402
3403                           CHLOE
3404                      (to a hard-bitten Operator, staring
3405                      at the dictionary)
3406              Do you think he sees the entry?
3407
3408                           OPERATOR
3409              Hard to tell.
3410
3411                           CHRISTOF
3412                      (sarcastic)
3413              Why don't we ask him?
3414
3415                           CHLOE
3416                      (snapping back, referring to the book)
3417              I don't know how it got there!
3418                      (to Operator)
3419              Enhance.
3420
3421     Christof turns his back on the screen and stares out the window.
3422     We focus on an enhanced picture of the dictionary's text.
3423
3424               genuinely, etc.  2. in fact; really.
3425
3426              TrumanËsque (Ësk)a. characteristic
3427               of the experiences of Truman Burbank
3428               (a Trumanesque town, conversation,
3429               etc.) [circa. 1972)
3430         
3431              trump,n. [<triumph], 1. playing-
3432
3433
3434     EXT.  SUBURBAN STREET IN QUEENS.  DAY.
3435
3436     TRUMAN drives erratically down a quiet suburban street.
3437     On the sidewalk up ahead, he spies a YOUNG MOTHER pushing an
3438     INFANT in a baby carriage.
3439
3440     Truman suddenly swerves sharply and jumps the curb in front
3441     of the mother and child, the car straddling the sidewalk.  He
3442     has the driver's door open almost before the Oldsmobile has come
3443     to a halt.  Truman dashes from the car and plucks the infant
3444     from the carriage while the mother stands rooted to the spot.
3445
3446     The startled infant immediately begins to wail as Truman holds
3447     the crying bundle in both hands above his head.
3448
3449                           TRUMAN
3450                      (to the Mother, motioning to the sidewalk)
3451              Say my name or I'll smash its head open.
3452
3453     The young mother, frozen with fright, does not reply.
3454
3455                           TRUMAN
3456                      (vehement)
3457              Say my name!
3458
3459                           YOUNG MOTHER
3460                      (composing herself,
3461                      reaching out for her child)
3462              Please, give him to me...
3463
3464                           TRUMAN
3465                      (screaming above the baby's cries)
3466              Say my name!  You know my name!  Say it!
3467
3468                           YOUNG MOTHER
3469                      (bewildered)
3470              I don't know you.
3471
3472     The commotion has attracted the attention of an OLD MAN across
3473     the street, watering his garden.  He drops his hose and hurries
3474     towards the fracas.  Halfway across the street, the old man
3475     stops in his tracks as he sees the baby, perilously poised in
3476     the air.
3477
3478                           TRUMAN
3479                      (hysterical)
3480              I mean it!  I'm ready to do it!
3481              What's my name?!!
3482
3483     Truman lifts the screaming baby as far above his head as he can,
3484     his arms shaking, fighting the urge to dash the fragile innocent
3485     to the concrete.  We see a view of the scene from the POV of a
3486     streetlight.  The young mother, recognizing Truman's
3487     seriousness, opens her mouth to speak but no sound comes.
3488
3489                           TRUMAN
3490                      (entreating the young
3491                      woman, tears in his eyes)
3492              This is your last chance!
3493
3494     The anguish in his voice convinces us that Truman is truly on
3495     the brink.  The young woman now has tears rolling down her
3496     cheeks.  She is at a loss, powerless.
3497
3498                           TRUMAN
3499                      (his entire body shaking)
3500              What...is...my...name?!
3501
3502     The young woman mumbles but is unable to supply the name.
3503     Truman, arms shaking, face red with rage, realizes he can't go
3504     through with it.  With everything he has, he gathers himself.
3505     After what seems like an age, he ever so slowly lowers the
3506     child into the safety of the mother's outstretched arms.
3507
3508                           YOUNG MOTHER
3509                      (clutching the baby to
3510                      her breast, without thinking)
3511              Thank you, Truman.
3512
3513     Truman shudders at the sound of his name and backs away from the
3514     young woman, as if it is she who now represents the threat.
3515
3516     He jumps into his car and slams it into gear, driving over the
3517     sidewalk and back onto the street.  The young woman and the old
3518     man stare after Truman's car as it roars away.
3519
3520
3521     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  DAY.
3522
3523     As TRUMAN drives, he stares, paranoid, at seemingly innocuous
3524     features in his Oldsmobile - his rearview mirror, steering wheel
3525     insignia, speedometer, airconditioning ducts - and peers up at
3526     the streetlamps lining the roadway.
3527
3528
3529     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DAY.
3530
3531     A dozen-or-so of SYLVIA'S FRIENDS, including the MAN we have
3532     seen before, sit around a table on the balcony in the afternoon
3533     sun, talking animatedly.  A TEN-YEAR-OLD SON of one of the
3534     guests has strayed into the living room and switched on the
3535     television set hidden away in an antique bureau.
3536
3537     SYLVIA. emerging from the kitchen, is taken aback by what she
3538     sees playing on the screen.  The MAN on the balcony catches
3539     her look as she swiftly switches off the TV.  She gently takes
3540     the child's hand and leads him outside.
3541
3542
3543     EXT.  TRUMAN'S BACKYARD.  DAY.
3544
3545     TRUMAN, staring at the freeway from the bottom of the garden.
3546     doesn't bother to look up as MERYL approaches.
3547
3548                           TRUMAN
3549                      (referring to a distant
3550                      car on the expressway)
3551              See that car way down there?  I bet it's a
3552              Suburu station wagon.
3553
3554     Meryl looks idly over the fence at the approaching car.
3555     Finally a Suburu station wagon motors by.  Meryl is unimpressed.
3556     Truman turns his back on the Expressway to continue his game.
3557
3558                           TRUMAN
3559              I predict the next four cars will be a
3560              white Honda Civic, a blue and white
3561              Dodge Dart with the front hubcap missing,
3562              a Volkswagon Beetle with a dented fender
3563              and a motorcycle.
3564
3565     Meryl doesn't wish to participate in the game and makes for
3566     the house.  Truman holds her arm, forcing her to watch.  He
3567     turns to check his prediction.  A convoy of cars approaches.
3568
3569                           TRUMAN
3570              There's the Honda...the Dodge...here
3571              comes the dented Beetle...
3572
3573     Meryl's attention wavers.  Truman tightens his grip.
3574
3575                           TRUMAN
3576              Look, damn you!
3577
3578     Following the VW is a school bus.
3579
3580                           MERYL
3581                      (mocking)
3582              Where's the motorcycle?
3583
3584     Truman is momentarily disappointed.  Meryl seizes her chance
3585     and heads for the house.  Truman follows her inside.
3586
3587                           TRUMAN
3588                      (yelling after her)
3589              Don't you want to know how I did that?
3590              Maybe you already know.  Is that it?
3591
3592     Behind Truman's back, a motorcycle putters by.
3593
3594
3595     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN.  DAY.
3596
3597     MERYL is pouring herself ice tea when TRUMAN enters.
3598
3599                           MERYL
3600              Where have you been?  I've been calling you
3601              all day.
3602
3603                           TRUMAN
3604              Have you been concerned, Meryl?  Nice name.
3605              "Meryl".  I always liked it.
3606
3607                           MERYL
3608                      (matching his sarcasm)
3609              Nice of you to say so after eight years.
3610
3611                           TRUMAN
3612              Actress's name, isn't it?  What's your
3613              real name?
3614
3615                           MERYL
3616                      (rolling her eyes)
3617              Oh, God.  What's got into you?
3618
3619                           TRUMAN
3620              Take a break. Meryl
3621                      (a knowing, almost foolish grin)
3622              I know.
3623
3624                           MERYL
3625              I invited Marlon and Rita for a barbeque Sunday.
3626              I thought I'd make my potato salad.  Remind me...
3627
3628                           TRUMAN
3629                      (irritated)
3630              Drop it, I said.  It's over.
3631
3632                           MERYL
3633                      (rambling on)
3634              ...we need more charcoal.
3635
3636                           TRUMAN
3637              Shut up!
3638
3639                           MERYL
3640              I'm gonna take a shower.
3641
3642                           TRUMAN
3643                      (catching her wrist)
3644              No.  We're going for a drive.
3645
3646                           MERYL
3647              What?!
3648
3649     Despite her protests, Truman drags Meryl out the back door
3650     and towards his car.
3651
3652                           TRUMAN
3653                      (as he shoves her into
3654                      the Oldsmobile)
3655              For years I've been saying I want to go
3656              some place, well now I'm ready to go.  Let's
3657              just jump in the car and go.
3658
3659
3660     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  DAY.
3661
3662     TRUMAN holds MERYL's wrist to stop her exiting the car and
3663     accelerates out of the driveway in reverse without looking.
3664
3665                           TRUMAN
3666                      (as they speed down the suburban street)
3667              I thought maybe, Atlantic City.
3668
3669                           MERYL
3670                      (trying to mask her anxiety)
3671              You hate gambling.
3672
3673                           TRUMAN
3674              That's right.  I do, don't I?
3675
3676                           MERYL
3677              So why do you wanna go?
3678
3679                           TRUMAN
3680              Cos I never have.  That's why you go places,
3681              isn't it?  Cos you're curious.  I haven't
3682              been curious since I was seven years old,
3683              y'know that?  Back then you'd have to nail me
3684              to the floor to keep me in one place.
3685
3686
3687     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
3688
3689     All eyes watch the large monitor as surveillance cameras track
3690     Truman's speeding car.
3691
3692                           CHRISTOF
3693              How long to take Atlantic City out of
3694              mothballs?
3695
3696                           SIMEON
3697              We could be up and running...three hours maybe.
3698
3699                           CHRISTOF
3700              Give me a number five gridlock on the
3701              Jersey Turnpike.
3702
3703
3704     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  DUSK.
3705
3706     TRUMAN and MERYL are hemmed in by a traffic snarl on the New
3707     Jersey Turnpike.  We observe the Oldsmobile on a television
3708     lens from the POV of a tail-light on the car ahead.
3709
3710                           TRUMAN
3711                      (a manic edge to his voice)
3712              So much traffic, this time of day.  Does
3713              that strike you as peculiar?
3714
3715     On the side of the road, TWO MOTORISTS, are arguing over a
3716     minor collision.
3717
3718                           TRUMAN
3719                      (sneering at the sight of
3720                      the motorists)
3721              Look at them.  You believe they're
3722              fighting?  I don't believe it.
3723                      (shouting out the window
3724                      to the motorists)
3725              Why don't you slug him, really make it authentic?
3726
3727     Without warning, Truman suddenly exits the freeway.  But
3728     his move is anticipated.  At the end of the offramp a pack of
3729     cars suddenly appears.  Other vehicles fill the gap behind.
3730
3731                           TRUMAN
3732                      (to Meryl, marveling)
3733              Blocked at every turn.  Beautifully
3734              synchronized, don't you agree?
3735
3736                           MERYL
3737                      (incredulous)
3738              You blaming me for the traffic?
3739
3740                           TRUMAN
3741              Should I?
3742
3743                           MERYL
3744              You've never been on this road before.
3745              You don't know what it's like.
3746
3747                           TRUMAN
3748                      (manic)
3749              That's true.  We could be stuck here
3750              for hours.  Could be like this all the
3751              way to Atlantic City.
3752
3753     Truman suddenly veers the Oldsmobile onto the sidewalk.
3754
3755                           MERYL
3756              What the hell are you doing?
3757
3758                           TRUMAN
3759              You're right.  Let's go back.  I'm
3760              sorry.  I don't know what got into me.
3761
3762     Truman rejoins the New Jersey Turnpike, heading back towards
3763     Queens, the roadway now relatively free of traffic.
3764
3765                           MERYL
3766              Would you please slow down, Truman?
3767
3768     Truman floors the Oldsmobile.  The car flies past the exit for
3769     Route 276.  He continues along the Jersey Turnpike.
3770
3771                           MERYL
3772              Truman, that was the turnoff!
3773
3774                           TRUMAN
3775              I've changed my mind again.  What's Maine
3776              like this time of year?! I've never been to
3777              Maine.
3778                      (Truman looks up through the
3779                      windshield at a helicopter
3780                      tracking his progress)
3781              Or let's just see where the road takes us.
3782
3783                           MERYL
3784                      (pleading)
3785              Let me out, Truman.  You're not right in the head.
3786              You wanna destroy yourself, you do it on your own!
3787
3788                           TRUMAN
3789                      (eerily calm)
3790              I think I'd like a little company.
3791
3792
3793     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
3794
3795     CHRISTOF, CHLOE, SIMEON and the other OPERATORS follow Truman's
3796     progress from a helicopter shot - the Oldsmobile optically
3797     circled to ease identification.  Christof jabs his finger at the
3798     rapidly thinning traffic surrounding Truman's vehicle.
