A FIRE IN THE MIND

Written by
Kenneth White
and
Stephen & Robin Larsen
Adapted from
"A Fire in the Mind"
by
Stephen and Robin Larsen

1108 Wellesley Avenue

Modesto, CA 95350-5044
(209) 567-0600
KenWhite@kw209.com

FADE IN:
NEWSREEL FOOTAGE (BLACK AND WHITE)
of the Great Depression. Two years on. The dawn of the Dirty
30s.
EXT. NEW YORK CITY - WASHINGTON SQUARE DAY
Homeless FAMILIES shelter in tents and shacks.
TITLE CARD
New York
Summer, 1931
EXT. AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY DAY
The pink brownstone and granite monolith towers among parklike grounds across from Central Park.
INT. MUSEUM EXHIBIT HALL
of Northwest Coast Indians.
JOSEPH "JOE" CAMPBELL, a lanky and athletic 27-year-old, is
surrounded by a forest of Totem Poles. He wears a fringed,
buckskin tunic. His fierce, bright blue eyes devour an
intricate Kwakiutl totem depicting a sea monster with a
frog's body, an otter's paws, and a raven's head.
Joe removes an arrowhead from his tunic pocket. He clenches
his fist around it.
Mythic images stream from the totems and swirl around his
head. He opens his arms, closes his eyes, and drinks them in.
EXT. FORDHAM UNIVERSITY LIBRARY NIGHT
A solo light beams from a window atop the ivy-covered tower.
INT. DUANE LIBRARY - READING ROOM
Joe burns the midnight oil. He has commandeered an entire
table. He sits alone, surrounded by books.
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer, Psychology of
the Unconscious by B.M. Hinkle, The Interpretation of Dreams,
Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud, The Mind of Primitive Man,
by Franz Boas, and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann.
Joe picks up a book. He blows away the dust. SNEEZES. Opens
the hefty volume. Reads, scribbles notes, scans,
contemplates, writes.

2.

EXT./INT. MANHATTAN APARTMENT JOE'S ROOM DAY

Joe writes at his desk. A stack of dog-eared Saturday Evening
Post magazines sits at his left elbow.
A cork bulletin board hangs above the desk. Pinned to it: A
postcard of Carmel, California. A watercolor of a small Arts
and Crafts cottage. An artist's rendering of the Holy Grail.
A child's drawing of an American Indian, ear to the ground,
bow and arrow in hand.
CLOSE ON
the last page of the manuscript. Joe scrawls, "The End." He
stacks all the pages in a neat pile.
The title page reads:

"Strictly Platonic."

EXT. LONG ISLAND SANDS POINT DUSK

The pleasure domes of the Gold Coast shimmer like Xanadu.
EXT. LANDS END
overlooks Long Island Sound. The manicured grounds stretch to
the beach. The blue gardens swirl and eddy with GATSBY
POSEURS dressed in knife-sharp tuxes and gossamer gowns.
The smart set jitterbug to a JAZZ ORCHESTRA. Champagne
bubbles and hors-d'ouevres glisten. Torturous WHISPERS and
violent LAUGHTER fill the air.
Joe, uneasy in his rented tuxedo, escorts 23-year-old
PARMENIA MIGEL, a beautiful, serene orchid of a woman,
through the labyrinth of excess.
JOE
Such obvious people. They want what
they want and they want it now.
PARMENIA
They're my friends.
EXT. SANDS POINT BEACH
Joe and Parmenia stroll along the shoreline.
JOE
You have to know where you're going
to get there.
PARMENIA
It all sounds so planned, darling.
So permanent. So irrevocable.

3.

JOE
That's life, yes?
PARMENIA
That's incredibly boring.
JOE
I want to write, Parmenia.
PARMENIA
Writing is a hobby, Joseph. Not a
career. You'll never have this
doing that.
She sweeps her arm to indicate the estate.
JOE
I want to get married, have
children and a home.
PARMENIA
Where's the fun? The excitement?
The extraordinary?
Parmenia removes her shoes, tosses them to Joe, and walks
ankle-deep into the surf. She dances on the brink, along the
ocean's edge. She motions for Joe to join her.
JOE
I don't own these.
He gestures to his tux.
PARMENIA
You're so pedestrian.
JOE
I'm sorry.
Parmenia stops dancing. She walks back to Joe and yanks away
her shoes.
PARMENIA
So am I.
JOE
Why?
PARMENIA
I can't do this.
JOE
Do what?

4.

PARMENIA
Live the life you want to live.
JOE
Parts or all?
PARMENIA
All. I don't want children. Or a
bungalow in Westchester. I don't
want to trek through ruins. I don't
want to marry you.
JOE
I didn't do anything.
PARMENIA
Precisely. You're in a rut, Joseph.
You need to open up, take risks,
taste life. Dance more.
JOE
Give me a chance.
PARMENIA
I have.
JOE
What about a second chance?
PARMENIA
I can't. But, here's something
better.
She steps closer to Joe. He grins, eager to experience this
"something better."
PARMENIA (CONTD)
Stop being so rigid. Things never
go as planned.
JOE
I can't help myself.
PARMENIA
Have you ever done anything for no
good reason?
JOE
Like what you just did?
PARMENIA
You live too much in here.
(touches his head)
Not enough in here.
(touches his heart)

5.

JOE
I can change.
PARMENIA
You haven't.
Parmenia glides back up the path, returning to her world.
INT. CAMPBELL APARTMENT DRAWING ROOM DAY
Joe's 51-year-old FATHER (CHARLES), 58-year-old MOTHER
(JOSEPHINE), and 23-year-old SISTER (ALICE) savor afternoon
tea.
Joe enters. He drops a large manila mailing envelope onto a
low table. He STOMPS up the stairs to his room.
His mother picks up the envelope, withdraws a stack of
manuscripts, and a letter.
CLOSE ON
the rejection letter from the Saturday Evening Post.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK DAY
Joe and his father stand on the turret of Belvedere Castle,
perched on the summit of Vista Rock. They gaze out at Turtle
Pond.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
You can't eat words, Joseph.
JOE
I will not be tied down. Doing the
same, dull thing, day-in and dayout.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
I'm sorry you see my life as such a
waste.
JOE
It's not my life, Father.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
All that time squandered on "The
Waste Land," Arthur, and the Grail
legend.
Studying things that have nothing to do with survival. That's
the true waste.
JOE
Knowledge is never a waste.

6.

CHARLES CAMPBELL
Then use it. Be a teacher.
JOE
So mundane. Those who can't, do.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
That's a little harsh, son.
JOE
The world is changing. I will not
be left behind.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
What do you know about what's out
there?
JOE
I'm about to find out.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
It's a waste land. All that greed
and selfishness.
JOE
It's time to get out of the stands.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
And do what?
JOE
I need to tell my stories.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
How can you be a serious writer, my
boy? What are you willing to
sacrifice? For art?
JOE
Whatever it takes.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
We made it too easy for you, I'm
afraid.
Joe stares across the water.
JOE
I'm going West. Everyone else is.
There's something there. Waiting.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
We expected more. The world has
enough vagabonds.

7.

JOE
I know what I want.
CHARLES CAMPBELL
What can one man do?
JOE
You'd be surprised, Father. You'd
be surprised.
Joe tosses a stone into the pond. It ripples out in everwidening circles.
EXT. CAMPBELL APARTMENT MORNING
Flanked by stone gargoyles, Joe's mother and sister look down
and wave goodbye.
JOE (V.O.)
There was a fire in my mind. Which
only a journey could quench.
At the front door, Joe shakes hands with his father. All very
manly and unemotional.
Joe looks up and waves at his mother and sister. He wears the
buckskin tunic. He bows and steps into his Ford Flivver. He
places the arrowhead on the dashboard, pointing West. He
fires up the car and lurches away.
TRANSITION TO:
JOURNEY MONTAGE
Joe drives through a shifting kaleidoscope of American
landscapes.
TITLE CARD
America
Fall, 1931
Everywhere he goes, Joe sees deadening poverty and despair.
The roads are jammed with FAMILIES. Rubber GYPSIES heading
West into the setting sun.
EXT. CALIFORNIA - DAY
Joe rolls across sun-drenched Southern California to Los
Angeles. He turns north and travels up the placid, languid
coast through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
The road is littered with thumb-riding HOBOS.

8.

At Salinas, Joe heads northeast toward San Jose.

EXT. SAN JOSE MORNING
Joe navigates the Flivver through old San Jose.
EXT. SAN JOSE BUNGALOW MORNING
Joe KNOCKS at the front door.
IDELL HENNING answers. She's an unpretentious, twinkling,
exotic 24-year-old. She wears pajamas, slippers, and a light
blue coolie jacket. Her hair is cut short in the new style.
JOE
Aloha, Idell.
IDELL
As I live and breathe. Joe
Campbell.
JOE
A long way from Honolulu.
They can't decide whether to shake hands or hug. They hug.
EXT. BUNGALOW GARDEN LATER
Idell cuts roses and lays them carefully in a basket.
IDELL
Trekked to Hawaii and came back
more pale than you arrived. So Joe.
Joe hangs on her every word. Entranced.
Idell looks at him from time-to-time and smiles. Flattered by
his attentiveness. And attracted.
JOE
The university had a very good
library.
IDELL
Ours has better dust.
He smiles at her good-natured ribbing.
JOE
This is so different than New York.
IDELL
Right Coasters think we're a little
odd.

9.

JOE
I miss having this. This
naturalness. With a woman.
Idell smiles.
IDELL
Enjoy what you've got, Joe. But
don't be satisfied. Reach out for
more.
JOE
You're so straightforward. How
refreshing.
IDELL
Be realistic and frank, my friend.
That's my motto. Never pretend to
feel something you don't feel.
GARDEN - LATER
Joe and Idell sip tea. Idell smokes a cigarette in a longstemmed holder. She blows smoke rings. Joe pokes them with
his finger.
JOE
I will be anything but ordinary.
IDELL
It's swell you know what you want.
JOE
I do.
IDELL
A journey is like a marriage, Joe.
You're dead wrong to think you can
control it.
INT. BATHROOM NIGHT
Joe soaks in the tub.
Idell sits on the toilet seat in her nightgown.
JOE
It's a silly notion, really.
IDELL
Nuts to that. Living and writing in
Carmel. How bucolic.

10.

JOE
Ouch. Not quite the image I had in
my mind's eye.
IDELL
Sorry, kid.
JOE
It's a fantasy anyway. It will
never happen. Who was I kidding?
IDELL
I have a wild scheme. Kind of
dingy, actually.
JOE
Let's hear it.
IDELL
Do you remember my big sis, Carol?
JOE
Redhead, yes?
IDELL
That's her.
JOE
I do. Absolutely.
IDELL
Well, she married a chap who's
doing the very thing you want to
do. His name is John. John
Steinbeck. Heard of him?
JOE
No, can't say I have. But, I'm not
very current.
IDELL
Neither has anybody else.
(she stands)
I'd like to get you two together.
Why don't we take a run down there?
JOE
Now?
IDELL
Tomorrow's soon enough. Pacific
Grove is just around the corner.
JOE
I'm game.

11.

IDELL
Me, too.
Idell steps nearer the tub.
Joe pulls her in.
EXT. THE MONTEREY PENINSULA MORNING
The most beautiful marriage of land and sea.
Safe harbor for artists and Bohemians.
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE - COTTAGE MORNING
The flimsy red house sits on Eleventh Street. It's a little
down-at-the-heels. Like the rest of the country.
INT. COTTAGE
Clean and comfortable, but Spartan. Hard times have hit here
just like everywhere.
JOHN STEINBECK sits in a straight-backed chair at his card
table writing desk. He's a hulking, solemn 30-year-old with a
Clark Gable moustache and yesterday's stubble.
The resemblance to Joe is remarkable, especially around the
eyes, which are a wide-awake, intense blue.
On the table in front of him is a used accountant's ledger
filled with scrawlings in ripe, rich green ink.
Next to it a pack of cigarettes, a sea-shell ash tray, and a
small cigarette lighter. He smokes.
CAROL STEINBECK sets a cup of coffee on the table. John
smiles.
She's a handsome, long-legged, redheaded 26-year-old, with a
kind of sparkle and feistiness about her.
John and Carol wear the same clothes. Denim pants and slouchy
jackets. In the style of Ernest and Hadley Hemingway. Also a
little worn-out.
Carol returns to pacing around a small table that cradles a
typewriter. She moves to the fireplace. She centers an
ancient brass cup, sitting on the mantle.
CAROL
Of an unknown God?
JOHN
Almost. To an unknown God?

12.

CAROL
What about ... ?
(inspired)
To a God Unknown?
Steinbeck's face brightens. His right eyebrow exclaims.
JOHN
Sweet Carol. I don't know what I'd
do without my elfin muse.
CAROL
Don't call me no damn elephant
moose, sir.
She waddles around like an elephant moose.
They both LAUGH.
JOHN
It's us against the world.
CAROL
I put my money on us.
EXT. HIGHWAY AFTERNOON
The Flivver bumps along old State Route 1 near Watsonville.
Joe and Idell chatter non-stop, like students on a field
trip.
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE SAME TIME
The Flivver cruises along Lighthouse Avenue.
MONARCH BUTTERFLIES fill the sky, fluttering on their annual
pilgrimage from Canada to their protective winter habitat
among the pine forests of Pacific Grove.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE DUSK
The Flivver pulls up and parks. Idell gets out and stretches.
Carol, sweaty and dirty, rounds the corner of the house, arms
filled with fresh-cut wood. She sees her sister, drops
everything, and runs to greet her.
The sisters hug.
Joe clambers out of the Flivver.
Carol walks up to Joe. She extends her hand.

13.

