L'ARTISTE ET LA MODÈLE

Excerpt from: Corrected First Draft
7 March 1996
WGAw Registered

©1996 by John Robinson Wheeler. All rights reserved.

"L 'Artiste et La Modèle"   EXT. PARIS STREETS - AFTERNOON HAND-HELD CAMERA. Henri rushes, sometimes walking quickly, sometimesjogging (then, feeling foolish, thinking better of it), through the busystreets of pedestrians and sidewalk merchants, attempting to make it tothe park in time to find Stephanie present. EXT. PARK - AFTERNOON Stephanie meets her friend, DONNA (a brunette, not quite as beautifulas Stephanie but certainly attractive), and they exchange a friendly hug.It is a warm, beautiful day.           DONNA So tell me, how did it go?            STEPHANIE It was great fun. He was a bit grumpy, but very talented. Not at all shy, either. I like that. But he refused to flirt.           DONNA I have heard he is homosexual.            STEPHANIE Is he? That might explain it.           DONNA Oh look, flowers for sale. Wouldn't they look pretty in your apartment?            STEPHANIE Oh, let's see. Henri comes rushing along, walking briskly, when he chances to noticeStephanie and Donna at the flower salesman's stand. He is too far away tohear their conversation, but he watches intently. EXT. PARK - FLOWER SALESMAN'S STAND - SAME The genial salesman presents his beautiful wares for the benefitof Stephanie and her friend. Stephanie puts all her senses to bear on theactivity, sniffing and touching and looking. She is startled when, leaningin close to a bouquet, a large wasp charges out at her. The salesman smilesand waves it away.            STEPHANIE Ohh!            SALESMAN Do not worry, mademoiselle. It is just a little wasp.            STEPHANIE Oh, but they're very dangerous, aren't they.            SALESMAN Only if they bite you on the neck. If they get you in the artery, the poison goes right to your brain and can cause a terrible fever. He points to the side of his neck, near the artery.           DONNA Oh, look Stephanie, these are pretty. She hands Stephanie a bouquet of pale-blue flowers, which are verypretty indeed next to Stephanie's complexion. Henri, at his distance, notesthis. He starts to move through the crowd, losing sight of them as he attemptsto be discreet and moves on a path behind the stand. Stephanie takes a generoussniff of the fragrance, and reels back, squeezing her eyes shut and holdingher nose. She lets loose a little sneeze.            STEPHANIE Oh, what are they? I must be allergic to them. She stifles another sneeze.           DONNA Too bad. They are so beautiful, aren't they?            SALESMAN Oui, mademoiselle. They are very beautiful. But, not for you, eh? How about these? He offers some other flowers.           DONNA No, thank you. You are very kind. But, we are just looking.            STEPHANIE Perhaps we shall come by again tomorrow.            SALESMAN As you wish! Good day. Come again.            STEPHANIE We will, thank you. She rubs her nose, as if it itches. She digs in her purse.            STEPHANIE (CONT.) Ohh, Donna, do you have a handkerchief? I don't seem to have one in here.           DONNA I'm afraid not. Here, let's get away from the flowers. We'll go over by the fountain there. That looks like a good place to stand and attract handsome Frenchmen.            STEPHANIE Okay... They wander away. Henri makes sure they aren't looking back, andsneaks up to the salesman.            SALESMAN Good day, monsieur. What would you be looking for today? Something for the special lady in your life, eh? The salesman winks. Henri looks a bit flustered. He scans over thevarious bouquets. He selects a healthy bundle of the pale-blue flowers.           HENRI I'll take these, please. How much?            SALESMAN Ahhh, a very beautiful selection. No doubt some lucky woman has your heart, eh monsieur? That will be 4 francs.           HENRI Four? Er... Henri checks his pockets. The salesman loses some of the twinklein his eye when he sees he's dealing with a pauper of sorts.            HENRI (CONT.) How many for 1 franc?            SALESMAN Here, I'll give you a deal. Half of them, all right? For two francs. Henri nods, then does a double-take and looks at the salesman, whoregards him sternly: no bargaining will be accepted today. Henri wilts underthe gaze and hands over the two francs. The salesman hands him the flowers.            SALESMAN Merci beaucoup. Have a good day, monsieur. If she likes them, you can come back to buy the other half tomorrow.           HENRI If she likes them, I'll buy roses tomorrow. The salesman perks up considerably, beaming like his old self again.He stuffs the other half of the bouquet into Henri's hands.            SALESMAN In that case, monsieur, take the other half now! No charge. Please!           HENRI Thank you. Thank you very much!            