3799
3800                           CHRISTOF
3801                      (to Simeon)
3802              What the hell is wrong with the "carousel"?
3803              Keep them together.
3804
3805                           SIMEON
3806                      (agitated)
3807              They're rusty.  We can't keep up.
3808                      (rueful aside)
3809              We don't know where he's going any more.
3810
3811                           CHLOE
3812              Oncoming is very thin.
3813
3814
3815     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR.  DUSK.
3816
3817     As he speeds erratically, TRUMAN glances at the streets either
3818     side of the freeway, where he discovers a distinct lack of
3819     moving traffic.
3820
3821                           TRUMAN
3822                      (to the anxious Meryl at his side)
3823              Look down there, Meryl!...No cars!  I don't
3824              run into traffic.  The traffic follows me around.
3825                      (excited by his discovery)
3826              We're in a moving pack, don't you see?
3827
3828     Truman abruptly exits the rapidly emptying freeway.
3829
3830
3831     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
3832
3833                           CHRISTOF
3834                      (enthusing)
3835              He's so close!  It's tantilizing!
3836
3837                           CHLOE
3838              You want to pull him over?
3839
3840                           CHRISTOF
3841              No police.  Not yet.  We shadow him.
3842              We don't want him to panic.
3843
3844                           CHLOE
3845              He's trying to outrun the traffic.
3846
3847                           CHRISTOF
3848              He's trying to outrun the world.  Keep him
3849              on this route.
3850                      (to Simeon who is consulting
3851                      someone on his headset)
3852              Are we ready?
3853
3854     Simeon nods.  Executives, MOSES and ROMAN have entered the
3855     control room.  They hover nervously in the background.
3856
3857
3858     INT.  TRUMAN'S CAR, WESTCHESTER.  DUSK.
3859
3860     TRUMAN is forced to slow once again behind a line of other cars
3861     at a police roadblock.  At the head of the line, the cars are
3862     being turned around by POLICE OFFICERS, who are also contending
3863     with a swarm of NEWS REPORTERS and TELEVISION CREWS.
3864
3865                           TRUMAN
3866                      (to Meryl)
3867              It's hard to go places, isn't it?
3868
3869                           MERYL
3870              There's been an accident, Truman.  We
3871              have to go back.
3872
3873                           TRUMAN
3874              No.  There's no accident.  It'S just more stalling.
3875
3876     Truman slows beside a POLICE OFFICER.
3877
3878                           TRUMAN
3879              What's going on?
3880
3881                           OFFICER
3882                      (grim-faced, indicating the nearby
3883                      Indian Point nuclear power plant)
3884              Leak at the plant.  They had to shut her down.
3885
3886                           TRUMAN
3887              Is there any way around?
3888
3889                           OFFICER
3890              The whole area's being evacuated.  A precaution.
3891
3892     Truman falls in line behind the cars making a U-turn when, all
3893     of a sudden, he guns his car and swerves past the barricade.
3894
3895
3896     EXT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DUSK.
3897
3898     In the twilight sun, SYLVIA'S GUESTS wander up the gravel path,
3899     leading away from the beach house, the younger children carried
3900     in their parents' arms.  Hanging back from the rest of the
3901     group, Sylvia's admirer, wheeling his bicycle, turns back
3902     to the house.  As the MAN is about to lean his bicycle against
3903     the side of the beach house, he looks in a window.
3904
3905     Lit by a blue-glow, SYLVIA sits transfixed by the television
3906     playing in her antique bureau, the screen obscured from our
3907     view.  She is unaware of the man's face at the window.
3908
3909     Recognizing what is playing on the screen, the man regards
3910     Sylvia with a resigned smile.  He mounts the bicycle and rides
3911     back up the path.
3912
3913
3914     EXT.  NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.  DUSK.
3915
3916     Truman's car slides to a stop, blocked by Hazardous Waste
3917     vehicles straddling the roadway leading up to the power plant,
3918     the pursuing police car blocking his retreat.  TRUMAN flees the
3919     car, leaving MERYL in the passenger seat.
3920
3921                           MERYL
3922              Truman!!  Come back!!
3923
3924     Truman bursts past the alien-looking HAZARDOUS WASTE WORKERS in
3925     their protective suits carrying detection instruments.  The
3926     workers give chase in their cumbersome suits, trying to cut off
3927     his path to the power plant.  As he crests a slight rise beyond
3928     the plant, he is finally tackled to the ground.  However,
3929     peering through the long grass, Truman is able to make out the
3930     lights of a cityscape in the distance.
3931
3932
3933     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
3934
3935     CHRISTOF, a trace of panic in his eyes, turning to CHLOE.
3936
3937                           CHRISTOF
3938              Did he see it?
3939
3940                           CHLOE
3941              I don't think so.
3942
3943     The reason for Christof's concern becomes all too apparent as
3944     the helicopter passes over the power plant, where the struggling
3945     TRUMAN is being escorted away.  We see an aerial shot from the
3946     helicopter as it emerges directly above the Sydney skyline.
3947
3948
3949     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN.  NIGHT.
3950
3951     MERYL and TRUMAN sit at their kitchen table.  Truman stoic,
3952     tears rolling down Meryl's cheeks.  Truman's airline ticket
3953     torn to shreds on the table in front of them.
3954
3955                           MERYL
3956              Let me get you some help, Truman.  You're
3957              not well.
3958
3959                           TRUMAN
3960                      (ignoring her tears and medical advice)
3961              Why do you want to have a child with me?
3962              You can't stand me.
3963
3964                           MERYL
3965              That's not true.
3966
3967                           TRUMAN
3968                      (suddenly angry)
3969              Don't lie to me!
3970
3971     Truman's raised voice backs Meryl to her feet.  Truman follows,
3972     getting in her face.
3973
3974                           TRUMAN
3975              Tell me what's happening?!
3976
3977                           MERYL
3978                      (frightened but remaining poised)
3979              I thought you knew everything.  What could
3980              I tell you?
3981
3982                           TRUMAN
3983                      (backing her up against
3984                      the kitchen bench)
3985              You're part of this, aren't you?!
3986
3987     Meryl grabs a kitchen knife from a wooden block to protect
3988     herself.
3989
3990                           MERYL
3991              Truman, you're scaring me!
3992
3993     Truman looks in her eyes and, with surprising swiftness,
3994     grabs her wrist and disarms her.
3995
3996                           TRUMAN
3997              No, you're scaring me, Meryl!
3998
3999     Truman grabs Meryl by the hair and turns the knife on her.
4000     While pressing the blade to Meryl's throat, Truman starts to
4001     march her around the room, talking to the walls, light
4002     fixtures, a mirror, doorknob, framed picture, blank television.
4003
4004                           TRUMAN
4005              Stop this now or I kill your leading lady.
4006                      (to a lamp)
4007              I know you can hear me.
4008
4009
4010     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
4011
4012     CHRISTOF and the OTHERS watch the monitors spellbound as TRUMAN
4013     looks directly into one camera lens after another.  ROMAN is the
4014     first to crack.
4015
4016                           ROMAN
4017                      (entreating Christof)
4018              Get somebody in there!
4019
4020                           CHRISTOF
4021                      (quiet but firm)
4022              No.
4023
4024                           SIMEON
4025                      (siding with the executive,
4026                      showing his true colors)
4027              She's in trouble!  We've got to help her!
4028
4029     Christof, never taking his eyes from the monitor, leans into
4030     the microphone.
4031
4032
4033     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN.  NIGHT.
4034
4035     We see an extreme close up of MERYL's ear.  Unheard by TRUMAN,
4036     from her inner car, we hear a familiar voice.
4037
4038                           CHRISTOF (O.C.)
4039              He's bluffing.  Call his bluff.
4040
4041                           MERYL
4042                      (in reply to the voice in her
4043                      head, half-strangled due to the
4044                      pressure of the knife)
4045              Do something...
4046
4047     Upon hearing her remark, Truman's eyes widen.  Sensing that she
4048     too is addressing a third person, he jerks her head around to
4049     read her face.
4050
4051                           TRUMAN
4052                      (wild-eyed)
4053              Who are you talking to?!
4054
4055                           MERYL
4056                      (incredulous)
4057              You're the one talking to the walls!
4058
4059                           TRUMAN
4060              No.  You said, "Do something."  Who were you
4061              talking to?  I swear I'll kill you, if
4062              you don't tell me.
4063
4064     Meryl takes the chance to spin out of his grasp and dashes to
4065     the bedroom but before she can barricade the door, Truman
4066     forces his way inside.  They both tumble onto the waterbed
4067     causing it to rock back and forth.  Gripping Meryl's hair,
4068     Truman throws aside the bed covers.
4069
4070                           TRUMAN
4071                      (distraught, referring to the bed)
4072              How could you buy this damn thing when you
4073              know he drowned in front of me?!
4074
4075     Truman raises the kitchen knife but instead of stabbing Meryl
4076     begins to slash viciously at the waterbed, opening a large gash.
4077
4078                           TRUMAN
4079              You have any idea what it's like to drown?
4080
4081     Truman drops the knife and forces Meryl's head into the gaping
4082     hole in the bed, submerging her head in the tepid water.  She
4083     thrashes her arms wildly trying to free herself.
4084
4085     Truman reluctantly jerks her head back out of the water.
4086
4087                           MERYL
4088                      (gasping for air)
4089              Truman, stop it!
4090                      (to the ceiling)
4091              Don't let him do it!
4092
4093                           TRUMAN
4094                      (to a light fixture, threatening)
4095              I'll kill her!
4096
4097     He dunks her head into the water a second time, holding her
4098     head down longer this time.  She continues to struggle.
4099
4100     Suddenly, the front door chimes.  Startled, Truman lets Meryl up
4101     for air.
4102
4103                           TRUMAN
4104                      (sneering at Meryl)
4105              Right on time.  Cops must be telepathic.
4106
4107     Meryl spots the kitchen knife within her reach but Truman beats
4108     her to it.  Grabbing the knife by the blade, he slices his hand.
4109
4110                           TRUMAN
4111                      (wincing in pain)
4112              Damn!
4113
4114     At knifepoint, Truman marches Meryl down the hallway to the
4115     front door.  The doorbell chimes a second and third time, more
4116     insistently.
4117
4118                           TRUMAN
4119                      (shouting through the closed door)
4120              Stay where you are or I'll kill her!
4121
4122                           MARLON (O.C.)
4123              Truman?  It's me, Marlon.
4124
4125     Truman flinches.  He was so convinced it would be the police.
4126     He takes a step back against the hallway wall.  Before he can
4127     decide what to do, Marlon has opened the unlocked front door
4128     to be confronted with the sight of Truman holding the knife to
4129     Meryl's throat, blood streaming from his own wound.
4130
4131     Marlon locks eyes on Truman.  Sizing up the situation, he slowly
4132     but decisively removes the knife from Truman's hand.  Meryl
4133     wrenches herself free from Truman's now limp grasp, and
4134     collapses into Marlon's arms, sobbing.
4135
4136                           MERYL
4137                      (distraught, dropping character,
4138                      forgetting herself)
4139              They were going to let him kill me!
4140
4141
4142     EXT.  ABANDONED FREEWAY.  NIGHT.
4143
4144     MARLON and TRUMAN, both nursing bottles of beer, sit on the end
4145     of their abandoned freeway off-ramp.
4146
4147                           TRUMAN
4148              People know who I am, my every move, complete
4149              strangers know my name.  Even when there's
4150              no one around, I feel the eyes on me.
4151
4152                           MARLON
4153                      (reluctant admission)
4154              I was in the bank today.  The Federal on
4155              Lewis.  A clerk was talking about somebody
4156              named Truman messing with her baby.  Is that
4157              the stranger you're talking about?
4158
4159     Truman closes his eyes as he takes in the explanation.
4160
4161                           TRUMAN
4162                      (half to himself, refusing to accept it)
4163              No.  No.  I've never seen her before.
4164                      (registering Marlon's skepticism)
4165              I know you already think I'm going out
4166              of my mind but I genuinely believe the
4167              world revolves around me somehow.  Everybody
4168              seems to be in on it.
4169
4170                           MARLON
4171              It's a lot of world for one man.  You sure
4172              that's not wishful thinking, you wishing
4173              you'd made something more of yourself?  Christ,
4174              Truman, who hasn't sat on the John and had
4175              an imaginary interview with Barbara Walters?
4176              Who hasn't wanted to be somebody?
4177
4178                           TRUMAN
4179              That's just it.  I think I am somebody.
4180
4181                           MARLON
4182                      (sympathetizing)
4183              I used to dream all my friends and family
4184              got together in a hotel room, thinking of
4185              ways to fuck me up.
4186
4187                           TRUMAN
4188              Sometimes I think it's in my head, sometimes
4189              I think it's for real.
4190
4191     Marlon looks around as if drawing inspiration from somewhere
4192     in the night.