CAROL
I remember you.
JOE
And I, you.
Something passes between the two as they shake hands.
CAROL
Six years ago. That fateful voyage
to Hawaii.
Uh,

...

JOE
fateful.

CAROL
Helluva journey.
Um,

...

JOE
quite.

Carol smiles at Joe's flustrated lack of words.

INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE LIVING ROOM MOMENTS LATER
Carol enters and drops the wood by the fireplace. Idell
escorts Joe inside.
John stands at the bay window. He turns at the commotion.
IDELL
John, this is Mr. Joe Campbell.
CAROL
(appraising them side-byside)
You two could be brothers.
John crosses to join them. He and Joe shake hands.
JOE
Just call me Cain.
JOHN
How Abel are you?
Carol grimaces and touches her eye.
CAROL
Shit.
IDELL
What is it, sister?

14.

CAROL
Something in my eye.
JOE
Let me take a look.
CAROL
Are you a doctor?
JOE
Of philosophy.
CAROL
Close enough.
JOE
Let's get nearer the light.
Joe navigates Carol closer to a floor lamp. Idell hovers.
John sits in his chair reading. Uninterested in what is
happening.
JOE (CONTD)
Now, look up, down, left, right.
Ah, there it is.
Joe removes his handkerchief from his back pants pocket and
lightly touches her exposed eye.
JOE (CONTD)
That should do it, yes?
Carol blinks rapidly, rubs her eye, and smiles.
JOE (CONTD)
Wood ash, it appears.
CAROL
Lucky for me you were here.
JOE
Anybody could have done it.
CAROL
But, you did.
DINING ROOM LATER
Carol and Idell remove the dinner plates.
Joe and John remain at the table.
JOHN
Beer?

15.

JOE
I don't drink.
JOHN
I'll have one anyway.
John goes into the kitchen and returns with a freshly-opened
bottle of Burgermeister.
As the two women wash the dishes, we catch bits of Joe and
John's CONVERSATION.
JOE
I studied the Arthurian legends in
Europe.
JOHN
I lived in England for a spell. Did
a little research. Plan to write
about it someday.
JOE
Arthur, Guinevere, and Merlin.
JOHN
Don't forget Lancelot.
JOE
Undone by a woman.
Carol enters in time to hear that comment.
CAROL
You know what a woman can do to a
man.
Both men gaze at Carol.
LIVING ROOM - LATER
Joe and John sit near the fireplace, drinking coffee.
TILLIE, John's Airedale, enters and nuzzles Joe's hand.
JOE
Handsome dog.
JOHN
Yep, she is. Her name is Tylie
Eulenspiegel. We call her Tillie.
John SNAPS his fingers sharply.
JOHN (CONTD)
Sit, girl.

16.

Tillie hurries over and curls up at her master's feet.

JOE
So, a writer, yes?
JOHN
Struggling.
JOE
A writer, nonetheless.
JOHN
Can I read a little?
JOE
Absolutely.
CAROL
I'll get some coffee started.
John goes to his desk, selects some typed pages, and returns.
JOHN
The hero is Joseph Wayne. Based on
Joseph of the Old Testament.
JOE
That's who I was named after. The
interpreter of dreams and
mysteries.
John is impressed. Joe's knowledge seems almost limitless.
JOHN
It's about Joseph's journey West.
To California's promised land.
Joe is a little unsettled by the parallels.
JOHN (CONTD)
(reads)
"When the crops were under cover on
the Wayne farm near Pittsfield in
Vermont, when the winter wood was
cut and the first light snow lay on
the ground, Joseph Wayne went to
the wing-back chair by the
fireplace late one afternoon and
stood before his father. These two
men were alike."
Joe sits back and closes his eyes, savoring the words.

17.

LIVING ROOM A LITTLE LATER

John flips to the last page of the typed manuscript.
JOHN
(reads)
"He went back to his chair and sat
listening to the rush of the
waters. He thought of Joseph Wayne,
and he saw the pale eyes suffering
because of the land's want. 'That
man must be very happy now,' Father
Angelo said to himself."
John finishes and looks expectantly to Joe.
JOE
I like the idea. But, the
characters seem, well, lifeless to
me. It all lacked a sensuous, vivid
quality.
John looks mildly annoyed, then SIGHS.
JOHN
Yep, I agree.
The women enter from the kitchen and join them.
JOHN (CONTD)
Mind if I read more?
JOE
Not at all.
JOHN
This is a short story. A re-telling
of Arthur and the Round Table.
JOE
Appropriate.
JOHN
(reads)
"When Danny came home from the army
he learned that he was an heir and
an owner of property. The viejo,
that is the grandfather, had died,
leaving Danny the two small houses
on Tortilla Flat."
LIVING ROOM SOME TIME PASSES
Everyone is quiet, caught up in John's vision a modern tale
of the genesis of the Round Table set in Monterey.

18.

JOHN
(reads)
"The people of the Flat melted into
the darkness. Danny's friends still
stood looking at the smoking ruin.
They looked at one another
strangely, and then back to the
burned house. And after a while
they turned and walked slowly away,
and no two walked together."
John finishes.
Everyone is very still.
Misty-eyed, Carol kisses John on the cheek.
JOE
I think it's tremendous. There's a
fine, deep, living quality which
ought to ring a bell.
Idell nods in agreement.
JOHN
If it's ever read.
Tillie rises, stretches, and ambles over to Joe's feet. She
plops down and falls asleep.
John glances at his dog, then up at Joe.
Joe shrugs.
IDELL
Joe, tell John your pipe dream.
JOE
He wouldn't be interested.
IDELL
Malarkey.
JOE
Well, John, I'd like to try my hand
at writing. Short stories, that is.
Perhaps around here.
JOHN
So, you're insane, too.
JOE
I'm afraid so.

19.

IDELL
(to John)
What do you think?
CAROL
I think you should stay.
JOE
The night?
CAROL
As long as you like.
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE CANARY COTTAGE DAY
Joe moves into a small house with bright yellow, cardboard
siding.
JOHN (OVER SHOT)
You know, there's a place right
next door to a friend of mine. Just
came up for rent.
CAROL (O.S.)
It's not hoity-toity Carmel.
JOE (O.S.)
Close enough.
CAROL (O.S.)
Neighbors call it Canary Cottage.
JOE (O.S.)
Sounds perfect.
CAROL (O.S.)
It's settled then.
JOHN (O.S.)
Welcome to the clan.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE NIGHT
GALLERY OF IMAGES (JOURNEY WALL)
Tacked to a blank side wall are the mementos from Joe's
apartment room the Carmel postcard, the cottage, the Holy
Grail, and the Indian drawing.
Joe sits at his desk. He finishes a sketch of a red-haired,
green-eyed Guinevere. He pins it to the wall below the
mementos. He stares at it a moment. He smiles and returns to
his desk.

20.

JOE (V.O.)
At last. A world of my
contemporaries.
Joe places the arrowhead on the window sill above his desk.
He flips open a new Saturday Evening Post. He starts a new
story in a "new" ledger book like John's.
JOE (V.O.) (CONTD)
This constellation of mavericks.
On a branch WHISPERING against the window, a COCOON
transforms into a beautiful Monarch BUTTERFLY.
EXT. NEW MONTEREY CANNERY ROW DAYBREAK
Cannery Row, the Sardine Factory, the Waterfront, the Docks.
New Monterey is an industrial town of Italians, Chinese,
Japanese, Slavs, Poles, Mexicans, paisanos, and mulattos who
work the canning lines and seine boats.
With the sunrise, the day begins for the Free Company of
Cannery Row. The compadres of the street. BUMS sleep in
barrels. WINOS snore in derelict industrial piping in a
vacant lot. BINDLE STIFFS rummage through garbage cans.
DORA'S GIRLS drift out onto the porch of the Bear Flag
Restaurant, coffee and brandy in hand.
WON YEE, proprietor, stands outside the Wing Chong Market.
A fishing boat puts out to sea. Followed by another and
another, as the SARDINE FLEET begins its day's work.
JOHN (V.O.)
"Cannery Row in Monterey in
California is a poem, a stink, a
grating noise, a quality of light,
a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a
dream."
MUFFLED, a LEADBELLY swamp blues tune THRUMS the water.
EXT. NEW MONTEREY OCEAN VIEW AVENUE MORNING
John and Joe walk through the fog.
JOHN
Never known anyone like him.
EXT. CANNERY ROW MORNING
They stop before a small, two-storied, weathered wooden
building squeezed between two canneries at 800 Ocean View.

21.

It wouldn't be an overstatement to say the building is on the

wrong side of the railroad tracks that run parallel to Ocean
View, a half block up the hill.
Near the front door hangs a rough-hewn wooden sign. The
tentacles of an octopus encircle a broken mast inscribed with
the words: "Pacific Biological Laboratories."
Leadbelly is replaced with the strains of Bach's THE ART OF
THE FUGUE, wafting out the open window of the lab.
JOHN
He loves women in any way, shape
or form. And beer.
Across the street at the Bear Flag, two of the local WORKING
GIRLS stretch out on the stoop, soaking up the sun and the
MUSIC.
A couple CUSTOMERS sit in their roadsters, doors open,
smoking cigarettes, and enjoying the churchy music.
JOHN (CONTD)
He lives for now.
INT. PACIFIC BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES (DOC'S LAB) MORNING
John and Joe enter. They look around. No one home.
A big, sturdy-looking, unlocked safe stands alone, piled high
with stationery and filing cards.
Papers cover a large, weathered work table.
Pinned to the walls at eye-level are reproductions of da
Vinci, Daumier, and Dali.
Joe inspects the library. Goethe, Schiller, Novalis,
Spengler, and anthologies on physics and biology.
John examines the FAUNA, some living in cages, some dead in
bottles and jars.
JOHN
All that matters is the truth. With
a capital "T."
Joe takes a closer look at the Rube Goldberg-ish phonograph
player SPOUTING MUSIC.
John leans down to inspect an empty cage.

22.

JOHN (CONTD)
These days, folks got no courage to
live their own life. It's all "have
to, not want to."
JOE
I've never done a thing I wanted to
in my entire life. Except come out
here.
JOHN
Not good old Eddie. Doesn't believe
in "have to."
A RATTLESNAKE lunges at John's face, smashing into the cage
bars.
John YELPS and falls back. Joe catches him.
John smiles sheepishly. He was trying to show off and it
backfired.
JOHN (CONTD)
He'll give you the shirt off his
back. And the skin off my teeth.
He's a hard man not to like.
John stares at a pickled CHILD'S FETUS floating in a museum
jar. Its little legs are crossed in a Buddha pose, as if it
were praying.
JOHN (CONTD)
Folks around here call him "Doc."
He's your new neighbor.
The music has ended. The needle SCRATCHES MONOTONOUSLY as it
spins against the inside hub of the record.
Joe tries to figure out how to turn off the contraption.
JOHN (CONTD)
Everyone finds himself in "Doc."
ED (OFF-SCREEN)
(plain, Midwestern accent)
Hey there, oh great writer!
Startled, John and Joe turn around.
Standing in the doorway is 34-year-old EDWARD FLANDERS ROBB
"ED" RICKETTS, sporting a broad-brimmed hat and goatish
smile. He is a small, wiry man; genial and full of life. His
eyes radiate with mischief. Half-Christ, half-Satyr, his
wispy beard ripples in the ocean breeze.

23.

Ed emits a staccato LAUGH.

JOHN
Hail, oh great scientist!
Ed steps into the lab.
Joe walks up to Ed and extends his hand.
JOE
Joe Campbell.
Ed lifts a brown paper bag he's been carrying.
ED
Breakfast.
Ed slips off the bag to reveal a quart bottle of beer. He
unscrews the top and takes a quick swig. He SMACKS his lips.
ED (CONTD)
Nothing like that first taste of
cerveza in the morning. Yum-yum.
Ed takes a deeper drink, smiles, and waves two fingers in the
air, blessing God for the gift of beer.
ED (CONTD)
Man can't work on an empty stomach.
JOHN
Hair of the dog, eh, Ed?
ED
Scale of the snapper, John, ink of
the squid.
He shakes Joe's outstretched hand.
ED (CONTD)
Mind if I call you "JC"? You look
like a martyr.
JOHN
Ed likes nicknames.
ED
Comes from being a scientist. Blame
it on Linnaeus.
JOE
I guess I don't mind. Sure, I don't
mind at all. I've never had a
nickname.

24.

EXT. THE LAB BACK LANDING LATE MORNING

Ed and John drink beers. Bohemia this time. Joe sips a CocaCola. His gaze alternates between John and Ed and the ocean.
Relaxed. Enthralled. Less rigid than he's been in some time.
JOHN
Ed here has spent his life kneedeep in the tides trying to chart
the universe.
ED
Stars or starfish. It's all the
same, you see.
JOHN
Calls himself a "holistic
ecologist."
ED
Look, ecology is science's way of
making up for its sins against
nature. Our sins.
JOHN
Yep, we're all in this soup
together.
ED
All hitched together, Joe. All
hitched together. Interrelated
parts of a whole. There's no
difference between a lovely flower,
a good poem, or a sea spider.
JOHN
We just got to figure out how to
get along with the old lady.
ED
If we don't, we won't survive. Know
why?
JOHN
Because Mother Nature bats last.
ED
Say, JC, we're meeting Carol at the
tide pools later. Care to join us?
JOHN
Specimens for him, grub for us.
Off Joe's confused look.

25.

