by Jeff Arch
Rewritten: Nora Ephron & Delia Ephron
May 10, 1992
FADE IN:
CLOSE ON SAM BALDWIN
A card: Chicago.
He\'s in his thirties. His neck is pinched into a crisp
dress shirt and tie. His expression is vacant, faraway.
A breeze blows but he doesn\'t react to it. In the
distance the architecture of the Chicago skyline.
SAM
Mommy got sick and it happened
just like that and there was
nothing anybody would do.
(continued)
And pull back to reveal:
EXT. CHICAGO - A GRAVESITE - DAY
Next to Sam is his son Jonah, age 9. Sam\'s hand is on
his shoulder. As the mourners go past and each takes a
turn shoveling a clod of dirt into an open grave --
SAM
If we start asking why we\'ll go
crazy. So, rule number one.
We don\'t ask why.
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON ANNIE REED
Pretty, blonde, animated. Jeans, a T-shirt, a Baltimore
Orioles hat.
ANNIE
Why? I just want to know why?
That\'s my first rule. I always
ask why. Come on. Tell me.
C\'mon, c\'mon, c\'mon --
And pull back to reveal:
EXT. CHICAGO ALLEY - DAY
Annie is talking to her boyfriend, a good-looking guy
named SETH. They\'re carrying packing boxes into the
house they share in the Old Town section of Chicago.
The same stunning architecture in the b.g. They go up
the back wooden staircase to the house.
SETH
There\'s no why, Annie. I\'m just not up for it. I never said I was.
ANNIE
Is there somebody else?
SETH
Nope.
ANNIE
You don\'t love me, is that it?
SETH
Nope.
Follow them into:
INT. KITCHEN - DUSK
As they set down the packing boxes and Seth starts to
assemble them.
ANNIE
How about ... you\'re too
narcissistic to commit to
another human being in a long-
term way.
SETH
(aGREeably)
That\'s good.
CUT TO:
INT. SAM\'S CHICAGO TOWN HOUSE - DAY
An attractive, thirtyish couple, SUZY and GREG are
stocking Sam\'s freezer with enough Ziploc meals for a
months. A number of friends and relatives talk quietly
in the living room beyond. Sam stands alone by a window
that looks into the backyard. We can see a garden of
flowers -- clearly planted by Sam\'s wife.
SUZY
Five minutes in the microwave.
Any one of them, five minutes
and done. Ready to eat. Do
you know how to make juice?
SAM
Microwave. Five minutes.
CUT TO:
ANNIE\'S KITCHEN - SEVERAL DAYS LATER
Packing boxes. Seth is moving out.
ANNIE
You take the microwave?
SETH
What am I going to do with a
microwave?
ANNIE
You turn it on, you open it and
you stand in front of it for a
very long time.
SETH
So you\'re angry. Big deal.
CUT TO:
SAM\'S OFFICE - DAY
A large modern architectural firm in a Chicago high- rise.
Lake Michigan out the window. A large space with
several architects consulting, drafting, etc. Sam is at
his desk, working. An older colleague, ROB, comes over
to him. Rob has a mustache, smokes a pipe; he\'s kind
but a little stuffy.
ROB
Young man, it\'s none of my
business, but maybe you should
talk to someone. I myself
have consulted a professional.
I used to be up tight.
On Sam\'s face. It\'s hard to imagine Rob being any more
uptight than he is. Sam takes some business cards out
of his shirt pocket and reads them off.
SAM
Hypnotherapy...Shiatu Massage...
Loss of Spouse support groups...
Single parent discussion nights...
Parents without partners.
(starts riffling, angry)
Partners without parents.
People who need people. Guys
who go into the woods, beat
drums and bond. Get a shrink.
Hug a friend. Hug yourself.
He stops, realizing that everyone in the room is staring
at him. Quickly they pretend they weren\'t paying
attention. Someone whispers something to a client.
SAM
(continued)
Don\'t mind him. He\'s the guy
who just lost his wife.
(beat)
What I really think is we need a change.
ROB
Good idea. Take a few weeks
off, get some sun, take Jonah
fishing --
SAM
(shaking his head no)
A real change. New city.
Someplace where every time I go
around a corner I don\'t think
of Maggie.
And hold on Sam for a moment and--
DISSOLVE:
EXT. WRIGLEY FIELD - DAY
Sam, Jonah and Maggie walking toward the field. It\'s a
gorgeous day for a game. They high-five each other.
ROB (V.O.)
Where you going to go?
And cut back to:
INT. SAM\'S OFFICE - DAY
As Sam snaps out of it.
SAM
I was thinking about Seattle.
INT. CHICAGO TRIBUNE - DAY
The Living Section of the paper. Annie is blowing her
nose as she finishes telling her tale of woe to her
boss, LAURIE JOHNSON.
LAURIE
Honey, he wasn\'t right for you.
ANNIE
(blowing her nose)
I know.
LAURIE
He wasn\'t even wrong for you,
like cosmically wrong, so don\'t
beat up on yourself for
wasting...however long it was.
ANNIE
I know.
(blowing her nose again)
She pours Annie a cup of hot water. Annie pulls a
teabag out of her pocket, puts it into the water.
LAURIE
Maybe you should see a shrink.
ANNIE
I want my money.
LAURIE
Go home for the weekend.
ANNIE
(after a beat)
That\'s what I\'m going to do.
I\'m going to go home.
(she thinks about it)
I quit. Laurie, I quit. I\'m
going back to Baltimore.
(she\'s giddy)
How does a blonde do a high-
five?
She smacks herself in the head.
CUT TO: O\'HARE AIRPORT - DAY
The X where walkway K crosses with walkway L. Coming
down walkway K are Sam, Jonah, Suzy, Greg, their son
MACK, and several other friends.
And coming down walkway L is Annie with Laurie and a
couple of FRIENDS from the paper, JUDITH and DIANE.
They pass each other going in diagonal directions and
continue on.
We stay with Sam\'s group:
JONAH
(to Mack)
Dad says I\'m going to get used
to it, but I don\'t think you
can ever get used to a
designated hitter.
overlap:
SUZY
(to Sam)
Eventually, in a few months,
you\'ll start seeing women,
you\'ll meet someone.
SAM
Move on. Right. That\'s what
I\'m going to do. In a few
months, boom, I\'ll be fine,
I\'ll just grow a new heart.
SUZY
I\'m sorry --
GREG
Sam, she didn\'t mean --
Sam is shaking his head no as they reach the gate for
the Seattle plane.
SAM
I know, I know.
(emphatic)
Look, it doesn\'t happen twice.
CUT TO:
Annie\'s group, as they approach the gate for the
Baltimore plane.
ANNIE
I\'m going to meet someone,
someone nice and stable who
wears a hat so he won\'t catch a
cold, and I\'m going to marry
him and have three children
and live happily ever after.
I mean, I am not cut out for this--
DIANE
For what?
ANNIE
For life as we know it.
LAURIE
Just make sure he isn\'t fat
like my Michael or you\'ll spend
your whole life worrying he\'s
going to drop dead.
JUDITH
God, you guys are so romantic.
ANNIE
Do you know how long romance
lasts?
(she snaps her fingers)
That long.
DIANE
Steven still brings me flowers
every Friday and we\'ve been
married 10 years.
LAURIE
(to Diane)
Honey, nobody wants to hear
that.
(to Annie)
Here, darling, have some Tic
Tacs.
Kissing everyone. Annie starts toward the plane, loaded
with stuff.
ANNIE
The next time you see me I am
going to be incredibly happy.
INT. PLANE - NIGHT
Sam and Jonah sitting together as the plane waits on the
runway. He notices his father\'s distractedness, reaches
over and takes his hand. Sam comes back into focus.
SAM
I\'m your dad. Don\'t ever
forget that. That\'s rule
number two.
(beat)
It\'s you and me, kid.
INT. PLANE - NIGHT
Annie sitting by herself as the plane waits on the
runway.
ANNIE
(to herself)
I guess it\'s just us.
She gulps.