4193
4194                           MARLON
4195              Tru, we've known each other since before
4196              we could get a hard-on.
4197
4198     Truman half-smiles at the ribald remark.
4199
4200                           MARLON
4201              The only way we ever made it through
4202              high school was cheating off each other's
4203              test papers.  Jesus, they were identical.
4204              I always liked that, because whatever the
4205              answer was, we was right together and we
4206              was wrong together.
4207
4208     Truman nods fondly at the memory.
4209
4210                           MARLON
4211              The only night either of us ever spent
4212              in jail, we spent together and I wet
4213              myself but you never told anyone.
4214              I was best man at your wedding and my
4215              brother was best man at my wedding and
4216              you didn't talk to me for a month over
4217              that and I didn't blame you because you've
4218              been more of a brother to me than he's
4219              ever been.  And I never shoulda let
4220              my Goddam father talk me into that.
4221
4222     Truman is slowly coming around.  Marlon's speech from the heart
4223     soothing away his pain.
4224
4225                           MARLON
4226              I know things haven't worked out for
4227              either of us like we used to sit up on
4228              Freemont Street all night and dream they
4229              would.  We all let opportunities pass us
4230              by, none of us asks for the dance as
4231              often as we should.  I know that feeling
4232              when it's like everything's slipping away
4233              and you don't want to believe it so you
4234              look for answers someplace else.  But,
4235              well, the point is, I would gladly step
4236              in front of traffic for you.
4237
4238     Truman grins a melancholy grin, nearly all the way back.  We see
4239     a close up of Marlon's ear.  From inside, unheard by Truman,
4240     CHRISTOF dictates Marlon's heartfelt speech.
4241
4242
4243     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
4244
4245     CHRISTOF leans over a microphone at the mixing desk, feeding the
4246     lines to Marlon, immersed in the role.
4247
4248                           CHRISTOF
4249                      (hushed tones)
4250              ...and the last thing I'd ever do is
4251              lie to you...
4252
4253     Recognizing the importance of the moment, his colleagues stand
4254     around in awe at Christof's spontaneous performance, arguably
4255     superior to Marlon's own delivery.
4256
4257                           MARLON
4258                      (staring into Truman's
4259                      eyes, repeating the
4260                      words in his ear)
4261              And the last thing I'd ever do is lie to you.
4262                      (pause)
4263              Think about it, Truman, if everybody's
4264              in on it, I'd have to be in on it too.
4265              I'm not in on it cos there is no it.
4266
4267     Truman's head slowly drops in surrender, his doubts draining
4268     away.  Marlon embraces Truman in a bearhug.
4269
4270     Truman looks over his shoulder to the sky where a single star
4271     shines.
4272
4273
4274     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
4275
4276     From his chair, CHRISTOF modestly accepts the congratulations of
4277     his COLLEAGUES.  The two executives, MOSES and ROMAN are at the
4278     head of the line, their earlier disagreement suddenly forgotten.
4279
4280     CHLOE gives Christof a warm hug.
4281
4282     MARLON, accepting a towel from a P.A., still in wardrobe,
4283     approaches and kneels beside the arm of Christof's chair.
4284     grasping his hand.
4285
4286                           MARLON
4287                      (leaving his head close to
4288                      Christof)
4289              I can't thank you enough.  I don't know
4290              what happened.  He was so close.  It threw
4291              me.  I'm indebted.
4292
4293     Christof gives Marlon a consoling pat on the shoulder and
4294     Marlon withdraws.
4295
4296     Finally Christof's Assistant Director, SIMEON, approaches and
4297     offers his hand.  Christof hesitates before shaking.  Simeon
4298     returns to the monitors, now showing TRUMAN alone at the dock or
4299     Long Island.  Christof stares out the window to conceal an
4300     expression of quiet vindication.
4301
4302
4303     INT.  A LTVING ROOM SOMEWHERE.  NIGHT.
4304
4305     The two OLD WOMEN we have seen before sit on their sofa
4306     gazing straight ahead.  On the teievision in front of them,
4307     a live picture of TRUMAN - the first time we have seen him
4308     broadcast to a viewer's set.
4309
4310     He is reading a book at his kitchen table, unaware of the
4311     cameras recording him.
4312
4313     The scene alternates between a wide master shot, a medium tight
4314     shot, a close up of Truman's face and two insert shots - one
4315     over the shoulder shot of the page he is reading and one from
4316     another angle showing the book's title, "To The Ends Of The
4317     Earth - The Age Of Exploration".
4318
4319     At one point, a sponsor's border appears on screen, tastefully
4320     framing the "action" with the message, "FOLGERS Coffee - Good To
4321     The Last Drop."  After several seconds, the border disappears.
4322
4323     Suddenly tbe live picture of Truman shrinks into a window on the
4324     screen to accomodate a title sequence that begins to piay around
4325     the edge of the image.  Overlapping scenes from Truman's life
4326     appear in chronological order, from infancy to adolescence and
4327     finally adulthood.  A graphic, "TRUMAN - Total Record Of A Human
4328     Life", appears on screen accompanied by an introductory
4329     narration.
4330
4331                           NARRATOR (O.C.)
4332              You are watching "Truman - Total Record Of
4333              A Human Life".  Everything that occurs here
4334              is real.  There are no re-creations or
4335              interruptions.  Due to the live and unedited
4336              nature of the program, viewer discretion is
4337              advised.
4338
4339     The title sequence is replaced by an INTERVIEWER, mid-fifties,
4340     conservative suit and hair, sitting opposite CHRISTOF in a Larry
4341     King-style interview setting.  Projected in the background is
4342     the live picture of Truman, immersed in his book.
4343
4344
4345     INT.  STUDIO.  NIGHT.
4346
4347                           INTERVIEWER
4348                      (to camera)
4349              Welcome to week seventeen hundred and sixty
4350              eight of "Truman" and there can scarcely have
4351              been a more momentous week in the show's
4352              history.  I'm your host, Michael Conners, and
4353              this is a special edition of "Tru Talk", the
4354              forum where we discuss and analyze recent
4355              events with the show's award-winning creator
4356              and producer, Christof.
4357                      (referring to the image
4358                      of Truman in the background)
4359              I remind viewers that as this is a living
4360              history, it is our practise to keep the image
4361              of Truman on screen at all times.
4362                      (turning to Christof)
4363              Welcome.
4364
4365                           CHRISTOF
4366              Thank you.
4367
4368                           INTERVIEWER
4369              Before we start taking calls, the huge surge in
4370              ratings over the last few days, how do you hope
4371              to sustain that audience now that Truman appears
4372              to have reconciled himself, returned to "normal"?
4373
4374                           CHRISTOF
4375              Ratings have never been our primary goal.  I
4376              imagine we'll lose those voycurs only interested
4377              in witnessing Truman's latest torment.  However
4378              I'm certain our core audience will remain loyal.
4379
4380                           INTERVIEWER
4381              But recent events have been so dramatic, it does
4382              raise the perennial question.  What keeps us
4383              watching one man twenty-four hours a day -
4384              eating, sleeping, working, sitting for hours in
4385              contemplation?
4386
4387                           CHRISTOF
4388              It has to be the reality.
4389
4390     During this segment, we cut to a cross-section of VIEWERS -
4391     the NIGHTWATCHMEN, the two OLD WOMEN on their sofa, the
4392     BARMAN and the WAITRESS - listening to Christof's theories on
4393     their viewing habits.
4394
4395                           CHRISTOF
4396              We've become increasingly frustrated watching
4397              actors give us phony emotions, bored with
4398              pyrotechnics and special effects.  While the
4399              world he inhabits is counterfeit, there's
4400              nothing fake about Truman himself.  No scripts.
4401              no cue cards.  It's not always Shakespeare but
4402              it's genuine.  That's how he can support an
4403              entire channel.
4404
4405                           INTERVIEWER
4406              A window onto the human condition?
4407
4408                           CHRISTOF
4409              I prefer to think of it as a mirror.  Not only
4410              does he give us a glimpse of the truth, he
4411              gives us a glimpse of ourselves.
4412
4413                           INTERVIEWER
4414              But how do you account for the popularity of
4415              those eight hours a day when Truman sleeps?
4416
4417                           CHRISTOF
4418              We find many viewers leave him on all night
4419              for comfort.  Haven't you ever watched your
4420              child or your lover sleep?
4421
4422                           INTERVIEWER
4423              Let's go to some of those viewers' calls.
4424
4425     The Interviewer presses a blinking illuminated button on his
4426     desk's high-tech phone terminal.
4427
4428                           INTERVIEWER
4429                      (into speaker phone)
4430              Charlotte, North Carolina, for Christof.
4431
4432                           MALE CALLER 1 (O.C.)
4433              Hello?
4434
4435                           INTERVIEWER
4436              You're on, caller.  Go ahead.
4437
4438                           MALE CALLER 1
4439              Christof, it's a great honor to speak with you.
4440
4441                           CHRISTOF
4442              Thank you.
4443
4444                           MALE CALLER 1
4445              Truman has never been closer.  The way he looked
4446              directly at us, spoke to us for the first time.
4447              Do you think he'll ever work it out?
4448
4449                           CHRISTOF
4450              I don't believe so.  Not now.  He tested his
4451              world, as we all do at certain times, and
4452              eventually it passed the test.  You have to
4453              understand, he is a man made-for-TV, the world
4454              he occupies his only frame of reference.
4455              No, for him to come even this close to the
4456              truth is a remarkable testament to his
4457              instincts.
4458
4459     The Interviewer presses another line on his terminal.
4460
4461                           INTERVIEWER
4462              Sacramento, California, you're on "Tru Talk".
4463
4464                           MALE CALLER 2 (O.C.)
4465              How much of a strain has the last few days
4466              placed on the actors?
4467
4468                           CHRISTOF
4469              Working on "Truman" has always been a huge
4470              commitment for an actor, not just in terms
4471              of separation from friends and family, but
4472              since Truman essentially drives the plot,
4473              it's a never-ending improvisation.  Recent
4474              events have raised the pressure but also the
4475              prestige.
4476
4477                           INTERVIEWER
4478                      (cutting off the call)
4479              Of course Truman has always been very much in on
4480              casting.
4481
4482                           CHRISTOF
4483              As with our own lives, the only people he can't
4484              cast are his family.  Otherwise he has final
4485              approval, able to elevate an extra into a lead
4486              role as was the case with his only real friend,
4487              Marlon, or alternatively relegate a star to a bit
4488              player.
4489
4490                           INTERVIEWER
4491                      (pressing another line)
4492              Istanbul, Turkey, you're on with world-renowned
4493              videographer, Christof.
4494
4495                           MALE CALLER 3 (O.C.)
4496              Christof.  I've admired your work my whole life,
4497              although I can't say I've seen it all.
4498
4499                           CHRISTOF
4500              Who can?
4501
4502                           MALE CALLER 3
4503              Can you settle an argument for me?  What's
4504              the longest time Truman has been off-camera?
4505
4506                           CHRISTOF
4507                      (trace of pride)
4508              In his entire life, forty-two minutes.  A
4509              technical fault in 1978 accounts for most of
4510              that time.  The remainder generally results
4511              from blindspots, in the early days, when Truman
4512              would stray out of range of our cameras.
4513
4514                           INTERVIEWER
4515              The Hague for Christof...The Hague?...lost them.
4516                      (pressing another line)
4517              Amagansett, Long Island, you're on "Tru Talk".
4518
4519                           FEMALE CALLER 1 (O.C.)
4520              How can you say Truman lives a life like any other?
4521
4522                           CHRISTOF
4523                      (sensing the thinly disguised
4524                      resentinent in the caller's voice)
4525              I believe that to be so.  I often feel the only
4526              difference between Truman's life and our own
4527              is that his is being more thoroughly documented.
4528              We all play our allotted roles--
4529
4530                           FEMALE CALLER 1 (O.C.)
4531              --He's not a performer.  He's a prisoner.
4532
4533     The Interviewer goes to cut off the call but Christof
4534     holds him back.
4535
4536                           CHRISTOF
4537                      (rising to the challenge)
4538              --He can leave at any time.  If his was more
4539              than just a vague ambition, if he were
4540              absolutely determined to discover the truth,
4541              there's no way we could prevent him.  I think
4542              what really distresses you, caller, is that
4543              ultimately he prefers the comfort of his "cell"--
4544
4545                           FEMALE CALLER 1
4546                      (as if trying to convince herself.
4547                      giving herself away)
4548              --No, you're wrong!  He'll prove you wrong!
4549              He can still do it!
4550
4551                           CHRISTOF
4552                      (a thought occurring, looking
4553                      directly into camera)
4554              Do I know you, caller?  Your voice sounds familiar.
4555
4556
4557     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  NIGHT.