JOHN (CONTD)
In case you hadn't noticed, times
are tough.
JOE
Unfortunately, I have.
EXT. POINT PIOS LIGHTHOUSE LATE AFTERNOON
Ed, Joe, Carol, and John wade in the tide pools among the
large rocks off the coast. They gather sea FOOD and SPECIMENS
and dump them into gunnysacks.
Joe and John splash Tillie, who dances in the surf, caught
between them.
JOHN (OVER SHOT)
We get what we can where we can.
GREAT TIDE POOL - EVENING
Ed kneels on the edge of the Great Tide Pool. Joe, Carol, and
John hover over his shoulder.
Ed tips back his small-brimmed fedora and closely inspects
some CREATURES with the twenty-power Bausch and Lomb
magnifying glass, attached to a small roller chain, that's
always pinned to his shirt.
Ed gestures, explains, then glances back to confirm that they
understand. They all nod, like good students.
ED (O.S.)
Starving artist is more than an
amateur pose in the Steinbeck
adobe.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE NIGHT
Joe sits at his desk.
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
He stares at the wall dotted with images of his journey thus
far.
Next to an image of Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt,
a photo of Ed has been added beside drawings of Coyote the
Trickster and Kokopeli.
INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE DAY
Different day, same clothes, same work. John is totally
absorbed in his writing.

26.

Carol stands beside the fireplace. She gazes at the brass

cup.
Joe relaxes in the easy chair. Observing. Spellbound. Oswald
Spengler's The Decline of the West lies face-down on his lap.
Carol sits and types.
JOHN
Do you like?
CAROL
I do. It's so damned real. So
earthy I can almost taste it. Which
would make my stupid stomach shut
the hell up.
JOHN
Don't know whatCAROL
You'll be great with or without me.
INT. DOC'S LAB NIGHT
Dinner at the lab. GERSHWIN on the phonograph.
Artichokes boil on the stove, a small chicken broils in the
oven, fresh Salinas lettuce dries on the counter, wine flows.
A sumptuous banquet considering the times.
The GUESTS are diverse and colorful. Gregarious Bohemians
all.
Joe and Ed, Carol and John.
Fledgling writer and artist 23-year-old RITCHIE LOVEJOY and
his same-aged "roommate," NATALYA ("TAL").
JACK CALVIN, adventurer, photographer, writer and his wife,
29-year-old SASHA.
Tal and Sasha are the Sisters Kashevaroff, outgoing and
outrageous Russian migrs. They pale in comparison to their
18-year-old sister, XENIA.
Ed and John drink freely.
Carol entertains the group with over-the-top charades.
JOHN
"Ain't Misbehavin'"!
Carol touches her nose to signal he's right.

27.

CAROL
Bingo! Fats Waller tune.
JOHN
You're wrong. It's Louis Armstrong.
ED
Stop fighting children. You're both
right.
JOE
Leo Reisman also did it.
JOHN
Old know-it-all Joe. A real
Abercrombie.
Carol leans down to kiss John. He turns his cheek. She kisses
him hard on the other cheek.
Joe has become very much a part of the group. He LAUGHS a
lot. From time-to-time, he gazes at Carol. The clothes he
wears resemble John's.
Ed touches the sleeve of Joe's jacket.
ED
Nice duds, JC.
JOE
They're a good fit, yes?
Carol appears and plops down between the two men.
CAROL
Hope you two weren't talking about
wittle 'ol me.
ED
Not a chance. Not a chance.
JOE
That wouldn't be gentlemanly, now
would it?
CAROL
I'd like Joe to know a little more
about the company we keep. This
band of goddamned misfits.
ED
I'll leave you in Carol's capable
hands. I hear a beer calling my
name.

28.

As Ed wanders off, Carol threads her arm through Joe's and

cuddles closer, like a child about to enter a wonderland.
She points at a 40-year-old MAN wearing round spectacles and
a fedora jauntily cocked at an angle.
CAROL (OVER SHOT)
That's Henry Miller. He's a writer
and dirty old man. Lived in Paris.
She moves on to a lean, intense 19-year-old MAN, who Xenia
shamelessly flirts with.
CAROL (O.S.) (CONTD)
John Cage composes wild music. He's
a bit of a prodigy. Very sexy.
Damned Xenia will go after anything
in pants.
JOE (O.S.)
Women love musicians.
CAROL (O.S.)
Some women.
Carol scans the room and stops on a dark, distinguished 55year-old MAN wearing an open-collared white shirt, gaucho
pants, and red kerchief around his neck.
CAROL (O.S.) (CONTD)
Joseph Mora is the "Renaissance Man
of the West." Does just about every
damned thing. Writer, painter,
sculptor. He carved the tomb for
Father Junipero Serra over at
Carmel Mission.
Carol points at a bearded, smiling 45-year-old MAN with a
camera around his neck.
CAROL (O.S.) (CONTD)
And there's Edward Weston. He
shoots naked women and vegetables.
Erotic still lifes. I really love
his work.
She jabs Joe in the ribs with her elbow.
JOE
I'm not sure I've ever seen an
erotic vegetable.

29.

THE LAB A LITTLE LATER

The CACOPHONY of conversation includes snippets of
metaphysics, psychology, art, music, and literature. A dab of
mythology, a dash of history, a pinch of mysticism.
Ritchie draws a caricature of John dressed as King Arthur.
The ears, nose, and right eyebrow are accentuated. The
cartoon John jousts a dragon labeled "Injustice." Instead of
a lance, he wields a fountain pen.
Making a point to John, Ed gestures to a GRAPH OF HISTORY
that runs halfway around the office. Note cards dot the
graph, covered with neat, small elite type.
A MAP of WESTERN CANADA and ALASKA is tacked to another wall.
JOHN
(to Joe)
Jack and I went to Stanford
together.
CAROL
Jack's the real adventurer of the
two.
Jack TAPS the Inside Passage on the map of Alaska.
JACK
Sasha and I explored most of this.
SASHA
In an ever-loving canoe.
XENIA
On their honeymoon.
JOHN
With a dog.
RITCHIE
The venerable National Geographic
published his scribblings.
TAL
They're going back to the scene of
the crime.
JOHN
And taking the scientist with them.
ED
I'll be collecting. A specimen of
pink jellyfish, gonionemus vertens.

30.

CAROL
(to Joe)
That's how our little collective,
this salon of New Bohemians,
survives. Ed's the butter and egg
man.
JOHN
He makes the money. We spend it.
Joe picks up a guitar leaning against one end of a slightly
broken-down couch. He STRUMS a few notes. Deftly TUNES. He
SINGS a troubadour's ballad. He is very good. He finishes to
WILD APPLAUSE.
ED
Ah, chivalry. Indeed.
JOHN
Yep, a different time.
JOE
For the troubadour, love was
everything. Nothing else mattered.
ED
Not even marriage.
CAROL
You're telling me they believed
there was no room for love in
marriage?
JOE
Marriage was a social convention.
Love a divine visitation.
ED
Loyalty was more important than
love, you see. Being true. Not
cheating. Not running away.
CAROL
Marriage isn't a noun, boys. It's a
verb. It's not something you get.
It's something you give.
JOHN
Got to love the female point of
view.
JOE
A troubadour would rather die than
be separated from the one he loved.

31.

JOHN
Tristan died for Isolde.
CAROL
Cleopatra for Caesar.
JOE
He would sing to his lady even if
there was no hope of her ever
loving him in return.
Joe sings another chanson. This one just to Carol.
Carol is enchanted and charmed by Joe's attention.
THE LAB MUCH LATER
In a shadowy corner, Ed steals a kiss from Xenia. Everyone
notices. Conspiratorial glances all around that say, "There
goes Ed again."
John drinks alone. A shadow falls across his bottle.
CAROL
Can I get you some coffee?
JOHN
I'm fine.
CAROL
Tomorrow will be here in a minute.
JOHN
I'll manage.
CAROL
Blank pages don't sell for shit.
JOHN
It's garbage anyway.
CAROL
Doesn't matter. You've got to write
every damned day, John. You know
that.
JOHN
Who cares?
CAROL
I do. I'm counting on you. Hell, I
gave up everything because I
believe in you.
She touches his arm. He yanks it away.

32.

JOHN
Stop nagging me. You're always
nagging me.
CAROL
(heated WHISPER)
Somebody has to, dammit. Otherwise
you'd always be down here with Ed.
Drinking and having a helluva good
time. While I'm home cooking and
cleaning and working odd jobs to
make ends meet. You got any idea
how damned hard it is to get along
on twenty-five bucks a month?
Carol thrusts her face in front of John's.
CAROL (CONTD)
Do you?
Johns stands, glares at her, and walks away.
CAROL (CONTD)
(to his back)
Of course you don't.
Carol turns and sees Joe, who has watched it all.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE NEXT DAY
Carol lovingly cultivates the winter flowers and vegetables
in their garden. She's attentive because she knows their very
life depends on the bounty these plants may produce.
John steps out the back door.
JOHN
Sorry for being such a heel last
night.
CAROL
No, you're right. I am a damned
nag.
JOHN
You are. But, I need you to keep me
on the old straight and narrow.
CAROL
I was a bit of a wet blanket.
JOHN
Someone's got to be. Else I'd
always be out playing with the
boys.

33.

CAROL
Ed and Joe are fun to be around.
JOHN
You know I appreciate all you do. I
never say it enough, but you know I
do.
CAROL
I do.
TITLE CARD
Winter, 1932
EXT. CANNERY ROW DAY
In an empty field, the mavericks have assembled. Ed and Joe,
John and Carol, Ritchie and Tal, Xenia, the seventh wheel.
CRAZY MONTE, a local legend and terminally juiced raconteur,
has brought his band of MERRY MEN, which is just a group of
intoxicated, rumpled bums looking for free food and drink.
They're a ragged collection. Dressed in their skid-row
uniform of blue denim bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees,
worn white at the knees and butt.
They all stand around a somewhat circular collection of
flotsam and jetsam collected from the beach and the streets.
Driftwood, scraps of iron, discarded sections of houses,
rusted car parts, trash can treasures.
From high above, we can see that they've assembled a rustic
Round Table.
Ed places a rickety, high-backed chair at the top center of
the table. He gestures for John to sit. He does.
JOHN
At this table, we're all equal.
Crazy Monte staggers up to sit at a bar stool directly across
from John. Ed stops him.
ED
Can't sit there, Monte.
CRAZY MONTE
Why the hell not? My butt's equal
to yours.
JOE
Yonder seat is the Perilous Seat.
The Sege Perilous.
(MORE)

34.
JOE (CONT'D)
It's reserved for the knight who
will one day find the Holy Grail
and revive the Waste Land. Anyone
else who sits there will die.

Crazy Monte's eyes grow wide and he staggers away like he's
seen a ghost.
JOE (CONTD)
The only one who can find the Grail
is the one who has lived his own
life.
ED
The authentic life.
JOHN
Yep, to sit there, you gotta be
true to you.
CAROL
True as moonlight.
JOE
Adulterers, the vain, the lustful,
and the selfish will never find the
Grail.
CRAZY MONTE
Who you callin' a dolterer?
Tillie pulls on her leash. She drags Carol over to where Joe
stands. Tillie flops at Joe's feet. Joe bows slightly to
Carol.
JOE
Lady fair.
Carol smiles. Attracted. And amazed again at his knowledge.
Ed raises his bottle of Bohemia.
ED
A toast. To the Round Table. We
have to take care of each other. If
we don't, who will? Who will?
JOE
We search for that which unites us.
JOHN
And destroy what divides us.
JOE
To the Grail.

35.

ED
To community.
JOHN
To equality.
CAROL
To love.
Tillie affectionately licks Joe's hand.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE DAY
A pile of paper burns.
Tillie BARKS at it.
Joe scans the top sheet of an armful of typed manuscript
pages. He hands it to John.
JOE
I liked that one. It showed genuine
promise, yes?
John hesitates a moment, scowls, wads the paper into a ball,
and hurls it into the fire.
JOHN
All a waste of time. Just couldn't
hold water.
JOE
Precious things make beautiful
flames.
JOHN
I don't want the old stories around
anymore. They remind me of where
I've been. Who I was.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
The growing collection of images arcs in a circle on the side
wall.
Joe adds a sketch by W.W. Denslow of a road paved with yellow
bricks from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz alongside a painting
of a knight crossing a rainbow bridge.
He sits. He touches the arrowhead. He continues the story.

36.

EXT. CANNERY ROW DAY

The empty lot between the Bear Flag Restaurant and the Wing
Chong Market is a dumping ground for the canneries.
Rusty pipes, a couple boilers, and great timbers lie
scattered like Valhalla's TinkerToys.
Joe and Ed sit on the timbers, warming in the sun like
lizards.
A copy of The Odyssey lies open on Joe's lap.
JOE (V.O.)
I've discovered a pattern in all
stories of the world. Separation
then initiation then return.
ED
A sort of heroic journey?
Zentastic.
Joe lifts an eyebrow and smiles.
JOE
These stories, these myths, explain
who we are. Where we came from.
Where we're going. They teach us
what's good and bad. They help us
make sense of a senseless world. We
fill the darkness with ghosts,
Gods, and heroes. Without
mythology, without the old stories,
we're lost.
ED
And that spells trouble, it does.
JOE
The evidence is everywhere.
Suicide, anger, broken homes, wild
children, violence, sadness, greed.
ED
Damned depressing.
JOE
The old beliefs, the rituals, the
myths. They're timeless. And
valuable. But, we've forgotten
them.

37.

ED
Someone needs to bring these
stories back to life, you see. So
we can find our way home.
JOE
It takes a thousand voices to tell
the one story.
INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE NIGHT
John writes so fast, his hand is a blur.
As quickly as he finishes a page, tears it from the ledger,
and tosses it on the floor, Carol proofs and types it.
John finishes with a flourish and dots the period with a
resounding JAB.
JOHN
That feels good.
John spins the final page toward Carol like a discus.
Joe snatches it in midair and hands it to Carol.
JOE
You are a man on fire, sir.
JOHN
It's been so easy. Like someone
else was writing it.
CAROL
But, it's not. It's you.
JOHN
Thanks to you.
CAROL
I'm just a typist.
EXT./INT. DOC'S LAB DAY
Ed, Ritchie, and Tal listen to RACHMANINOFF, drink wine, and
talk. Joe sips water. Xenia gulps Coca-Cola.
Ritchie draws a caricature of Ed as a randy Merlin-goat
chasing a flock of Damsel-in-distress-sheep. Merlin sports a
sorcerer's hat, goatee, and waders. His trousers can't mask a
noticeable bulge. He carries a quart bottle of beer and a
flashing wand inscribed with the word: "TRUTH."
There's a KNOCK at the door.

