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American-Splendor.txt
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"AMERICAN SPLENDOR"
by
Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman
PRODUCTION DRAFT
FADE IN:
INT. HARVEYS BEDROOM - NIGHT
A BEDROOM MIRROR.
The room is dark. A perfectly square mirror hangs crooked on
a wall.
Suddenly, out of the darkness, the reflection of a man's
face comes into focus. He stares straight ahead, perhaps
studying his own unrecognizable reflection. It's quite clear
this is a portrait of sickness; the man's pallor is gray,
his eyes are confused. There is something most definitely
wrong.
Tentatively, the figure steps away from the mirror, leaving
the frame empty and dark.
ANGLE ON BED
Like a ghost, the naked man (Harvey) stands over his bed
staring down at his sleeping wife (Joyce). In the eerie light,
he's almost translucent.
HARVEY
(faintly)
Joyce... Joyce?
Joyce springs up, alarmed.
JOYCE
What's wrong, Harvey? What are you
doing up?
Harvey just stands there for a moment saying nothing.
JOYCE
What is it?
HARVEY
(delirious, out of
breath)
Tell me the truth. Am I some guy who
writes about himself in a comic book?
Or am I just -- am I just a character
in that book?
Joyce rubs her eyes.
JOYCE
Harvey...
HARVEY
If I die, will 'dat character keep
goin'? Or will he just fade away...
Joyce just stares at him, unsure how to answer. Suddenly
Harvey collapses.
Joyce leaps from the bed, nervous, hysterical. She gets down
on the floor and shakes him.
JOYCE
Omigod, Harvey! Harvey, wake up!
CLOSE ON HARVEY'S FACE
His eyes remain closed, his expression far, far away.
FADE TO BLACK:
EXT. CLEVELAND ROW HOUSE - FALL - 1956 - DAY
FADE UP ON:
A surreal kaleidoscope of black, white and red. Similar to
the mirror scene above, the colors slowly come into focus,
revealing the chiseled features of a familiar face. But this
time we see that it is not a real face, but rather a plastic
mask of the D.C. Comic hero -- SUPERMAN.
INTERTITLE: CLEVELAND OHIO, 1956
CLOSE ON SUPERMAN MASK
It glows eerily in the light of a porch lamp. A child's pupils
glare through the eye holes...
The camera pans from SUPERMAN to the masked face of another
caped-crusader: BATMAN. Batman turns toward his loyal sidekick
ROBIN, who clutches a plastic, trick-or-treat pumpkin.
Next, we find THE GREEN LANTERN as he reaches up to ring the
doorbell. The camera finally rests on the last boy: an unkempt
KID wearing no costume at all. Looking irritated and removed
from the rest of the group, the KID shoves his hands in the
pockets of his shearling coat.
He spits and rolls his eyes as a lady answers the door.
The brick home is as working class as it gets. The lady at
the door is a 1950's HOUSEWIFE.
BOYS
(in unison)
Trick or treat!!
HOUSEWIFE
Well, look at this! All the
superheroes on the porch! Ain't that
cute.
The Lady drops a candy apple in each boy's container.
HOUSEWIFE
(still yelling)
We got Superman here, Batman, his
sidekick ROBIN, ohh, The Green Lantern
even...
She finally stops at the costumeless KID. He halfheartedly
holds up a ratty, stained pillowcase.
HOUSEWIFE
And what about you young man?
KID
What about what?
The other boys giggle. The kid flashes them a "kick yer ass"
look.
HOUSEWIFE
Who are you supposed to be?
The kid shrugs.
KID
I'm Harvey Pekar (pronounced "Pee
Car").
HOUSEWIFE
Harvey Pekar? That doesn't sound
like a super hero to me...
BOYS
(mumbling)
Pecker, Pecker...
KID
I ain't no super hero, lady. I'm
just a kid from the neighborhood,
alright?
The Housewife stares at him, confused.
KID
Ahh, forget this...
Frustrated, the kid throws his pillowcase down. He trudges
off as the others watch in confusion.
KID
Why is everybody so stoopid?