4558
4559     SYLVIA, finger on the button of the phone where she has cut off
4560     the call, stares at CHRISTOF on her television screen.
4561
4562     It is she who is the Female Caller.  Christof seems to stare
4563     back at her as the talk show continues.
4564
4565                           INTERVIEWER
4566                      (from television)
4567              Recording a human life from birth to death,
4568              that's still the intention?  You still believe
4569              Truman has more to contribute?
4570
4571                           CHRISTOF
4572                      (still reflecting on the last call)
4573              More than ever.  By unwittingly allowing us to
4574              witness his struggles, he's constantly forcing
4575              us to evaluate our own lives.  He gives us hope.
4576
4577                           INTERVIEWER
4578              Let's take another call.
4579                      (pressing a line)
4580              London, England you're on "Tru Talk".
4581
4582                           FEMALE CALLER 2
4583              By definition Truman has to be free of censorship,
4584              but has the recent violence and profanity
4585              caused a problem for the sponsors...?
4586
4587     Sylvia shuts out the conversation on the television, focusing on
4588     the window that displays TRUMAN, still buried in his book.
4589
4590     She comes close to the screen, catching his melancholy.  She
4591     has a camera and a white envelope in her hand.  With a look of
4592     resolve, she takes her fountain pen and writes Truman's name
4593     on the envelope in her familiar blue ink.
4594
4595
4596     INT.  MASTER TAPE ROOM.  NIGHT.
4597
4598     Row upon row of digital video cassettes occupy one entire,
4599     cavernous room - "Truman" and a date on the spine of each
4600     cassette.  Suspended from the ceiling, a monitor shows a live
4601     picture of TRUMAN sleeping on the sofa.
4602
4603     Sitting in front of a playback monitor, CHLOE is transfixed by
4604     Truman thirty-four years earlier, a FETUS in his mother's womb.
4605
4606                           CHRISTOF (O.C.)
4607              What are you looking for?
4608
4609     Chloe tries to conceal her startlement at CHRISTOF's unexpected
4610     entrance.
4611
4612                           CHLOE
4613                      (not taking her eyes from screen)
4614              He was premature, wasn't he?
4615
4616                           CHRISTOF
4617              Only by two weeks.
4618
4619                           CHLOE
4620              Curious even then?  Like he couldn't
4621              wait to get started?
4622
4623                           CHRISTOF
4624                      (feeling out where the
4625                      conversation is headed)
4626              His eagerness to leave his mother's womb
4627              also meant he was the one selected.
4628
4629                           CHLOE
4630              What was it like, the first show?
4631
4632                           CHRISTOF
4633              The ultimate live television.  In competition
4634              with five other unwanted pregnancies - the
4635              casting of a show determined by an air date
4636              - he was the one who arrived on cue.
4637
4638                           CHLOE
4639              Is it true what you said...on the show tonight?
4640              About letting him go if he wanted it badly
4641              enough.  Would you really do that?
4642
4643     Christof stares at his assistant, weighing her loyalty.
4644
4645                           CHRISTOF
4646              It won't come to that.
4647
4648
4649     INT.  OFFICE.  DAY.
4650
4651     The suitably crestfallen TRUMAN stands in front of his boss,
4652     ERROL, sitting behind his ostentaciously large desk.  LAWRENCE
4653     lounges on the guest sofa, enjoying Truman's dressing-down.
4654
4655
4656     INT.  BANK.  DAY.
4657
4658     TRUMAN approaches the bank window.  The teller is the YOUNG
4659     WOMAN whose child Truman attacked in the street.  She takes a
4660     step back at the sight of Truman, apprehensive, the
4661     confrontation fresh in her memory.
4662
4663     Truman glances at the names on the checks in the young woman's
4664     hand, realizing how she was able to identify him in the street.
4665     He begins to apologize profusely.
4666
4667
4668     INT.  TRUMAN'S GARAGE.  DUSK.
4669
4670     TRUMAN enters the garage, carrying Sylvia's sweater.  He
4671     breathes in the scent one last time and reluctantly replaces it
4672     in the trunk.  With a sense of finality, he lowers the lid and
4673     fastens the lock.
4674
4675
4676     EXT.  TRUMAN'S BACKYARD.  DUSK.
4677
4678     TRUMAN emerges from the garage, wheeling his lawnmower,
4679     deliberately averting his eyes from the back of the house.
4680
4681     Staring out of the kitchen window, a tall glass of iced tea in
4682     her hand, MERYL has been anticipating her husband's appearance.
4683     She wears a neckbrace, we sense more as a reminder to Truman
4684     than for any benefit she might derive.
4685
4686     Feeling Meryl's eyes burning into his back, Truman fires up the
4687     mower and heads directly towards the symbolically uncut section
4688     of grass.  We focus on the errant blades of grass as they are
4689     severed by the mower.  The lawn is now uniformly trimmed.
4690
4691     From a mechanical platform above the Expressway, CHRISTOF and
4692     CHLOE watch Truman's final act of defiance laid to rest.
4693
4694
4695     INT.  OFFICE BUILDING, LOWER MANHATTAN.  MORNING.
4696
4697     In an office building high above Manhattan's financial district,
4698     a ROBOTIC MANNEOUIN in a 3-piece suit stands at an upper-story
4699     window mechanically lifting a coffee cup to its mouth.
4700
4701
4702     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN STREET.  MORNING.
4703
4704     In the street below, something is different about the rush-hour
4705     traffic.  The PEDESTRIANS are all standing around, no one
4706     walking.  Some are chatting with each other, others primping.
4707     The cars, vans and taxis are also idling.
4708
4709     Camera locations are being checked.  A miniature camera
4710     inserted into the head of a streetlamp, a CAMERA TECHNICIAN
4711     waves his hand in front of an innocent-looking fire hydrant, the
4712     eye of a MDDEL on a bus shelter's cosmetic ad is wiped clean,
4713     the head of a parking meter is replaced, a buttonhole camera is
4714     placed on a BUSINESSMAN's double-breasted jacket by a TECHNICIAN
4715     - we see from the button's POV, a CONTACT LENS CAMERA is
4716     carefully inserted into the eye of Truman's colleague, LAWRENCE,
4717     another TECHNICIAN we observe from the contact's POV.
4718
4719     Finally a surveillance camera on the outside of a bank building
4720     and a TOURIST'S camcorder are positioned.
4721
4722
4723     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
4724
4725     CHRISTOF is seated at the control desk, directing the morning
4726     session, SIMEON assisting, CHLOE at his shoulder, a buzz of
4727     excitement in the room.
4728
4729                           CHRISTOF
4730              I hope we've got fresh extras.
4731
4732                           CHLOE
4733                      (consulting a clipboard)
4734              The rotation was made this morning.
4735
4736                           CHRISTOF
4737                      (staring at a monitor, irritated)
4738              I don't like the couple with the baby.
4739              They'd never be together.
4740
4741     The COUPLE with the stroller are promptly moved further along
4742     the street.
4743
4744                           CHRISTOF
4745              Who's doing wardrobe?  I keep seeing the
4746              same wardrobe...
4747
4748
4749     INT.  SUBWAY STATION.  MORNING.
4750
4751     TRUMAN spills out of the subway car with hundreds of other
4752     COMMUTERS.  We hear Christof's off-camera voice, as always
4753     unheard by Truman.
4754
4755                           CHRISTOF (O.C.)
4756              ...everybody back to One...
4757
4758     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN STREET.  MORNING
4759
4760                           CHRISTOF (O.C.)
4761              ...and, action background...
4762
4763     At the command, the PEDESTRIANS and VEHICLES begin inoving
4764     normally, TRUMAN exits the subway, suspecting nothing.  He
4765     begins his trek to work, accompanied by the cued rush hour
4766     traffic.
4767
4768                           CHRISTOF (O.C.)
4769              ...nice...nice...I like the woman with the dog...
4770              let's keep it moving...I want that traffic kept
4771              together...everybody look like you've got places
4772              to go...
4773
4774
4775     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
4776
4777     CHRISTOF covers his microphone to deliver an aside to SIMEON,
4778     from whom he has temporarily assumed the role of director.
4779
4780                           CHRISTOF
4781              I bet he doesn't stop at the newstand.
4782
4783     As predicted, Truman walks by, barely glancing at a newspaper's
4784     banner headline, "NUCLEAR POWER PLANT REOPENED".  Christof scans
4785     the shot options available to him on the video wall.
4786
4787                           CHRISTOF
4788              ...Bodycam Two...
4789
4790     The large On-Air Monitor cuts to Truman, via the point-of-view
4791     of an approaching PEDESTRIAN.  For an instant, the unaware
4792     Truman looks directly into the lens of the disguised camera.
4793
4794                           CHRISTOF
4795              ...streetlight eight...
4796
4797     The monitor cuts to an overhead shot from a streetlamp.  The
4798     camera continues to follow Truman's progress.
4799
4800                           CHRISTOF
4801              ...ready, Car-Cam One.  Go to One...
4802
4803     TRUMAN enters his office building as a taxi cruises by.
4804
4805                           CHRISTOF
4806              ...and cut to interior...
4807
4808     Truman is immediately picked up by a hidden camera inside
4809     the building where he exchanges a half-hearted greeting with an
4810     ancient SECURITY GUARD.
4811
4812                           CHRISTOF
4813              ...looser...
4814
4815     The camera widens the angle.
4816
4817                           CHRISTOF
4818              ...and action, Vivien...
4819                      (aside, proud of his casting)
4820              Looks just like Truman's mother at that age.
4821
4822     VIVIEN, an insurance adjuster approaches the elevator button at
4823     the same time as Truman.  However she reaches for it after
4824     Truman has already turned his back.
4825
4826                           CHRISTOF
4827                      (incensed)
4828              Damn, she missed her mark!
4829                      (impatiently to Simeon)
4830              Why do we bother with walk-throughs if
4831              nobody pays attention?  Give me a two-shot
4832              of Truman and Vivien...go to the master
4833              ...hold the elevators...
4834                      (mustering patience, into microphone)
4835              Vivien, press the elevator button again
4836              ...and make sure you catch his eye this time...
4837
4838
4839     INT.  INSURANCE OFFICE LOBBY.  DAY.
4840
4841     A second time, TRUMAN's brief encounter with VIVIEN goes like
4842     clockwork.  As instructed, she hammers away at the elevator
4843     button and throws a conspiratorial look to Truman.  The elevator
4844     car duly arrives and Truman's eyes follow Vivien's rear as she
4845     sachets into the lift.  For a moment he appears to glance at a
4846     piece of gaffer tape on the marble floor.
4847
4848
4849     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
4850
4851                           CHRISTOF
4852              Good!  Perfect!  Cut to the interior...
4853
4854     The monitor cuts to the inside of the elevator, rapidly
4855     filling with co-workers.
4856
4857                           CHRISTOF
4858              ...and Lawrence...
4859
4860     Just as the doors are about to close, LAWRENCE oozes in.  He
4861     gives Truman a smug smile.
4862
4863                           CHRISTOF
4864              ...nice look, Lawrence...and, Vivien...
4865
4866     The elevator doors open and Vivien exits with two co-workers.
4867
4868                           LAWRENCE
4869                      (admiring aside to the remaining
4870                      fellow-males in the elevator)
4871              I wouldn't kick her out of bed.
4872
4873     Truman doesn't seem to share Lawrence's enthusiasm for the
4874     comely young woman.  He is miles away.
4875
4876
4877     INT.  STUDIO - CONFERENCE ROOM.  DAY.
4878
4879     Assembled around a long oval table for a story confernce are
4880     several principal characters in Truman's life - MERYL, MARLON,
4881     ERROL, TYRONE, RAQUEL, VERONICA and the new actress, VIVIEN,
4882     sitting slightly apart from the rest of the cast.
4883
4884     CHRISTOF takes his place at the head of the table, a large
4885     monitor showing TRUMAN drinking coffee in his cubicle at
4886     American Life plays silently behind Christof's head.
4887
4888                           CHRISTOF
4889                      (to the meeting, referring to
4890                      Meryl by her real name)
4891              Regrettably, I have to inform you that
4892              Hannah has chosen not to renew her contract.
4893
4894     All eyes turn to Meryl.  She looks at the floor.
4895
4896                           CHRISTOF
4897              I'm sure we can all respect her reasons.
4898
4899     Meryl receives a sympathetic squeeze of the hand from her co-
4900     star Marlon, now out of wardrobe, wearing an Armani suit.
4901
4902                           CHRISTOF
4903              Her separation from Truman will be
4904              orchestrated over the summer.
4905                      (more up-beat)
4906              However, I'm pleased to announce that
4907              television's first on-air conception will
4908              still take place.  You witnessed the initial
4909              contact this morning.