SALESMAN I'm sure she will enjoy them. They are very beautiful. The pesky wasp was hiding in the other half of the bouquet. The salesmanswats at it, but it continues to buzz about Henri as he goes off to findStephanie at the fountain. Henri makes several ineffective waves of hishand to fend it off, but soon his attention is diverted to the sight ofStephanie basking in the afternoon sunglow in front of the fountain pool. EXT. FOUNTAIN - PARK - SAME Henri is struck by the beauty she radiates so naturally. Warmed bythe sun, she has removed her jacket, revealing the top of her shoulderlessdress, unbuttoned to a low neckline. She seems to be fed by the sun's rays,absorbing them and reradiating their brilliance in the blonde firestreaksof her hair, which floats in the wind. The wasp buzzes in Henri's face,finally distracting him. He waves it away and starts to approach her. EXT. PARK - SAME Jean-Claude moves haltingly through the crowd at the entrance tothe park, looking everywhere for Henri. EXT. FOUNTAIN - PARK - SAME Henri approaches Stephanie in halting steps, until she finally catcheshim with her eyes and smiles, forcing him to actually accost her. He hidesthe flowers clumsily behind his back.           DONNA Hello.            STEPHANIE Hi there.           HENRI Good day, ladies. I see you are here, like you said. Remember? About a half hour ago, at the studio? Stephanie stands, with a little prompting from Donna, who can seea mile away Henri's intended affections. Henri actually is managing to comporthimself with some charm.            STEPHANIE Oh yes, I remember. Where is your friend?           HENRI My friend? Oh, yes. He is here, somewhere. He is a poet, you know how they are, always wandering around, staring at the sky. Actually, I do a bit of poetry myself.            STEPHANIE Really? That sounds interesting. What do you write about, monsieur...?           HENRI Henri! I write about love, what little I know of it, and try to make sense of life. That is also why I paint.            STEPHANIE Oh, you are a painter? I was just modeling today.           HENRI Yes, I know. I use that same studio. Henri is starting to wonder if he's ever going to manage to handher the flowers, which are more awkwardly than ever still hidden behindhis back.           HENRI (CONT.) In fact, I was looking for a new model to use. Would you perhaps be available sometime, to, to, you know. Model. For my painting?            STEPHANIE Of course. Let me give you an address where I can be reached while in Paris. I'm rarely there, but you can leave me messages with the matron of the house.           HENRI Oh, that would be wonderful. She hands him a little card on which she has written her address.Now he has one hand full with a little card and the other full of flowersbehind his back. He can't manage to keep them hidden any more without becomingso embarrassed he will start sweating profusely.           HENRI (CONT.) Ahem. Er -- I hope you will forgive my brashness, but I could not help noticing, just out of the corner of my eye, that you and your friend...            STEPHANIE Oh, how rude of me. Monsieur, this is my best friend, Donna. Donna, this is ...?           HENRI Henri.           Donna Nice to meet you, Henri.           HENRI The same. Er, as I was saying, you and your friend, that is, I could not help noticing, that you and ... Donna ... were looking at the flowers at the stand a moment ago, and I took the liberty of, of, er -- of getting you some. She looks surprisingly delighted.            STEPHANIE You did? Oh, how nice of you. Henri, with a big stupid grin, produces the bouquet and thrusts themwith little grace right up in her face. Her hands reflexively go up to takethem. As soon as she sees which kind they are, she shrinks back, but itis too late, the pollen is already in her nose. Henri's grin fades to alook of horror as she reels back and releases a monster sneeze, which blowsacross the tops of the flowers right into Henri's chest and chin, loosingsome of the petals in the process. And another sneeze, and another sneeze.            STEPHANIE Allergic... aaahh.. ahhh...           HENRI Oh! Oh dear! Oh my goodness! Henri attempts to fumble for a handkerchief, but to do so he hasto free his hands by giving her the flowers. She thrashes them in the airas she sneezes uncontrollably, petals falling everywhere. She attempts tohand them to her friend, but sneezes again during the hand-off and dropsmost of them to the ground. Henri is looking for his handkerchief, awarethat a crowd of onlookers is staring at the scene, making him even morehumiliated. He finally produces a handkerchief with his monogramme and givesit to Stephanie, who thanks him and blows her nose into it with an unlady-likehonk. Donna hands Henri back the trampled and bent flowers.           Donna Sorry about that, monsieur. She's allergic to these. But it was a nice gesture. Stephanie, starting to sneeze again, attempts to nod and agree: "itwas a very nice gesture." The sneeze never comes, but now her eyesare watering and she looks exhausted from the fit of sneezing. Henri bravelytakes back the flowers, not sure what to do with them now.           HENRI I should have bought roses, but I'm afraid I didn't have the money for that.            STEPHANIE Oh no, I hope you didn't spend too much on them. I'm so sorry!           HENRI It is all right mademoiselle. At least, we broke the ice, hmm? Laughs from all three, as they indeed shrug off their awkwardness.            STEPHANIE I hope you don't hold this against me. I still would like to model for you, I mean that. As Henri starts to speak, the wasp lands on his collar, right nextto the artery in his neck where the salesman pointed. He is unaware of this.           