EXT. O\'HARA AIRPORT - NIGHT
The two planes face in opposite directions, waiting for
instructions.
And now they both start to take off. In opposite
directions.
And we pull back back back back as the planes take off,
one flying east, the other flying west.
And further and further back as they soar into the air
and leave the frame.
The night sky.
Stars twinkle.
And now tilt down to see the United States. It looks
like a cross between a satellite photo and a drawing by
Saul Steinberg.
A light goes on in Baltimore.
A light goes on in Seattle.
They are the only lights on the map.
EXT. BALTIMORE SUN BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON - CHRISTMAS EVE
As Annie comes out of the newspaper building with WALTER
JACKSON, a tall, handsome man who wears a hat. They\'re
carrying an armful of Christmas presents. They\'re
walking toward the parking lot.
WALTER
The short one with black hair
is your cousin Irene --
ANNIE
-- who\'s married to --
WALTER
Harold, who ran away with his
secretary but came back --
ANNIE
-- because Irene threatened to
put the dog to sleep if he
didn\'t --
WALTER
And your brother Tom is a
psychology professor and is
married to...Betsy --
ANNIE
-- who is the most competitive
woman in the world --
They put the presents in the backs of their two cars and
pull out together.
EXT. A HOUSE IN BALTIMORE SUBURBS - NIGHT
Christmas lights twinkling as the two cars pull up in
front of a comfortable upper middle-class house and park
their cars. They get out assembling presents.
WALTER
Your Uncle Milton lost all his
money in a Puerto Rican
condominium that went belly up,
don\'t mention the IRS or the
Federal prison system. Your
mother is Barbara, your father
is Cliff --
ANNIE
I hope he doesn\'t get out his
slides.
WALTER
Am I what they had in mind?
ANNIE
They\'re going to love you.
As they start toward the house.
CUT TO:
CLANGING ON THE WINE GLASSES.
AND PULL BACK TO REVEAL:
INT. ANNIE\'S PARENTS\' DINING ROOM - NIGHT
BARBARA
Everybody! Annie has an announcement --
ANNIE
Walter and I are engaged!
And the family\'s at the diner table. Annie\'s family is
a completely normally-looking WASP family -- only
everyone is a little eccentric. Annie\'s mother BARBARA,
a beautiful gray-haired, fantastically cheerful woman,
claps her hands together. Her father CLIFF, who\'s at
the head of the table next to her, gives Annie a kiss.
Annie\'s brother TOM and his wife BETSY are at the table,
along with cousin IRENE and her husband HAROLD. UNCLE
MILTON, who\'s Irene\'s father and Barbara\'s brother.
There are about FIVE CHILDREN there, too.
IRENE
That\'s wonderful, Annie. I
hope it lasts... for years
and years.
BETSY
(the competitive one)
Do you have a ring?
ANNIE
No. Not yet.
BETSY
Oh. Well. How will anyone
know?
TOM
Because you\'re going to call
them all and tell them.
Congratulations, Walter.
He claps Walter on the back.
Walter sneezes. And sneezes again.
CLIFF
Are you all right?
WALTER
It\'s nothing. Nothing.
ANNIE
It\'s probably just the flowers --
BARBARA
We\'ll move them --
WALTER
Don\'t touch them. I feel
terrible sneezing at a time
like this. This is a big
moment for me --
ANNIE
(overlapping)
He\'s allergic to everything,
don\'t worry about it --
HAROLD
Bees. I\'m allergic to bees.
CLIFF
Not salmon I hope --
ANNIE
If he eats one tiny piece of a nut --
WALTER
(cheerfully)
My head swells up like a
watermelon and I drop dead.
IRENE
It\'s the same with Harold and
bees.
CLIFF
Your mother and I had salmon at
our wedding, and I really think
a wedding without cold salmon --
WALTER
I\'m not allergic to salmon. I
don\'t think. But you never
know.
HAROLD
You never know.
BARBARA
Oh, honey, I feel terrible, we
used up this magnum of
champagne we were saving on
something else, what did we use
it for?
TOM
Uncle Milton\'s parole --
BARBARA
Right.
UNCLE MILTON
And it was delicious.
BARBARA
It was, wasn\'t it, Milton
darling --
BETSY
When are you getting married,
Annie?
CLIFF
In early June. In the garden.
HAROLD
Does it have to be in the garden?
IRENE
What about Harold and bees?
BARBARA
We\'ll spray you.
CLIFF
Cold salmon. A lovely cucumber
salad. Strawberries.
WALTER
I\'m afraid I\'m allergic to
strawberries.
CLIFF
No strawberries.
Annie smiles at Walter.
ANNIE
(to Walter)
Is that all right with you?
WALTER
(to Lou Gehrig line)
Today I consider myself the
luckiest man on the face of
the earth.
IRENE
What are you wearing?
ANNIE
I don\'t know.
BETSY
I wish you would wear my dress.
I only wore it once, and you\'ll
barely have to do anything to
it except take it in in the
bust --
BARBARA
I have something that might do
--
INT. LIVING ROOM - LATER
Walter is sitting on the couch as Cliff shows him slides
of cloud formations in Guatemala. In the next room
Tom\'s at the piano and the kids are singing Christmas
carols.
INT. BACK STAIRWAY - SIMULTANEOUS
MAX, one of the children, is teaching Uncle Milton to
burp.
INT. ATTIC - NIGHT
The sound of Christmas carols from below.
The attic is full of boxes and Annie walks through with
her mother. They come to a dressmakers dummy with a sheet over it. Barbara removes the sheet. A beautiful antique dress. A veil sitting on top of the dummy.
BARBARA
The Historical Society wanted
this and I never would give it
to them --
ANNIE
Granny\'s dress. Oh, Mom.
BARBARA
I notice these things are back
in fashion. Oh, honey.
(tears are rolling down
her face as she tries
the veil on Annie)
He\'s a lovely man, Annie.
ANNIE
I know. He\'s wonderful, isn\'t
he?
BARBARA
Are his folks nice?
ANNIE
You\'ll love them. We\'re going
down to D.C. tonight to be with
them Christmas morning.
BARBARA
How did it happen?
Barbara starts to unbutton the tiny buttons on the back
of the dress and remove it from the dummy.
ANNIE
It\'s silly, really. I mean,
I\'d seen him at the office,
obviously I\'d seen him, he\'s
the associate publisher, and
then one day we both ordered
sandwiches from the same place,
and he got my lettuce and
tomato sandwich on whole wheat,
which of course he was allergic
to, and I got his lettuce and
tomato on white.
BARBARA
(utterly without irony)
How amazing.
ANNIE
It is, isn\'t it? You make
millions of decisions that mean
nothing and then one day you
decide to order takeout and it
changes your life.
BARBARA
Destiny takes a hand.
ANNIE
Oh, please. Destiny\'s just
something we\'ve invented
because we can\'t stand the fact
that everything that happens is
accidental.
BARBARA
Then how do you explain that
you both ordered exactly the
same sandwich except for the
bread? How many people in this
world like lettuce and tomato
without something else like
tuna?
ANNIE
It wasn\'t a sign. It was a
coincidence.
Barbara shrugs, slips the dress off the dummy and Annie
steps into it. Barbra starts to button the dress on Annie.
BARBARA
I was in Atlantic City with my
family. Cliff was a waiter.
He talked me into sneaking out
for a midnight walk on the
Steel Pier. I\'ve probably told
you this a million times, but
I don\'t care. And then he held
my hand. I was scared. All
sorts of thing were going
through my head. But after a
while I forgot about them. At
one point I looked down, at our
hands, and I couldn\'t tell
which fingers were mine and
which were his. And I knew.
ANNIE
(hearing it for the first time)
What?
BARBARA
You know.
ANNIE
(she doesn\'t know, but
she doesn\'t want her
mother to know she
doesn\'t know)
What?
BARBARA
Magic. It was magic.
ANNIE
(repeating)
Magic.
BARBARA
I knew we would be together
forever, and that everything
would be wonderful, just the
way you feel about Walter.