BEGIN NERVOUS JAZZ SCORE
WE FOLLOW the schlumpy kid (aka HARVEY PEKAR) as he sulks
down the street...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CLEVELAND ROW HOUSE - FALL - 1975 - DUSK
INTERTITLE: CLEVELAND OHIO, 1975
A grown-up version of HARVEY PEKAR (now mid-thirties) stomps
along the same Cleveland street. Unfortunately, 20 years
have made this rust belt neighborhood a bit rustier. The
"GROWN UP HARVEY" dons the same shearling coat, sports the
same disheveled hair, and wears the same curmudgeonly
expression.
CREDIT SEQUENCE - ANIMATED SEQUENCE INTERCUT HARVEY WALKING
WITH COMIC BOOK PANELS OF THE CARTOON HARVEY IN ACTION. This
is not your typical super-hero stuff.
Instead it features our man engaging in such daredevil feats
as:
INT. CITY BUS - FALL 1975 - DAY
--Riding the city bus.
INT. V.A. HOSPITAL - DAY
--Working as a file clerk at the Veteran's Hospital.
INT. HARVEY'S APARTMENT / KITCHEN - DAY
--Trying to wash dishes.
INT. SUPERMARKET - DAY
--Waiting on line at the supermarket.
EXT. GARAGE SALE - DAY
--Buying used records from a garage sale table.
INT. GREASY SPOON DINER - DAY
--Eating junk food at a greasy spoon.
INT. HARVEY'S APARTMENT - DAY
Harvey fixes a rip in his coat with Elmer's Glue.
(Note: Each "Cartoon Harvey" looks similar but unique... A
variation on a theme. This is because his cartoons are drawn
by different comic artists.)
Intermittently, bold cartoon credits flash across the screen:
FROM OFF THE STREETS OF CLEVELAND COMES...
Followed by the explosive title:
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
The high-energy music and upbeat titles -- in direct contrast
to the sulking image of Harvey -- continue through the
remainder of the credits.
EXT. CLEVELAND STREET OVERLOOKING FACTORIES - DAY
We're now on HARVEY'S back as he continues his forlorn
journey. We move forward, past him, to peer over the hill at
the factories below.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Okay. We're throwing a lot at ya
here, so lemme step in an' help ya
catch up. This is the story about
comic books, an' a guy who made a
whole life outta them. You could
even say comics saved his life. This
guy here, he's our man, Harvey Pekar --
all grown up and goin' nowhere.
Although he's a pretty scholarly
cat, he never got much of a formal
education. For the most part, he's
lived in shit neighborhoods, held
shit jobs, and is now knee deep into
a second disastrous marriage. So if
yer lookin' for romance or escapism
or some fantasy figure to save the
day, guess what? Ya got the wrong
movie.
SUDDENLY EVERYTHING -- THE MUSIC, THE CREDITS, THE IMAGES --
COMES TO A HALT.
CUT TO:
INT. SOUND STAGE - PRESENT - DAY
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE
The REAL HARVEY PEKAR (not the actor who trudged through the
credits) sits behind a microphone, supplying the "voice over"
above. He clutches a movie script in his hand.
The frame is spare, with a few well-chosen items to indicate
that he's in a recording session.
Although he is significantly older than the man who portrays
him, the "Real Harvey" is every bit as much of a sad sack...
maybe even more. He is large and slightly threatening with
knitted brows and wild eyes. Yet there is something kind and
vulnerable about him -- a teddy bear who could kick your
ass. Off Camera, WE HEAR the voices of the male and female
directors (us -- BOB and SHARI) coaching the "Real Harvey"
through his voice over. Harvey's irritable and contrary,
saying that the whole Halloween incident never even happened.
"But I don't care man. I'm just doing this for the dough."
We learn that Harvey is a reluctant participant in a film
being made about his life.
SUDDENLY, his third wife JOYCE BRABNER -- an intelligent
control freak obsessed with all things negative -- joins in
the conversation. Pushing back her huge glasses, she
reprimands Harvey like he is an infant: "Harvey you are
talking too loud, Harvey you are being difficult." Harvey
just rolls his eyes. Joyce gets offended. It is clear they
have had this argument a million times. As Joyce storms off...
