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"SKIN"
FADE IN: 1 EXT. HIMALAYAS — TWILIGHT — AERIAL SHOT — PANORAMIC view of mountainous terrain, uppermost peaks still lit by the setting autumn sun, canyons mauve with shadow, catlike ground fog slinking through alpine passes cut by icy-grey cascades, WIND at frostbite velocity warns of a nightfall full of fatalities. CLOSE IN on:
2 EXT. PLATEAU — THE PALACE — ESTABLISHING From a BIRD’S-EYE P.O.V. manicured grounds maintain precarious purchase on a multi-tiered plateau. Walled and studded with lookout-tower turrets, the peripheries loom unmanned. Cameras form the vanguard of surveillance that keeps constant, silent watch. ZOOM IN on:
3 EXT. TURRET — REVERSE P.O.V. — A BEARDED VULTURE drops a bone in order to shatter it on an outcrop. CAMERA PANS to follow the bone’s topsy-turvy plummet. CAMERA PAN ENDS on impact.
4 CLOSE SHOT — BONE A human femur CRACKS, bounces, bounds, and rolls to a gory stop. In the fading light, its blood EXTREME CLOSEUP looks black, its marrow a chalky beige. Shreds of sinew cling to its great trochanter at the site of dislocation. DISSOLVE TO:
5 EXT. PALACE GROUNDS - MED. SHOT - GARDEN + WROUGHT IRON GATE In silhouette, against the dusk’s diminishing blush, stands a threesome of stilt-supported litters, their rough-hewn scaffolds like the skeletons they hoist for “sky burial”. Frigid temperature ensures the dismembered bodies are relieved of insect drones. CUT TO:
6 INT/EXT. PALACE / CORRIDORS — NIGHTFALL — DOLLY SHOT through a labyrinth of colonnades, in and out-of-doors, up steps, down polished marble stairs, palatial splendor obvious in every sumptuous tableau each of which is lamp-lit and seen as in peepshow.
7 SERIES OF SHOTS A) A Negress, dark as obsidian, anoints her breasts with oil. Carpeted walls, floor, and ceiling create a womb-like effect in her solitary chamber. Turning toward a quarter-length cheval glass she unselfconsciously exposes her naked back and buttocks. MOVE IN on welts; their scarlet crisscross indicative of recent flagellation. B) A pair of women, one seated in a chair, one standing behind with a brush, alternately grooms. First the redhead gets her lavish tresses stroked. Her companion's wan complexion is the opposite of their next-door neighbor's; white onto anemic, her body hair and skin appear as darks do in a photographic negative. C) Trying on wigs from a dresser-dummy rack of disembodied heads— platinum blond turned ebony, ebony turned chartreuse, chartreuse turned burnt sienna —another unclad woman (a Marilyn Monroe look-alike) lifts her arms and thereby uncovers... EXTREME CLOSEUP ...a second pair of breasts, each one mimicking the shape and coloration of its larger next-door-neighbor. D) Clad in a sheer velour robe plastered to his ribcage with excess perspiration, hairless chest revealed through the garment’s slack lapels, circumcised penis dangling like a link of unsheathed sausage, dribbling at its tip (freshly spent) with an opalescent drool, a MAN, alone or seeming so, waits before a free-standing hardwood triptych. SOUNDS of gushing water emerge from its unseen side— all three panels carved with eroticized scenes from the Bhagavad-Gita. CAMERA PANS above the screen and hovers over a WOMAN who squats at a bidet, her flimsy smock outspread like a misshapen parasol. Blocked from view are the genitals she meticulously bathes.
8 ANGLE ON — MAN THE PRINCE Nana, clean enough. I am eager that you should see. Come.
NANA (O.S.) Another moment, please. THE PRINCE, with obvious impatience, cinches the sash of his robe and half-turns toward an adjacent parlor.
9 ANGLE ON — WOMAN No longer straddling the basin, NANA rises with her back to the triptych, arms across her chest protectively, hands embracing either bicep—hug of distress.
10 CLOSEUP — NANA Eurasian eyes enlarge as if from fright or some dire anticipation in searches of an escape route.
11 THE PRINCE’S P.O.V. — PARLOUR Inventory taken at a cursory glance, his interest falls upon a throw rug at the foot of a plush divan. CLOSE IN on snow leopard, its padded paws outstretched, limbs disjointed. Bereft of flesh and bone (save for its skull) the feline sprawls inert, insensible to whatever crude indignities accompanied its demise. Relic of vitality, echo of ferocity, eyes as blind as rage, the beast that growled, prowled, purred adorns the lavish premises as an ineffectual floor covering.