4910                      (glancing to Vivien, once
4911                      again using her real name)
4912              You all know Claudia from her work in theatre.
4913              Thankfully, Truman doesn't.
4914
4915     The rest of the cast nod politely in Vivien's direction.
4916
4917                           CHRISTOF
4918                      (referring to the bound documents
4919                      CHLOE passes to each cast member)
4920              This is a copy of Claudia's back story.
4921              Her character's name will be Vivien.
4922              She's the new adjuster at the office.
4923
4924     The cast idly flip through the documents, prominently stamped on
4925     the cover, "NOT TO BE TAKEN ON SET".
4926
4927                           CHRISTOF
4928              We intend to entice Truman into the
4929              affair as soon as possible.  Claudia will
4930              make her advance at the seminar Truman's
4931              attending next week.  Details are in your
4932              schedules.  I'm sure you'll all make Claudia
4933              welcome.
4934
4935                           MARLON
4936                      (injecting a note of levity, more
4937                      sophisticated than the character he plays)
4938              Question is, will Truman make her welcome?
4939
4940     The cast snickers.
4941
4942                           CHRISTOF
4943                      (immediately back to business)
4944              I don't have to tell you, how critical
4945              the next few weeks will be.  This takes us
4946              into the next generation.  When Truman's
4947              child is born, the network will be switching
4948              to a two-channel format to chronicle both lives.
4949
4950                           VIVIEN
4951              What happens when Truman and the baby are
4952              both on camera together?
4953
4954                           CHRISTOF
4955              There will simply be duplicate coverage.
4956
4957                           VIVIEN
4958                      (mischievous)
4959              Let's just hope we don't have twins.
4960
4961                           CHLOE
4962                      (uncharacteristically flippant)
4963              When Truman dies do we go back to the
4964              single channel?
4965
4966     The cast turn in her direction.  Christof has a second occasion
4967     to question his Assistant's loyalty.
4968
4969
4970     INT.  A BAR SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
4971
4972     The BARMAN, WAITRESS and PATRON we have seen before, observe
4973     TRUMAN on the television above the bar.  The cameras track
4974     Truman's progress, walking along Broadway.  As he ducks into a
4975     sex shop, the threesome at the bar exchange looks.  Inside the
4976     store, Truman appears apprehensive.
4977
4978                           BARMAN
4979              What's he doing in there?
4980
4981                           PATRON
4982              Meryl's at her mom's.  Maybe he's got an urge.
4983
4984     On screen, Truman looks through some X-Rated video titles.
4985
4986                           WAITRESS
4987                      (referring to Truman's overcoat)
4988              What's with the coat?
4989
4990                           BARMAN
4991                      (smirking at the irony)
4992              Maybe he doesn't wanna be recognized.
4993
4994     Truman bumps into a display of sex paraphenalia, knocking an
4995     item to the floor.
4996
4997                           PATRON
4998                      (remarking on Truman's clumsiness)
4999              Nervous.
5000
5001     Truman tries to right the display and hurriedly exits the store,
5002     the cameras following his journey as always.
5003
5004                           BARMAN
5005                      (exasperated)
5006              Oh God, he never bought nothing.
5007
5008                           WOMAN
5009              Give him a break.  It's taken him thirty-
5010              four years to get the nerve to go in there.
5011
5012
5013     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - KITCHEN.  NIGHT
5014
5015     We focus on a list left by Meryl on the refrigerator, several
5016     pages long.  The kitchen itself is a bombsite.  More than the
5017     cliche dishes in the sink - dozens of cardboard boxes stacked
5018     haphazardly on the floor.
5019
5020
5021     INT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE - BEDROOM.  NIGHT.
5022
5023     The usually orderly bedroom is also a mess.  Blankets piled in a
5024     heap.  Several large, half-filled cardboard boxes cluttering the
5025     room.  A chair in an odd position near the bed.  Clothes strewn
5026     everywhere.  Hardly an inch of floor space remains uncovered.
5027
5028     TRUMAN is asleep in bed, the damaged waterbed replaced with a
5029     standard mattress.  Although he is completely covered from head
5030     to toe in bedding, the outline of his body is still clearly
5031     visible.
5032
5033
5034     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
5035
5036     Close up on the On-Air monitor in the temple of a control
5037     room.  It displays a wide shot of Truman's darkened bedroom
5038     filmed through the green hue of the night vision cameras.
5039     Assistant Producer, SIMEON, and his VIDEO OPERATORS slouch in
5040     their swivel chairs paying scant attention to the screen.
5041     Simeon gives his instructions in a lethargic, metronomic manner.
5042
5043                           SIMEON
5044              ...Ready two.  Go to two.
5045
5046     Operator, eating a doughnut, presses one of the illuminated
5047     buttons on the panel and the camera angle changes to a close
5048     shot of Truman's covered head.  The camera stays on the
5049     blanketed head for a long moment.
5050
5051                           SIMEON
5052              And back to the medium.
5053
5054     Another button is pressed and the angle changes.  A trace of
5055     frustration is evident in the control room.  Recording a
5056     sleeping subject is unrewarding enough without also having to
5057     contend with Truman's recently aquired camera-shyness.
5058
5059                           SIMEON
5060              ...and wide...
5061
5062                           OPERATOR
5063                      (aside to Simeon)
5064              Could we have picked a bigger loser if we tried?
5065
5066                           SIMEON
5067                      (shrugs)
5068              That loser pays our salary.
5069
5070                           OPERATOR
5071              He's given up on himself again.
5072
5073                           SIMEON
5074              Who cares?  Makes life easier for us.
5075              He is what he is.
5076
5077     At the far end of the great room, one of the large double
5078     doors opens and CHRISTOF enters, as always accompanied by CHLOE,
5079     carrying a leather-bound folder.  Simeon and the Operators
5080     subtely straighten in their chairs.  Christof pretends not to
5081     notice.  He is staring intently at the On-Air monitor.
5082
5083                           CHRISTOF
5084              When did he start sleeping like that?
5085
5086                           SIMEON
5087              About the time Meryl left.
5088
5089                           CHRISTOF
5090              Is that the best shot we can get?
5091
5092                           SIMEON
5093              What's to see?
5094
5095     Christof watches Truman, a trace of concern in his eyes.
5096
5097                           CHRISTOF
5098                      (referring to the debris in Truman's bedroom)
5099              What happened to the room?
5100
5101                           SIMEON
5102              He started to reorganize.  I was going to
5103              call you.  But half-way through, he gave
5104              up and fell asleep.
5105
5106     Apparently satisfied, Christof turns to an operator.
5107
5108                           CHRISTOF
5109              I want to check the set-ups for tomorrow's
5110              insurance convention.
5111
5112     Reading off the notes in Chloe's folder, the operator punches
5113     up a batch of camera angles on smaller preview monitors.  They
5114     show a generic-looking Marriott Hotel, devoid of actors.  A
5115     banner in reception reads, "WELCOME AMERICAN LIFE & ACCIDENT".
5116     The Operator looks to Christof for approval and realizes his
5117     producer's attention has wandered.  Christof is staring at the
5118     sleeping figure of Truman on the On-Air monitor.
5119
5120                           CHRISTOF
5121              Give me a shot from his wedding band.
5122
5123                           SIMEON
5124                      (pointing out the ring on Truman's
5125                      bedside table)
5126              He took it off.
5127
5128                           CHRISTOF
5129                      (a trace of concern)
5130              Why is he so still?  He's too still.
5131
5132     Christof picks up a spare headset from the panel and puts it to
5133     his ear.
5134
5135                           CHRISTOF
5136              Isolate the audio in the cans and amplify.
5137
5138     An operator pushes up an audio fader on the panel.  Christof and
5139     his colleagues listen to Truman's steady breathing in their
5140     headphones.  Simeon and the Operators nod, reassured that
5141     nothing is amiss.  Christof is not so easily convinced.
5142
5143                           CHRISTOF
5144              Give me a preview.  An ECU on his torso.
5145
5146     A camera hidden in the room's bedside lamp zooms in to Truman's
5147     prone outline...while the breathing remains steady, the body
5148     does not rise and fall.
5149
5150                           CHRISTOF
5151                      (anxious, barking a command to Chloe)
5152              Phone him.
5153
5154     Chloe picks up a phone connected to the desk and dials.
5155
5156                           CHRI STOF
5157                      (anticipating Chloe's question)
5158              Wrong number.
5159
5160     The phone on the bedside table, inches from Truman's head,
5161     begins to ring.  Truman doesn't flinch.
5162
5163
5164     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  NIGHT.
5165
5166     SYLVIA walks up from the seashore where she has been taking a
5167     late night swim.  Hearing the telephone ringing; she rushes
5168     to pick it up.  However, after lifting the receiver, the phone
5169     continues to ring.
5170
5171     The sound is coming from her television, left on in the bureau.
5172     On the screen, TRUMAN sleeps, seemingly undisturbed by the call.
5173     Sylvia, drying herself, watches with fascination.
5174
5175
5176     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
5177
5178     CHRISTOF and the CREW are now highly agitated.
5179
5180                           CHRISTOF
5181                      (a trace of panic)
5182              He didn't drink tonight?  No pills?
5183
5184     Every question receives a shake of the Assistant's head in
5185     reply.
5186
5187                           CHRISTOF
5188              Hang up!
5189
5190     Chloe promptly cuts the connection and Truman's phone
5191     ceases to ring.
5192
5193                           CHRISTOF
5194              Get Marlon over there.
5195
5196                           CHLOE
5197              Under what pretext?
5198
5199                           CHRISTOF
5200                      (letting his anxiety show)
5201              Any fucking pretext!
5202
5203     Christof turns his back on the monitors, his mind racing.
5204
5205
5206     EXT.  TRUMAN'S HOUSE.  NIGHT.
5207
5208     MARLON's car squeals to a halt outside Truman's house.
5209     Hurriedly dressed in jeans and coat over a bare chest, he
5210     dashes barefoot to the front door.  He tries the doorhandle,
5211     pounds on the door and rings the doorbell simultaneously,
5212     shouting Truman's name all the while.
5213
5214                           MARLON
5215              Tru!..Tru!..
5216
5217     Frustrated, Marlon runs to the bedroom and thumps on the
5218     window. He can see the shape of Truman lying on the bed but
5219     his shouts fail to rouse him.  Marlon picks up one of Meryl's
5220     carefully nurtured flower pots from beneath the bedroom window.
5221
5222                           MARLON
5223                      (shouting a warning)
5224              I'm comin' in, Tru!
5225
5226     Marlon hurls the flower pot through the window sending a shower
5227     of glass over Truman's bed.  Still he doesn't move.  Marlon
5228     reaches his hand through the shards of glass clinging to the
5229     window frame and unlatches the window.
5230
5231
5232     NT. TRUMAN'S HOUSE - BEDROOM.  NIGHT.
5233
5234     MARLON clanbers headfirst through the opened window and lands
5235     in an awkward heap on the floor beside TRUMAN's bed.
5236
5237     He pushes away the clutter in the bedroom and finally
5238     stands at his co-star's bedside.  There is a hissing sound.
5239     Marlon gingerly lifts the bedcover.  Beneath the bedding is a
5240     life-size inflatable female doll.
5241
5242     The doll has been punctured by the glass and is slowly
5243     deflating.  Lying beside the doll's chest is Truman's portable
5244     tape recorder.  Marlon picks up the recorder and places it next
5245     to his ear.  The cassette plays the sound of Truman breathing.
5246
5247
5248     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  NIGHT.
5249
5250     CHRISTOF, wide-eyed, stares at the image on the On-Air monitor
5251     of MARLON and his bizarre companion.  Marlon is frozen, staring
5252     into camera.
5253
5254                           CHRISTOF
5255                      (quiet but firm)
5256              Cut transmission.
5257
5258     Simeon hesitates, unsure if has heard correctly.  He looks to
5259     Christof for confirmation, his finger poised over an
5260     "EMERGENCY" button.
5261
5262                           CHRISTOF
5263                      (enraged)
5264              I said, "Cut"!
5265
5266     Christof lunges forward and presses the button himself.
5267
5268
5269     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  NIGHT.
5270
5271     SYLVIA watches agog as the scene in Truman's bedroom on
5272     her television screen is replaced by the "TRUMAN" logo and the
5273     message, "TECHNICAL FAULT.  PLEASE STAND BY."
5274
5275
5276     INT.  CONTROL ROOM NIGHT.
5277
5278     CHRISTOF has taken his place at the control panel.  On the bank
5279     of monitors in front of the mixing desk, the OPERATORS
5280     systematically search through the numerous set-ups in Truman's
5281     home and neighborhood.  Occasionally MARLON or an EXTRA appear
5282     in frame as they fan out and begin a man-hunt.