Harvey explains that his wife is trying to take over the
movie. He laments that she is his third wife, and he has no
luck with women. "Man, chicks just don't dig me." That's why
he marries anyone who will have him. "And I marry them fast
before they get to know the real me..."
END HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE
CUT TO:
INT. EXAMINATION ROOM - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
INTERTITLE: 1975
HARVEY sits on a table in his T-shirt and underwear. A DOCTOR
unwraps a tongue depressor.
Harvey's voice is hoarse, raspy and barely audible. It sounds
like it hurts for him to talk. Yet, he can't stop ranting.
HARVEY
Doc, you gotta help me. My old lady's
dumping me 'cause I can't talk. She
says I'm a social embarrassment. Now
that she's got her PhD, she's some
hot shit academic star an' I'm nuthin'
but a file clerk with nothin' ta say
an' no voice ta say it. But me bein'
a file clerk was fine when I wrote
the damn check for her tuition --
DOCTOR #1
Harvey, stop talking please, and
open wide.
He points the tongue depressor at Harvey's mouth but he just
keeps on going.
HARVEY
I just don't get it... We were doin'
okay for a while. Then we took that
stupid belated honeymoon. I started
losin' my voice on the plane. Can
you believe that... On the plane,
doc?
DOCTOR #1
Bad timing, I guess. Now please say
"Ah," Mr. Pekar.
HARVEY
"Ahhh."
(without missing a
beat)
"Ahhh" ruined the trip. I got crazy,
started to worry my voice would never
come back. I mean, my wife didn't
know me so long before we got hitched.
What if she totally forgets what I'm
like? Man, it's torture --
DOCTOR #1
Shhh...
The Doctor shines a penlight into Harvey's mouth and looks
around.
DOCTOR #1
Uh-huh.
He raises an eyebrow. Harvey catches this. Hypochondria
overtakes him.
HARVEY
(the penlight in his
mouth)
What? Is it bad, doc?
The Doctor removes the penlight.
DOCTOR #1
It's not good.
Harvey jumps off the table.
HARVEY
It's cancer? First I got marital
problems and now yer tellin' me I
got throat cancer? Omigod...
DOCTOR #1
Harvey, calm down. It's not cancer.
You have a nodule on your vocal
chords. Probably from screaming and
yelling too much. And if you don't
stop talking and give it a rest,
you're gonna lose your voice
completely.
Relieved, Harvey calms down. He nods, agreeing to be good.
HARVEY
Whew... Okay, okay. But fer how long?
DOCTOR #1
A few months.
HARVEY
(loudly)
Months!!
Suddenly Harvey's voice cracks under his effort to raise it.
He sheepishly grabs his throat.
DOCTOR #1
See? More of that and you'll do
permanent damage. Now go home, keep
your mouth shut, and hopefully we
won't have to operate.
Operate? Harvey gets nervous again. The Doctor throws him
his clothing.
CUT TO:
EXT. CLEVELAND STREET - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
A silent sequence. A dejected HARVEY walks home alone along
an empty lot. Day-old dirty snow clings to the ground.
He wanders through a down-in-the-heels neighborhood, passing
run-down stores and ramshackle apartments.
EXT. BUS STOP - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
Harvey approaches TOBY -- a dumpy 20-something going on 60-
something in ridiculous, mismatched polyester clothing. He
is odd, awkward and talks with a monotone, robotic voice. In
short, he is a super dork.
TOBY
Hi Harvey. You weren't in work today.
Are you okay, Harvey?
Harvey barely looks up. He nods his head "yes" and keeps
walking.
TOBY
(yelling after him)
I'm heading downtown to the White
Castle. Wanna come, Harvey?
Harvey leaves Toby behind and turns the corner.
EXT. DELI - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
Two WOMEN argue loudly over a payphone.
SPANISH WOMAN #1
(in Spanish)
I already told you, I'm waiting for
a call!
SPANISH WOMAN #2
Oh yeah? Since when is this your
private office?!
SPANISH WOMAN #1
Since you can kiss my ass.