12 INTERCUT superimposed and
then replacing the big cat’s pelt—
13 BACK TO SCENE CLOSEUP on Nana’s narrowed eyes as fear gives way to resourcefulness. Heretofore she will execute a bold, impromptu plan. CUT TO:
14 EXT. AIRPORT — DAY — ESTABLISHING Lear jet after Lear jet lines up on a sizzling tarmac, waves of heat distorting international insignia.
15 CLOSE SHOT — ARAB DIGNITARY A stately, elderly gentleman disembarks dressed in a white burnoose, resplendent in the dazzling midday sun; SHEIK HADITHAH greets, and is greeted by, a group already gathered, each of whom exhibits due respect when either kissing the Sheik’s wizened cheeks or shaking his outstretched hand.
16 REVERSE ANGLE — TERMINAL Above the assembly, that mills toward several limousines, is a sign in English. INSERT: WELCOME TO DUBAI
17 ANGLE ON — PRIVATE VEHICLES As chauffeurs open doors and seat their passengers, cargo is off-loading (b.g.) from Sheik Hadithah’s jet, a string of diminutive figures, single file, marching down the gangway, all eight identical with regard to costume, gait, and stature, each identifiable as a form without a face; heavily veiled the pint-size troupe proceeds like a chain of paper dolls.
18 EXT/INT. TARMAC — CLOSE ON — VAN Lockstep, the eight climb into seats, four on one side, four directly opposite, knees adjacent to knees, gloved hands folded in laps, postures uniformly proper. DISSOLVE TO:
19 EXT. DUBAI AIRPORT / EXIT — FULL SHOT — PROCESSION Limos, followed by the van, depart through an arch and merge with traffic on a superhighway, snaking toward some undisclosed destination. MATCH CUT TO:
20 EXT. WELLINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — DAY — ESTABLISHING A shuttle bus departs from in front of the terminal. DISSOLVE TO:
21 INT/EXT. RENTAL CAR OFFICE — FULL SHOT Exiting the rental office with car keys in hand is a TALL MAN in his late fifties/early sixties, a wry sense of humor etched into the wrinkles that score his rugged face. DAD O’ROURKE, through force of habit, reaches for the rental vehicle’s passenger-side door—sees no steering wheel—then walks around to its other side.
22 INT. VEHICLE — CLOSEUP — DASHBOARD Mapping console activated Dad types in coordinates for three locations, each of which appears on a twelve-by-seventeen centimeter screen. CLOSEUPS on: A) FALK FOUNDATION We SEE a two-storey red-brick structure, ivy-covered, that shrinks into a dot on the map of GREATER WELLINGTON. B) SERENITY PARK WEST We SEE interconnected modules in a miniature-golf-course-like setting likewise reduce to a dot. C) NUMBER ONE WILLESTON QUAY We SEE a stylish, modern residence overlooking Lambton Harbour dwindle into a third dot. Kilometers calculated, positions triangulated, optimum route appraised Dad proceeds to the first of his selected destinations. DISSOLVE TO:
23 EXT. IVY-COVERED BUILDING — DAY — ESTABLISHING SUBJECTIVE CAMERA as Dad circumnavigates on foot the perimeter of a nondescript establishment.
24 ANGLE ON — O’ROURKE Searching for but finding no windows, Dad approaches what appears to be the building’s primary entrance. Beside an opaque door of tinted glass is a plaque reading: INSERT: FALK FOUNDATION Tempted to press the buzzer, Dad instead frames his eyes and tries to peer through the heavily plated glass.
25 O’ROURKE’S P.O.V. — EXTREME CLOSE UP of Dad’s own dark reflection. Glancing up and to the left he spots a surveillance camera.
26 P.O.V. CAMERA — O’ROURKE as he back-peddles out of frame. DISSOLVE TO:
27 INT. FALK FOUNDATION / LABORATORY — SURVEILLANCE MONITORS Over the bare shoulder of a YOUNG WOMAN facing SCREEN ONE (of three), we SEE an instant replay of O’Rourke’s abortive attempt to peek into the facility. SCREEN TWO records O’Rourke retreating across a parking lot. SCREEN THREE records O’Rourke getting into a vehicle and driving out of range.
28 ANGLE ON — YOUNG WOMAN YVETTE NGUYEN (SEEN NUDE FROM THE REAR) her body pleasingly proportioned, muscle tone athletic, posture somewhat stiff, positively aglow with extraordinary, blemish-free skin, stands with head inclined toward a bank of surveillance monitors. CAMERA PANS IN FRONT: radiant complexion all but extinguished by her empty-headed stare.