Walter. It\'s quite a formal
name, isn\'t it?
(lowering her voice)
One of the things I truly knew
was that your father and I were
going to have a wonderful time
... in the sack I believe you
call it --
ANNIE
Mom!
BARBARA
Of course it took several years
before everything worked like
clockwork in that department,
so don\'t be worried if it takes
a while --
ANNIE
Mom, we already...
BARBARA
Well, fine, fine. Fiddle da
dee. And how\'s it working?
ANNIE
Like... clockwork.
She turns to look in the mirror. The dress doesn\'t fit
at all. It\'s completely lopsided. One shoulder is
higher than the other. The waist is in the wrong spot.
The effect is quite comical.
BARBARA
So you\'ll get married in a new
dress.
ANNIE
It\'s a sign.
BARBARA
(gently)
You don\'t believe in signs.
EXT. STREET - LATE
The house Christmas lights sparkle outside, twinkling on
the tree inside, and the warm light spilling out.
ANNIE
They loved you. I told you
they would love you and they did.
WALTER
I love you.
ANNIE
I love you, Walter.
(beat)
Did anyone ever call you
anything other than Walter?
WALTER
Nope.
ANNIE
Even when you were young?
WALTER
Nope. Not even when I was
young.
It\'s starting to rain.
WALTER
You sure you don\'t want to
drive with me?
ANNIE
How will I get back to
Baltimore Saturday?
(remembering something)
Oh God, I forgot my present for
your stepmother -- I took it
inside by accident.
WALTER
I\'ll wait.
ANNIE
Don\'t be silly. I\'ll just be
ten minutes behind you.
EXT. BELTWAY - NIGHT
As Annie drives back toward Washington, D.C.
Raining.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Annie driving. Presents on the front seat. She\'s
singing "Sleigh Ride" and doing all the sound effects
and clipclops and giddyups. After a moment, she
realizes she doesn\'t know all the words and turns on the radio.
DR. MARSHA\'S FIELDSTONE\'S VOICE
Welcome back to "You and Your
Emotions." I\'m Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone broadcasting across
America from the top of the
Sears Tower in Chicago where we
would have a fantastic view of
Santa Claus and his reindeer if
there was a -- oops, never
mind. Tonight we\'re talking
about wishes and dreams.
What\'s your wishes this Christmas
Eve? Maybe the best present
you can give yourself is a call
to me. The number is --
ANNIE
Give me a break.
Annie changes the station.
RADIO VOICE
The subject of the evening\'s
medical update is You and Your
Spleen and our host --
She flips the dial back the other way.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Our caller is from Seattle.
Annie changes the station.
RADIO VOICE
Coming up, Jingle Bells
backwards, sung by the New
Jersey Cape Mayettes --
Annie twists the dial back the other way. We hear a
YOUNG BOY\'s voice.
BOY\'S VOICE (V.O.)
Hello, this is Jonah --
(there\'s a bleep as
Jonah says his last
name)
Annie\'s hand lingers on the dial.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
No last names, Jonah. Hello
there, you sound younger than
our usual callers. How come
you\'re up so late?
JONAH (V.O.)
It\'s not that late in Seattle.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Got me there. What\'s your
Christmas wish, Jonah?
JONAH (V.O.)
It\'s not for me. It\'s for my dad. I think he needs a new
wife.
Annie shakes her head.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
You don\'t like the one he was
now?
JONAH (V.O.)
He doesn\'t have one now.
That\'s the problem.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Where\'s your mom?
JONAH (V.O.)
She died.
Annie closes her eyes for a moment.
ANNIE
I don\'t believe this --
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
As the car drives along.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I\'m sorry to hear that, Jonah.
JONAH (V.O.)
I\'ve been pretty sad, but I
think my dad is worse.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
And you\'re worried about him.
JONAH (V.O.)
I\'m worried about him, he\'s
worried about me, I ride my
bike to school, he follows in
the car, like I\'m not supposed
to know he\'s there. Now it\'s
Christmas, and you know what
happens to people at Christmas.
ANNIE
They lose their minds and call
crackpot doctors on the radio --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Have you talked to your dad
about this?
JONAH (V.O.)
No.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
JONAH (V.O.)
It\'s very hard for him to talk
about this stuff. It\'s like it
makes him sadder.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
You want me to talk to him?
ANNIE
Perfect. Sandbag the father.
JONAH (V.O.)
And you crazy? He thinks shows
like this are dumb. If you
didn\'t have an 800 number I
could never get away with this --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Is he home right now?
JONAH (V.O.)
Yeah.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Well, I think I can help a
little more if I talk to him
directly.
JONAH (V.O.)
I don\'t know --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I\'m sure he won\'t be angry once
he realizes how concerned you are about him.
JONAH (V.O.)
Okay, but if I get yelled at,
I\'m never gonna listen to this
show again.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Fair enough.
INT. SAM\'S HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Jonah is on the telephone on the first floor of the
houseboat he lives in with Sam. He\'s got the phone cord
coming out of the small first-floor study, and he\'s
standing near the kitchen end of a large living area
looking out at the back deck, where his dad is sitting
in a deck chair looking out at the sea.
JONAH
Dad --
SAM
What is it?
ON ANNIE AGAIN.
JONAH (V.O.)
There\'s somebody on the phone
for you.
(into phone)
His name is Sam.
ANNIE
This is completely disgusting.
INT. BALDWIN HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Sam pokes his head in the back door. He looks much as
he did eighteen months earlier, except that his hair is
a little longer. He picks up the phone extension.
SAM
Hello.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Hello, Sam, this is Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone on Network America.
Sam looks across the room to Jonah.
SAM
I\'m probably not interested in
whatever you\'re selling.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I\'m not selling anything. Your
son called and asked for advice
on how to find you a new wife.
SAM
(he really didn\'t get
her name)
Who is this?
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
(repeating herself)
Dr. Marcia Fieldstone of
Network America.
SAM
Jesus, are we on the air?
Jonah, for God\'s sake --
JONAH
Don\'t be mad at me, Dad.
Sam can see Jonah. He\'s frightened. Sam immediately
feels how upset Jonah is.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
He feels that since your wife\'s
death you\'ve been very unhappy.
He\'s genuinely worried about you.
Sam is looking at Jonah, who\'s rooted to the spot he\'s
standing on.
SAM
(to Jonah)
I\'m not mad at you. Okay, I\'m
not mad at you.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I think it\'s hard for him to
talk to you about all this.
Maybe we could talk and it
would make him feel a little
better.
Sam hesitates.
JONAH
Please --
INT. ANNIE\'S CAR - NIGHT
ANNIE
This is a grotesque violation
of this man\'s personal life,
but never mind --
SAM (V.O.)
All righ...
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Good. How long ago did your
wife die?
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
SAM
It\'s been about a year and a
half.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Have you had any relationship
since?
SAM
No.
Sam is very uncomfortable about this --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
SAM
Look, Doctor, I don\'t want to
be rude, but --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
And I don\'t want to invade your
privacy --
INT. CAR - NIGHT
ANNIE
Sure you do.
SAM (V.O.)
(overlapping)
Sure you do --
Annie smiles.
SAM
Look, we had a tough time at
first, but I think I\'m holding
my own as a dad, and Jonah and
I will get along fine again as
soon as I break his radio.
Annie laughs. So does Mr. Fieldstone
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Jonah is smiling too.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
I have no doubt that you\'re a
good dad. You can tell a lot
from a person\'s voice. But
something must be missing if
Jonah feels that you\'re still
under a cloud.
JONAH
Tell her how you don\'t sleep at
night.
SAM
How do you know that?
Sam and Jonah both talk into their extensions, literally
talking to each other on the phone within their own
house, but also ON THE AIR.
JONAH
I can hear you walking around
sometimes. At first I thought
it was a robber. Go ahead,
tell her, Dad.
SAM
I don\'t think I have to now.
Sam starts across the room towards Jonah, who starts
toward him, both of them holding their phone receivers.
On the wall in the dining area is a pine bench.