38.

JOE
(expectant)
That must be them.
ED
Hmm, not like them to knock.
Ed opens the door. A WESTERN UNION DELIVERY BOY hands him a
telegram.
Ed returns to the room, opening the telegram.
ED (CONTD)
It's from Carol.
(reads)
"The Steinbecks will be
unobtainably devoid."
JOE
The poor telegraph operator. What a
clever mistake.
RITCHIE
You don't know our Carol.
TAL
I bet that's exactly what she meant
to say.
JOE
She is too much. Too much.
Joe arches his eyebrow. His eyes sparkle. Everyone in the
room sees it.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
The circle of images on the journey wall continues to grow.
Joe adds a wood block print of Ulysses being tempted by the
Sirens next to an image of a Minotaur at the center of a
labyrinth and a reproduction of Ophelia by John Everett
Millais.
Joe stares at the images. Then sits at his desk. Walks back
to the wall. And sits at the desk. Gazes at the wall. And
stares out the window. The story remains unfinished.
EXT. MONTEREY BEACH DAY
Ed and Joe relax in a deep crease in the white, rounded dunes
created by the wind-crouching pines. Thick pine boughs shield
it. Lush pine needles carpet it.

39.

JOE
How does he do it? How does anyone
do it?
ED
Puts his time in. Heinie in the
chair. Words on the page, JC. Words
on the page.
JOE
John has tasted life. I've just
read about it.
ED
You've seen more of the world.
JOE
Then I must be blind.
ED
Well, blind men can see.
Joe ponders this riddle a moment, then

...

JOE
I want to take everything I've ever
learned and experienced and mold it
into something worthwhile.
ED
Wow, making a career out of making
sense of mythology. Nobody's ever
done that. Ever.
JOE
What about Frazer and Ragland?
ED
Hobbyists. Rich amateurs. Your
obsession could become a
profession. Yes, indeedy.
JOE
What if I can't do it? What if the
time isn't right?
ED
I know one thing. And one thing I
know.
JOE
What's that?

40.

ED
You can't do it solo. I'd never
chase anything like that withoutThe heavy waves BEAT the hard beach. The yellow light of the
setting sun illuminates a cloud to the eastward - a clot of
gold. Ed listens.
JOE
Without?
ED
Love. Without love.
JOE
You are a wise man.
ED
Merlin was a wise man. I'm just a
simple scientist.
JOE
I'm surprised they don't lock you
up.
ED
I'm not dangerous.
JOE
You're contented. That's worse.
ED
I know what I like, I do.
The wind PLUCKS the pine boughs. The surf POUNDS against the
shore.
JOE
Be careful you don't start a
movement, Ed. You'll be sipping
hemlock before sundown.
ED
Got nothing to teach.
INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE NIGHT
Joe sits at John's card table desk. He lifts the bread pan
that covers the ledger containing John's writing.
Carol types.
Joe takes a cigarette from John's pack. Joe lights it, takes
a puff, and immediately starts HACKING. He COUGHS until he
cries. He stubs out the cigarette.

41.

Carol GIGGLES.
Muffling the COUGHS with his handkerchief, Joe walks over to
the mantle behind Carol. He touches the brass cup.
JOE
It's little wonder he cherishes
you. You're catnip to creativity.
Carol blushes.
Joe caresses her cheek.
Carol CATCHES her breath and closes her eyes.
Joe yanks his hand back, like he's touched a live wire. He
hovers, tempted to touch her again.
Carol opens her eyes. Back to reality.
CAROL
I need to finish these damn pages.
John will be home in a jiffy.
JOE
Of course.
Joe crosses to pet Tillie, who lies at the foot of John's
easy chair. Tillie gets up and moves away.
JOE (CONTD)
It feels so good to finally shake
the Waste Land and all that dust
and work on something authentic and
honest and relevant.
CAROL
The Waste Land is real, Joe. Hell,
just look around. It's here, now.
Use it. Make it part of you and
your writing. John does.
She turns to look at him. He looks at her at the same time.
She holds his gaze for a moment, then looks back at the
typewriter.
CAROL (CONTD)
We're ... I'm ... it's
almost there.
(under her breath)
Son-of-a-bitch.

...

EXT./INT. CARMEL COFFEE HOUSE - NIGHT

The gang sits at tables near a low, dark stage.

42.

Carol circles around them all. Beautiful, vivacious, filling

the room with her life and light.
CAROL
He's such a damned fine poet. So
genuine. So authentic. So
California.
Joe stares at her, drawn like a moth to a flame.
CAROL (CONTD)
This is my special gift to
all of you.

...

Joe and Carol's eyes meet. Each flushes momentarily. They

look away, nervously.
Ed catches it.
John is oblivious.
CAROL (CONTD)
I hope he touches you as he's
touched me.
STAGE
A single spotlight flicks on, illuminating a solitary
microphone and stand.
A TALL, SINEWY, WIND-AND-WAVE-BLOWN MAN enters from the wings
and steps to the mike.
JEFFERS
Good evening. Thank you all for
coming. My name is Jeffers.
Robinson Jeffers. I would like to
read a poem I call, "Roan
Stallion."
(reads)
"Humanity is the start of the race;
I say
Humanity is the mould to break away
from, the crust to break through,
the coal to break into fire,
The atom to be split."
Joe and Ed, Carol and John are transfixed. Enraptured by the
power of the images, the majesty of the language, the
strength and conviction of the delivery.
JEFFERS (CONTD)
"Tragedy that breaks man's face and
a white fire flies out of it;
vision that fools him."

43.

Joe and Carol lock eyes again. And quickly shift away again.
John sees. He cocks an eyebrow.
JEFFERS (CONTD)
"The heart of the atom with
electrons: what is humanity in this
cosmos?
For him, the last
Least taint of a trace in the dregs
of the solution; for itself, the
mould to
break away from, the coal
to break into fire,
the atom to be split."
Jeffers finishes reading, backs away from the microphone, and
waits.
The room erupts in THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE.
COFFEE HOUSE LATER
Jeffers sits with the group.
ED
I've been trying to get a handle on
this idea my whole life, you see.
You nailed it in a few words.
Zensational.
Jeffers smiles.
JOHN
Breaking through. Yep, that's it,
isn't it, Jeffers? Breaking
through.
JEFFERS
Something really big, usually
tragic, shatters what we perceive
as normal. It triggers a
breakthrough to an understanding of
the real reality. And makes the dayto-day world seem like a dream. The
more you suffer, the more you can
recognize the truth that lies
beneath.
JOE
It's not unlike James Joyce's
epiphany. Something we experience
suddenly changes everything.

44.

JOHN
Yep. Or Dj vu. A taste, an aroma.
Even music can trigger a
breakthrough. To the other side.
ED
Yes, yes, yes. It can be a death, a
flower, a fight, an opera, a child.
CAROL
And you never, ever see things
quite the same damned way again.
JEFFERS
We think we know what it is, then
life steps in to show us what it
really is.
ED
What is, not what might be.
JOE
Absolutely. Something opens our
eyes and we break through into the
light.
Each is lost in their mind's eye vision of breaking through.
Joe sees a fire-ravaged totem pole, encircled by slaughtered
INDIGENEES.
Ed sees a polluted tide pool, SEA CREATURES floating on the
oily surface.
Carol sees a drowned CHILD cradled by a grieving MOTHER,
kneeling at the edge of the ocean.
John sees LANDOWNERS beating down emaciated MIGRANT WORKERS
in a parched fruit orchard.
INT. DOC'S LAB BACK LANDING - NIGHT (SPRING)
The sad, drunken music of LI PO drifts from inside.
Ed sips brandy to counter the misty fog. Joe cups a mug of
coffee.
ED
Well, it's a small publisher.
JOE
A publisher nonetheless.

45.

ED
John will finally have a book in
print. Zounds.
JOE
He couldn't have done it without
Carol.
ED
Don't think he'd dispute that.
JOE
All he does is take.
ED
Artists are selfish, they are.
JOE
They would be lost without each
other.
ED
Love is strange, JC. It isn't easy.
It isn't always pretty. But, it's
all we've got, you see.
JOE
Carol is a real classic. Rawhide on
the outside, butter on the inside.
ED
She's always been that way. Long as
I've known her. A real see-saw. Up
and down. Especially when she
drinks.
Joe thinks a moment, then

...

JOE
Listen to me. I sound worse than a
school girl, yes?
ED
Jealousy's a green bitch.
JOE
I'm in a swamp, Ed. I've been
saying "No" to life all my life.
I've always been prepping,
training, or studying. I feel like
I've missed out on everything.
ED
Well, there's only one way to start
saying "Yes" to life. Only one.

46.

JOE
Really, and how's that?
ED
Get plastered.
JOE
I don't drink.
ED
Anyone who doesn't drink is sick or
crazy or stuck up. Or, in your
unique case, lost.
JOE
That just doesn't make sense.
ED
All the more reason.
JOE
I don't follow.
ED
If you can get pie-eyed and still
function in that altered state,
it's enlightening because it rearranges all your usual circuits.
The world becomes a different kind
of place. You just see things
through a new set of eyes.
JOE
I'm still in the dark.
ED
It's sort of like
quest.

...

a vision

There's a glimmer of light in Joe's eyes. He peaks an

eyebrow.
JOE
Like a native American ritual?
ED
We'll take a whang at it. Then
you'll see what I mean, you will.
EXT. RICKETTS HOUSE BACK YARD - NIGHT
A full moonrise over Monterey.

47.

Ed pours 100 proof laboratory alcohol into a bowl. He adds

fruit juice. He places that bowl inside a larger bowl. He
fills the larger bowl with chunks of ice and rock salt.
Ed dips a cup in the concoction, sips, and gives himself a
"thumbs up."
PARTY - LATER
Everyone drinks as if it were their last day on earth.
Joe keeps up with them, drink for drink. As everyone gets
more drunk, Joe the athlete stays on a pretty even keel.
OUT FRONT
A wobbly-wheeled, backfiring, smokebelching truck pulls up in front of
the house. Crazy Monte sits in the
driver's seat. The band of Merry
Men lounge in the back on top of a
stack of freshly chopped wood.
Ed stumbles out front to check on the commotion.
Monte steps out of the cab and falls face-first on the front
lawn.
ED
Looks like you've been busy, Monte.
MONTE
Tree wuz already dead.
ED
Doubt the city fathers would agree.
Ed helps Monte to his feet.
ED (CONTD)
How 'bout a drink?
MONTE
B'lieve I earned me one.
Monte and his paisanos follow Ed around to the back yard.
PARTY MUCH LATER
The revelers move together. A primitive, primal, communal
dance.
As they dance, they knock into the punch bowls, sloshing
melted ice and salt water into the punch.

48.

As people dip their cups into the slop and take a sip, they
grimace, but continue drinking.
OUT FRONT
A police car rolls up. Two uniformed OFFICERS get out. One
tall, one short. Mutt and Jeff. Two mismatched tinhorns. They
listen, then head out back.
OFFICER LARSEN
Hey, what's going on here?
John, passed out on the lawn, suddenly wakes up and bolts to
his feet. He staggers to meet the two officers.
JOHN
(shakes hands)
Bill, Tom, good to see you boys.
OFFICER WHITE
Neighbors are complaining, John.
JOHN
Oh, we're just having a little clambake, Tom. Come on, have a slug.
The officers each take an empty cup offered by John. They
fill up, toast, drink, and immediately SPEW the brew all over
John.
OFFICER LARSEN
What are you bughousers drinking?
JOHN
100 per cent pure alcohol. Ed got
it.
OFFICER WHITE
Clean it up. I don't want to come
back with a meat wagon.
They toss their cups on the ground and leave.
PARTY MUCH, MUCH LATER
The celebration has moved inside Ed's house.
John and Ed sprawl on the floor facing one another. They take
turns SLAPPING each other in the face and LAUGHING and
rolling around.
Joe sits cross-legged, Indian-style. He disclaims in slightly
slurred German.

49.

Xenia sits facing him, also cross-legged. They gaze into each
other's eyes, forlornly, hopelessly. She looks tragic and
exotic. He is splendid and serene.
Ritchie draws a caricature of Carol costumed as Guinevere. A
scarlet "LOVE" is stitched into her gown. The cartoon Carol
plays the lyre for a handful of entranced CHILDREN.
Tal turns up the radio, which plays "TOO MANY TEARS."
Ed listens to the music with his mouth open, like he always
does, as if he's swallowing it whole. He SINGS along. He
can't carry a tune in a bucket.
Joe can, and does.
The alcohol has finally lowered Joe's resistance. Sparks are
jumping the gap.
Joe stands, looks around, walks unsteadily out the back door,
drink in hand.
BACKYARD
Joe's eyes adjust to the moonlight and the alcohol.
Carol perches in the crotch of an oak tree. She SINGS to the
moon. She looks sweet, glass in hand, sitting and COOING.
Joe toasts her. She returns the favor. It's tipsy and shy,
but dangerously flirty thanks to the liquor.
Joe sets his glass down and climbs into a smaller oak tree
within arm's reach of hers. She finishes her SONG.
CAROL
Oh Joe, you beautiful thing.
JOE
Oh Carol, you wonderful creature.
Where were my eyes six years ago?
CAROL
That's what I want to know.
JOE
Too late now.
CAROL
The hell it is.
Carol strains to grab Joe's arm. She can't quite get there.
JOE
You know what I think of you.