29 ANGLE ON — YOUNG MAN Also stark naked, ROCKEFELLER FALK, his twenty-two-year-old body trim and fit, executes a series of rigorous calisthenics. CLOSEUP on slight discoloration along the shaft of his (convalescent) penis. Unaware of O’Rourke’s arrival and departure, he glances at Yvette, his expression tinged with tender-hearted patience and bitter-sweet longing. ROCKEFELLER Yvette? Pilot to co-pilot. Yvette?
YVETTE (Failing to wrest her eyes from the bank of empty screens, she utters a somewhat stifled, unintelligible GRUNT)
ROCKEFELLER What are you looking at? His eyes follow her eyes; we SEE what they see, namely THE MONITORS.
30 ANGLE ON — YVETTE Apropos of nothing, she starts to shake, a subtle quiver at first that escalates into a convulsion.
31 MED. TWO SHOT — ROCKEFELLER AND YVETTE Rushing to embrace her, to arrest her violent spasms, Rockefeller lifts her like a fireman rescuing an infant and carries her from the scene. DISSOLVE TO:
32 INT. LABORATORY — FULL SHOT — LIFE-SUPPORT APPARATUS Yvette, supine position, as she levitates over a platform, her groin affixed to an umbilicus of flexible hoses and tubes —her shudders virtually quelled, her diaphragmatic breathing returned to normal— is surrounded by a network of high-tech devices.
33 ANGLE ON — ROCKEFELLER looking concerned yet guardedly relieved, he works a complex panel of switches, levers, and dials, adjusting air-flow, nutrients, and compounds on which Yvette evidently depends. SMASH CUT TO:
34 INT. SERENITY PARK WEST / INMATE RESIDENCE - DAY- ESTABLISHING In an immaculately white room—walls, curtains, blinds, baseboards, fixtures, floor tiles, and bedding all the exact pasty shade—seated in an adjustable bed cranked to lounge position, its back almost vertical, is a LEFT-RIGHT PATIENT (SIAMESE TWINS) restrained by two of four wrists and two of four ankles. Clad in a single oversize smock that ties around the back, torsos LEFT and RIGHT appear to merge, STUYVESANT FINK (LEFT) and REMINGTON FALK (RIGHT) ostensibly are joined at ribcage, waist, and pelvis. Facial features of the pair form independent expressions throughout their drollery.
REMINGTON Who wrote Under the Bandstand?
STUYVESANT Seymour Butts.
REMINGTON How about Piles along the Nile?
STUYVESANT Squat & Leavitt.
REMINGTON And that Chinese classic Spots on the Wall?
STUYVESANT Who Flung Poo. This is really vintage material. How can you...?
REMINGTON Remember such nonsense? Fifty-yard Dash to the Outhouse?
STUYVESANT Willie Makeit.
REMINGTON Edited by?
STUYVESANT Betty Wont. Stop, already! The twin heads chuckle, their badinage reminiscent, it would appear, of some shared adolescence.
35 ANGLE ON — DOOR opened automatically, panels retracting to either side, the entrance frames DOCTOR GRANT: a balding man in his fifties, wearing spectacles, his face uncommonly friendly with a dash of condescension, his casual clothes representative of a laid-back professional.
36 INT. SERENITY PARK WEST / INMATE RESIDENCE - DAY - ESTABLISHING The all-white room, upon Grant’s entry, turns periwinkle-blue.
37 GRANT’S P.O.V. - FULL SHOT - STUY-REM (STUYVESANT-REMINGTON) No longer twinned (a solo pair of wrists and ankles restrained) STUY-REM greets the doctor with a patently aim-to-please smile— which breaks into a grimace shortly thereafter, his face afflicted by a random series of eye-blinks, flicks of the tongue, and unattractive twitches. DOCTOR GRANT And how are we today?
STUY-REM So to speak.
DOCTOR GRANT So to speak, indeed; I did hear voices.
STUY-REM ‘We’ are hunky-dory, Doc. Fit as fiddles; perfectly in tune and poised to play...
DOCTOR GRANT Duets, I take it?
STUY-REM Precisely.
DOCTOR GRANT Your son called.
STUY-REM Our who?
DOCTOR GRANT Rockefeller, your...
STUY-REM Name’s a bit familiar, but we question the appellation ‘son’. Do we know of any wayward spermatozoon that scandalized an egg? We suspect not. No, in fact we’re sure; a ‘son’ we never sired.
Certainly not in the sense our good doctor means it.
DOCTOR GRANT That was... Stuyvesant speaking?
STUY-REM Himself. Do I look like a ventriloquist?
DOCTOR GRANT And that was Remington.