5283
5284     While the on-Air monitor continues to play its test-card,
5285     Christof and Simeon concentrate on another isolated monitor
5286     playing in fast-rewind, time code in the bottom right corner.
5287     It is a recording of the night's transmission.  Simeon stops on
5288     the last on-camera appearance by TRUMAN.
5289
5290     They watch Truman, on-screen, switch off his bedroom light and
5291     climb into bed fully clothed, immediately pulling the covers
5292     over his head.  As the light is switched off, the recording
5293     camera automatically switches to night vision.  Simeon continues
5294     to play at normal speed, now and then scrolling forward in fast-
5295     forward mode.  Christof suddenly points to the screen.
5296
5297                           CHRISTOF
5298              There.  Freeze...Zoom into the chair...
5299
5300     Simeon types the appropriate command.
5301
5302                           CHRISTOF
5303              Enhance.
5304
5305     On the blown-up screen, between a cardboard box and a chair leg,
5306     it is barely possible to make out Truman's hand as he crawls
5307     commando-style from his bedroom, his inflatable replacement
5308     already positioned in the bed.
5309
5310                           CHRISTOF
5311                      (referring to the debris)
5312              He wasn't making a mess.  He was engineering
5313              a blind spot.
5314
5315                           CHLOE
5316              How does he know where the cameras are?
5317
5318                           CHRI STOF
5319              I don't know.
5320                      (noting the time-code on the monitor,
5321                      staring into the back of Simeon's head)
5322              All I know is we've been filming a blow-up
5323              doll for the last three hours.
5324
5325     Simeon feels the hostility.
5326
5327
5328     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5329
5330     The systematic search of the monitors continues.  They now
5331     reveal that dawn has broken on the set.
5332
5333                           SIMEON
5334                      (hanging up the phone)
5335              We've declared a curfew.  Only the extras
5336              required for the search are on the set.
5337              Everyone else is at first positions.
5338
5339                           CHRISTOF
5340              All prop cars accounted for?
5341
5342                           SIMEON
5343              He has to be on foot.  He has the world's
5344              most recognizable face.  He can't disappear.
5345
5346     All heads turn to CHLOE as she enters the grand control room
5347     with a status report.
5348
5349                           CHLOE
5350              The sponsors are threatening to pull the plug
5351              if we don't make a statement within the next
5352              hour.  The media is in a feeding frenzy.  The phone
5353              lines are jammed.  Every network has a pirated shot
5354              of Harlon and the dummy.
5355
5356
5357     EXT.  VACANT LOT.  DAY.
5358
5359     TRUMAN rolls in the dirt of a construction site, tearing at his
5360     clothes and caking his face and hair with black inud.
5361
5362     He struggles up a slope onto an adjacent roadway where a
5363     shopping cart awaits, loaded with soiled plastic bags.
5364     Looking every inch a derelict, Truman begins to wheel his
5365     shopping cart through the empty streets of Brooklyn.
5366
5367
5368     EXT.  BROOKLYN BRIDGE.  DAY.
5369
5370     TRUMAN wheels his shopping cart over a deserted Brooklyn Bridge.
5371     Over his shoulder, in the far distance, we see a lone car
5372     approaching.  As it nears, we recognize a police car.
5373
5374     Truman takes a look under the bridge, as if participating in
5375     the search.  The car slowly draws alongside, the POLICE OFFICER
5376     looking straight into Truman's blackened face.
5377
5378                           POLICE OFFICER
5379              Any sign of him?
5380
5381                           TRUMAN
5382                      (deliberately gravelling his voice)
5383              Not yet.
5384
5385     The Police Officer takes a second look at Truman.  After what
5386     seems like an eternity, he motions his PARTNER to drive on.
5387
5388                           POLICE OFFICER
5389                      (to Truman, as the car pulls away)
5390              Take it easy.
5391
5392
5393     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN.  DAY.
5394
5395     We pan down one concrete canyon after another.  The usually
5396     bustling financial district is totally, eerily deserted.
5397
5398     Suddenly we see a line of PEOPLE fanned out across a street.
5399     Then another and another.
5400
5401     PEOPLE of every description, shoulder to shoulder, marching
5402     down the otherwise empty streets the way a search is conducted
5403     at a crime scene.  The lines include PRINCIPALS and EXTRAS
5404     linked arm in arm, wardrobed for their usual roles as EXECUTIVES
5405     and SECRETARIES, STORE CLERKS, TELEPHONISTS, MAINTENANCE and
5406     CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, WAITERS and WAITRESSES, COOKS, SHOPPERS,
5407     HEALTH WORKERS, SECURITY GUARDS, POSTAL WORKERS, POLICE
5408     OFFICERS, FIRE FIGHTERS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE.  On one occasion we
5409     glimpse Truman's colleagues, LAWRENCE, ERROL and VIVIEN, amongst
5410     the searchers.
5411
5412     A building-to-building, floor-to-floor, office-to-office search
5413     is also being conducted, each structure secured as they go, the
5414     searchers paying special attention to potential blind spots such
5415     as closets, dumpsters, man holes, sewers, car trunks, trees and
5416     shrubbery.
5417
5418     We focus on one of the waves of searchers.  TRUMAN has linked
5419     arms in the middle of a row, his disguise still holding up.
5420
5421     A swarm of helicopters fills the sky.
5422
5423
5424     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5425
5426     While his COLLEAGUES monitor the bank of screens, CHRISTOF has
5427     been joined by the two ever-anxious studio executives, MOSES and
5428     ROMAN.
5429
5430                           MOSES
5431                      (to Christof who is still studying
5432                      the faces in a row of SEARCHERS)
5433              Rumors are circulating he's dead.
5434
5435                           ROMAN
5436                      (pacing nervously)
5437              The sponsors are threatening to rip up their contracts.
5438
5439                           CHRISTOF
5440                      (unconcerned, referring to the static
5441                      "STAND BY" graphic, now accompanied by
5442                      soothing classical music)
5443              Why?  We're getting higher ratings for
5444              that graphic than any time in the series.
5445
5446
5447     INT.  BARROOM.  DAY.
5448
5449     The television behind the bar carries the still graphic.
5450     BAR PATRONS animatedly discuss Truman's fate over their drinks.
5451     Some place bets with each other over the outcome.
5452
5453
5454     EXT.  ELECTRONICS STORE.  DAY.
5455
5456     A crowd of PASSERS-BY hover around a display of televisions
5457     in the window of an electronics store, awaiting developments.
5458
5459
5460     INT.  LIVING ROOM.  DAY.
5461
5462     The two OLD WOMEN we have seen before stare intently at the
5463     graphic on their televisions.
5464
5465
5466     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5467
5468     The fan of EXTRAS reaches the harbor and automatically turns to
5469     make another sweep.
5470
5471                           CHLOE
5472                      (referring to the empty streets)
5473              When we flush him out how do we explain this?
5474
5475                           CHRISTOF
5476                      (deadpan)
5477              We tell him the truth.
5478
5479     Chloe looks askance at Christof.
5480
5481                           CHRISTOF
5482                      (joking darkly)
5483              We're making a movie.
5484
5485                           SIMEON
5486                      (hopeful)
5487              We'll get him on this next sweep.
5488
5489                           CHRISTOF
5490              What have we missed?
5491
5492                           SIMEON
5493              It's just a matter of time.
5494
5495                           CHRISTOF
5496              No.  We've missed something.
5497
5498     Christof turns his back on the screens.  Over his shoulder,
5499     we see a monitor displaying a view of the harbor.
5500
5501
5502     EXT.  LOWER MANHATTAN - PIER 13.  DAY.
5503
5504     TRUMAN has broken away from the line of searchers, on the
5505     pretext of taking a leak.  He is standing on the edge of
5506     Pier 13, facing the harbor, his back turned to those beginning
5507     their next sweep.  Suddenly Truman ducks behind one of the green
5508     and white inflatable canopies that enclose the Wall Street
5509     Racquet Club.
5510
5511     We see a close up of Truman's terrified eyes in his blackened
5512     face, staring down at the lapping water.  It triggers a montage
5513     of flashbacks.  As usual the images all appear to play on a
5514     television screen.
5515
5516     TRUMAN on the CLIFF FACE at seven years old, his second grade
5517     teacher SISTER OLIVIA, a close-up of DROWNING STATISTICS at
5518     his insurance company, mesmerized by the water in the FERRY
5519     TERMINAL, seventeen-year old SYLVIA jumping in the fountain, his
5520     WATERBED rocking, and seven-year old Truman sitting on the
5521     UPTURNED BOAT in Long Island Sound crying into the darkness.
5522
5523
5524     EXT.  PIER 13.  DAY.
5525
5526     TRUMAN comes back to reality.  He steels himself, shuts out the
5527     doubts and dives into the water.
5528
5529
5530     EXT.  NEW YORK HARBOR.  DAY.
5531
5532     Underwater we see TRUMAN panicking at the shock of the cold
5533     sea, arms and legs flailing.  Suddenly he stops and sinks for a
5534     moment in the weight of his clothes.  Then slowly he rises to
5535     the surface and begins to swim.
5536
5537     Moored in the harbor is the scaled-down replica of Columbus'
5538     flagship, The Santa Maria.
5539
5540
5541     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5542
5543     CHRISTOF is spooling through significant scenes in the history
5544     of "TRUMAN" on a preview monitor.
5545
5546     He pauses on the scene of SYLVIA and TRUMAN at the fountain
5547     in Flushing Meadow Park in the show's seventeenth season.
5548     Sylvia has her finger to Truman's lips.  Christof presses
5549     "PLAY" on the mixing desk.
5550
5551                           SYLVIA
5552                      (from monitor)
5553              You remember when you were a little boy...
5554
5555     Christof fast forwards, then presses PLAY once again.
5556
5557                           SYLVIA
5558              ...Trust that boy...
5559
5560     Christof jabs the "PAUSE" button, freezing the picture.  He
5561     recites the words to himself.
5562
5563                           CHRISTOF
5564              Trust that boy...
5565                      (to Simeon)
5566              We're not watching the sea.
5567
5568                           SIMEON
5569                      (confused)
5570              Why would we?
5571
5572                           CHRISTOF
5573              Sweep the harbor.
5574
5575
5576     EXT.  NEW YOUR HARBOR.  DAY.
5577
5578     TRUMAN is at the wheel of the Santa Maria, wind filling her
5579     sails.  Covering the face of the ship's compass is Sylvia's
5580     composite picture.
5581
5582     His is the only craft afloat in New York Harbor.  As the archaic
5583     vessel passes under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridget, the bridge
5584     appears on fire in the glow of the sunlight.  Truman steers
5585     around Norton Point and sets a course for the open sea - the
5586     horizon.
5587
5588
5589     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5590
5591     CHRISTOF and his colleagues concentrate on a live aerial shot on
5592     a preview monitor, skimming over the calm, featureless sea.
5593     Suddenly in the distance there appears a single sail etched
5594     against the horizon.
5595
5596                           SIMEON
5597              That's him!
5598
5599                           CHRISTOF
5600              Resume transmission.
5601
5602     Simeon punches a button and the image of the sailing ship is
5603     instantly transferred to the large On-Air monitor.
5604
5605
5606     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DAY.
5607
5608     SYLVIA, dozing on the sofa, suddenly blinks open her eyes as the
5609     classical music on the television is abruptly replaced by the
5610     sound of a helicopte's rotor blade.
5611
5612     Sylvia focuses on the screen, her breath taken away by the sight
5613     of TRUMAN at the wheel of the Santa Maria.
5614
5615
5616     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5617
5618                           CHRISTOF
5619                      (staring intently at the On-Air monitor)
5620              What do we have on that boat?
5621
5622     Simeon scans a computer shot list.  He types in a code.  A
5623     camera from the main mast of Truman's ship activates.  Truman,
5624     unaware of the camera, is concentrating on steering the vessel.
5625
5626
5627     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5628
5629     TRUMAN is out of sight of land, the sea choppier now, rising
5630     and falling beneath his boat.  He nears a large buoy bobbing
5631     clumsily in the strong swell.  An official-looking sign is
5632     attached - "DANGER.  NAVAL EXERCISES.  DO NOT ENTER."  We see an
5633     extreme close up of the nautical signpost where a disguised
5634     miniature camera tracks Truman's progress.
5635
5636
5637     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5638
5639     CHRISTOF and the other PRODUCTION STAFF watch TRUMAN from the
5640     buoy's POV as he sails by.
5641
5642
5643     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5644
5645     TRUMAN hears a helicopter overhead.  By now the ocean spray has
5646     washed most of the dirt from his face, only a residue remains.
5647     The rags he wears, including Sylvia's sweater under his open
5648     coat, are soaked.  Her picture clings stubbornly to the compass.