50.

CAROL
I do, I do. If only I could touch
you.
As Carol stretches again to touch him, the glass falls from
her hand and THUMPS to the ground.
JOE
Allow me.
CAROL
Come to me.
Joe carefully eases out of the tree. He walks up to Carol. He
kisses her ankle. And kisses it again.
He gets down on his knees to find her glass.
JOE
Where is that blasted thing?!
Joe finds the glass, stands, and offers it to Carol.
The back door BANGS open. John stands there, thunder in his
eyes.
JOHN
Shut up! Quit shouting! I can hear
every word in the house!
Joe drops the glass and straightens up, suddenly very sober.
JOE
Getting a lady out of a tree, John.
That's all.
John storms back inside, SLAMMING the door behind.
Joe helps Carol out of the tree. She slips, scraping her leg.
He catches her, easing her to the ground and into his arms.
They hold the embrace. They kiss.
Carol pulls away and runs into the house. Joe follows.
INSIDE THE HOUSE KITCHEN
Carol flings herself into a chair at the kitchen table,
covers her face with her arms, and CRIES.
Joe stands off to the side. He looks worried. Afraid he's
gone too far. Afraid he's threatened their marriage and his
friendship with John. And his chance to be accepted into this
group he admires so much.
John enters. He clenches and unclenches his fists.

51.

Carol stands and wipes her eyes.

CAROL
I'm going to lie down.
She stops at the door. She waits a moment to see who will
make the first move. Neither does. She leaves.
Joe and John are left in awkward SILENCE.
JOE
Gosh, John, I'm drunk. That Mickey
Finn was full of some kind of
nitro. How's yourself?
JOHN
Oh, I'm all right. I'm too jumpy to
get drunk.
JOE
That's the adrenaline fizzing
through your veins.
John puts his clenched fists into his pockets.
JOHN
Why don't you come down to the
house? We had a veal loaf for
dinner. There's some left. It'll do
you good.
Joe is startled that John isn't going to punch him. Or worse.
JOE
Sure, John. I'd like that.
INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE
Joe sips coffee. John smokes.
Tillie sleeps under the table.
JOHN
She's very bright.
JOE
It's obvious she's special.
JOHN
You know, she's the one who
convinced me to give up writing
novels of adventure to write novels
that found adventure in the
ordinary.

52.

JOE
She was right. It paid off.
JOHN
She's quite the editor. And a
trained stenographer no less. As
well as a pretty fair poet.
JOE
You're a very lucky man, John.
She's completely dedicated to your
success.
JOHN
Yep. But there's always been
something missing with her. Like a
bird with a broken wing. You feel
compelled to mend it.
JOE
She seems strong enough.
JOHN
She's not. So be careful.
JOE
I don't see it.
JOHN
You will.
EXT. RICKETTS HOUSE JUST BEFORE DAWN
Joe wanders back up the hill alone from the Steinbeck's.
Alternating between being visible and a ghost as the mist
eddies around him.
The fog parts. A bright yellow path appears. He can clearly
see the way. He follows it.
INT. RICKETTS HOUSE VARIOUS ROOMS
The exhausted partiers are scattered, sleeping and SNORING,
throughout the house.
Joe enters and looks for Carol. He peeks into a bedroom.
BEDROOM
A dark shape lies on the bed. Joe
enters.
Carol curls there covered with a blanket, facing the wall,
hugging her knees.

53.

Joe sits on the bed beside her. He kisses her temple, her
cheek, her mouth. He trembles. He gets up to leave.
Carol puts a hand on his arm.
CAROL
Joe, you're iceberg cold.
JOE
It's nothing.
CAROL
Like hell. Lie down. Put the
blanket over you. Warm up.
JOE
That's not necessary.
CAROL
Please, Joe. I won't seduce you.
Not now, anyway.
Joe lies down. Carol covers them both with the blanket.
CAROL (CONTD)
Was it wrong for you to kiss me?
JOE
No. It feels right.
CAROL
John never kisses me.
Joe kisses her gently. Again and again.
CAROL (CONTD)
This will probably be the last time
we'll be alone together.
JOE
I couldn't bear that.
CAROL
Kiss me once, Joe. Crucify me.
Joe kisses her for a very long time.
EXT./INT. RICKETTS HOUSE BEDROOM SUNRISE
In the hour of pearl, weak light streaks through the windows.
Joe and Carol lie under the blanket, fully clothed.
Joe wakes first. He sees Carol and flushes a guilty look. He
kisses her gently and gets up.

54.

LIVING ROOM SAME TIME

Ed hustles in, much too chipper. He sees Joe and Carol. His
reaction says this is not going to be good. Their world is
about to change.
Ed and Joe make eye contact. Joe trudges out of the bedroom.
ED
How 'bout a cup of Joe?
JOE
(grabs his head)
Only if it's lethal.
(loses his balance)
So, this is what saying "Yes" feels
like? I'm not sure it agrees with
me.
Ed steps close to Joe.
ED
(WHISPERS)
Avast, matey, there's riptides
below that calm sea.
JOE
I'm a good swimmer.
ED
I hope you know what you're doing.
JOE
I do. Just tasting life. That's
all.
ED
So Joe.
INT. RICKETTS HOUSE VARIOUS ROOMS SAME TIME
The rest of the revelers begin to move around, in varying
states of shell shock.
John enters. Through the open door of the bedroom he sees Joe
standing beside the bed and Carol lying on the bed, halfdraped in the blanket.
Seeing John, Ed steps quickly back into the living room.
ED
I've got a peachy plan.
Everyone GROANS.

55.

ED (CONTD)
It's time to re-stock the bank, it
is. Let's head down to Big Sur and
corral some critters. How's that
sound?
More MOANS.
Carol finally crawls out of bed.
CAROL
Give me a little damn time to get
ready for the excruciation.
JOE
Think I'll just wait here until the
room stops spinning.
Joe lies down on the floor.
JOHN
I'll pass. I have a blank page
waiting.
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE MORNING
It's a bright blue morning.
They all ride in Ed's new used Packard. The bulging trunk
overflows with cages, jars, and boxes.
Ed drives zanily, tipping his hat to DOGS and BUMS, DEER and
METHODISTS, as they pass.
Xenia sits up front with Ed.
Ritchie and Tal sit in the second seat.
Joe and Carol sit close together in the back back surrounded
by buckets, rakes, burlap bags, and rubber wading boots. A
red blanket, faded to salmon pink and studded with grass
seeds and bits of seaweed, covers their legs. They look
around, but somehow always end up staring into each other's
eyes.
Carol is antsy. She makes faces at the VOYAGERS, moving in
splendid isolation in their passing cars. She pulls the hair
on the back of Xenia's neck.
EXT. COAST ROAD MORNING
The Packard passes other SOJOURNERS as they drive along the
rugged Pacific Coast south toward Big Sur.

56.

EXT. BIG SUR PFEIFFER'S BEACH LATER

Ritchie, Tal, and Xenia stay busy collecting specimens. And
avoiding the other three.
Ed wades knee-deep through the water.
Carol dances at the edge of the surf. She twirls the faded
red blanket like a matador's cape.
Joe watches, then turns to face the ocean, arms outstretched.
JOE
(recites)
"This is the prow and plunging
cutwater,
This rock shore here, bound to
strike first, and the world
will watch us endure
prophetical things
And learn its fate from our ends."
Ed comes up behind Joe.
ED
Yes, yes. Jeffers again, amen.
JOE
He is this place. It's his world.
We're just tourists.
ED
Once upon a time, the local natives
called this shoreline the brink of
the world. The Coastanoans would
dance on the shore, singing out
that they were dancing on the brink
of the world. The brink of the
world, indeed.
JOE
Things had better work out here,
Ed. Because this is where it all
ends.
PFEIFFER'S BEACH LATER
Everyone sits on a flat rock marooned on the beach. Each lost
in their own world.
Joe and Carol huddle together covered with the blanket. Carol
gazes into Joe's eyes. Joe gazes back, dreamily. They act
like a pair of love-struck teenagers.

57.

XENIA
What's with you two ducks?
CAROL
We're members of a mutual
admiration society.
JOE
Yes, we've agreed to worship each
other for at least a week. We
didn't get enough approval as
children.
XENIA
Can I join? I'd just die to be
admired like that.
Sensing trouble, Ed steps in.
ED
I'll be right back, okay. I thought
I saw something I really need.
Really.
RITCHIE
Be careful. The surf looks rough.
ED
Not to worry, you see. Danger is my
given name.
TAL
Yes, don't do anything abnormally
stupid.
ED
Back in a flash with the
well, you know.

...

Ed disappears between two columns of rock, scampering through

the opening as the tide rushes out.
Suddenly, a wave, larger than the previous ones, rolls up and
CRASHES along the beach and into the rocks.
Ed's hat appears, floating on the tip of the receding wave.
Ed washes into view, arms waving wildly. His head slips
beneath the water momentarily. He re-surfaces, flailing his
arms.
Joe is the first to notice. He leaps off the rock and runs to
the edge of the ocean. He stops, making sure he's not
hallucinating.

58.

Ed disappears beneath the surface again.

Without hesitating, Joe sprints into the surf and dives into
the water. He swims quickly out to where Ed is being dragged
out to sea by the current.
Joe flips a limp Ed over on his back, crooks his elbow around
Ed's neck, and swims for shore.
By now, everyone has noticed. They've all gathered on the
beach.
Joe and Ed wash ashore. They crawl out of the breakwater on
their hands and knees, exhausted. Ed COUGHS sea water.
Joe and Ed collapse on the dry sand. Carol throws the blanket
around Joe's shoulders. Ritchie covers Ed with his jacket.
Everyone looks at Ed, waiting.
ED (CONTD)
I can't swim.
Stunned looks all around.
ED (CONTD)
Never could. Never learned.
INT. DOC'S LAB LATER
Soothing MOZART plays on the phonograph. The tired party
enjoys oyster stew.
Ed adds cold tap water to his stew. He dips his spoon in,
SNIFFS it, then swallows.
Carol, as always, is the center of the room, lighting it up.
Joe STRUMS along on guitar, playing counterpoint to the
music.
John sits in a corner by himself. Witnessing, not
participating.
Ritchie draws a caricature of Joe dressed as Lancelot riding
in a wooden cart. The word "Destiny" is crudely carved on the
side of the cart. The cartoon Joe lassoes the image of a
goddess trapped inside the moon. In the background looms a
totem pole etched with the animated, animalized faces of each
member of the group.
JOE (V.O.)
I guess we were all in love with
each other. More or less.

59.

INT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY

GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
Joe stands at the journey wall.
He thumb-tacks a detailed watercolor sketch of Plato's Cave.
It features a blazing fire, people walking a parapet in front
of the fire, and more people sitting in front of the parapet
and staring at the shadows projected onto a blank wall.
Beside it is an image of the Chapel Perilous from Sir Thomas
Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and a round, menacing- and
mechanical-looking planet.
Joe sits. He reaches to touch the arrowhead. It's gone. He
looks behind the desk. He opens, closes, and moves his books
and papers. He gets down on his knees and checks the floor.
He stands. A panicked look in his eyes.
JOE (V.O.)
Whom the Gods love, they drive
nuts. Truer words were never
spoken.
EXT. CARMEL RIVER DAY
Joe and Ed squat beside a massive fallen tree on the river
bank. Ed pokes and prods the tree, stirring up its
INHABITANTS.
JOE
I may have lost it at the lab.
ED
It's just a piece of flint.
JOE
I need it.
Ed looks up at Joe for a moment, wondering what exactly he
needs. He waits for Joe to stop fretting.
ED
Look, JC, your father is right. You
could be a fine teacher. A fine
teacher.
JOE
That's not what I want. I want to
write.
ED
Whatever you're meant to be, you'll
be.

60.

JOE
I wish I knew what that was.
ED
Go where your heart and soul want
to go. Be what you came here for.
JOE
How will I know?
ED
You'll feel it. Deep in here, you
see.
Ed places the flat of his hand against Joe's chest.
ED (CONTD)
Listen for the music. Follow it.
Everything will work out. It will.
JOE
I'm afraid I'll get to the end of
the road only to find I took the
wrong fork.
ED
Someday, you'll realize that the
life you think you ought to be
living is the life you're actually
living.
EXT. CARMEL - SEVENTEEN MILE DRIVE - SUNSET
The Lone Cypress clings to a rocky promontory above the
Pacific.
Joe and Carol stand side-by-side between the tree and the
road.
As the sun dissolves into the ocean, Joe reaches out and
takes Carol's hand.
CAROL
Damned gorgeous.
JOE
Sublime.
CAROL
This is what you should write
about, Joe. Beauty. Nature. Our
place in it. How it's all
connected.

61.

JOE
And love.
CAROL
And love.
They kiss.
CAROL (CONTD)
Write about what inspires you. What
makes you happy.
JOE
You do.
He tries to stop her talking with his kisses.
CAROL
I'm flattered, Joe, but there's so
much more. All that you've studied.
All those stories. It's important.
Use it. Before you lose it.
JOE
You're one of a kind, my lady fair.
They kiss again. Longer.
CAROL
We sure picked a screwy time to
fall in love. The world is going to
hell in a hurry.
JOE
I was never known for my timing.
Carol takes Joe's face in her hands.
CAROL
Let's run away together.
JOE
(doing Bogey)
"The train for Marseilles leaves at
five."
CAROL
That's not funny.
JOE
It wasn't meant to be.
She hesitates, caught off-guard, then plunges on.

62.