STUY-REM All present and accounted for—unless you’d care to bare your own two-faced personality. Ours at least is candid. Yours qualifies as cagey. Duplicity, thy name is “psychiatric therapist”.
DOCTOR GRANT You sound resentful.
STUY-REM Oh, no. It’s downright edifying to sneak a peek at the mirror and have it flash back faces fit for a House of Horrors.
DOCTOR GRANT We’ve discontinued that medication.
STUY-REM The side effects persist. And there’s that ‘we’ to which we just referred—craftily employed to spread the blame.
DOCTOR GRANT What did you mean, if you’ll pardon my changing the subject, about never having fathered a son—in the traditional sense, that is, the sense I intended?
38 P.O.V. SIAMESE TWINS — DOCTOR GRANT The room reverts to white as we SEE Doctor Grant from between two heads regarding him, heads which turn simultaneously askance then knowingly smile. MATCH CUT TO:
39 INT. PALACE / NANA’S STUDIO — NIGHT — ESTABLISHING CLOSE IN ON Nana’s finished sculpture, returned from the foundry and cast in an oxidized bronze, its twin heads slightly turned and bearing similar expressions. CAMERA PANS up and over the sculpture, keeping it in focus. CAMERA PAN ENDS in the same position on the opposite side where we SEE, from between the two heads, Nana—blindfolded by the Prince who stands directly behind.
40 ZOOM IN ON — NANA’S FACE as the palms clamped over her eyes hinge open like blinkers. Fear gives way to relief, excitement, then gratitude on beholding the Prince's “surprise”.
41 P.O.V. SCULPTURE — MED. TWO SHOT — NANA AND THE PRINCE Nana rushes to inspect the workmanship while the Prince lags to appraise his scantily-clad paramour. NANA When did it arrive?
THE PRINCE Delivered this afternoon. I ordered the servants to take it very gingerly from its crate and packaging.
NANA Which they kept, I hope?
THE PRINCE I would suppose so... Why?
42 ANGLE ON — NANA With the sculpture piece between them, she cocks her head at the Prince. NANA The Sheik did not mention... She stops herself mid-sentence, nerves back on edge. NANA (continuing) You two spoke; yes? The other day, I mean.
THE PRINCE Naturally.
NANA But not about me?
THE PRINCE We spoke of many things. You may have been among them.
NANA My show? He did not mention my upcoming show in Paris?
THE PRINCE No. You have another? Marvelous news! Spontaneously, the Prince steps around the bust and lifts Nana into his arms for a congratulatory hug.
43 CLOSEUP (OVER THE PRINCE’S SHOULDER) — NANA’S FACE Conflict and confusion underscore her expression: FREEZE FRAME. CUT TO:
44 INT. HOTEL AUDITORIUM / ENTRY — FULL SHOT — ESTABLISHING Stragglers enter a jam-packed auditorium—proceedings underway, doors behind them closed —staunchly guarded by uniformed, side-arm-carrying Security. DISSOLVE TO:
45 INT. AUDITORIUM — DOLLY SHOT As a MASTER OF CEREMONIES introduces the KEYNOTE SPEAKER we travel toward the stage down centre aisle.
MC Mid-eastern accent) ... whose standing in our Brotherhood is justly exalted...
46 REVERSE ANGLE — AUDIENCE DOLLY SHOT continuing, we SEE faces turned expectantly, reverentially. MC (O.S.) ... only fitting that a conservator of Yesterday and statesman of Today should usher in Tomorrow. DOLLY SHOT STOPS. CAMERA PANS left to right.
47 INTERCUT Sheik Hadithah walking on stage, acknowledging the Master of Ceremonies, and replacing him at the lectern.
48 BACK TO SCENE CAMERA PANS right to left, on those in attendance raising their fists in a militaristic salute. ZOOM IN ON index fingers, all identically tattooed.