SAM
Look, it\'s almost Christmas --
(as the two of them sit
down together on the
bench)
A kid needs a mother --
He puts an arm around Jonah.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
As Annie listens. She\'s softened considerably.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Could it be that you need
someone just as much as Jonah
does?
ANNIE
Yes.
Annie catches herself, covers her mouth in embarrassment.
ANNIE
I\'m losing my mind.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
As Annie makes a turn off the beltway into a rest stop.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
We\'ve been talking to -- well,
let\'s just call him Sleepless
in Seattle, and we\'ll be right
back after this break with
listener response, your
response, to the things we\'ve
been discussing. The number to
call is...
INT. BALDWIN HOUSE
SAM
What\'s she talking about?
JONAH
This is where other people get to call in and dump on what you said.
We hear the beginning of a commercial.
INT. TRUCK STOP RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Annie walks in, anxious to break the spell of her radio
reverie. She goes to the counter to order some coffee.
There\'s a commercial on the radio. The counter WAITRESS
LORETTA is talking to the customers -- who include a
TRUCK DRIVER at a booth. HARRIET, a short-order-cook,
is visible through an open window to the kitchen.
LORETTA
I\'ll bet he\'s tall, with a cute
butt.
HARRIET
I\'ll bet he hasn\'t shaved in a
week. I\'ll bet he stinks.
LORETTA
Shut up, Harriet.
(to Annie)
What\'ll it be?
ANNIE
Coffee, please. Black. To go.
LORETTA
Maybe I should hustle myself
out to Seattle. Give him a
little present for New Year\'s
Eve.
HARRIET
You can go there if you want
but don\'t open his refrigerator.
They don\'t cover anything when
they put it in the fridge.
They just stick it in and leave
it there till it walks out by
itself.
LORETTA
Harriet, ever since you
divorced your last husband,
you\'ve been no fun. I\'m
looking, and this guy pops my
tarts.
TRUCK DRIVER
Come on, Loretta, you\'re going
to have to jump-start this guy.
His battery\'s dead. And look
at me. Mister Ever-Ready.
Every six minutes, another
charge.
LORETTA
I\'m looking for someone
sensitive.
ANNIE
Come on, nobody wants a guy
who\'s sensitive on the radio.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Let\'s take a call before we get
back to Sleepless. Knoxville,
Tennessee, you\'re on.
SWEET SOUTHERN VOICE
Yes, I would just like to know
where I could get this man\'s
address?
LORETTA
(to the radio)
Honey, get on line.
EXT. DINER - NIGHT
As Annie gets into her car.
EXT. WASHINGTON, D.C. STREET - NIGHT
Annie driving toward the house where Walter\'s parents
live.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Do you think there\'s somebody
out there you could love as
much as your wife? Maybe even
more?
SAM (V.O.)
It\'s hard to imagine.
And cut back and forth between the car and the
houseboat. Sam and Jonah are still on the bench, but
Jonah has fallen asleep in Sam\'s lap. Sam is stroking
the boy\'s hair.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
What are you going to do, Sam?
SAM
I don\'t know. When I met my
wife, it was so clear. I just
knew.
Annie is listening now.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
What was it that made you know?
SAM
I don\'t think I could really
describe it.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
SAM
And if I could describe it,
it probably wouldn\'t be on a radio
show.
(he laughs to himself)
But what the hell. It\'s not
one specific thing. It\'s more
of a feeling.
(continued)
Annie coasts to a stop outside a handsome mansion in
Washington, D.C., the motor running. She\'s hooked now,
she\'s not getting out of the car until she\'s heard it
all.
SAM
You touch her for the first
time, and suddenly... you\'re
home. It\'s almost like...
ANNIE
Magic.
SAM
Magic.
CLOSER ON ANNIE
realizing she has just said this. Realizing that it
must mean something but not knowing what.
SHE\'S CRYING.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Well, it\'s time to wrap up,
folks --
A FIGURE appears at the passenger side window, which
Annie doesn\'t notice. She\'s wiping the tears away with
her hand.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
We hope you\'ll call again soon.
The figure TAPS on the window --
WALTER
(muffled, outside car)
Annie?
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
... and let us know how it\'s
going.
-- and taps again.
WALTER
Annie?
She turns. He\'s pointing at the locked door. She
searches for the button. Finally finds it so that
Walter can open the door.
ANNIE
I\'m sorry, Walter. I just
heard the most amazing thing on
the radio.
They start toward the front door, Walter and Annie
carrying presents, an overnight bag of Annie\'s.
ANNIE
People call up these shows and
you can\'t believe the stuff
they say. It\'s the end of
privacy as we know it, this
country is just one big global
village with everyone out there
going blah blah blah --
As they enter the house, we hear Silent Night and we see
a Christmas tree, glittering with lights.
CUT TO:
A CHRISTMAS TREE GLITTERING WITH LIGHTS
as we pull back to reveal:
INT. HOUSEBOAT - EARLY MORNING
As Jonah opens his presents under the tree and we cut
from gift to gift:
A BROOKS ROBINSON BASEBALL GLOVE which Jonah loves and
which he puts on his hand and keeps on while continuing
to open:
A TIE which mystifies him, but he hangs it around his
neck.
A PLAID SHIRT
A MAP OF THE UNITED STATES -- the kind that\'s used in
schoolrooms that pulls down from a roller.
And now Sam brings out a long narrow present from behind
the door and Jonah opens --
A NEW FISHING ROD
EXT. HOUSEBOAT - DAY
As Jonah poses with all his Christmas presents -- his
tie hanging around his neck over his bathrobe and new
plaid shirt, his baseball glove, fishing rod -- as Sam
takes his picture.
INT. HOUSEBOAT - DAY (OR POSSIBLY EXT. DECK HOUSEBOAT)
Sam opens his present from Jonah, which is something he
made in woodworking class.
SAM
The hopes are perfect --
beautiful, identical, smooth --
and they are for something
really amazing I feel it in my
bones --
JONAH
It\'s a spice rack.
SAM
We desperately need a spice
rack. Desperately.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN OF HOUSEBOAT - DAY
SAM
And we desperately need spices.
Where Sam is putting the spices they have -- pepper,
salt, paprika and oregano -- into the spice rack, which
has room for at least twenty more. Jonah is
methodically making pancakes.
JONAH
Dad? About last night?
SAM
It\'s never happening again.
Right?
JONAH
Right.
There\'s a knock on the door.
SAM
Then it never happened.
Sam goes to answer the door.
TWO YOUNG WOMEN are standing there. Both are wearing
quite a lot of Spandex. One of them is named LULU. It
says so on her jacket. The other is JOBETH.
SAM
Hi.
LULU
Hi. Sam?
SAM
Yes?
LULU
(looking in and seeing
Jonah)
You must be Jonah.
Jonah nods.
LULU
(to her friend)
See. I told you. Sam and
Jonah. I\'m LULU. This is
JoBeth.
JoBeth nods, and continues to nod as Lulu talks.
LULU
(continues)
We live two piers over, don\'t
we? Number 12, right? We\'re
having like a really neat open
house today from like four to
whenever if you care to stop
by.
SAM
Thanks, but... we\'ve got plans.
LULU
Well, here\'s the number. If
you ever find yourself
Sleepless, give us a call. We
also... do babysitting.
She winks. JoBeth nods.
Sam nods.
Lulu waves goodbye, and she and JoBeth sashay off down
the dock.
Jonah closes the door and turns to Sam.
JONAH
Not.
SAM
My feelings exactly.
EXT. LAKE UNION MARINA - EARLY MORNING
Jonah and Sam are fishing off a dingy.
SAM
How many people do you think
heard that thing last night?
JONAH
It plays in 50 states.
SAM
What?!
JONAH
Nobody else is going to know it
was us.
SAM
You\'re right.
(after a beat)
You better hope so.
EXT. BALTIMORE SUN - MORNING
INT. LIFESTYLE SECTION - DAY
A large open newsroom-type space with REPORTERS at
computers. Around the perimeter are glass-partitioned
offices and meeting rooms. Inside one of the offices is
BECKY, the Lifestyle editor of the Sun. She\'s at a
table with Annie, now a reporter for the section, and
two other colleagues -- KEITH and WYATT. Wyatt is
playing Gameboy.
