transcript written by and used with the courtesey of Amanda Lazarus <3. Thanks also to Paula for telling me about it!
Scene 1 : Setting : The Motel : Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner, Amy Rainey, Motel Manager.
Mort’s Voice : [Windshield wipers move across car window] Turn around. [Windshield wipers] Turn around. [Makes a face and puts on his glasses] Turn the car around and get the hell out of here. [Placed a hand on steering wheel] Right now. [Shifts into reverse, turns around and backs the car up. Turns the car to the left angrily. Stops] Don’t go back. [Shifts] Do not go back there. [Turns around. Shifts again and backs up] [Gets out of car, goes into motel lobby, grabs a key off the rack]
Motel Manager : [Puts on bathrobe, sees missing key] Hey. [Mort gets into car] Hey! [Mort drives further, stops abruptly, gets out of car. Unlocks and goes into a room] [Amy and Ted cower in their bed]
Mort : Ahhhh! [Grabs head and walks away]
Motel Manager : [Runs in] What the hell is going on in here?
Scene 2 : Setting : The Cabin : Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Chico.
[Shot pulls out of motel and fades into a scan of Tashmore lake]
COLOMBIA PICTURES PRESENTS
A PARIAH PRODUCTION
JOHNNY DEPP
SECRET WINDOW [Fades to red]
[Closes in on cabin]
JOHN TURTURRO
MARIA BELLO
TIMOTHY HUTTON
CHARLES S. DUTTON
LEN CARIOU
CASTING BY JOHN PAPSIDERA, CSA PAT MCCORKLE, CSA
COSTUME DESIGNER ODETTE GADOURY
MUSIC BY PHILLIP GLASS
EDITED BY JILL SAVITT, A.C.E.
[Enters cabin through secret window]
PRODUCTION DESIGNER HOWARD CUMMINGS
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY FRED MURPHY, ASC
[Moves toward desk]
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER EZRA SWERDLOW
PRODUCTION BY GAVIN POLONE
[Passes by computer monitor]
BASED UPON THE NOVELLA “SECRET WINDOW, SECRET GARDEN” BY STEPHEN KING
[Shot of mirror with Mort sleeping on the couch in the reflection]
[Goes into mirror]
SCREENPLAY BY DAVID KOEPP
DIRECTED BY DAVID KOEPP
[Mort sleeps on the couch, clock ticks]
SIX MONTHS LATER
Snores [Lifts his hand] [Someone twists the knob of the front door] [Mort is awakened, looks toward the door, puts on his glasses and gets up] knock knock knock knock knock [Mort opens the door]
Shooter : You stole my story. [Mort looks at a loss for words] Well?
Mort : I’m sorry.. do I.. I don’t believe I know you.
Shooter : I know that. That doesn’t matter. I know you, Mr. Rainey. That’s what matters. You stole my story.
Mort : [Shakes head] You’re mistaken. [He sees the manuscript] I don’t read manuscripts.
Shooter : [Holds up manuscript] You read this one already. You stole it.
Mort : I can assure you that I—Shooter : I know you can. I know that. I don’t want to be assured.
Mort : If you want to talk to someone about some grievance you feel you may have, you can call my literary agent in New York.
Shooter : This is between you, and me. [The dogs circles Shooter’s legs and whimpers] We don’t need any outsiders, Mr. Rainey. It is strictly between you and me.
Shooter : Alright. Look, Mr. Who ever you are, I don’t like being accused of plagiarism, if that is in fact what you are accusing me of. Chico, inside! [Dog looks up at Shooter]
Shooter : I don’t blame you for not liking it, but you did it. You stole my story.
Mort : You’re going to have to leave. I have nothing more to say. [Closes door]
Shooter : [Holds door back with curled manuscript] Yeah, I’ll go. We’ll talk more later. [Hands script to Mort]
Mort : [laughs] I’m not taking that.
Shooter : It won’t do you any good to play games with me, Mr. Rainey. This has got to be settled.
Mort : So far as I’m concerned, it is. [Closes and locks door] [Looks through window, then at dog] [He hears noises coming from outside] [He sees Shooter go to his car and take his hat off. Mort looks a bit scared] [The car pulls out, Mort tries to see the license plates] [He opens the door, and sees the manuscript under a rock, looks up, then back to it] [Takes rock off, picks up manuscript] Sowing Season. John Shooter. [Goes back into the house] Never heard of you, pal. Never heard of your story. [Dumps it into the trash] [Washes hands, walks into living room air drying them] Now, [Lies down on couch] where was I? Oh. Oh. [Dog looks off to the side, then lies down in its bed]
Scene 3 : Setting : The Study : Characters : Mort Rainey, Chico.