CAROL
All we've got is this moment. Here
and now. That's where life is lived
dammit.
Joe stoops to pluck an aster. He gives it to Carol.
JOE
If only we could be like this
flower. It has no memory. No past,
no future. It doesn't understand
regrets, or hopes. It lives only
for the present.
CAROL
Can you make time stand still?
JOE
I wish I had that kind of power.
They kiss as though time stood still.
ON THE ROAD ABOVE
Monte and the Boys watch, hidden in the trees.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE BACK YARD EVENING
A dinner party. All the usual suspects in attendance.
The bounty from sea and land is plentiful. CREATURES from the
ocean contributed by Ed, vegetables from the gardens of the
Steinbecks and Lovejoys.
Tal shells peas, Ritchie makes a salad, Ed and Xenia prepare
the abalone and sardines, Joe cleans strawberries, Carol
slices the fresh bread, and John pours some wine.
The communal spirit has returned. Momentarily. Everyone
cooks, eats, and drinks together.
Joe gives Xenia a guitar lesson. She holds the instrument
carefully. She grasps the slender neck gently. She looks up
at Joe. Expectant. Malleable. Open.
Joe sits at her back, wraps his arms and legs around her from
behind, and expertly guides her hands.
Carol watches them. Closely.
THE PARTY - LATER
As the wine flows, so do the emotions. And the armistice is
broken.

63.

An angry John grabs Carol by the wrist. He pulls her away

from the party. They stand at the back of the yard. And argue
in heated WHISPERS.
JOHN
This is not a good time, Carol.
CAROL
Dammit to hell, John. Will there
ever be a good time?
JOHN
A baby wasn't in my plans.
CAROL
You'd better change your plans.
JOHN
I've already made the appointment.
CAROL
I won't kill this child, John. I
won't. Not for you, not for
anybody. It's my body, after all.
JOHN
It's my career.
CAROL
I've made up my mind.
JOHN
You're so damned stubborn.
CAROL
And you're not?
JOHN
You frustrate the hell out of me
sometimes.
CAROL
And you, me.
John clenches and unclenches his right fist.
JOHN
I won't hit a woman in our home.
CAROL
You won't ever hit this woman.
Carol turns abruptly and stumbles out the yard.

64.

Joe releases Xenia and stands. Uneasy, anxious. Concerned

about Carol and worried that she might be jealous of Xenia.
STREET IN FRONT OF THE STEINBECK HOUSE
Carol stands alone, SOBBING.
Joe hurries to her side.
JOE
What's wrong?
CAROL
I'm pregnant.
Joe doesn't know how to react. Joy because she now has what
she's always wanted. Or sorrow because this changes
everything. He chooses ...
JOE
That's wonderful news.
CAROL
The father doesn't think so.
JOE
Why?
CAROL
Isn't part of the goddamned grand
scheme.
JOE
What are you going to do?
CAROL
Hell if I know.
He reaches for her, but she turns away.
INT. DOC'S LAB EVENING
The joyous bounce of LOUIS ARMSTRONG's New Orleans Jazz cakewalks around the room.
Joe and Ed, Ritchie and Tal, Jack and Sasha and Xenia enjoy
cocktails and conversation as the sun sets.
ED
It's a thirty-three foot boat
called the Grampus, you see.
JACK
Sasha and I will meet Ed in Tacoma.

65.

SASHA
Juneau-bound.
ED
More tide pools to study.
JOE
It sounds like a very nice escape.
Joe stares out the open front door, as if he's waiting for
someone.
TAL
I have an aces of an idea.
RITCHIE
Usually curtains for me.
TAL
Not this time, doll face. Joe, why
don't you go with them? You don't
mind do you, Ed?
ED
Not at all. Not at all. It would
give us another hand. And mouth.
For me to talk with. Most fish
can't speak Jung, or discuss
Darwin.
SASHA
Lecture, you mean.
JOE
It's tempting.
JACK
Tick-tock, Joe, tick-tock.
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE EL CARMELO CEMETERY DAY
Joe and Ed walk among the tombstones.
JOE
This seems like such a good life.
ED
It's not yours, JC.
JOE
It could be.
ED
No, it's John and Carol's.

66.

Joe kneels down. He inspects an ancient tombstone. It reads:

"Be what you is, cuz if you be what you ain't, then you ain't
what you is."
Joe captures the epitaph on tracing paper.
ED (CONTD)
I know about you and Carol. I do.
Joe stands to face Ed, eyebrow crooked.
JOE
How?
ED
Monte and the Boys.
JOE
Why?
ED
Well, they've got nothing better to
do.
JOE
Did "King John" send them?
Ed takes the tracing, glances at it, smiles, then returns it
to Joe.
ED
Look, John's my friend. I had to
tell him the truth. I couldn't
protect him anymore. Just couldn't.
JOE
I thought you were in my corner.
ED
Don't make me choose. Make it
right. Make it right.
JOE
It's not what it seems.
ED
Small consolation.
JOE
It's true.
ED
Carol feels differently.

67.

JOE
She'll be fine.
ED
Truly? Then why does she keep
asking about the cyanide I keep at
the lab?
Joe looks surprised, then not.
ED (CONTD)
I told John it'll go sour unless
someone does something.
JOE
Some things heal with time.
ED
Not this.
JOE
What did he say?
ED
He thought you were his friend.
JOE
I am.
ED
Prove it.
JOE
It must be nice being Switzerland.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE BACK YARD - DAY
Carol kicks at the withered plants in the garden. Joe glares
at her.
JOE
I hope it was worth it.
CAROL
The damned doctor said I'll never
have children.
JOE
How could you let him do that to
you?
CAROL
He has a silver tongue. And I was
stupid.

68.

JOE
Something terrible could have
happened.
CAROL
It did.
JOE
I thought you wanted children.
CAROL
I do.
(she SOBS)
I did. Christ, I did.
Carol buries her face in Joe's shoulder. He wraps his arms
around her.
JOE
I hope he appreciates what you've
done.
CAROL
At least he's honest about it. He
knows what's most important to him.
JOE
That's piggish.
CAROL
That's John. And me. Nothing
matters but John. Hell, I've put
all there is of me into this
goddamned life.
JOE
He will get the most out of it.
With or without you.
CAROL
I can't leave him.
JOE
He'll take care of himself. Whether
you're there or not.
CAROL
I know that, dammit.
JOE
Then why do you let him control
you?
Carol pulls away.

69.

JOE (CONTD)
Why do you live the life he wants
you to? Instead of your life.
CAROL
Look who the hell is talking.
JOE
Be true to who you are, Carol.
CAROL
Could say the same to you, Joe.
INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE DAY
John sits at his writing desk, staring at the blank page. He
spins his fountain pen in circles. He chain-smokes. He SLAMS
his fist against the table.
EXT. RICKETTS HOUSE BACKYARD NIGHT
John chops down the oak tree Joe had perched in. The tree
Carol had crouched in is already toppled.
Out of sight, Joe watches.
TITLE CARD
Spring, 1932
INT. CANARY COTTAGE KITCHEN - MORNING
It's a chilly, drizzly, miserable coastal day.
Joe sits at the kitchen table, reading The Romance of
Leonardo da Vinci by Dmitry Merezhkovsky.
His garden gate OPENS and CLOSES.
A KNOCK on the door.
JOE
It's open.
It's John, looking like death warmed over.
JOHN
You got any coffee?
JOE
Sure.
John can't quite look Joe in the eyes. His arms hang
awkwardly, fists knotted.

70.

JOHN
I want to talk.
Joe looks apprehensive. He gestures for John to sit.
He does and draws a couple of deep BREATHS. He lights a
cigarette, takes a LONG DRAG, and EXHALES.
Joe gets up to make coffee.
JOE
It's good you stopped by, John.
I've been meaning to come see you.
Joe measures out the coffee into the percolator. As he pours
the water in, he can hear John's laboring BREATHS.
JOHN
I'm not afraid of words. I'm not
afraid of emotion. I'm not afraid
of you.
JOE
Wait. Let me fix this thing.
John nods, then leans forward, looking down at the floor. He
drops the cigarette and squashes it.
Joe finishes with the coffee pot, turns on the gas, and sets
the pot on the burner.
John straightens up, sits back, and crosses his arms.
Joe sits at the table. Trembling slightly, he absently rubs
his forehead.
JOHN
How much ... are you in love
with Carol?

...

JOE
You know how I feel about her, yes?
JOHN
No. No, I don't.
Joe is at a loss for words for once, which throws him off.
They sit in SILENCE for an eternity.
The coffee BOILS.
Relieved, Joe gets up to get the coffee.

71.

Joe pours a cup for John and then himself. He offers the
cream and sugar. They both add a little.
They stir their coffee. Not sure what to say next.
JOHN (CONTD)
Carol knew when she married me, she
was only getting half a man. My
writing is my true love and
mistress. It's what I do. It's who
I am. It's a straight line. Each
day, I sink more and more into my
own world. And Carol is left on the
outside. But, she insists on being
at the heart of things. That's the
way she is, you know.
JOE
I do.
John lightly touches his lips.
JOHN
I don't like to kiss. I have no
nerves in my lips. It bothers me.
It angers her.
JOE
She told me.
John turns to face Joe. He looks shot, completely at a loss,
unhinged.
JOHN
Can you give her more than me? Can
you? Five years from now, you may
stink as much of teaching as I
stink of writing.
JOE
I know what you mean. I thought I
knew what I wanted. I was following
that straight line, too. Headed
toward a classroom. Until all this
changed all that.
JOHN
Have you ever been in love?
JOE
Yes, but it ended badly.
JOHN
Will this?

72.

JOE
I don't know. I do know I could
stop it. If I had to.
JOHN
Good thing you're as good a man as
me. If my pride had been on the
line ... If Carol had fallen for
a lesser man, I wouldn't have
thought twice about ...
John knots his fists.
JOE
I had no idea it had gotten that
bad.
JOHN
I don't want your pity. I don't
need anyone's pity.
JOE
That won't happen, John. We'll work
this out. Somehow.
Joe and John swirl their cups and stare into the
constellations of their coffee.
JOE (CONTD)
I explained to Carol it might be
better if I just went away. She
said that would be the worst thing
to do. Better to let it cool than
stop it cold.
JOHN
Yep. End it now and you'll be
leaving with my wife's heart. I
don't want half a woman. I want all
of her. Or nothing.
JOE
I would to.
JOHN
A sudden break could break her.
JOE
That would be the coward's way out.
They both drain their coffee mugs.
JOHN
How much longer do you think you'll
stay?

73.

JOE
Another couple months or so. It
depends on whether I go with Ed or
not.
JOHN
Will that be enough time to sort
this out?
JOE
We'll figure out what's best. For
everyone, yes?
JOHN
It's just not fair, you know.
You're younger, more handsome and
clever, more athletic, urbane.
You're ice cream after church. And
freedom. How can I beat that?
JOE
You've got something I don't.
JOHN
What's that?
JOE
You're her husband.
JOHN
You're right, I am.
John takes another agonizing BREATH. And lights another
cigarette.
JOHN (CONTD)
I can't sleep. I nearly wrecked the
car. With Carol and Ed in it. I
can't write. I can't do anything.
JOE
It won't last. It will come back.
John rubs his hands together. He still can't look Joe
directly in the eye.
JOHN
I feel like I'll go nuts if she
ever left me.
JOE
I know what you mean.

74.

JOHN
I talked with Ed about it. We
confronted the issue coldly,
scientifically.
JOE
The only way he sees things.
JOHN
He figured that since Carol and I
had already had our shot, it was
possible, even probable, that you
and Carol could do the same. He
agreed a change right now wouldn't
be such a hot idea.
They nod sagely, like true enlightened gentlemen. John snuffs
the cigarette.
JOHN (CONTD)
So, here's what I think we've got
to do. You and Carol should see as
much of each other as possible. Be
as close as you can be. Do whatever
you need to do.
Now that it's been said, it stings.
JOE
That makes very good sense.
JOHN
It's the attention she craves, you
know.
JOE
Then let's give her what she wants.
What she needs.
JOHN
Maybe it'll all come up roses after
all.
JOE
And you can put it behind you and
get back to writing. That's the
important thing.
JOHN
You're a good man, Joe Campbell.
JOE
I never meant for this to happen.

75.

JOHN
I realize that.
JOE
We both know better. We all know
this story. It never ends well.
Just like that, the male turf battle has been transformed
into a male conspiracy.
John SIGHS and stands. He walks out the door without looking
back.
Joe goes to the door and watches John drive away.
EXT./INT. DOC'S LAB NEXT AFTERNOON
SHOSTAKOVICH plays in the background.
JOE
Are you and me back on track?
ED
Beer under the bridge. Beer under
the bridge.
JOE
John says you've been a confidante
in this business of Carol and me
and him.
ED
Your conspiracy against Venus?
Joe thinks a moment, then smiles.
JOE
I suppose you could call it that.
Ed LAUGHS his nervous, high, staccato goat laugh. His eyes
twinkle.
ED
Well, I may have offered my two
cents.
JOE
And?
Joe looks concerned, like he doesn't want to hear Ed's
answer.

76.

ED
She was her old bright self when
she came to finish some work this
morning.
JOE
Did she say anything?
ED
Yes, yes she did. Was glad a
decision had been made. Wasn't
happy about being left out in the
cold. No, she wasn't.
JOE
That's good ...

I think.

ED
Look, when it comes to matters of
the heart, things are never gravy.
Ed goes to the refrigerator. He grabs a chilled mug. He
removes a quart of ice cream from the freezer. He PLOPS two
scoops into the mug. He POPS a bottle of Bohemia and slowly
pours it into the mug. He waits for it to settle. He drinks.
The milky foam clings to his moustache.
JOE
He's such a manipulator.
ED
Don't fight the tide, JC. Drift
with it. See where it takes you.
JOE
I don't know that I can do that.
ED
Try.
JOE
It works if you don't drown.
ED
You're a good swimmer.
There's a KNOCK at the door.
Ed answers.
TWO LITTLE BOYS stand there. Patched dungarees and grimy
faces. Refugees from Our Gang. One clutches a FROG that
resembles a miniature dinosaur. The other holds out a
bedraggled CAT.