KEITH
This man sells the greatest
soup you\'ve ever eaten, there\'s
a line around the block, and he
is, I am not kidding, the meanest
man in America.
(beat)
I feel strongly about this,
Becky. This is not just about
soup.
BECKY
Do it. What else?
WYATT
New Year\'s Eve. Please don\'t
make me write it.
Becky looks at Wyatt, notices the Gameboy.
BECKY
Wyatt, I do not mean to remind
you of your mother, but if you
don\'t put that game away, no TV
for a week.
WYATT
(pushing it to the
center of the table)
Would someone look this up,
don\'t tell me where.
Becky is riffling through some papers on the table,
among which are some tearsheets from the Associated
Press wire.
BECKY
Listen to this. Phone service
in the greater Chicago area was
tied up for two hours Christmas
Eve because some kid called a
phone-in show to get a wife for
his father. Two thousand women
called in for the number.
KEITH
Jesus.
ANNIE
I heard it. This kid calls up
and says my dad needs a wife
and I\'m talking to myself in
the car saying, this is
completely disgusting, you\'re
taking advantage of a child,
and then the father gets on and
this shrinkette says, do you
want to talk about it? And he
says no as a matter of fact I
don\'t, and I am saying, bravo!
Right on! Don\'t talk to her,
it\'s none of her business --
(she\'s completely into
this story now)
-- and then suddenly, for no
reason at all, he\'s talking
about how much he loved his
wife, and how he just --
(she snaps her fingers)
fell in love with her and I am
crying. Me. A tear is
actually rolling down my face.
It was like what happens when I
watch those phone company ads.
I don\'t have to see the whole
ad, I just have to see the part
where the daughter gives her
mother a refrigerator with a
big red bow on it, have you
seen that one?
Everyone looks at her. Apparently she\'s finished.
BECKY
You should write something
about this.
ANNIE
About what?
BECKY
Whatever it is.
KEITH
(waving the AP story)
What it is is, there are a lot
of desperate women out there
looking for love.
WYATT
Especially over a certain age.
Annie is looking at them. This isn\'t what she was
talking about at all, although she isn\'t quite sure what
she was talking about.
KEITH
It is easier to be killed by a
terrorist after the age of 40
than it is to get married --
ANNIE
That is not true. That
statistic is not true.
BECKY
It\'s not true, but it feels
true.
ANNIE
There\'s practically a whole
book about how that statistic
is not true --
WYATT
Calm down. You brought it up --
ANNIE
(sharply)
I did not, Wyatt.
A beat, everyone pauses. Things are a little out of
hand.
BECKY
So where were we?
WYATT
New Year\'s Eve. I\'ll do it,
okay?
BECKY
Okay.
ANNIE
If someone is a widower, why do
they say he was widowed? Why
don\'t they say he was widowered?
Everyone looks at her strangely.
ANNIE
I was jus wondering.
EXT. BALTIMORE STREET - DAY
Annie walking purposefully, followed by Becky, hurrying
to catch up.
BECKY
What was that about up there?
ANNIE
What was what?
BECKY
What\'s with you?
ANNIE
Nothing\'s with me.
INT. BALTIMORE RESTAURANT - DAY
Becky and Annie are having lunch.
BECKY
"Sleepless in Seattle"?
ANNIE
That\'s what she called him on
the show. Because he can\'t
sleep.
BECKY
And now 2,000 women want his
number. The guy could be a
crackhead, a psychopath, a
FLASHer, a junkie, a
transvestite, a chain-saw
murderer, or someone really
sick, like Rick.
ANNIE
Actually, he sounded nice.
BECKY
Oh? Oh, really? Now we\'re
getting down to it.
ANNIE
Not.
She reaches down for her purse.
INT/EXT. REMODEL HOUSE - DAY
A hand reaching down to pick something up -- the Seattle
newspaper, and
PULL BACK TO REVEAL:
Sam carrying the paper down/up the stairs to an old
house that\'s being renovated. Jonah, who is playing
Cameboy, is walking along with him. WORKMEN are active
everywhere. Dry wall going up, cabinets being
installed, tile being set.
One of Sam\'s partners, BOB LANGMAN, is walking with him,
and JAY MATHEWS, the on-site supervisor, is waiting for
them in an unfinished doorframe. Bob is hefty, older,
always eating something dietetic. Jay is younger and
always wears as little as possible, even in cold weather.
BOB LANGMAN
Now she wants a circular
stairwell off the den.
JAY
(to Jonah, in b.g.)
Punch me, punch in right here.
(points to his stomach;
Jonah punches)
And she wants the Sub-Zero with
the side-by-side doors --
BOB
Which means --
SAM
The cabinets have to be redone
--
They all nod at each other. The woman has been a
nightmare.
BOB
So we thought --
JAY
Since you\'re on the make again
--
Sam looks at Jonah --
SAM
Great. This is great. The
whole town knows. Just out of
curiosity, how do you two know?
BOB
Grace heard it.
SAM
Grace the dispatcher. Great.
BOB
The point is, take the client
out to dinner and ask her to
marry you and then maybe we
won\'t have to redo the kitchen
cabinets.
SAM
Why me? What about Jay?
JAY
Hey, my plate is full.
SAM
Well, okay. What\'s the big
deal? If she\'ll forget the
new fireplace, I\'ll marry her.
Just point me in the right
direction.
JONAH
Dad, I don\'t know about this
one --
SAM
Oh, you\'re changing your mind
--
JONAH
No, I\'m not, but --
SAM
What\'s the matter with this
one? Wouldn\'t you like to have
Imelda Marcos as your mother?
JONAH
Dad --
Sam cuffs him good-naturedly.
SAM
We better take the measurements
for the new cabinets.
He walks away past some workmen, ladders, etc. and
starts checking the cross-beams in the ceiling over in
another area of the site. Bob follows after him. Jay
tosses Jonah a hammer and they start knocking nails into
the wall.
BOB
Sam, if you\'re not doing
anything New Year\'s --
obviously you\'re not doing
anything New Year\'s -- we\'re
having some people over, all of
them married, not one even
remotely interested in playing
around. Does that sound great
or what?
(whistfully)
I can\'t think of the last time
I was at a party when anything
actually happened.
SAM
Thanks, but I\'ll pass. It\'s
kind of a big night. I don\'t
like to leave Jonah alone.
CUT TO:
SHOT OF HOUSEBOAT BEING TOWED BY A TUG DOWN THE RIVER (OR A
SEAPLANE LANDING) - TWILIGHT
EXT. HOUSEBOAT - TWILIGHT
Jonah watching it. Sam visible in the distance in the
kitchen.
INT. KITCHEN - TWILIGHT
As Sam is busy installing the spice rack. He marks the
wall, hammers in the nails, etc.
SAM
(as he starts putting
new spices into the
rack, in alphabetical
order)
Does red pepper go under R or
P?
JONAH
P.
(beat)
Dad?
SAM
(absently)
What?
JONAH
I forgot to mention. Jed
called --
SAM
Just out of curiosity, do you
have any friends whose names
don\'t begin with a J? I feel
like it was a failure of the
imagination on our part naming
you Jonah.
(looking at the spices)
What is marjoram? Does anyone
know?
JONAH
Jed is having a slumber party
New Year\'s Eve and he invited
me.
A beat.
SAM
Fine. Fine.
JONAH
So I can go.
SAM
Sure.
(almost done with the
spices)
Looking good.
JONAH
Shouldn\'t you have used a
toggle bolt?
SAM
I think I know how to have a
spice rack.
He puts in the last spice.
They stand back to admire it. A beat. The rack falls
off the wall.
The rack itself doesn\'t break, but about six of the
glass jars of spices break.
There\'s paprika and thyme and currying powder, etc. all
over the floor along with shards of glass.
SAM
God fucking dammit! Shit!
Fuck. Piss.
Jonah bursts into tears.