[Shot of Tashmore lake]
Vacuum noise [Mort sits pensively at his computer, playing with his face] [Shot of computer] [Shot of clock] [Mort looks at the dog, stops playing with his face]
Mort : I’m open to suggestions. [The dog looks sad] [Mort continues to play with his face] [He stands up and looks over the railing, sees Mrs. Garvey vacuuming] [Mort looks at the dog] If you don’t go and bite her, I’ll kill her. [The dog turns away] [Mort sits down] [Plays with face, then rubs hands together]
Mort : [Shot on computer screen] Four days after George had confirmed to his own satisfaction that his wife was cheating on him, he confro—This is just.. bad writing. [Plays with slinky] Just bad writing.
Mort’s Voice : So, you know what to do? [Mort stops playing with the slinky] Just do it. [Puts slinky down, goes forward and highlights text with the mouse] No [Presses delete] bad writing.
Mort : [Smiles, leans back and turns to dog] I think that solves it. Dog whimpers [Dog turns around in its chair]
Scene 4 : Setting : The Kitchen : Characters : Mort Rainey, Mrs. Garvey.
[Mort walks down the stairs eating something] [Walks into the kitchen and brushes his hands off on his bathrobe] [Opens fridge and pulls out a mountain dew] [Is shocked at seeing the manuscript on the table] [He walks forwards and examines it]
Mrs. Garvey : [Comes down the stairs and into the kitchen] Oh, I found one of your stories in trash, Mr. Rainey. I thought you might want it so I put it on the table. [While rummaging through a cupboard]
Mort : Yeah. I see that, Mrs. Garvey. [Pretends to shoot her] [He sits at the table and looks at the manuscript]
Mort’s Voice : Todd Downey thought that a woman who would steal your love when your love was really all you had was not much of a woman. He, therefore, decided to kill her. He would bury her in the deep corner formed where the house and the barn came together at an extreme angle. He would bury her where his wife kept her garden. The garden that she loved more than she loved him.
Mort : [Jumps up, knocking the mountain dew over] Oh Shit! Aw, Sh—Mrs. Garvey : [Comes to the kitchen] Oh, thank god. From the sound of you I didn’t know what to think. Here. [She throws the manuscript into his hands] Here, let me get this. That’s my job.
Mort : I’m terribly sorry, Mrs. Garvey. I really am.
Mrs. Garvey : I’ll take care of this, Mr. Rainey. Go on back to work. [Cleans up]
Mort : I didn’t write this.
Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh. I thought you did. [Resumes cleaning]
Mort : No, it’s not mine. Look. It says John Shooter right there [Pointing] John Shooter. It’s not me.
Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh, I thought it was one of those um.. whatchamacallums.. Pseudonames or.. or nyms.
Mort : No, no. I never used one. I never used one.
Mrs. Garvey : Well, I can’t imagine why you would. I mean, hiding behind some made-up name. [Bends down]
Mort : No, no. [Bends down] Mrs. Garvey, what I’m trying to tell you is that someone else wrote this story.
[Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh, okie dokie then. [Walks away] [Mort is left alone]
Scene 5 : Setting : The Study : Characters : Mort Rainey, Mrs. Garvey, Chico.
[Mort searches his bookshelf for something] [Picks out “Everybody Drops the Dime”] [Places it on the table] [Sits down and pushes back hair] [He opens the book to the contents page, traces down to “Secret Window”] [Flips to “Secret Window”]
Mort’s Voice : A woman who would steal your love when your love was all you had wasn’t much of a woman. That at least was Tommy Haverlock’s opinion. He decided to kill her. [Mort adjusts his glasses] He even knew the place he would bury her. The exact place. The little patch of garden she kept in the extreme angle formed where the old and new parts of the house came together. He’d bury her in the garden she loved more than she loved him. [Mort looks off to the side]
Amy : Why don’t you come to the flea market with me. It’ll be fun. [Flashback fades in] We’ve got to get rid of some of this stuff. Look at this, it’s awful. [She places a teacup on a ledge] [Grabs a chest of drawers and pushes it away] No wonder they left it. [She completely moves it over] Oh my god, look. There’s a window! [She bends down and looks out of it] It’s a secret window. [She opens it, revealing a garden below] Oh, this is perfect. I’m gonna put my garden right there. [She turns back] It’s a secret window and it’ll look down on a secret garden. [The flashback disappears]
Mort : [Turns away] Huh [He looks back at the stories and continues his examination] [He flips through the pages of the stories] Shit. [Shots of the two stories go by] [He closes the stories, rubs his face and breathes in] [He searches through his desk drawer, finds old Doritos. He closes that one and opens another] [After some rummaging, he turns up a pack of L&M cigarettes] [He glances towards the stairway, sees no one, smiles at the dog, then plops one into his mouth] [He turns back the dog] I didn’t steal it. [The dog stares] What? [The dog looks down]
Mrs. Garvey : [From downstairs] Mr. Rainey!