77.

DINOSAUR BOY
Hey, Doc, look what we got.
ED
More specimens?
CAT BOY
Can we watch you stick 'em?
ED
Is that your aunt's cat again?
EXT./INT. CANARY COTTAGE THAT NIGHT
It's dark. Joe unlocks the front door and enters. He lights a
candle and carries it to his desk.
Carol stands in front of the journey wall.
JOE
Carol, what a nice surprise.
She doesn't move.
JOE (CONTD)
Something wrong?
CAROL
Why did you give up so damned
easily?
JOE
I haven't.
CAROL
You've gone over to his side.
You've joined the plot.
JOE
To let our love, what we have, live
or die. As it will. It was killing
all of us. Especially John's
writing, yes?
CAROL
Christ, it always comes back to
John's writing.
JOE
It's important. You know that.
CAROL
I'm reminded every goddamned day.

78.

JOE
It seemed like the right thing to
do.
CAROL
What about us?
JOE
Let's see what happens.
CAROL
Then it's not over?
JOE
Far from it.
Carol steps toward Joe.
CAROL
Do you have any idea how badly I
love you?
JOE
I do.
CAROL
Then fight for us.
JOE
It's tricky. Complicated.
Carol turns away to face the wall.
CAROL
Hell, I give up. It's up to you
men. Like it always is. Unfair but
real.
Joe walks up behind her and wraps her in his arms.
JOE
So trust me.
CAROL
I will.
JOE
You're still my lady fair.
She turns to face him. They kiss.
Carol blows out the candle, plunging them into darkness.

79.

INT. STEINBECK COTTAGE MORNING

John writes. He reaches for his usual cup of coffee. It's not
there. He looks around for Carol. The house is empty,
deafeningly QUIET. John lights a cigarette.
EXT. LOVERS POINT SAME TIME
Joe and Carol walk arm-in-arm along the bluff above the cove.
EXT. LONE CYPRESS AFTERNOON
Joe sits on a blanket below the tree. The contents of an
empty picnic basket spread around him. He looks up the path
leading to the road above. He checks his watch.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE - GARDEN SAME TIME
John and Carol pull the dead plants. Tillie dozes contently.
EXT./INT. BEAR FLAG RESTAURANT BAR - NIGHT
The GIRLS kill time reading the newspaper, painting their
nails, smoking, and gossiping.
Joe and John sit at a table. Empty beer mugs and shot glasses
litter the surface.
JOE
I thought I had it all figured out.
JOHN
You know, destiny finds you. You
don't find it. No escaping it. Or,
manipulating it.
Joe looks at John a moment, then pours them both another
beer.
JOE
Carol's a big part of whatever it
is, or will be. For both us, yes?
JOHN
Yep. I ask one thing, Joe. If she
chooses you, love her as you've
never loved anyone before. Make her
happy. If that means taking her
away, you've got to do that.
Joe arches his eyebrow.
JOE
I guess I never really knew you
loved her that much.

80.

JOHN
I do.
JOE
You ever told her?
JOHN
She knows.
JOE
Women need to hear those things,
John.
JOHN
I forget.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
On the journey wall, there is now a watercolor sketch of the
whale from the Italian book, The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Joe sits at the desk. A few new lines have been added to the
bottom of his story. He draws the Lone Cypress.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE - BACKYARD NIGHT
It's a birthday party. The yard has been whimsically
decorated with hand-made party favors.
Garlands of dried seaweed festooned with spring flowers drape
between the trees. Paper luminarias dot the yard. A fishshaped piata dangles from a tree.
Large hanging banners of butcher paper are hand-painted with
birthday greetings that read: "Happy Birthday Ed" and "Look
Who's Over the Hill" and "One Peg-Leg in Davy Jones's
Locker."
John, Ed, Ritchie, and Jack sit at a picnic table nursing
drinks.
Ed wears a hand-made paper admiral's hat with three spinning
pinwheels.
Joe sits on the lawn SERENADING the ladies Tal, Sasha, and
Xenia.
Carol and Idell sit on the lawn away from everyone. Carol
looks beat to hell. Like she hasn't eaten or slept for days.
IDELL
You've got to let one go, sister.

81.

CAROL
How can I? I love them both, even
though they treat me like I was
their damned dog.
IDELL
That's a lousy thing to say.
CAROL
They don't have the right.
IDELL
Good luck with that.
CAROL
They don't own me. They can't
possess me. Dammit, love dies when
you say the word "mine."
IDELL
You're being a pill.
CAROL
Doesn't matter. It's out of my
hands.
IDELL
You sure that's smart?
CAROL
If it resolves things. This being
in limbo is hell.
IDELL
Watch your step, sis.
CAROL
I wish I were a goddamned nun. Or
dead.
BIRTHDAY PARTY LATER
The SONG has been sung, the candles blown out, the
firecrackers POPPED, the piata burst, the cake cut and
consumed, the humble but heartfelt cards and gifts opened and
admired.
Everyone is almost partied out. Except the birthday boy, who
solicits more birthday kisses, especially from Xenia.
Carol isn't done yet, either. She's led most of the birthday
toasts and now she's paying the price.
Joe and Idell observe the fading revelry from a safe
distance.

82.

IDELL
You look different, Joe.
JOE
Good or bad?
IDELL
No, it's good. Very good. Even
better than before. And I should
know.
Idell smiles, remembering his visit to San Jose.
IDELL (CONTD)
You look smug as a bug in a rug.
This Bohemian life suits you to a
"T."
JOE
It's what I want. Most of it. Just
what I was searching for.
Idell leans closer.
IDELL
(WHISPERS)
Take care with her heart, old
friend.
Before Joe can say what's on his mind, LOUD VOICES interrupt.
It's John and Carol. At it again.
CAROL
(SLURS)
There's a passage ... in the
Bible. It's been the ... guide
for my life.
(recites)
"When you set your hand ... to
the plough, turn not ... to look
backward."
Carol pushes past John and staggers out the gate.
John just stands there. Deer-in-the-headlights panicked.
Idell turns back to Joe.
IDELL
Mark my words.
Joe looks guilty. He stares at John then turns to see where
Carol went. He wants to go after her, but Idell's words hold
him back.

83.

INT. DOC'S LAB MORNING

A GREGORIAN CHANT plays on the phonograph.
ED
Not like her to wave the white
flag.
Ed removes two Bohemia beers from the refrigerator. He
crosses back to the work table. He opens both, places one in
front of Joe, and sits.
JOE
That offer to go north still open?
ED
It is. It absolutely is.
JOE
I'd like to take you up on it.
ED
Dandy. I'll send a wire to Jack
tomorrow.
Joe takes a long swig of beer.
JOE
I'd like to take her.
Ed, poised to take a drink, stops and sets the bottle down.
ED
John is my friend. Carol is my
friend. You are my friend. I can't
take sides.
JOE
I'm not asking you to take sides.
I'm asking you to take us with you.
ED
Well, this is awkward. Awkward,
indeed.
JOE
I'm sorry. But, I'm so close.
ED
To what, JC?
JOE
The life I want.

84.

ED
Want or need? Want

...

or need?

JOE
Does it matter?
ED
You tell me.
I can't

JOE
... I don't know.

ED
John in on this?
JOE
We agreed we should let things run
their course. So, I guess, that
means he's pretty much on board.
ED
Not like him, either. Not at all.
JOE
Think Jack and Sasha will mind?
ED
She'll fit right in.
JOE
It's settled then.
ED
JC, I sure hope you know what
you're doing.
JOE
I don't, but that's all part of the
adventure, isn't it? All part of
going with the flow, yes?
Joe lifts his bottle in toast and drains the beer.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
On the wall, a photo of Joe's father, a color image of Zeus,
a sketch of Shiva, a watercolor of a silver sword, and a
drawing of ancient Hindu warrior-king Muchukunda sleeping in
a cavern chamber. All have been added to the circle of
journey images.
Joe stares at his drawing of the Lone Cypress and his halfempty pages, then out the window.

85.

EXT. LONE CYPRESS - SUNSET

Carol stands on the beach below. The undulating kelp beds
beckon. She can see Ophelia floating there, her gold hair
streaming out behind her.
Carol opens her hand. She holds a small, brown medicine
bottle. She unscrews the cap and ...
A hand reaches in and covers the bottle.
JOE (OFF-SCREEN)
That isn't the answer.
Carol turns to face Joe.
CAROL
Go to hell.
JOE
You're stronger than that.
CAROL
I'm not.
JOE
You already have the answer. In
abundance.
CAROL
I don't.
JOE
What about love? And a pure heart?
Being true?
CAROL
To who?
Joe steps closer to Carol.
JOE
I want you to go with me to Alaska.
CAROL
You better not be toying with me.
JOE
I wouldn't dare.
CAROL
Oh, Joe, I was hoping for that.
JOE
Then you'll go?

86.

Carol kisses Joe.

They both look happy for the first time in a long time.
They turn to stare out to sea.
CAROL
How will this fairy tale end?
JOE
Ask John. He's the writer.
CAROL
Not after I leave with you.
JOE
I can't be responsible for that.
CAROL
His stories can keep him warm at
night.
JOE
No turning back?
CAROL
No regrets.
The incoming tide washes away their footprints in the sand.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE NIGHT
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
Next to a drawing of Rip Van Winkle, a photo of the Grampus
has been added to the circle of journey images.
Joe STRUMS guitar, playing the same troubadour love song he
played for everyone the first time they gathered.
The incomplete story lies on the desk where he left it.
EXT. CANNERY ROW
The Round Table is shattered and scattered. The Sege Perilous
split in two.
Joe and Ed walk among the ruins.
JOE
Mother Nature always wins.
ED
It wasn't her.

87.

Ed touches the crack in the Perilous Seat.

ED (CONTD)
Tell me, JC. You familiar with
Aristotle's take on friendship?
True friendship?
JOE
It's been a while.
ED
He believed that a real friend is
true to his friend because he sees
worthy elements of himself in his
friend. A good friend stays in the
background and elevates the other
to greatness. Are you that kind of
friend?
JOE
Might not have been.
ED
Could you make the kind of
sacrifice Carol made? For John's
art?
JOE
I really don't know.
ED
She gave up something pretty damned
important, she did. She knew what
it meant.
JOE
John's writing doesn't happen if
she has the baby.
ED
Zingo. What are you willing to
sacrifice? For art's sake? How far
are you prepared to go? For art's
sake?
JOE
I can't say.
ED
Unfortunately, like war, art has
collateral damage.
JOE
Mother and child.

88.

ED
Don't get me wrong. Art is
important. Capital "A" or small
"a." Very important. It enhances
our lives. And makes us better.
It's worthy of sacrifice, it is.
JOE
Guess I'm not a martyr after all.
Ed moves around to the remnants of the high-backed chair John
first sat in when they created the Round Table.
JOE (CONTD)
What now?
ED
Fix it.
JOE
Can one man do that?
ED
You'd be surprised. You'd be
surprised.
Joe smiles as he remembers when he said the same thing to his
father.
JOE
How?
ED
Tell more stories. About heroes
doing the right thing.
FAREWELL MONTAGE
Joe walks the cove at Lovers Point.
Joe says goodbye to Monte and the Boys.
Joe paces around the oak tree stumps John chopped down.
Joe gazes out at the Lone Cypress.
Joe moves among the debris of the Round Table.
Joe stands in the Great Tide Pool and stares at the setting
sun.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE NIGHT
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
Joe pins a new image of the Grail to the right of a sketch of
Perceval next to a rendering of the two-faced Roman god
Janus, which is beside a pen-and-ink watercolor of a frog
transforming into a prince.

89.

Joe walks to his desk, grabs a Saturday Evening Post and the
ledger with his unfinished story. He goes to the fireplace
and feeds the flames, one ripped page at a time.
As the last page flutters into the fire, Joe notices
something wedged behind the fireplace tools. He stoops down.
It's the arrowhead.
As he extracts it, he nicks his finger. A single drop of
blood SPLASHES on the hearth.
EXT. STEINBECK COTTAGE BACK YARD DAY
The garden has been freshly tilled for the summer planting.
John and Joe sit in two, broken-down Adirondack chairs.
Joe wears the buckskin tunic and the rest of the clothes he
wore when he first arrived. And a new, red tie.
JOHN
Burned it all, eh? Sounds like
something I'd do.
JOE
You did.
JOHN
Yep, I did. Funny how soon we
forget.
Tillie tires of chasing BIRDS and returns to her master's
side.
JOHN (CONTD)
Why?
JOE
It wasn't mine.
JOHN
I'm sure it had promise.
Joe smiles, remembering saying the same to John.
JOE
Not even close to anything of
yours.
JOHN
It was never a competition.

90.

JOE
It was for me. Always was, is, and
will be.
John arches an eyebrow.
They sit in SILENCE a moment.
JOE (CONTD)
We leave tomorrow.
JOHN
I'm envious. Maybe I'll join you on
the next one. Ed's talking about
the Sea of Cortez. His great,
modern Odyssey.
JOE
Come by the lab in the morning. Be
sure to bring Carol. I've got
something for you.
INT. DOC'S LAB MORNING
The Lark Ascending by RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS swoops through
the room.
Joe and Ed, Tal and Ritchie, and Xenia share a farewell
Bloody Mary.
Joe gets up to change the record.
There's a KNOCK at the door. Before Ed can open it, Carol
rushes in. She looks frantically around the room. She sees
Joe and goes to him.
CAROL
(WHISPERS)
Joe, John doesn't know.
JOE
I haven't told him.
Carol looks at Joe. A sudden panic on her face.
CAROL
Why the hell not?
JOE
It's all going to work out. For the
best.
CAROL
I hope so.