SAM
(still angry)
I\'m sorry.
(softening)
I\'m sorry.
He picks up Jonah and holds him.
SAM
I\'m sorry. I\'m just --
JONAH
Stressed.
SAM
Right. I\'m sorry, Jonah, I\'m
sorry.
And he holds Jonah as Jonah calms down. Sam closes his
eyes tight.
INT. A TELEVISION SET OF NEW YEAR\'S EVE ON TIMES SQUARE
And pull back to reveal:
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Sam, alone, watching the ball drop. He\'s got a bag of
Doritos and a beer.
A VOICE
Can I have half your beer?
SAM
Sure.
It\'s Maggie.
She takes his bottle of beer and pours half of it into a
glass.
MAGGIE
What did I used to say? Here\'s
looking at you? Here\'s mud in
your eye?
SAM
Here\'s to us. You used to say
here\'s to us.
(he looks at her and
his eyes well with
tears)
Oh babe. I miss you so much it
hurts.
He reaches out for her. She\'s gone.
And we hear the television set now counting down to
midnight in New York.
CUT TO:
INT. NEW YEAR\'S EVE PARTY IN BALTIMORE - NIGHT
The same television show counting down to midnight.
Champagne corks popping, etc.
And we see Walter and Annie.
WALTER
Happy New Year, darling.
ANNIE
Happy New Year.
They start to dance.
WALTER
I was thinking, I have to go up
to Boston for the AAP
convention and then visit
Winston-Hughes about switching
over our computers. Why don\'t
we meet in New York for
Valentine\'s Day weekend?
ANNIE
Walter, I\'d love to --
WALTER
We\'ll stay at the Plaza --
ANNIE
Go for a walk in Central Park --
WALTER
Go to the Symphony --
A beat.
ANNIE
We will?
(beat)
The Symphony?
(beat)
Okay.
(beat)
I\'ll take you to the Russian
Tea Room for pelmeni.
WALTER
What is it?
ANNIE
It\'s delicious, trust me.
WALTER
Does it have wheat in it?
ANNIE
I don\'t think so.
They go on dancing. It\'s one of those parties where
everyone looks so happy and so in love. Annie, however,
looks thoughtful.
ET. MARINA PARKING AREA - DAY
Sam gets out of his car and starts down the dock toward
his houseboat. He\'s carrying a bag of groceries.
In the parking lot is a U.S. MAIL TRUCK.
EXT. HOUSEBOAT - DAY
Sam approaches his boat and a puzzled look comes over
his face.
A MAILMAN with a sack of mail is standing outside the
front door of the houseboat. Jonah is signing a receipt
for the mail.
JONAH
Look at this, Dad. They\'re
all for you --
Sam picks up an envelop and looks at it. It\'s
addressed to Sleepless in Seattle c/o Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone, Radio Station KWRS in Chicago. He\'s
stunned. As he signs the receipt:
MAILMAN
If you\'re having trouble
sleeping, you might want to try
drinking a glass of water from
the other side.
JONAH
I thought that was for hiccups.
MAILMAN
Does it work for hiccups?
JONAH
For hiccups, a spoonful of
sugar, you hold it in your
mouth for a minute.
MAILMAN
Really?
The mailman starts back toward the mail truck.
Sam and Jonah start toward the door.
INT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Sam is in the kitchen making dinner. Jonah is sitting
at the table, reading the letters from the stack they
found by the door.
SAM
Just out of curiosity, how did
they get our address?
JONAH
They called and asked for it.
(reading)
"Dear Sleepless in Seattle.
You are the most attractive man
I\'ve ever laid ears on."
Jonah rolls his eyes, tosses the letter into a pile of
rejects, opens another.
SAM
How did they get our phone
number?
JONAH
You have to give them your
phone number or they won\'t let
you go on the air.
Sam nods as if this makes perfect sense.
JONAH
(continues, reading)
"Dear Sleepless in Seattle: I
am an SWF"--
(to Sam)
What is that?
SAM
Thank God. Something you don\'t
know. It\'s a single white
female.
JONAH
This is no good. She\'s looking
for someone French. Or Greek.
(puzzled, he throws the
letter into the reject
pile, opens another)
"Dear Sleepless in Seattle: I
live in Tulsa." Where is that?
--
SAM
Oklahoma. Do you know where
that is?
JONAH
Somewhere in the middle.
SAM
I\'m not going to think about
what they\'re not teaching you
in school. I am not going to
think about it.
(beat)
Generally speaking I think we
should rule out people who
don\'t live somewhere near here
--
JONAH
She\'s willing to fly anywhere.
As Jonah hands Sam the picture.
SAM
She looks like my third grade
teacher. I hated my third
grade teacher. Hold it! Wait
a minute! She is my third
grade teacher!
JONAH
Dad, you\'re not taking this
seriously.
SAM
This is not how you do it.
(referring to the
hamburger)
You want this on an English
muffin or a bun?
JONAH
English muffin. How do you do
it?
SAM
You see someone you like, you
get a feeling about them, you
ask them if they want to have a
drink or --
JONAH
-- a slice of pizza --
SAM
But not dinner necessarily on
the first date because by the
time you\'re halfway through
dinner you might be sorry you
asked them to dinner whereas if
it\'s just a drink, if you like
them you can always ask them
for dinner but if you don\'t you
can go home if you see what I
mean.
(beat)
I wonder if it still works this
way.
JONAH
It doesn\'t. They ask you.
SAM
I\'m starting to notice that.
INT. ANNIE\'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Annie and Walter are making love.
JONAH (V.O.)
If you get a new wife, I guess
you\'ll have sex with her, huh?
SAM (V.O.)
What do you think?
JONAH (V.O.)
Will she scratch up your back?
SAM (V.O.)
What?
JONAH\'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
As Sam puts Jonah to sleep. Jonah is holding his teddy
bear while this conversation concludes.
JONAH
In the movies women are always
scratching up guy\'s back and
screaming and stuff. When
they\'re having sex.
SAM
Whose show was this on?
JONAH
Jed\'s got cables.
SAM
Go to sleep.
He kisses him good-night.
JONAH
Kiss Howard.
(he holds out the
teddy bear)
G\'night, Howard.
INT. ANNIE\'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Annie and Walter have just finished making love.
Walter falling asleep.
Annie lying in bed, with her eyes open.
She starts to get out of bed. Puts on a robe.
INT. STAIRWAY - HOUSE
As Annie comes downstairs in a bathrobe.
She opens the door to the street.
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
As Annie starts to run down the street.
CLOSEUP OF: ANNIE, RUNNING
And now we widen out to see a misty highway she\'s running
down.
Past a sign saying: Seattle Approximately 3,000 miles.
Past another sign: Your nerves are shot.
And another: Your feet are cold.
And another: Will you find love.
And another: Before you\'re cold?
And another: Burma Shave.
And Annie continues to run, and now we see she\'s running
across a map of the United States -- it\'s a little like
the one we saw in the beginning of the movie -- it\'s
like the famous map of the United States by Saul
Steinberg, but instead of being about New York, this one
is about Seattle.
In the distance, at the very edge of the map, we see two
indistinct figures -- a map and a young boy. They start
to wave at her, very slowly.
Annie\'s eyes widen.
CUT TO:
INT. ANNIE\'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Annie in bed, eyes open. Walter fast asleep.
She gets out of bed, puts on her robe (just as she did
in the dream sequence).
INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT
As Annie comes down the stairs.
INT. KITCHEN - HOUSE
She turns the light on.
Opens the refrigerator.
Closes it.
Opens it again. Takes out some milk.
Sits down at the kitchen table with a bowl, corn flakes,
banana. She\'s about to assemble it when:
She sees:
THE RADIO
She stands up, turns it on to the station Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone is on. She sits back down with her corn
flakes.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Up next, "You and Your
Emotions" with Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone, clinical
psychologist and the best
friend you never had.
(the teaser continues)
WOMAN\'S VOICE (V.O.)
He says he doesn\'t love me any
more.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why do you want to be with
someone who doesn\'t love you?