Harvey stops in his tracks and stares at them, jealous of
their ability to speak.
CLOSE UP: SPANISH WOMAN #1's MOUTH
HARVEY
(to himself)
Look at 'em yakkin'. How do they do
it?
Out of the corner of her eye, WOMAN #2 notices Harvey
eavesdropping.
WOMAN #2
(yelling at Harvey)
Ay, what are you looking at? Maricone!
Startled, Harvey moves on.
EXT. ACROSS FROM A PARK - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
He passes a group of KIDS playing in the snow. They scream,
yell and laugh with abandon.
HARVEY
(shaking his head)
They all make it seem so easy.
Then, BAM! Harvey is awakened from his reverie by a snowball.
The kids laugh loudly. He wipes away the snow and walks on.
A VOICE OVER interrupts the scene.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Here's our man walking home from the
doctor's. He's got the weight of the
world on him. And fer what, really?
'Cause his throat's a little screwy?
Man, people in India are starvin' to
death every day. His problems are
nothin'.
CUT TO:
EXT. BRIDGE OVER TRAIN TRACKS - DAY
Totally dejected, HARVEY crosses over train tracks on his
way home.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Still, he can't help feelin' paranoid,
like some supernatural force is
conspiring against him to rob him of
his voice.
EXT. HARVEY'S APARTMENT - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
Harvey sulks up the steps of his brick low-rise apartment
building. He passes an ELDERLY NEIGHBOR coming down the walk
with her shopping cart. Harvey unlocks the door.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Maybe his old lady will go easy on
him today, when she sees how upset
he is.
INT. HARVEY'S LIVING ROOM - WINTER - 1975 - DAY
Harvey's second wife LANA -- a hippyish chic with long hair
and a bad attitude -- pulls books off a shelf and selectively
throws them onto the floor or packs them into a milk crate.
An overstuffed suitcase sits beside her. She's obviously
leaving him. HARVEY enters the room.
HARVEY
(whispering)
Ay... What is this?
Harvey's voice breaks up.
LANA
Exactly what it looks like.
HARVEY
(loud)
Whattya mean!! You mean yer dumpin'
me?! Fer what?
(his voice really
rips)
Ah, shit!
That last yell did it. Harvey grabs throat in pain, torn
between his throat discomfort and trying to stop his wife
from leaving.
LANA
Look, your plebeian lifestyle isn't
working for me anymore. Cleveland's
not working for me anymore. I gotta
get out of here before I kill myself.
HARVEY
But --
She gathers her bags and heads for the door. Harvey trails
her, trying to reason.
He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out.
HARVEY
(mouthing, just a
wheeze)
Please! Wait, honey... Just listen
to what I got to say...
She turns and stares at him. Harvey tries to say something.
But now nothing at all comes out of his mouth. Only wheezes
air.
He tries again. No sound at all.
Finally LANA gives up, turns back towards the door and leaves.
SLAM!!
CUT TO:
INT. V.A. HOSPITAL - 1975 - DAY
At his cubicle in the file room, Harvey fills a cart with
files. He's physically at work, but mentally in a daze.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Here's our man -- yeah alright, here's
me -- or the guy playin' me, anyway,
though he don't look nothin' like
me, but whatever. So it's a few months
later an' I'm workin' my flunky,
file-clerk gig at the V.A. Hospital.
My voice still ain't back yet. Things
seem like they can't get any worse...
A nurse pops her head in. Harvey hands her a file.
NURSE
Thank you, Harvey dear.
He doesn't hear her, still stewing about LANA. He shoves the
last files in the cart and pushes it away.
HARVEY
(to himself)
Plebeian... where the hell did she
get that shit?
CUT TO:
INT. FILE ROOM -- A FEW MOMENTS LATER
We see rows and rows of endless files...
Still in a daze, Harvey removes the files from the cart and
puts them on the shelves.
MR. BOATS (O.S.)
Avoid the reeking herd! Shun the
polluted flock! Live like that stoic
bird, The eagle of the rock!
Harvey turns around. Mr. Boats -- a portly, African-American
maintenance worker wearing a bow-tie -- steps into Harvey's
row. He has a tool box.