5649
5650     As he steers, he occasionally refers to a "HOW TO SAIL" book
5651     from his coat pocket.  He tacks against the wind, as he watches
5652     the military chopper circle his boat.
5653
5654                           CHOPPER PILOT
5655                      (over P.A.)
5656              Alter course immediately.  You are
5657              entering a restricted area.
5658
5659     Truman screams defiantly back to the chopper.
5660
5661                           TRUMAN
5662              Fuck you!
5663
5664
5665     EXT.  A STREET SOMEWHERE.  DAY.
5666
5667     Two YOUNG MEN on a street corner watch, transfixed, the image
5668     of TRUMAN steering the Santa Maria on a portable Watchman TV.
5669
5670                           YOUNG MAN 1
5671              I knew he wasn't dead.
5672
5673
5674     INT.  HELICOPTER.  DAY.
5675
5676
5677     The HELICOPTER PILOT continues to circle.
5678
5679                           PILOT (over P.A.)
5680              Alter course or we fire on your vessel.
5681
5682     TRUMAN screams again at the chopper and gestures wildly at the
5683     pilot.
5684
5685                           TRUMAN
5686              Get the hell away!  It's my life!
5687
5688
5689     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5690
5691                           CHRISTOF
5692                      (into microphone to pilot, eerily composed)
5693              Fire a warning.
5694
5695
5696     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5697
5698     A round of machine gun fire strafes the water across the bows
5699     of Truman's boat, several rounds striking the deck.  TRUMAN
5700     flinches.  In his eyes we see the ghosts return.  With great
5701     effort he shakes the doubts from his head and retrieves a flare
5702     gun from the storage cabinet in the boat's wheel house.
5703
5704                           CHOPPER PILOT (over P.A.)
5705              Alter course.  Drop your sails.
5706
5707     Truman takes aim at the chopper and fires the flare gun.  The
5708     distress flare hurtles towards the hovering helicopter, narrowly
5709     missing.  Truman ejects the spent cartridge and reloads.
5710
5711
5712     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5713
5714                           SIMEON
5715                      (shocked at the near miss)
5716              Jesus!  God!  Is he out of his mind?
5717
5718                           CHRISTOF
5719                      (composed, into microphone to pilot)
5720              Pull back.
5721
5722
5723     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5724
5725     Before the chopper can take evasive action TRUMAN takes aim a
5726     second time and fires.  The distress flare fishtails into the
5727     sky and to Truman's surprise and delight, finds its mark,
5728     striking the rear rotor blade.  Truman lets out a whoop.
5729
5730     The helicopter immediately begins to spiral downwards towards
5731     the sea.  The CHOPPER PILOTS bail out of the cockpit, splashing
5732     down safely into the coean while the helicopter enters the waves
5733     in a spectacular belly flop, sinking out of view in seconds like
5734     a stone.  Watching the pilots bobbing around in the ocean in
5735     their inflatable life jackets, thoughts of duty invade Truman's
5736     head.  He shuts out the thoughts and turns his back, steering
5737     away from the drifting pilots.  A look of resolve in his eyes we
5738     have never witnessed before.
5739
5740
5741     INT.  SYLVIA'S BEACH HOUSE.  DAY.
5742
5743     SYLVIA kneels on the floor in front of the television.  As
5744     Christof's cameras dwell on her likeness - the composite picture
5745     still covering the ship's compass - she allows herself a brief
5746     moment of satisfaction but she does not dare to hope too much.
5747
5748
5749     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5750
5751     CHRISTOF, CHLOE, SIMEON, and the OTHERS have been joined in the
5752     control room by MARLON, MERYL, KIRK and AUDREY.
5753
5754                           CHRISTOF
5755              How long will another chopper take?
5756
5757                           SIMEON
5758              By the time we pick up the pilots, too long.
5759
5760                           CHRISTOF
5761              We have to stop him for his own good.
5762              Turn him back with the elements.
5763
5764                           SIMEON
5765                      (hesitant)
5766              There's no rescue boat in the area.  He
5767              won't know what to do.
5768
5769                           MOSES
5770                      (trying to appeal to Christof's
5771                      sense of reason)
5772              For God's sake, Chris.  The whole world
5773              is watching.  We can't kill him in front
5774              of a live audience.
5775
5776                           CHRISTOF
5777              He was born in front of a live audience.
5778                      (never taking his eyes from
5779                      the screen, reassuring)
5780              Don't worry, he's not willing to risk his life
5781              for the truth.  His doubts will turn him back.
5782
5783     Simeon reluctantly turns to a panel of controls on the desk
5784     marked "WAVE", "WIND" and "RAIN".  After typing in a command, he
5785     winds the controls towards their maximum settings.
5786
5787                           CHRISTOF
5788              Kill the lights.
5789
5790     Chloe searches Christof's face, trying to find the man in whom
5791     she has believed for so long.
5792
5793
5794     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5795
5796     Darkness suddenly descends as storm clouds roll towards Truman's
5797     boat at an alarming speed.  High winds buffet the boat.  TRUMAN
5798     fights the wheel.  Hurricane force winds shake the masts and
5799     keel, ripping the sails to shreds.
5800
5801     The picture of Sylvia is torn from the compass and lost to the
5802     sea.  His "HOW TO SAIL" book skids off the deck.
5803
5804     Truman takes a rope from beneath the wheel house and lashes
5805     himself to the wheel to secure himself on board.
5806
5807                           TRUMAN
5808                      (shouting above the storm)
5809              I'm coming to find you Sylvia!  I'm making
5810              myself deaf!
5811                      (screaming up to the sky)
5812              You're going to have to kill me!  Come on!
5813
5814     Monstrous waves continually submerge the deck.  Truman continues
5815     to head into the teeth of the gale.
5816
5817
5818     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DAY.
5819
5820     In contrast to his panic-stricken COLLEAGUES, CHRISTOF gives an
5821     outward appearance of calm.  However a bead of sweat appearing
5822     at his temple betrays him.
5823
5824                           SIMEON
5825                      (agitated)
5826              It's not working.  He can sail that thing!
5827
5828                           ROMAN
5829              How can he sail?!  He's in insurance!  He
5830              hasn't set foot on a boat since he was seven!
5831
5832                           MOSES
5833                      (to Christof)
5834              On the behalf of the studio, I demand you
5835              cease transmission.
5836
5837                           CHRISTOF
5838                      (defiant, to Operators)
5839              Keep running!
5840                      (to Moses)
5841              I take full responsibility.
5842                      (to Operator in front of radar-style screen)
5843              How close?
5844
5845                           OPERATOR
5846              Very close.
5847
5848                           CHRISTOF
5849              Capsize him!  Tip him over!
5850
5851                           CHLOE
5852                      (unable to contain herself
5853                      any longer, entreating him)
5854              You can't!  He's tied himself to the wheel.
5855              He'll drown!
5856
5857                           SIMEON
5858                      (staring at Truman on the monitor,
5859                      becoming affected by his display of courage)
5860              He doesn't care...
5861
5862                           CHLOE
5863                      (to Christof, lunging for the control panel)
5864              You lied, you hypocrite!  The only way he can
5865              leave, is dead!
5866
5867     Chloe lunges for the control panel but Christof throws her to
5868     the floor.
5869
5870                           CHRISTOF
5871                      (enraged)
5872              Do it!
5873
5874     All eyes turn in Christof's direction, as he confirms Chloe's
5875     accusation.
5876
5877                           SIMEON
5878                      (staring at the On-Air monitor, numb)
5879              It's too late...
5880
5881
5882     EXT.  ATLANTIC OCEAN.  DAY.
5883
5884     TRUMAN appears to be losing his fight against the storm,
5885     each successive breaker taking its toll on his body, sapping
5886     his strength, his bindings the only thing holding him upright,
5887     his head slumps, the wheel goes loose in his grasp, spinning
5888     out of control.  His will, draining away.
5889
5890     As he is about to be overcome by the next wave, he thrusts his
5891     arm into the handles of the spinning wheel.  He cries out in
5892     pain at the blow to his forearm but succeeds in halting the
5893     wheel.  He braces for one last wave.
5894
5895     But the wave does not come.  A strange phenomenon is occurring
5896     in the ocean.  A distinct division has appeared in the ocean
5897     swell.  Between the large rolling waves lies a corridor of
5898     calmer water, several hundred yards wide, a curious escape lane.
5899
5900     The wind and the rain are also subsiding, the darkness lifting.
5901     Truman steers his vessel down this "sea-lane".
5902
5903     After some time, several large, dark shapes emerge on the
5904     horizon.  Land?  Islands?  As Truman steers towards the nearest
5905     shape, he discovers what is behind the peculiar wave formations.
5906     It is certainly not the moon.
5907
5908     The dark shape is a huge iron roller, only half of which is
5909     exposed above the surface of the sea.  The ocean swell is being
5910     caused by the roller slowly turning, mechanically-driven on
5911     either end by massive steel arms pumping from the sea bed.
5912     In fact there are rollers spaced four hundred yards apart in
5913     both directions along the horizon as far as the eye can see,
5914     the calm sea-lanes formed by the gaps between the rollers.
5915
5916     Truman's boat is dwarfed by the gigantic machines.  The exposed
5917     half of each roller, the height of a ten story building, its
5918     length equivalent to several football fields.  The massive arms
5919     perpetually churn.
5920
5921     Truman's face is thrown into shadow as the boat slips quietly
5922     past the giant rotating drum.  The water beyond the rollers is
5923     dead calm.  Truman stares ahead desperately trying to focus his
5924     eyes.
5925
5926     But if the sight of the wave machines was difficult to
5927     comprehend, it pales in comparison with the next sight that
5928     greets him.  His boat is drifting inexorably, on a slow
5929     collision course with the sky.  That infinitely receding horizon
5930     line recedes no more.
5931
5932     The sea really does meet the sky.  The join is only too
5933     apparent.  Looming above him out of the sea is a cyclorama of
5934     colossal dimensions.  The sky is nothing but a painted backdrop.
5935     Truman looks upward, straining his eyes to see the top of the
5936     sky, but it curves away at a steep angle beyond his sight.
5937
5938     The bow of the boat comes to rest against the sky, bumping
5939     gently into its latex surface.  Truman unties his bindings
5940     and stumbles across the deck to the side rail.  Clinging to the
5941     rail with one hand, he tentatively reaches out towards the
5942     painted cyclorama.  He touches the sky.
5943
5944     He feels the surface, puts both terrified hands against it.
5945     Hie eyes well up with tears.  He presses his distraught face
5946     into it.  He screams at the top of his voice.  No words.  A
5947     primal scream.  A pained, animal howl.
5948
5949
5950     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
5951
5952     CHRISTOF and his PRODUCTION STAFF take in Truman's reaction
5953     in silence.
5954
5955
5956     INT/EXT.  BARROOM/ELECTRONICS STORE/HOME.  DUSK.
5957
5958     TRUMAN's cry echos around bars, offices, shops, homes and
5959     streets - wherever a television is to be found.  No VIEWER
5960     speaks.  They are stunned to silence, many teary eyed.
5961
5962
5963     EXT.  CYCLORAMA.  DUSK.
5964
5965     As the boat drifts alongside the seemingly never-ending curve
5966     of the cyclorama, TRUMAN's attention is drawn to an outline in
5967     the otherwise flawless backdrop.  He clambers to the prow of the
5968     boat.
5969
5970     There, camoflaged in the painted skyscape just above the water
5971     line, is a door.  Truman grabs hold of the recessed doorhandle
5972     and halts the drifting boat.  He stands in front of the door and
5973     closes his eyes in a silent prayer.
5974
5975     He opens the door in the sky and steps through.
5976
5977
5978     INT/EXT.  VIEWERS.  DUSK.
5979
5980     Spontaneous cheers and shouts of joy erupt from VIEWERS in their
5981     various locations - bars, homes and offices.  Strangers hug each
5982     other and dance in celebration.
5983
5984
5985     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
5986
5987     Even the cynical VIDEO OPERATOR jumps out of his seat - for the
5988     first time in the film - and lets out a joyous whoop, forgetting
5989     himself for a moment, caught up in the drama.
5990
5991                           OPERATOR
5992              Yeah!
5993
5994     Self-conscious, he takes his seat again almost immediately.  His
5995     COLLEAGUES are transfixed by the live on-air monitor continuing
5996     to play its only available shot, the open door in the sky -
5997     Truman out of view.
5998
5999
6000     INT.  SOUNDSTAGE.  DUSK.
6001
6002     TRUMAN finds himself on a small metal landing.  A steel ladder
6003     rises above him to the height of "sky", the soundstage roof, so
6004     high as to be barely visible.  The rungs also continue downward,
6005     the depth of the "ocean-bed", to a studio floor far below.