ANOTHER WOMAN (V.O.)
Every time I come close to
orgasm he stops and goes to
make himself a sandwich --
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why don\'t you make him a
sandwich beforehand?
SAM\'S VOICE (V.O.)
When I met my wife, it was so
clear. I jus knew.
Annie starts at hearing Sam\'s voice.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
What was it that made you know?
SAM\'S VOICE (V.O.)
I don\'t think I could really
describe it.
DR. MARCIA FIELDSTONE (V.O.)
Why not?
SAM\'S VOICE (V.O.)
And if I could describe it, it
probably wouldn\'t be on a radio
show.
(he laughs to himself)
But what the hell. It\'s not
one specific thing. It\'s more
of a feeling.
(continuing)
You touch her for the first
time, and suddenly... you\'re
home. It\'s almost like...
magic.
Annie closes her eyes.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
We\'ll be back after this
commercial with Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone.
EXT. BALTIMORE - PEABODY LIBRARY - DAY
We see Annie\'s car pull into a parking space outside the
Peabody Library. Annie gets out of the car.
INT. LIBRARY - DAY
As Annie strides purposefully across the library and
enters:
INT. ANNIE\'S BROTHER TOM\'S OFFICE - DAY
Annie bursts into Tom\'s office and walks over to his
desk. We barely has time to look up.
ANNIE
I think I\'m going crazy, Tom.
I really do. Are you happily
married?
TOM
(completely panicked by
the question)
What?
ANNIE
I mean, why did you get
married? Was it all fireworks
and trumpets and --
TOM
(regaining composure)
I got married because Betsy
said we had to break up or get
married. So we get married.
ANNIE
But when you met her, did you
believe she was the only person
for you? That in some mystical,
cosmic way, it was fated?
TOM
Annie, when you meet someone
and you\'re attracted to them,
it just means that your
subconscious is attracted to
their subconscious,
subconsciously. So what we
think of as chemistry is just
two neuroses knowing that they
are a perfect match.
ANNIE
I don\'t even know him. But
I\'m having all these fantasies
about a man I\'ve never met,
who lives in Seattle.
TOM
It rains nine months of the
year in Seattle.
ANNIE
I know, I know. I do not want
to move to Seattle. But what I
really don\'t want to do is end
up always wondering what might
have happened and knowing I
could have done something.
What do you think?
(Tom opens his mouth to
say something, but
before anything comes
out, Annie fills the
void)
It\'s just cold feet, isn\'t it?
Everyone panics before they get
married, didn\'t you?
TOM
Yes, I did.
ANNIE
Thank you, Tom. I feel so much
better just having blown this
off.
TOM
Any time.
INT. PEABODY LIBRARY - DAY
As Annie walks through it and pushes the door to exit.
EXT. A DOOR OPENING TO SEATTLE STREET - DAY
Sam and Jay walk out of the Arctic Building onto the
street.
JAY
Sandy has a girlfriend, Clenda
... She\'s a weightlifter, but
it\'s not like her neck is
bigger than her head or
anything --
SAM
I\'m not asking you to set me
up, Jay. That\'s not what I
need your help for. I want to
know what it\'s like over there.
JAY
And that\'s what I\'m trying to
tell you. What women are
looking over, okay? Pecs and a
cute butt.
SAM
You mean, like, "He has the
cutest butt"? Where did I hear
that recently?
JAY
Everywhere. You can\'t even
turn on the news without
hearing about how some babe
thought some guy\'s butt was
cute. Who the first babe to
say this was I don\'t know,
but it caught on.
INT. SEATTLE RESTAURANT - DAY
Sam and Jay at the counter. Out the window, we can see
water.
JAY
When\'s the latest time you were
out there?
SAM
(trying to remember)
Seventy... eight.
JAY
Well. Things are different.
First, you have to be friends.
You have to like each other.
Then you neck. This can go on
for years. Then you have
tests. Then you get to do it
with a condom.
(beat)
The good news is, split the
check.
SAM
I don\'t think it could let a
woman pay for dinner.
JAY
Great. They\'ll have a parade
in your honor. You\'ll be Man
of the Year in Seattle
Magazine. Tira misu.
SAM
What\'s tira misu?
JAY
You\'ll find out.
SAM
What is it?
JAY
You\'ll see.
SAM
Some woman is going to want me
to do it to her and I\'m not
going to know what it is.
JAY
You\'ll like it.
SAM
(grimly)
This is going to be tougher
than I thought.
EXT. HOUSEBOAT - EARLY EVENING
Sam coming home.
INT. HOUSEBOAT - EARLY EVENING
As he enters. It\'s very quiet. Too quiet.
SAM
Jonah?
No answers.
SAM
Jonah?
He starts to look concerned.
SAM
Jonah?
He goes down the hall to Jonah\'s room. The door is
shut. He opens it.
Jonah is sitting on his bed listening to a tape.
Earphones on. Next to him is a young girl named
JESSICA.
SAM
Jonah?
Jonah takes off the earphones.
JONAH
Hi, Dad. Dad, this is Jessica.
SAM
It\'s nice to meet you, Jessica.
JONAH
Dad, this is amazing. If you
play this backwards, it says
"Paul is dead."
SAM
I know.
JONAH
How do you know?
Sam shrugs, turns to go back down the hall.
JONAH
Dad, could you close the door?
JESSICA
H and G.
(Sam looks back)
Hi and goodbye.
Sam closes the door to Jonah\'s room.
Hold on Sam.
SAM
(to himself)
Get a life.
INT. HOUSEBOAT - CONTINUOUS
As Sam comes downstairs, goes into his office. Closes
the door.
INT. SAM\'S OFFICE AT HOME - CONTINUOUS
He goes to the phone. Looks up a number in the phone
book. Picks up the phone and dials a number.
SAM
Hi, Victoria?... It\'s Sam
Baldwin, I don\'t know if you
remember me. Oh? Well, great.
I was wondering if you wanted
to have a drink... Friday,
say... Dinner?... Sure, dinner
would be fine. Sure. Dinner.
INT. AN UNFINISHED DINNER ON A PLATE IN ANNIE\'S LIVING ROOM
- NIGHT
Annie is watching "An Affair to Remember" on television,
tears pouring down her face. Cary Grant is saying: "Are
you in love with him?" Deborah Kerr replies: "I\'m not
now."
She\'s sitting at the dining room table. A dozen pieces
of paper litter the table. Annie\'s been unsuccessfully
typing a letter on an old Underwood typewriter.
ANNIE
Now those were the days when
people knew how to be in love.
She takes a blast from the wine glass to her right.
Becky leans in, refilling the glass. Annie begins to
type and sob and look at the TV.
BECKY
You\'re a basket case.
ANNIE
(as she types)
They knew it. Time, distance,
nothing could separate them.
Because they knew. It was
right. It was real. It was...
BECKY
... movie.
(beat)
That\'s your problem. You don\'t
want to be in love. You want
to be in love in a movie.
(beat)
Read it to me.
ANNIE
(reading her letter)
"Dear Sleepless and Son..."
BECKY
It sounds like the name of a
mattress store --
ANNIE
"I am not the sort of person
who listens to call-in radio
shows" --
Becky flops on the couch.
BECKY
And this woman is a writer!
That\'s what everyone writes at
the beginning of letters to
strangers.
ANNIE
I know that. You think I don\'t
know that? "I know that\'s a
dumb way to begin, but it\'s the
only way I can think of to
convey what happened to me the
other night when I heard the
two of you on the radio. On
the other hand, maybe I\'m just
losing my mind."
You are. You\'re losing your
mind. What about Walter?
ANNIE
I\'m going to marry Walter. I
just have to get this out of my
system.
BECKY
Right.
ANNIE
I should say something in this
about magic.
BECKY
What?
ANNIE
I don\'t know. I mean, what if
I never meet him? What if this
man is my destiny and I never
meet him?
BECKY
Your destiny can be your doom.
Look at me and Rick.
ANNIE
(typing some more)
"I want to meet you..."