HENRI That would be splendid. My schedule is somewhat open right now, so perhaps if you knew a time that would be good for you, perhaps a few afternoons... At about this point, Stephanie sees the wasp on his neck and gasps.            STEPHANIE Look out! Henri looks up at her, terribly confused, and sees her two handscoming straight at his chest. She pushes him with all her strength and Henrigoes careening backwards into the fountain pool with a gigantic ker-splosh! EXT. PARK - FLOWER SALESMAN'S STAND - SAME Jean-Claude is grilling the salesman about Henri's whereabouts whenhe hears the distant splash. He looks over to see nothing but the backsof a sea of curious onlookers, and from his expression we can tell he knowsit's Henri, making a fool of himself somehow.           JEAN- CLAUDE Ohhhh, mon Dieu, Henri! He approaches cautiously, but has difficulty penetrating the crowd. EXT. FOUNTAIN - PARK - SAME The flowers float away as Henri comes up for air, stunned, embarrassed,and the center of a great deal more attention than he would like to haveright at the moment. Stephanie looks equally embarrassed, but mostly becauseshe can't help being amused at Henri's predicament, despite herself.            STEPHANIE Ohhh, monsieur, I am sorry. There was a wasp on your neck, and I didn't want you to get brain fever if it bit you.           HENRI It is all right. I will just get pneumonia instead from wet clothes. He says this with more spite than was warranted, and Stephanie lookshurt.            STEPHANIE I said I was sorry.           Donna You don't have to be rude to her. Henri climbs out onto dry land, unsure how to comport himself gentlemanlywhile soaked to the skin.           HENRI I didn't mean to be rude. I was just taken by surprise, that's all.            STEPHANIE Are you okay?           HENRI I am fine. Thank you for saving me from the wasp.            STEPHANIE I should have thought of some other way to fend it off. I'm sorry. She starts to mop him off with his own handkerchief.            HENRI It is completely all right. Don't worry about it.            STEPHANIE Listen, if you don't want me to model for you now, that's okay, but I meant it when I said I would like to.           HENRI No, I still do. I will call on you tomorrow to arrange a time, but I have to go home now to change.            STEPHANIE All right. Are you sure you are okay?           HENRI I am quite fine. I know this will be a story to laugh over in the future. The way he says it, he obviously means it is not at all funny tohim now. Stephanie again looks a little hurt by the sharpness of his remarks.Henri starts to leave, and she offers him back his handkerchief.           HENRI No, you keep it. In case you sneeze again. Henri forces a smile and walks off, not looking back, shivering abit, leaving Stephanie and her friend to exchange looks: is he mad at me?He's kind of strange. What's his problem? &tc. EXT. PARK - SAME Jean-Claude finally catches up to Henri, shivering his way home.Immediately, he exchanges his warm, dry jacket for Henri's wet one.           JEAN- CLAUDE Ohhhh, Henri. What happened?           HENRI I fell into the fountain.           JEAN- CLAUDE How did you come to fall into the fountain?           HENRI I spent all of my money for this week to buy her flowers that she was allergic to, and she pushed me into the fountain.           JEAN- CLAUDE She pushed you in?           HENRI She said there was a wasp on me, and she wanted to keep me from being bitten and getting brain fever.           JEAN- CLAUDE Well, is that the truth?           HENRI I guess so. I don't know. I am embarrassed and cold and tired. I feel like a total failure.           JEAN- CLAUDE Oh, Henri. Your self-esteem was just beginning to perk up, and now this. Let us get you home quickly. We'll get you some dry clothes and a glass of wine.           HENRI All right. All right... INT. JEAN-CLAUDE'S SITTING ROOM - LATER THAT EVENING Henri is in front of the fireplace, blanket on, nursing a large glassof wine. Jean-Claude is wearing reading glasses and nursing a book of poetry,pretending to leave Henri to his thoughts but every so often casting a fatherlyglance over the top of his book at him. Henri mopes and stares. Finally,he stirs, and Jean-Claude immediately lowers his book.           JEAN- CLAUDE Do you feel like talking yet?           HENRI I feel like leaping into the fire and ending all this misery right now. Jean-Claude slaps down the book and stands up, taking such talk veryseriously.           JEAN- CLAUDE Henri! Do not dare speak such thoughts aloud. Let alone, thinking them in the first place. This woman, you have only just met her. And yes, it went poorly.           HENRI That's putting it mildly.           JEAN- CLAUDE But to talk of ending your life over it, how dare you be so small and pitiful! Stand up and be a man. You are noble and bright, Henri, behave appro- priately.           HENRI It is not this girl, nor the incident today, Jean-Claude. It is the general temper of my life. This is one trial too many. I am just so exhausted from failure. I cannot endure any longer. This affair, this woman, they will finish me.           JEAN- CLAUDE I do not want to hear you talk of failure. What failure?           