The Witching Hour
Screenplay by ANNE RICE
??
??
FADE IN:
EXT. A SCOTTISH MOOR - NIGHT - 1670 A.D.
Far off, a massive stone castle looms. Trees silhouetted an
the horizon against the star-dotted, qreen-purple sky. The branches of one tree seem to reach
for the stars...
TRACKING IN - the tree is A HOODED FIGURE: SUZANNE - 20, golden hair spilling from her hood,
dazzling green eyes. Nestled in the f
figured.
So you take him out to the shed,
give him a talking to. Theyll work it out.
I mean, hell, Beth left me a dozen times
before we worked out the kinks.
Did she?
How did you first hear that Pearson
Taconite and Steel was hiring women?
- Wanna lean back there?
- Okay.
Oh, my... Glory?
Yeah?
No way. Josey? No way!
Look at you, all grown up.
Yeah, all grown up, washing hair.
And married? Whos t
FIGURE stands at a window, watching Clay unload
his red power mower.
INT. HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY
The shadow is a man with dove white hair, wearing a dress
shirt and seersucker jacket. This is JAMES WHALE, age 67.
DAVID
Id have more peace of mind if the
live-in nurse were still here.
HANNA
She was nothing but bother. I not
like her, Mr. Jimmy not like her.
We do better if you live-in again,
Mr.
FIGURE. Like a spider. Inching its way up the steel
surface of the 98th floor, and we CLOSE to see...
The THIEF. All in black, nearly invisible, with a sleek visored
helmet that conceals the face. Two long, oblong backpacks, climb-
ing ropes and harness across back and shoulders, tools at the belt.
Moving STRAIGHT UP the face of the skyscraper. How is it possible?
CLOSER still to see...
...the pi
figures this whole boat
is basically just his own
personal, private stereo set.
He gets this
piece of Pavarotti...
Paganini.
Whatever.
Paganini.
This is my story, OK?
Tell it right.
Pavarottis a tenor.
Paganini was a composer.
OK. So hes got this music,
and hes got it out
in the water.
Hes listening
on his headsets,
happy as a clam.
Then all hell breaks loose.
A slew of boats
out of San Diego...
precedent.
Sure thing, John.
Anything else?
Wouldnt happen to have
anything for a...?
On the house.
All right, question. How much longer
do I have to be your slave, John?
Youre not my slave, Chas.
Youre my very appreciated apprentice.
Like Tonto or Robin.
Or that skinny fellow
with the fat friend.
Right. So then why dont I apprentice
something besides driving, then, John?
John? John.
I love our l
preceding aircraft. Over.
Jesus, wake up! Wake up!
The little girl asked me
if she could be an angel.
They all want wings.
I never know what to say.
Tell them the truth.
Angels arent human.
We were never human.
What if I just make her
a little pair of wings out of paper?
Tell her the truth.
I told her.
How did she take it?
She said, "What good would wings be
if you couldnt feel wind on your face?
figure its like riding a roller coaster.
You must be this high
to get ADA protection.
Very funny, Mr. Max.
What if I told you I just finished
a pro bono case...
...that involved a gentlemens club
that tried to terminate...
...the employment of a dancer
with dwarfism because she--
You represented a midget stripper?
-Was she hot?
-Mr. Max.
If youre genuinely interested in the case,
come to office h
FIGURE emerges from the
trees and walks toward the water. It is a YOUNG WOMAN dressed in a
flowing white dress that swirls around her in the breeze. The pink
light burnishes her hair and causes a gold circlet she wears on her
head to glow. She is breathtaking, a vision of innocence and grace.
She stops to pick a flower and then turns suddenly as if she has
heard something.
GIRL: Is it you?
She ta
figures. One, A WOMAN, seems to be asleep. Her pale head rests against the side of the cockpit. THE PILOT, a man, wears goggles and a leather helmet. He is singing, too, but we can몶t hear him or the plane or anything save the singer몶s plaintive voice.
The plane shudders over a ridge. Beneath it A SUDDEN CLUSTER OF MEN AND MACHINES, camouflage nets draped over the sprawl of gasoline tanks and