Mort : [Smoking] Mmm? [He lowers the cigarette so it is out of view]
Mrs. Garvey : I’m all done. [Comes up stairs]
Mort : Really? [Smoke puffs out of his mouth] So soon? [Nods] I’ll see you next time.
Mrs. Garvey : Mr. Rainey… There’s something I want to say.
Mort : Oh, no.
Mrs. Garvey : Some women don’t know a good thing when they got it.
Mortb : [Nods] Mm.
Mrs. Garvey : Some women don’t know that they got the whole world and it’s right in front of their nose.
Mort : [Quietly] Mmhmm.. [Nodding]
Mrs. Garvey : There. That’s it. [Begins to descend stairs, then stops] Not another word from me. [Mort watches her go down bitterly, then resumes smoking] Mr. Rainey.
Mort : Hm..? [He hides the cigarette]
Mrs. Garvey : Can I make you something to eat?
Mort : No. I ate. Well.. earlier. I’m going to eat later. And I’ll make it myself.
Mrs. Garvey : You’re a good man, Mr. Rainey. [Nodding]
Mort : You too, Mrs. Garvey. [He watches her go down again] [He frowns, and continues to smoke]
Scene 6 : Setting : The Living Room : Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner.
Mort : [Coming down the stairs and shooing away smoke] It’s my personal business, Mrs. Garvey. Thank you very much. My personal business. [Sees couch] Oh! My pillows now. [He throws the pillows off the couch, and lies down] Her sticky weird fingers on my privacy. Sighs I didn’t steal that story. [Closes eyes] [Turns to face forward] I don’t think.. [Shot of clock] [Mort drifts off to sleep] [The door of the house shakes] [Mort drifts still] [Shooter walks in] Phone rings [Mort blocks away the sun] Wha—? Mm.. [He sits up wearily and searches for the phone] Phone rings [He stand up and brings the phone to the couch] [Lies down and answers] Hello?
Amy : [On phone] Hello Mort. Mort groans [In person] Are you alright?
Mort : Yeah, I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I be alright?
Amy : [On phone] I don’t know. [In person] You’re up there all alone. Anything can happen and nobody would know.
Mort : [On phone] I’d know.
Amy : [On phone] Right. sighs Hey, hey. How’s my little baby puppy? Did Chico ever get those cataracts removed?
Mort : Scowls Why did you call, Amy? What do you want?
Amy : I had one of those feelings I get. [Grabs wine and glasses] I know you think they’re stupid, and you don’t believe them but I believe them and um, [On phone] [Mort scowls and strangles the phone] I was making a sandwich and I had this sensation that you might not be okay. [Mort turns on the couch] I held off as long as possible, [Sets down the wine and glasses into a bag] um but then I couldn’t anymore so here I am.
Mort : Well, I don’t know what to tell you except I’m fine.
Amy : Nothing weird happened or anything? [She walks off]
Mort : [He hesitates] Do you remember Secret Window?
Amy : [On phone] What?
Mort : My story. You know, the one where the… [scratches face] the woman has the garden [On phone] And then the guy has the uh.. shovel?
Amy : [Walks] Not one of my favorites..
Mort : That’s good to know.
Amy : [Laughs] Well, it was kind of hostile, don’t you think?
Mort : [Sits up and grabs the phone] Gee, I miss your constructive criticism, I really do.
Amy : [Wipes lips in a mirror] What about the story, Mort?
Mort : [Goes to the kitchen] Oh, I was just wondering whether you think it’s possible that I might have been influenced by anybody or anything at that time?
Amy : [Fixes hair] Other than Jack Daniels?
Mort : [Returns to couch, drops phone on table ding] I know that part, Amy, hence the question. [Sits down, wipes top of mountain dew can]
Amy : [On phone] I don’t know. Yu got kinda weird on that one. You’d write it mostly at night. I think. [Mort blows on can] [Amy turns away from the mirror] What do you mean influenced anyway?
Mort : [On phone] I don’t know.
Amy : [On phone] Like by another story?
Mort : Look, forget it.
Amy : Mort. [Sits on bed] You swore the one time was the only time.
Mort : [On phone] Forget it. Please, please. Just forget it. Come on. How’s Ted?
Amy : Sighs He’s fine.
Mort : I was thinking that he and I should get together sometime, have a drink because you know, we’ve been to a lot of the same places.
Amy : You know what? I gotta go.
Mort : So do I.
Amy : [Lies back on the bed] Okay.
Mort : Is he there?
Amy : [On phone] No. [In person] We’re not together.
Mort : [Is amazed] Wow. Well.. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t on the verge of doing Snoopy dances. Heh.
Amy : No, Mort. [Sits back up] sighs What I meant was, we’re not together at the moment. [On phone] He’s coming over later. He hardly ever comes here, I usually go to his house.
Mort : [Smiles] There’s a useful detail. Thanks for that. [Lies back down]
Amy : [Looks out window, sees Ted’s car pulling in] Don’t ask, then. It was working just fine that way.
Mort : [On phone] I think you should have him over the house more. [In person] Such a nice house, I like it, I mean I love it. That’s why I bought it.
Amy : [Ted approaches the house] Goodbye, Mort.
Mort : Goodbye, Amy. [Both hang up] [Sits up, with head in hands] Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Scene 7 : Setting : Outside : Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Tom Greenleaf.
[Mort walks down the muddy path outside, holding a walking stick] [He slaps a mosquito on his neck] [He stops at the clearing, seeing Shooter’s car]
Shooter : You read it?
Mort : I did.
Shooter : I imagine it rang a bell, didn’t it?
Mort : Oh, it certainly did. [Approaches Shooter] When did you write it?
Shooter : I thought you’d ask that. [Sits on his car]
Mort : Well, sure. That’s the whole point isn’t it? When two writers show up with the same story, it’s all about who wrote the words first. Wouldn’t you say that’s true?
Shooter : I suppose I would. I suppose that’s why I came all the way up here from Mississippi. [Mort stops, sticks the walking stick in the ground leaning on it, and turns to the road] Honk honk honk [Mort waves, Shooter salutes with his hand] I wrote it seven years ago. 1997. How’d you get it? [Mort smiles] It’s what I really want to know. [He goes up to Mort] How in the hell did a big money-scribblin’ asshole like you get down to a little shitsplat town in Mississippi and steal my goddamn story?
Mort : Drop it. [Walks away]
Shooter : Drop it? Drop it? What in the hell do you mean, Drop it?
Mort : [Comes back] You said you wrote your story in 1997? i wrote mine in late ‘94. It was published for the first time in June ‘95 in a magazine. Nice try, Mr. Shooter, but I beat ya by two years. So if anybody’s got a bitch about plagiarism, it’s me. [Turns away]
Shooter : You lie! [Pins him against the car]
Mort : [Throws him off] No I don’t!
Shooter : Prove it!
Mort : I don’t have to prove a thing to you. Go look for yourself. Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June 1995.
Shooter : And how am I supposed to find that?
Mort : That’s not my problem.
Shooter : Am I supposed to drive down to your house in Riverdale New York and ask your wife Amy for it? [Mort looks shocked] [Shooter smiles] I read it on your book jacket.
Mort : [Gulps] That’s not my house, that’s hers.
Shooter : What the hell does that mean?
Mort : What do you think it means, you ignorant hick? I’m in the middle of a divorce! D-I-V-O-R-C-E—di-vorce.
Shooter : You strike me as the kind of guy who’s on the lookout for a head he can knock off with a shovel. But what you don’t understand is if we do start to fight, it’s not going to end until one or the other of us is dead. [Goes to the car] [Mort is nervous] Hold your water. I’m just gettin’ m’smokes. [He offers one to Mort]
Mort : I don’t smoke.
Shooter : I’ll give you three days. You call your ex and get her to send you the magazine with your story in it, if there is such a magazine, and I’ll be back. [Slips a cigarette into his mouth and lights it]
Mort : If I show it to you, will you go back to wherever you came from and leave me alone?
Shooter : [Puffs smoke] [Nods] Three days. [He returns to his car]
Mort : Always a pleasure to meet a reader.