91.

JOE
Trust me.
CAROL
I do. Still.
John walks in. He carries a case of phonograph records. He
KICKS the door closed behind him.
JOHN
These are for Jack.
ED
Nothing will stay this courier. Not
even gloom of night.
Ed takes the case.
JOHN
Wish I were going with you.
RITCHE
Off to Southern California, eh?
JOHN
Avalon.
TAL
And Carol's on her way to San Jose?
John looks at Carol, who looks away.
XENIA
Separate beds.
JOHN
Yep, for a while.
JOE
Seems we are all going our own
ways. More or less.
Ed looks at Joe, who nods slightly.
ED
John, could you give me a hand? I
need to load a few things. Ritchie
and Tal? Xenia, my wormy worm? Many
hands and all that.
Glances all around. Ritchie and Tal and Xenia take the cue.
John is clueless. Yet again.
Ed leads and the rest follow him downstairs to the garage.

92.

Once they're gone, Carol wheels on Joe, stunned.

CAROL
What's going on, Joe?
Joe takes Carol's hands. Fear washes over her face.
JOE
When John leaves, you're going with
him.
CAROL
The hell I am.
JOE
You have to.
CAROL
You're not even giving us a chance.
JOE
We said there'd be no turning back,
but that's just not possible. He
needs you and you need him. That's
the reality.
CAROL
But, I love you.
JOE
And I you. If only I'd met you
first.
CAROL
You didn't.
JOE
I can't do this to you or to John
or to your marriage or to these
people. I won't be that guy.
CAROL
Ever the damned gallant. So Joe.
JOE
I can't help myself.
CAROL
I'm not sorry.
JOE
No need to be. We had our time. An
eternity in this one brief moment.

93.

CAROL
I'm no goddamned good at love.
JOE
If only you knew how wrong you are.
CAROL
Can you really say goodbye and not
see me again?
JOE
I can. I must.
CAROL
Will you remember me?
JOE
Forever and always.
CAROL
Will I someday be just a sad
memory?
JOE
Never.
CAROL
Nobody will ever love me as much.
Joe places the arrowhead in Carol's hand.
She tries to give it back. He stops her and closes their
hands around it.
Joe caresses her cheek like he did that first time so long
ago.
JOE
I hope to see you again someday, my
lady fair.
LOUD VOICES signal that Ed and company are on their way back.
Joe and Carol separate.
Ed BURSTS up the stairs, followed by John.
ED
Tal and Ritchie said to say
"adios." Xenia said "do svidaniya."
Carol stands, arms crossed. Joe stands apart.
JOHN
Everything okay?

94.

JOE
Yes, but I have to tell you
something.
JOHN
Not necessary.
JOE
I need to get it off my chest and
you need to hear it.
JOHN
If you say so.
JOE
Carol's in love with you, John. Not
me. She thought she was, but she
wasn't. You two need to be
together. The world needs to hear
your stories. You need Carol to
help you tell them. This isn't my
place, my time, my life, or my
dream. It's yours, John. And yours,
Carol. It's time for me to go.
It's DEATHLY SILENT. Until Joe extends his hand to John.
John hesitates, then takes it. They shake. A noble, manly
handshake.
Carol gazes at Joe. The look on her face says this will be
the last time.
EXT. DOC'S LAB DOCK MOMENTS LATER
Carol stands in the bow of the small motor boat. John FIRES
UP the motor. Ed unties the bow rope and tosses it into the
boat. The boat slowly moves away from the dock.
Carol stares at Joe. She blows him a kiss. She turns away,
sits, and stares out at the sea. The boat disappears into the
thick morning fog.
JOE (V.O.)
It took heartbreak to break
through.
Ed joins Joe at the edge of the dock. The fog drifts around
them.
JOE (CONTD)
Thanks.
ED
For what?

95.

JOE
Keeping a steady hand on the
tiller.
ED
Well, that's what friends are for.
JOE
Is this what sampling life is all
about?
ED
It's a start. It's a start, indeed.
JOE
I need a change of scenery.
ED
I know just the place.
JOE
Eddie boy, I think you're stuck
with me.
Ed and Joe trudge up the steps to the lab. The fog swallows
them.
INT. CANARY COTTAGE NIGHT
GALLERY OF JOURNEY IMAGES
Joe stares at the circle of images. It is complete.
The final image is a drawing of a line of people, hands
linked, dancing on the edge of the ocean.
Joe returns to his desk, sits, opens a new journal, faces the
blank page, and ...
Writes.
ED (OVER SHOT)
I think your journey is just
beginning.
EXT. CANNERY ROW DAY
From high above, the weeds swallow what's left of the Round
Table.
The petals of a solitary GOLDEN POPPY peek out from the
cracked Sege Perilous, reaching toward the sun.

96.

ED (O.S.)
Tell me a story, Joe. Your story.
TRANSITION TO:
TITLE CARD
Summer, 1932
EXT. CANARY COTTAGE DAY
Ed's Packard is loaded down with scientific paraphernalia,
baggage, and books.
Ed sits at the wheel. Joe rides shotgun.
The Packard pulls away.
JOE (V.O.)
"A hero ventures forth from the
world of the common day into a
region of supernatural wonder."
EXT. TACOMA, WASHINGTON DOCK SUNRISE
As the sun comes up, Joe and Ed, Jack and Sasha load
equipment and supplies onto the Grampus.
Stowed on the roof is a seventeen-foot canoe, the Nakwasina.
NORTHWARD BOUND MONTAGE
The Grampus journeys through twisting channels and into
hidden bays and inlets.
They travel along the sacred coves and shores of the Salish,
Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Kwakiutl, Nootka, Haida, Tlingit.
Rugged, glacier-carved coastal mountains thrust skyward out
of the sea.
JOE (V.O.)
"Fabulous forces are there
encountered and a decisive victory
is won."
EXT. KETCHIKAN, ALASKA DAY
Joe and Ed walk through a forest of old totem poles. Joe now
sports a beard.
There is something strange and familiar about these looming
towers of animals, some real, some mythical. All stacked atop
each other, as if along the axis of the universe.

97.

Ed gives Joe a miniature scrimshaw TOTEM POLE carved with

animated images of each animal he describes.
ED
The bear represents strength. Deer,
the power of gentleness. Turtle,
longevity. Coyote, humor. Beaver,
builder of home and family.
Buffalo, endurance to overcome
one's weaknesses. Eagle, courage
and wisdom. The frog symbolizes
transformation. Wolf, teacher and
pathfinder on the never-ending
journey.
SITKA-BOUND MONTAGE
The Grampus moves through more bays, fjords, channels, and
coves.
The coastline is dotted with villages, bearded cliffs, and
leaning totem poles.
EXT. SITKA, ALASKA SHORELINE - DAY
Joe dances alone on the edge of the Pacific Ocean,
silhouetted against a stormy sky.
He reaches out and takes the hand of a 20-year-old GIRL (JEAN
ERDMAN), who takes Ed's hand. Then John and Carol, Tal and
Ritchie, Jack and Sasha, Xenia, Monte and the Boys all link
hands.
JOE (V.O.)
"The hero comes back from this
mysterious adventure with the power
to bestow boons on his fellow man."
FROM HIGH ABOVE
the dancers weave along the brink of the world.
TRANSITION TO:
EXT. PACIFIC GROVE CANARY COTTAGE EVENING
Joe stands beside his dusty Ford Flivver. He wears the
buckskin tunic. The totem pole sits on the dashboard,
pointing East. Ready to go.
Ed sits at the wheel of the Packard.
They're both still scruff-bearded, lank-haired, and sunburned.

98.

JOE
I'm truly sorry for being the snake
in this Eden.
ED
Well, that's what love does.
JOE
It wasn't love.
ED
That's funny. Funny, indeed
JOE
It wasn't.
ED
Then what's this hubbub been all
about?
JOE
What I felt for Carol wasn't
physical. It wasn't even spiritual.
It was something deeper. I was in
love with an ideal that wasn't
Carol at all. It was something
else. Something she represented.
ED
Ah, the perfect woman. The eternal
feminine. The impossible ideal. The
unattainable.
JOE
We're all in love with perfection.
It's hard to see the real person
behind it, yes?
ED
Hmm. Can we ever know someone
completely? Can we?
JOE
No, I suppose not.
ED
No, I suppose not.
JOE
We all want what we can't have.
Whatever that is.

99.

ED
The heart is a funny thing, Joe.
When it's summer, it longs for
winter. When it's winter, it wants
summer. There's no fathoming it.
Delicious, isn't it?
JOE
I'll miss her.
ED
Well, when you set her free, you
set yourself free.
JOE
I'll cherish our time together.
ED
That's life. It just is, isn't it?
JOE
Sometimes you have to let go to see
if there is anything worth holding
onto.
ED
What will be, will be.
JOE
But, there are things we never want
to forget. People we never want to
leave behind.
ED
Yes, yes, yes. Letting go isn't the
end of the world. It's the
beginning of a new life. A new
life.
JOE
So true. We must be willing to give
up the life we planned to have the
life that's waiting for us.
Ed fires up the Packard. It RUMBLES to life.
ED
Look, a journey without a story
told is a journey without an end. A
traveler is never truly home until
he tells his story.
JOE
I'm almost there.

100.

ED
I think you've tasted enough life
for now. Lecture over. Over,
indeed.
They shake hands.
ED (CONTD)
God speed and good luck. On the
road ahead.
JOE
And you, my friend. Wherever that
journey takes you.
ED
Tell your stories, Joe. Make the
world new again. It's up to you.
Ed drives away. He tips his hat to a DOG on a street corner,
licking itself.
His GOAT LAUGH echoes in the night as he disappears into the
mist.
TRANSITION TO:
REPRISE MONTAGE
of days on the Monterey Peninsula.
JOE (V.O.)
I will always have a deep nostalgia
for those wonderful days, when
everything that has happened since
was taking shape.
SUPERIMPOSE
A caricature drawn by Ritchie of Joe, Ed, John, and Carol in
Pacific Grove. It's Lancelot, Merlin, Arthur, and Guinevere.
JOE (V.O.)
It was an extraordinary matrix of
destiny I had stumbled into. For
me, the Monterey Peninsula was the
Earthly Paradise. What a time that
was.
MONTAGE HERO SHOTS
of Ed.
of John.
of Joe.

101.

JOE (V.O.)
We were all on parallel quests.
Seeking the key to living a
meaningful life. We each found it
in our own way.
EXT. MONTEREY - BOOKSTORE DAY
Copies of Between Pacific Tides sit in the display window.
JOE (V.O.)
Ed was writing the guide to the
tide pools.
EXT. SALINAS BOOKSTORE DAY
Copies of The Grapes of Wrath sit in the display window.
JOE (V.O.)
John, the guide to the human
condition.
EXT. NEW YORK BOOKSTORE DAY
Copies of The Hero with a Thousand Faces sit in the display
window.
JOE (V.O.)
And I, the guide to the Gods.
EXT. POINT PIOS - LIGHTHOUSE DAY
Ed gathers SPECIMENS in the Great Tide Pool.
JOE (V.O.) (CONTD)
As a scientist, Ed didn't know how
to lie.
EXT./INT. MONTEREY LARA-SOTO ADOBE DAY
John writes Cannery Row.
JOE (V.O.)
As a novelist, John didn't know how
to tell the truth.
EXT./INT. BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK - SARAH LAWRENCE COLLEGE DAY
Joe teaches a class on "Comparative Mythology" to an
attentive class of YOUNG WOMEN.
JOE (V.O.)
As a mythologist, I knew the truth
hidden in the lie.

102.

EXT. CANNERY ROW DUSK

In the empty field, Ed, John, and Joe strike an heroic pose
behind the intact Round Table.
JOE (V.O.)
It was a mythic combination.
EXT. LONE CYPRESS
On the road above the tree, John and Carol argue. They stop.
Carol stuffs her hands in her coat pockets, turns, and walks
away.
JOE (V.O)
Nurtured by a remarkable woman who
knew the role sacrifice plays in
breaking through.
EXT. GRENVILLE CHANNEL SUNSET
The Grampus chases the setting sun.
JOHN (V.O.)
To finish is a sadness to a writer
a little death. He puts the last
word down and it is done. But it
isn't really done. The story goes
on and leaves the writer behind,
for no story is ever done.
TRANSITION TO:
NEWSREEL FOOTAGE
John Steinbeck accepts his Nobel Prize.
TITLE CARD
John Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962. He
died in New York six years later at the age of 66.
NEWSREEL FOOTAGE
Joseph Campbell teaches at Sarah Lawrence.
TITLE CARD
The work of Joseph Campbell inspired countless storytellers.
He died in Honolulu in 1987 at the age of 83.
NEWSREEL FOOTAGE
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is re-dedicated in memory of Ed
Ricketts, marine biologist and ecology pioneer.

103.

TITLE CARD
The Monterey Bay Aquarium, perhaps the finest collection of
undersea exhibits demonstrating the principle of ecology in
the world, was later dedicated to the memory of Ed "Doc"
Ricketts, who died in a car crash near his beloved Cannery
Row in 1948. He was 50 years old.
TRANSITION TO:
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE
BILL MOYERS interviews Joe Campbell at George Lucas's
Skywalker Ranch in 1986.
MOYERS
I like the idea that it's not the
destination that counts, it's the
journey.
JOE
Yes. As Karlfried Graf Drckheim
says, "When you're on a journey,
and the end keeps getting further
and further away, then you realize
that the real end is the journey."
MOYERS
The adventure of the hero is the
adventure of being alive.
Joe smiles.
FADE OUT.
THE END