HENRI What success? When I was a child, I was seen as a prodigy. I was precocious and smart, and I made this, and I did that, and everyone thought it was so charming and that I showed such potential. Now I am an adult, and I am poor, and lonely, and my closet is full of unfinished drawings and third-rate paintings and fifth-rate poetry. If you still see me as noble and bright, you are the exception that proves the rule.           JEAN- CLAUDE Henri, I refuse to talk to you when you are like this. You are so sharp and rude, I cannot decide whether to tweak your nose or push you in a fountain or both.           HENRI Et tu, Jean-Claude?           JEAN- CLAUDE It might interest you to know that you hurt that poor girl's feelings today.           HENRI I? I hurt her feelings? How do you know this?           JEAN- CLAUDE Yes, you did. You were very mean to her when you climbed out of the fountain, and she has the impression you think very little of her, that you look down on her. I won't tell you how I know this because you'll go out of control trying to find this girl again, and you'll hurt yourself and her a second time.           HENRI I am already going to see her again. She agreed to model for me.           JEAN- CLAUDE She did? I assume she did so before you fell in the fountain.           HENRI Before I was pushed in the fountain. Jean-Claude rolls his eyes, defeated. He sits down again and pourshimself some wine. Henri finishes his.            HENRI (CONT.) Although, she also insisted afterwards that she still wanted to. She gave me a card with her address.           JEAN- CLAUDE Ohh, I was afraid of that. No doubt you will be calling on her immediately.           HENRI No, actually. The card was ruined when I fell in the fountain. I have no idea where she is. I have no idea how to contact her. Jean-Claude looks a little relieved. He puts his reading glassesback on. Just then, Henri sits upright, looking inspired.           HENRI (CONT.) Georges! Jean-Claude sighs, and lowers his book again.           HENRI (CONT.) Georges has her address. He must have! I'll go and speak to him, he will tell me. He even said he would introduce me to her, at lunch, do you remember? Henri stands up. Jean-Claude is forced to set aside his book andreading glasses and to stop him.           JEAN- CLAUDE Henri, stop. I can't let you bother Georges about this affliction of the heart of yours, however regretful it makes me. Jean-Claude crosses to his desk and flips through a little addressbook.           HENRI What do you mean, Jean-Claude?           JEAN- CLAUDE If you are so intent on pursuing this girl, even to the ghastly business of having her model for you, a decision I must come out in the strongest possible opposition against.           HENRI You worry too much. It will be fine. I am a professional when it comes to my work. Jean-Claude has found the page he wanted. He takes a blank littlecard and copies the information onto it.           JEAN- CLAUDE Well, at least you seem to have come back to speaking of your art in laudable terms again. Professional or not, it is a terrible idea, absolutely spawned from Hell, and my own soul may be damned for helping you to that path, but... here. He hands Henri the card. Henri stares at it.           HENRI This is her address?           JEAN- CLAUDE That is her address. Her name is Stephanie Douvier. She is 19 years old, and is originally from French Canada, but is a student in Chicago. She is here as a student, as part of an exchange program, and works in the evenings as a dancer in a musical revue. In a reputable establishment, I am happy to say in compliment of her character, which is thoroughly unspoiled and graceful. Do not be the one to spoil her, Henri, or I shall soundly thrash you with my walking stick.           HENRI How do you know all this about her?           JEAN- CLAUDE My Aunt Claire was her original hostess in this country, before she moved to Paris for the springtime.            HENRI You have known about her all this time?           JEAN- CLAUDE Georges arranged to meet her at my recommendation. Of course I have known about her. I just never thought that there would be any special reason to introduce her to you.           HENRI I understand. Henri reads the address on the card. The street is called "Ruede la Prochaine Amour."           HENRI (CONT.) "Rue de la Prochaine Amour?" Is this really the name of the street?           JEAN- CLAUDE In Paris, even city planners can be romantic fools. Yes, that address has been verified. Henri, staring at the card, and what he imagines it promises, headsfor the door.           HENRI (CONT.) I shall be careful, Jean-Claude. Jean-Claude sighs, resuming his reading position.           JEAN- CLAUDE Do what you will, Henri.           HENRI You may keep your eyes on me, just in case.            JEAN-CLAUDE It is not my eyes that shall be on you, Henri -- but God's. Know that God will be judging the depths of your heart as you pursue this affair.           HENRI Thank you, Jean-Claude. Good night, my friend.           JEAN- CLAUDE       (hurrying him out) Yes yes, good night, good night. Henri shuts the door on Jean-Claude, who is pretending to be engrossedin his book already. No sooner does the door click than Jean-Claude looksup again, with worried eyes.           JEAN- CLAUDE (CONT.) Mon Dieu, Henri. How shall you ever survive this woman? FADE TO: