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Featured below is the shooting script for Sleepless Nights' opening sequence.... |
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
FADE IN:
EXT. MID-WESTERN TOWN -- NIGHT -- A HOUSE
large, dark and old. The only sound heard is the wind, the only sign of life, a light glowing in a basement window.
INT. HOUSE/BASEMENT WORKROOM
CHRISTIAN GREY, a thin, dark-haired man in his twenties, sits beneath the room’s only light, using a knife to sharpen a wooden stake.
DOCTOR JACOB SLOANE, a man in his forties, appears next to Grey, patting him on the shoulder.
| SLOANE |
| We did good work today. |
| GREY |
| (half-heartedly) |
| Yeah, I guess. |
|
SLOANE |
| This doesn't come easily to you, I know. |
| Shouldn't come easily to anyone. |
He looks away from Grey, seeming to drift off into memories of the night's events.
| SLOANE |
|
When they cry
out, there's still some hint --
|
|
in their voices
and in their faces --
|
|
of what they
once were....
|
He turns back to Grey.
| SLOANE |
|
But we mustn't
allow our -- humanity --
|
|
to deter us from
the work we're doing.
|
He reaches out to wipe away a smudge on Grey's cheek.
|
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|
You should get
cleaned up. Get some sleep.
|
He moves towards the stairs, tossing
the towel aside.
|
|
|
Where are you
going?
|
|
|
|
I have some business
to attend to.
|
|
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You’ll be
all right out there by yourself?
|
| SLOANE |
|
I won’t be
by myself....
|
Hanging from a hook on the wall near the stairs is a large crossbow which Sloane takes down, hefting it in his hands.
|
|
|
I’m taking
a friend along.
|
He heads up the stairs to a door leading outside. Having loaded the crossbow, he pushes the door open.
|
|
|
Be careful, Jacob.
|
Sloane grunts and nods, heading out into the night. The wind slams the door closed behind him.
At the head of a flight leading up into the house, Grey's wife, ALISON, appears. She moves quickly and quietly down the stairs.
As Grey stands and begins loading the finished stakes into a leather bag, Alison moves silently up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he whirls around, a smile appearing on his face when he sees her.
|
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|
Oh, Alison....
|
They embrace and kiss.
|
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Why didn't you
wake me when you got back?
|
|
|
|
I thought you
could use the sleep.
|
| ALISON |
|
You’ve been
gone since last night.
|
| GREY |
|
There was... more
to be done than I expected.
|
She watches as he continues loading the stakes into the bag.
|
|
|
You’re not
going out again, are you?
|
Grey shakes his head.
|
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Not till dawn.
Jacob thinks he
|
|
knows where Malgaard’s
box is hidden.
|
|
If he’s right
we may be able to finish
|
|
the bastard off
once and for all.
|
Alison remains silent for a moment, then...
|
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Why you, Chris?
|
Grey takes a second before answering.
|
|
|
There’s nobody
else left to do it.
|
|
Malgaard’s
taken them all. The whole town.
|
|
|
|
Then why don’t
we just go?
|
|
|
|
And leave Jacob
to fight this on his own?
|
Alison looks away. Grey puts down the stake he's been sharpening and moves to her, taking her in his arms.
|
|
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I can't do it.
Jacob and I have been through
|
|
too much together
for me to run out on him now.
|
|
|
|
But you've never
fought one like Malgaard
|
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before... one
as powerful as he is.
|
Grey cradles her face in his hands.
| GREY |
|
He's not invincible.
Smarter than most...
|
|
and more ruthless...
but once we find him,
|
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we’ll...
|
He stops, feeling something wet on her neck. He holds his hand up in the light to find it spotted with blood.
| GREY |
|
Alison... what...?
|
She pulls free of him, falling back into the shadows where she stands glaring at Grey.
|
|
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Why did you leave
me here alone?
|
|
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Jacob said you'd
be alright... that you'd be
|
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safe here....
|
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|
|
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Jacob said...
Jacob said....
|
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|
| Alison, what is it? |
She steps back into the light, a bloody wound visible on her neck.
|
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Malgaard was here.
|
|
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What?!
|
|
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|
Yes, he was here.
He drank. And he
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made me drink
of him.
|
She moves towards him, glaring at him with glistening animal eyes.
|
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No...!
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I’m his now,
Chris. His forever.
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|
|
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I can help you.... We can find a way to... |
|
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No. There's only
one way now.
|
They both look to the piles of wooden stakes on the table.
|
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I... I can't.
|
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| I know you can't. |
She moves towards him, her lips curling back to reveal hideous fangs, Grey holds out his hands to fend her off.
|
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Alison, no...!
|
She grabs his arms, pushing him back, pinning him to the wall. Her jaws stretch wider as her mouth descends on him, her fangs puncturing the flesh of his neck....
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No...!
|
HARD CUT TO:
INT. A CLOSED COFFIN -- GREY
lying in the coffin, suddenly wakes, his eyes flashing open.
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NOOOO!
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He sits up fast, his head hitting the coffin lid with a thud.
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Damn!
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Realizing he's been dreaming, he slumps back, rubbing his head. After a moment, he reaches up and begins to push open the coffin....
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. A SMALL ROOM
in the center of which is Grey's coffin, now open and empty.
Grey, in a black robe, stands by a partially boarded-up window, peering out at Manhattan's skyline, which flickers in the distance.
|
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Foolish of me,
isn't it? Ten long
|
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years since that
night, and still I let
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dreams of it disturb
my sleep.
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On a nearby table is a framed photo of Alison which Grey lifts and gazes at.
|
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Malgaard could've
had you kill me that
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night. But simple
death would've been
|
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too easy an end
for me. He had to have
|
| his revenge. And he used you, my love, |
| to get it. Used you to turn me into... |
He lowers the photo, closing his eyes as if to block out the pain he's feeling. After a moment he opens his eyes again, staring out at the skyline.
|
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You’re out
there somewhere, Alison. I
|
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know it. I can
feel it. And I know he
|
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holds you in his
power...
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EXT, THE WINDOW
as Grey stares out with longing eyes.
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But soon you'll
be free, my love...
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Now he speaks his thoughts aloud, his voice choked with emotion, his expression one of anguish and resolve.
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Free... I swear
it.
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CAMERA PULLS BACK and we see the outside of the house Grey now calls home. With its boarded-up windows and peeling paint, the structure, standing alone on an overgrown lot, would appear deserted were it not for Grey’s ghostly image in the upstairs window....
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