HARVEY
Huh? Oh. Hiya, Mr. Boats.
Harvey resumes shelving.
BOATS
You know what that means, son?
HARVEY
Yeah. It's from an Elinor Hoyt Wylie
poem. It means stay away from the
crowds of common ordinary people an'
do yer own thing.
Mr. Boats laughs.
BOATS
Nope, it means don't compromise
yourself for women. Ain't gonna do
you no good! Get away from 'em as
soon as you can!
HARVEY
Well I ain't got no woman now. So
I'm living like the stoic bird, man.
MR. BOATS
The only way to live, son.
Somehow this doesn't make Harvey feel any better about his
life.
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY -- DAY
Harvey carries an armful of files. Mr. Boats still trails
him, lugging his tool box.
Suddenly, Mr. Boats points out a young African-American FILE
CLERK wearing a pair of big headphones on his afro. He moves
as if he's listening to music.
MR. BOATS
Look at that fool over there. What's
he wearing?
HARVEY
Huh? That's an A.M.-F.M. radio he's
listening to... They got 'em fixed
up now like a pair of earmuffs.
MR. BOATS
(inappropriately
angered)
MMPH! Isn't that somethin! People
have gone crazy. They'll buy any
kinda junk! Probably listening to
that loud rock stuff. Junk, junk,
it's all junk!
HARVEY
Well, I don't know. Rock music's got
some good qualities. I mean it ain't
jazz or nothin'.
Mr. Boats looks at him like he's crazy.
MR. BOATS
Say, when you gonna bring me in some
good records? Some Nat "King" Cole
with Strings...
HARVEY
I don't got any of that, Mr. Boats...
Mr. Boats stops and yells down the hall at Harvey.
MR. BOATS
Yeah, you got it... You're keepin'
it at home, though! You won't turn
loose the good stuff... You just
sell the junk!
Harvey shakes his head as Mr. Boats finishes his diatribe.
Mr. Boats turns into a room.
MR. BOATS
(singing)
Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa. Men have named
you.
CUT TO:
INT. SOUND STAGE - PRESENT - DAY
HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE
Harvey sits on outdoor furniture. A few props are featured
in the frame indicating a garage-sale-like setting (including
a record player). Directly in front of Harvey are boxes of
used records.
HARVEY shows us his prodigious record collection. Thousands
of LP's -- rare jazz, blues, fusion, klezmer, etc. -- are
piled in floor-to-ceiling bookcases.
He tells us about his love of jazz and how he started writing
jazz reviews and music articles. He finds the first record
that he reviewed and puts it on his turntable. As the music
plays...
Harvey talks about how he started buying and selling records.
This leads into how he first met ROBERT CRUMB.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CLEVELAND GARAGE SALE - FALL - 1962 - DAY
INTERTITLE: 1962
HARVEY (a little more hair but the exact same style) and a
bunch of his BUDDIES sift through old records at a junk sale.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
In the early sixties I was with some
buddies at a junk sale looking for
some choice sides when I met this
shy, retiring cat from Philadelphia
named Bob Crumb. You know the guy;
Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural an' all --
they made a movie about him, too.
One of Harvey's pals -- MARTY -- pulls a record out of a
box.
MARTY
C'mon, Harv. You dig Jay McShann.
You gonna buy that or what?
Harvey jumps up from his search to check out the LP.
HARVEY
I don't know, Marty. It's got a
lamination crack in it...
(checking out the
price)
A quarter. Maybe I can get him down.
MARTY
You are one cheap bastard Harvey.
HARVEY
Yeah, I know I'm tight, man, but I
live on a government wage.
A skinny guy with a big nose, glasses and a ratty trench
coat taps Harvey on the shoulder. He is soft-spoken, a bit
shy and very odd -- a young ROBERT CRUMB.
CRUMB
You collect Jay McShann, man?
HARVEY
Yeah, man. How 'bout you?
CRUMB
Yeah but most of my records are back
in Philly.
A greaser-type guy in a leather jacket, PAHLS, joins them.