49 INTERCUT: the tattoo in EXTREME CLOSEUP is an incandescent eye that
50 BACK TO SCENE Silence, save for the speaker’s AMPLIFIED BREATHING, signifies rapt attention. SHEIK HADITHAH I will tell you why a camel is better than a Mercedes... DISSOLVE TO:
51 INT. AUDITORIUM / BACKSTAGE — WIDE ANGLE — OCTET Spread out along a balance bar, eight figures (plus their reflections in a wall-length mirror) stretch, plié, and otherwise limber up as for a performance, each completely covered by hood, robe, and veil. DISSOLVE TO:
52 INT. STAGE — CLOSE SHOT — SHEIK SHEIK HADITHAH ...a camel wants to arrive at its appointed destination. DISSOLVE TO:
53 BACKSTAGE — SERIES OF SHOTS — OCTET STRIPPED TO LEOTARDS A) FIGURE FOUR lifts left leg and locks ankle behind head. B) FIGURE SEVEN does a backbend, head tucked under crotch, face forward, chin parallel with knees. C) FIGURE THREE executes a split. D) FIGURE FIVE, stock-still, holds a handstand. DISSOLVE TO:
54 STAGE — CLOSE SHOT — SHEIK SHEIK HADITHAH Appetite equals impetus, impetus equals zeal, zealousness is a heart that beats beyond cessation. DISSOLVE TO:
55 BACKSTAGE — SERIES OF SHOTS (CONTINUING) A) FIGURE ONE lies on stomach and brings both feet in front of shoulders, ankles framing face. B) FIGURE EIGHT, from a seated posture, crosses ankles in back of neck. C) FIGURE TWO, hands grasping the balance bar, threads both feet through arms to plant on floor. D) FIGURE SIX carries out a similar manoeuvre in reverse. DISSOLVE TO:
56 STAGE — FULL SHOT — SHEIK SHEIK HADITHAH Undocumented, anonymous, origins undetectable, Mini-Minions are anyone and everyone; they fulfill the rarest needs, cater to connoisseurs, gratify commoners, realize radical aspirations, and make manifest their possessors' wildest dreams.
Gentlemen, meet the future, and calculate your options. Superimposed on what heretofore has been a plain black backdrop is a magnified image of the signet—the Brotherhood Eye's tattoo—glowing ever more brightly as the house lights grow dim. Opacity turned to transparency, the signet disappears, revealing in its wake an octet of shadows—silhouettes equidistant, shoulder to shoulder, strung across the stage. Each is petite, albeit noticeably endowed with feminine curves. Each is identical, a seeming carbon copy in the artificial night. Each is risqué, in that none wears a stitch of clothing. CUT TO:
57 EXT. GOLDEN GATE PARK / PLAYGROUND — DAY — ESTABLISHING A YOUNG COUPLE strolls along the periphery of a playground—replete with primary-colored jungle gym and nearby carousel. They walk as if some gravitational force keeps each in the other’s orbit. Toddlers play on the slides, the merry-go-round, the sway-saddle swings. One arm’s length between them, JOANNA MEERSCHAUM and SAMUEL BLUMENTHAL sit on a bench, In a sandbox, plastic shovel in hand, a little boy starts to dig his way to Australia. A little girl, toting a pail plops, down beside him. Ignoring one another, the girl upends her container; the boy regards its contents—sand retaining the bucket's conical shape. Neutral, with respect to this phenomenon, the boy resumes his task. CUT TO:
58 INT. AUDITORIUM — WIDE ANGLE — STAGE Like a troupe of naked acrobats, the octet performs. Childlike in dimension, agility, and enthusiasm—their sexual development in glaring contradiction—they strike provocative poses. Double-jointed limbs afford them postures conspicuously prurient. Chorus-line contortions are uniformly staged. The overall impression is one of innocence corrupted—a cookie-cut-out crew of post-pubescent nymphs. SHEIK HADITHAH (O.S.) Hairlessness was a choice we made for demonstration purposes only; models come with head hair. All eight figures, bending over backward, lift collective crotches. SHEIK HADITHAH (O.S) Pubic hair, as well. These were plucked to showcase special features. En masse, the eight reverse their poses, bending over frontward, exposing derrieres, each of which is fashioned with a tightly puckered anus that dilates, on command, with the precision of an aperture. One by one, the rouge-rimmed orifices gape. CUT TO:
59 INT. SERENITY PARK WEST / PURE-WHITE ROOM - EVENING - TWINS Ventriloquist-fashion, Stuyvesant (left) and Remington (right) sing alternate phrases, lips scarcely moving, all four (unrestrained) arms keeping time with the a cappella ditty. REMINGTON ♫ She’ll be comin’ around the mountain ♫
STUYVESANT ♫ When she comes ♫
REMINGTON ♫ She’ll be comin’ around the mountain ♫
STUYVESANT ♫ When she comes ♫
REMINGTON ♫ She’ll be comin’ around the mountain ♫
STUYVESANT ♫ She’ll be comin’ around the mountain ♫
REMINGTON ♫ She’ll be comin’ around the mountain ♫
STUYVESANT ♫ When she comes ♫
60 INT. SAME ROOM PERIWINKLE-BLUE — P.O.V. NURSE — STUY-REM Upon entry NURSE SOMERSET is greeted by her patient’s smile-fixed face (still prone to intermittent spells of uncontrolled grimacing). Before she issues her standard salutation, Stuy-Rem voices it for her. STUY-REM (mouth stationary) Cheers, dears.
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