6006
6007     Truman turns and looks back through the door he has just
6008     entered.  Unsecured, the Santa Maria is beginning to drift away.
6009     The sea he has feared since childhood, is nothing but an
6010     enormous tank.  The sky, a massive cyclorama.  New York City, an
6011     elaborate set.  And it is all housed within an impossibly large
6012     soundstage.
6013
6014     Truman makes no effort to save the boat.  He shuts the door to
6015     his world.  A sign on the back of the door reads, "CLOSED SET.
6016     No Unauthorized Access."  Gradually he becomes aware of another
6017     strange phenomenon taking place in the soundstage.  All around
6018     him, thousands of light fixtures mounted in the cyclorama to
6019     masquerade as stars, are slowly illuminating - switched on by an
6020     automatic timer.  (The light fixtures match the one that almost
6021     struck Truman's car at the beginning of the film.)
6022
6023     By artificial starlight, Truman begins his long descent of the
6024     step ladder.  Below, a studio tram makes its way along the
6025     soundstage perimeter, on the last tour of the day.
6026
6027
6028     INT.  STUDIO TRAM.  DUSK.
6029
6030     As he drives, a well-scrubbed, young TOUR GUIDE delivers his
6031     tired commentary into a microphone for the thousandth time to
6032     the half-full tram of STUDIO VISITORS.
6033
6034                           GUIDE
6035              ...the soundstage roof houses over eight
6036              hundred thousand lights of varying intensities
6037              to faithfully recreate the constellations...
6038
6039     However, the passengers are paying less attention than usual.
6040     They stare, perplexed, at the television monitor above the
6041     Guide's head, continuing to play the show's only available shot
6042     of the open door in the sky.
6043
6044
6045     INT.  SOUNDSTAGE.  DUSK.
6046
6047     TRUMAN suddenly steps in front of the tram.  The TOUR GUIDE
6048     stands on the brakes, tram lurching to a stop.  The Guide looks
6049     from Truman's haunted face to the monitor, hardly able to
6050     believe his eyes.
6051
6052     Truman leaps on board, pressing his flare gun into the side of
6053     the guide's head.
6054
6055                           TRUMAN
6056                      (to the shocked passengers)
6057              Nobody move!
6058                      (to the guide)
6059              Drive!
6060
6061     The terrified Guide pulls jerkily away in the tram, resuming the
6062     tour.
6063
6064                           TRUMAN
6065                      (to the guide, gesturing to the microphone)
6066              Keep talking.  Say whatever you say!
6067
6068     The Guide hesitantly resumes his commentary into his microphone.
6069
6070                           GUIDE
6071               Er,...the ocean tank contains over six hundred
6072               and fifty million gallons of man-made salt
6073               water, temperature-controlled...
6074
6075     Truman's attention drifts to the logo on the side of the tram -
6076     "TRUMAN STUDIO TOUR".  He is suddenly aware of the tourists
6077     gawking at him.
6078
6079                           TRUMAN
6080                      (to TOURIST, camcorder around his neck)
6081              Act normal!  Keep filming!
6082
6083     Truman ducks out of sight as a fleet of STUDIO SECURITY CARS
6084     speeds towards the tram.  But they streak past, on their way to
6085     the site of Truman's escape.  As he tentatively gets back to his
6086     feet, Truman finds a CHILD standing in front of him with an
6087     autograph book.
6088
6089                           CHILD
6090              Please, Mister Truman.
6091
6092     On the child's T-shirt, a large photograph of Truman's face.
6093
6094
6095     INT.  CONTROL ROOM.  DUSK.
6096
6097     CHRISTOF talks anxiously on the phone, unaware of a shift in the
6098     balance of power taking place behind his back.  The executives,
6099     MOSES and ROMAN are huddling with SIMEON, making him an offer he
6100     appears to welcome.
6101
6102                           CHRISTOF
6103                      (into the phone)
6104              What do you mean he's not there?  We can't
6105              have lost him again.
6106
6107     On the far side of the control room, behind a huge curved
6108     glass wall on a mezzanine floor, a studio tour tram passes by.
6109
6110
6111     INT.  STUDIO TRAM.  DUSK.
6112
6113     TRUMAN crouches behind a seat on the tram, flare gun still
6114     trained on the guide's head, taking in the gigantic video wall
6115     displaying pictures from every facet of his life.
6116
6117     His heart sinks as he spies the monitor revealing the private
6118     spot where he and SYLVIA met.
6119
6120                           GUIDE
6121              ...on your left, the control room where the
6122              angles are selected and the actors receive
6123              direction.  Of course, the one place we can't
6124              show you is the story department.  There is none.
6125                      (hesitant)
6126              ...Truman writes the script...
6127
6128     From Truman's POV we watch CHLOE approach CHRISTOF.  She has a
6129     pure white envelope in her hands.  As Christof looks up to
6130     acknowledge her, he almost makes eye contact with Truman on the
6131     tram.
6132
6133
6134     INT.  STUDIO LOT.  DUSK.
6135
6136     Still inside the studio complex, the tram enters the courtyard
6137     of an indoor shopping mall.  Truman gift shops.
6138
6139     TRUMAN is momentarily frozen by the sight of window displays
6140     full of books and board games carrying his likeness with titles
6141     such as, "TrumanTrivia".  Video cassettes offering "Truman
6142     Highlights".  His face emblazoned on T-shirts, caps, coffee mugs
6143     and posters.  Even Truman Dolls and a model of his decaying
6144     Oldsmobile are offered for sale.
6145
6146     The tram slows to a stop behind other trams at the tour's end.
6147     STUDIO POLICE are checking the disembarking PASSENGERS.  Truman,
6148     using the TOUR GUIDE as a shield, also exits the tram.
6149
6150                           GUIDE
6151                      (frightened for his life)
6152              Here he is!  It's him!
6153
6154     Truman contemptuously backhands the Guide across the face and
6155     makes a run for it.  The guards give chase.  Truman runs into a
6156     lookalike mannequin, dressed in a brown suit identical to his
6157     own, promoting "TrumanWear".  He pulls his "double" to the
6158     ground to block the guards' path.
6159
6160     Sprinting along a featureless corridor, he reaches a dead end.
6161
6162                           GUARD
6163                      (into radio)
6164              We've got him trapped.
6165
6166     Truman enters a doorway marked "NO ENTRY" to find a stairway
6167     leading upwards.  He takes the stairs three at a time.
6168
6169     The footsteps and shouts of the guards not far behind.  Flight
6170     after flight of stairs.  At one point, he loses his grip on the
6171     stair's railing and his gun falls from his hand, clattering for
6172     an eternity down the stairwell.
6173
6174     He finally emerges on a landing.  Lungs bursting.  One more
6175     door.  He tries the handle.  It opens.
6176
6177
6178     EXT.  SOUNDSTAGE.  DUSK.
6179
6180     TRUMAN finds himself on the roof of the soundstage.  Outside.
6181     Really outside for the first time in his life.
6182
6183     He looks frantically around him.  Nowhere to hide.  The
6184     soundstage stretches for miles in both directions as far as the
6185     eye can see, an interminable expanse of roof.
6186
6187     Facing him, a colossal Burbank.  Several other soundstages
6188     almost as gigantic as his own.  The palm trees lining the
6189     streets, dwarfed by the mammoth barns.
6190
6191     The Hollywood Freeway in the distance, carrying its ribbons of
6192     traffic, twenty lanes wide.  Gargantuan office buildings
6193     eclipse any skyscraper Truman has ever known.
6194
6195     Directly below him, a dizzying drop to the studio lot and its
6196     arched entranceway.
6197
6198     Above him, a large yellow moon in the twilight sky.  The real
6199     moon, not the planetarium projection he has been contemplating
6200     for the last thirty-four years.
6201
6202     Truman wheels around, suddenly realizing he is not alone.  A
6203     GROUP has emerged on the rooftop, standing still and silent
6204     in a semi-circle, cutting off any escape.
6205
6206     Along with the STUDIO GUARDS, keeping their distance in the
6207     background, are CHLOE, SIMEON, and the two studio executives,
6208     MOSES and ROMAN.  In front of them, the co-stars in his life -
6209     MARLON, MERYL, sister RAQUEL, mother AUDREY and supposedly dead
6210     father KIRK.  No one moves or speaks as Truman scans the
6211     familiar faces.  Marlon, in particular, cannot look him in the
6212     eye.
6213
6214     Truman's gaze finally falls on the white-haired old man standing
6215     at the head of the group.  CHRISTOF.  He approaches Truman
6216     alone, carrying a white envelope, calling his name the way a
6217     father calls to a son.
6218
6219                           CHRISTOF
6220              Truman...
6221
6222     Truman seems to sense the significance Christof has had in his
6223     life, drawn to and repelled by him at the same time.  As they
6224     stand together looking into each other's eyes for the first
6225     time, they seem to be the only two figures on the roof.  For a
6226     moment Truman averts his gaze to the night sky.
6227
6228                           TRUMAN
6229                      (quietly, half to himself,
6230                      half to Christof)
6231              Even the stars I wished on...
6232
6233     As Truman turns his attention back to Christof, he suddenly
6234     lunges at him, catching him off-guard, the envelope slipping
6235     from Christof's hand.  With a strength he never knew he
6236     possessed, Truman forces Christof to the edge of the soundstage
6237     roof, threatening to throw them both off his counterfeit world.
6238
6239     Christof clings desperately to Truman to save himself.  The
6240     studio guards dare not move.
6241
6242                           CHRISTOF
6243                      (staring into the chasm,
6244                      remaining eerily calm)
6245              You won't do it, Truman.  I've watched you
6246              your whole life.
6247
6248                           TRUMAN
6249                      (meeting Christof's gaze)
6250              You never had a camera in my head.
6251
6252     Suddenly the doubts flood into Christof's eyes, fearing he
6253     has misjudged Truman, fearing for his life.
6254
6255                           TRUMAN
6256                      (incensed)
6257              Something was real!
6258                      (a terrifying anguish)
6259              Something had to be real!
6260
6261     It takes all of Truman's will not to hurl the old man into the
6262     abyss.  Christof, petrified, looks to the pristine, white
6263     envelope that lies half over the edge of the roof, glinting in
6264     the moonlight.
6265
6266     Truman follows Christof's gaze.  Contemptuously tossing Christof
6267     aside, he retrieves the envelope.  Christof crawls to safety,
6268     thankful to still be alive, suddenly appearing very small and
6269     insignificant.
6270
6271     But Christof and the other figures on the rooftop no longer
6272     exist in Truman's mind.  Truman gazes at his name for a long
6273     moment, handwritten on the envelope in blue ink, then carefully
6274     breaks the seal.  Truman allows the sole item in the envelope to
6275     be slowly revealed.  A photograph.  A close up of SYLVIA's face
6276     including her eyes, mouth and that perfect, ever-elusive nose.
6277
6278     A serenity comes over Truman.  He lifts up his eyes to the
6279     mountains on the far horizon.  As he stands on the very edge of
6280     the soundstage roof without fear, clutching the photograph, we
6281     commence a long, slow pull-back.
6282
6283     Truman is unaware that directly beneath his feet on the wall
6284     of the enormous soundstage is a billboard acrrying a gigantic
6285     picture of his face and proclaiming, "TRUMAN - Total Record of a
6286     Human Life.  34TH GREAT YEAR!"
6287
6288     We continue to pull back until Truman is nothing but a speck on
6289     top of the soundstage so large it never completely clears frame.
6290
6291
6292     A MONTAGE OF VARIOUS LOCATIONS
6293
6294     The two OLD WOMEN in the living room, the NIGHTWATCHMEN, the
6295     two YOUNG MEN with the Watchman TV, the PATRONS in the bar,
6296     PASSERS-BY outside an electronics store are all captivated by
6297     their television sets.
6298
6299     We focus on the screen of a television.  A small FEMALE BABY
6300     sucks a toy on a blanket in the backyard of Truman's old
6301     suburban home in Queens, the lawn he mowed for ten years of his
6302     life.  The infant's doting parents, MARLON and the new actress
6303     VIVIEN, enter frame and begin to fuss over the child.  A border
6304     around the action on the screen announces, "ZOE - Total
6305     Record Of a Human Life".
6306
6307     Suddenly we see a child's hand on top of the television screen.
6308     A BABY stands unsteadily, supporting herself against the
6309     television set in Sylvia's house.
6310
6311     TRUMAN bends down and picks up his baby, tossing her into the
6312     air, much to the child's delight.  Truman dwells for a moment
6313     on the mirror-image scene on the television before very
6314     deliberately shutting it off.
6315
6316     SYLVIA joins Truman and their daughter.  Together, they exit
6317     the beach house.  We follow them as they make their way onto the
6318     deserted sand and down towards the sea.
6319
6320     FADE OUT