PAHLS
Harv, meet my buddy Bob Crumb. He
just moved to town. He's an artist
at American Greeting Card Company.
HARVEY
That's cool.
PAHLS
You should see his comics, Harv.
They are outta sight.
HARVEY
(interested)
Yeah? I'm into comics myself.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HARVEY'S LIVING ROOM - FALL - 1962 - DAY
A disheveled mess that gives new meaning to the term bachelor
pad. Records and books are strewn everywhere.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
So Crumb showed me this comic book
novel he was working on -- THE BIG
YUM YUM BOOK. I'd never seen anything
like it.
HARVEY marches back and forth holding Crumb's illustrated
comic novel. CRUMB sits on the floor nursing a beer and
sorting through vintage comic books. Harvey's bursting with
so much enthusiasm, it's almost aggressive.
HARVEY
It's terrific, man! I really dig
your work.
Crumb ignores Harvey's praise.
CRUMB
(holding up a vintage
comic)
This PETER WHEAT book is by Walt
Kelly... It's pretty rare.
HARVEY
Yeah? Can I get good bread for it?
CRUMB
Nah! Not yet.
Harvey flops down in an overstuffed chair. Stuffing flies
out. He sips his beer.
HARVEY
Listen man, let's get back to your
book. What are you gonna do with it?
CRUMB
(looking up)
I hadn't thought about it. It's just
an exercise.
Harvey flips through the book.
HARVEY
It's more than an exercise. It's
breaking ground, man. There's some
wild shit in here.
Crumb is immune to Harvey's enthusiasm.
CRUMB
You're spitting on me, Harvey.
CUT TO:
INT. HARVEY'S LIVING ROOM - FALL - 1962 - LATER
CRUMB lies on the couch sketching while HARVEY reads more of
THE YUM YUM BOOK. A scratchy jazz record plays.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Crumb and I hung out a lot back then.
We had records and comics in common.
ANGLE ON CRUMB'S DRAWING
We see Crumb is actually sketching Harvey, slumped in a chair
reading a book. Crumb makes Harvey look like a smelly, sweaty
madman with ratty clothing.
Crumb holds the sketch of Harvey up to show him.
CRUMB
(laughing)
Check it out, man. Pretty scary.
Harvey glances up at his portrait, completely unselfconscious.
HARVEY
Yeah, ya don't know the half of it.
Harvey goes back to reading. Crumb back to sketching.
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Eventually people got hip to Crumb's
art work and he started hangin' out
with a Bohemian crowd. After a while,
he got sick of greeting cards and
moved away to San Francisco where he
got the whole underground comic scene
off the ground.
Crumb slowly evaporates from the room, leaving Harvey totally
alone.
ANGLE ON 45 RECORD SPINNING AND SPINNING
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
He'd come back ta Cleveland every
few years, an' people'd treat him
like a celebrity.
The record spins and spins...
END FLASHBACK
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. BUS STOP - 1975 - DAY
ANOTHER R. CRUMB DRAWING OF HARVEY (Now circa 1975)
On a sketch pad we see a deranged, tormented Harvey sitting
alone on a park bench. He pulls at his hair, and looks as
though he may murder the next person who walks by.
INTERTITLE: BACK TO 1975
As the pencil adds shading to Harvey's face, WE HEAR:
REAL HARVEY (V.O.)
Once he came to visit when I was
really feelin' bad. It was right
around the time of my throat
operation, an' right after my second
wife left me. At first it was pretty
weird. I mean, here my life was
falling apart an' everything was
going great for him. I was on my
second divorce an' he was a big hit
with the chicks. I was a nothin'
file clerk and he was this famous
cartoonist.
HARVEY and R. CRUMB sit on a park bench together by a bus
stop. A distraught Harvey whines while Crumb just sketches.
Harvey's voice is still raspy.
HARVEY
I dunno, man. On the one hand most
women gettin' graduate degrees
wouldn't give a guy like me the time
a' day. An' she married me an'
everything, so I gotta give her some
kinda credit. But then she got so
mean to me in the end. An' it ain't
like I tried t'keep her captive or
anything like that, y'know?