Cary Grant says: "How about the top of the Empire State
Building?"
BECKY
"On top of the Empire State
Building at sunset on
Valentine\'s Day."
ANNIE
Good. Perfect. I\'ll be in New
York with Walter, I can squeeze
it in.
She types in Becky\'s idea.
Then she takes the piece of paper out of the typewriter,
smashes it into a ball and tosses it up in the air and
into Becky\'s lap.
BECKY
You want to hear about destiny?
If my husband hadn\'t gone on a
diet, which caused me to leave
him, I would never have been on
that flight to Miami, and met
Rick, and ended up having sex
in the bathroom of a 727 with
that nob you slide that says
"vacant-occupied, vacant-
occupied, vacant-occupied" --
(she shudders in
ecstasy, then pulls
herself together)
ANNIE
You never told me you left your
husband because he went on a
diet.
BECKY
(nods; after a beat)
He lost all the weight...
there.
ANNIE
That\'s impossible. A guy can\'t
--
BECKY
Can too.
ANNIE
No.
BECKY
Yes.
ANNIE
And then you left him? He lost
weight there and you left him?
BECKY
Plus he fell in love with a
temp.
ANNIE
Listen to this, I love this
part --
Deborah Kerr says: "It\'s now or never." And Cary Grant
says: "We\'d be fools to let happiness pass us by."
Deborah Kerr: "Winter must be cold for those with no
warm memories."
Becky and Annie with tears rolling down their faces.
BECKY
Men never get this movie.
ANNIE
I know.
BECKY
Do you think at the end of the
movie when she\'s in the
wheelchair they can still do
it?
ANNIE
I always wondered about that
too.
As Becky reaches for a Kleenex.
INT. JONAH\'S BEDROOM
A Kleenex being pulled from a box. Sam is giving it to
Jonah, who\'s up. His hair is mated with perspiration.
SAM
It\'s okay, it\'s okay. I\'m
here.
A beat while Jonah calms down.
JONAH
It was sinking.
SAM
What was?
JONAH
Our house. There was water
coming in all the windows.
SAM
(calm and definite)
You\'re worried we\'re going to
be all right. We\'re going to
be all right.
(Sam gives Jonah a
squeeze)
I remember sometimes you\'d have
nightmares as a baby. Your mom
would hold you and rock you and
sing you a song.
JONAH
Bye bye blackbird.
SAM
Is that what she used to sing?
JONAH
I miss her.
(beat)
What do you think happens to
someone after they die?
SAM
I don\'t know.
JONAH
Like do you believe in heaven?
SAM
I never did. Or the whole idea
of an afterlife. But I don\'t
know any more. I have these
dreams about... your mom... and
we have long talks about...
about you, and how you are,
which she sort of knows but I
tell her anyway. So what is
that? It\'s sort of an afterlife,
isn\'t it?
JONAH
I\'m starting to forget her.
SAM
I know. But she\'s here, Jonah.
Because I have you. And as
long as I have you, I have your
Mom.
Hold on the two of them as music begins. Bye Bye
Blackbird.
SAM
I... uh... have a date with
someone Friday night.
JONAH
Good.
A beat.
SAM
Did I ever tell you about the
time I ate a dog biscuit?
As Jonah cuddles closer MUSIC COMES UP AS WE PULL BACK
FROM THE BED AND...
CUT TO:
EXT. ANNIE\'S TOWNHOUSE - LATE NIGHT
AS MUSIC CONTINUES. Annie waves as Becky gets into her
car and rides away. Annie turns to her doorway and
stops. She can\'t go back in. She needs to walk and
think. She crosses the street into a little
neighborhood park. We can see the moon.
CUT TO:
EXT. SAM\'S HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Sam comes out onto the porch. Flops down in his deck
chair. The city lights in the background. Same moon.
The MUSIC CONTINUES.
CUT TO:
EXT. PARK - NIGHT
Annie flops down on a child\'s swing set in the park.
MUSIC CONTINUES.
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON SAM
CLOSE ON ANNIE
AND A LONG SHOT OF ANNIE IN THE SWING
As Walter pulls up into the parking space Becky pulled
out of. Annie starts toward him.
A LONG SHOT OF SAM ON THE BACK OF THE BOAT
Make my bed and light the lights I\'ll arrive late
tonight, blackbird, bye bye.
FADE IN:
INT. BALTIMORE SUN - DAY
Annie on the phone at her desk.
ANNIE
Laurie, it\'s Annie. Fine, I\'m
fine. Listen, I\'m doing an
article on call-in radio shows.
Do you know anyone who works
for someone named Dr. Marcia
Fieldstone...?
CUT TO:
Annie on the phone.
ANNIE
I\'m a writer for the Baltimore
Sun and I\'m a friend of Laurie
Johnson\'s. I\'m doing a piece
on how people handle
bereavement and I understand
that you had a caller the other
night... I know you\'re not
supposed to, but Laurie said
you might, and I\'ll plug the
show and everything --
(she winces in
anticipation of a
rejection, but then
her face relaxes)
CUT TO:
Annie dialing Sam\'s telephone number.
JONAH (ON MACHINE)
This is Jonah Baldwin, we\'re
not in right now but you can
leave --
Annie hangs up.
ANNIE
Baldwin.
CUT TO:
Annie at her computer modem. She\'s dialing a number.
We hear some beeps.
COMPUTER SCREEN
Directory. Enter password.
(Annie types)
Ann Reed. BSun124.
(computer)
Find.
(Annie types)
Samuel Baldwin.
(computer types)
216 Samuel Baldwin. Strike Y
to printout or enter factors.
(Annie types)
Samuel Baldwin, Seattle.
(there\'s a pause)
Not found.
(Annie thinks for a
moment, then types)
Samuel Baldwin, Jonah Baldwin.
(a pause)
Samuel Baldwin, Jonah Baldwin
found. Strike Y to printout or
enter factors.
(Annie types Y)
And now on the computer screen, we see a funeral notice
from the Chicago Tribune that reads: Baldwin, Margaret
Abbott, beloved wife of Samuel, mother of Jonah, June
10, Funeral 10 a.m. Thursday, Church of the Heavenly
Rest, 110 N. State, in lieu of flowers contributions
should be sent to Chicago Horticultural Society. And
then there\'s a citation: Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1989.
Annie types another entry.
ANNIE
(typing)
Samuel. Baldwin, Chicago.
(after a beat)
Four Samuel Baldwins. Strike Y
to printout.
(Annie strikes Y)
Samuel Baldwin, arrested for
grand larceny, 1961. Samuel
Baldwin, alderman, convicted of
accepting bribes, 1967. Samuel
J. Baldwin, architect, built
City Plaza.
(Annie presses Y)
CUT TO:
A PRINTOUT OF AN ARTICLE
that Annie\'s reading. There\'s a newspaper picture of
Sam at the dedication of a building site. It\'s got that
kind of grainy quality that things have when they\'ve
been transmitted, but you can make out Sam\'s basic good
looks.
EXT. BO\'S SECURITIES/WORLDWIDE - DAY
Annie coming from the street toward a storefront in
downtown Baltimore across the street from the courthouse.
Next door there\'s a bailbondsman, there are ambulance-
chasing lawyers hanging out on the corner.
The sign on the door reads: "No job too small." "All
major credit cards accepted." And then everything on
the sign is translated into Spanish.
INT. BO\'S SECURITIES - DAY
Detective Bo Wheedle, a former cop, sits at his desk
listening to Annie. He has some papers.
ANNIE
I need to know about him
because... he\'s involved with
my sister...
DET. WHEEDLE
Okay.
ANNIE
She has a pattern of getting
involved with losers... Once
she almost ran away with a
human cannonball from the
circus.
DET. WHEEDLE
Do you want a matrimonial, past
wives, any kids--
ANNIE
No, I know that part --
DET. WHEEDLE
So you want a financial, is he
a deadbeat, we can do a D&B --
ANNIE
No, no, no, it\'s more like, who
is he, does he have a sense of
humor, is he nice -- no forget
nice, I\'ve got nice --
DET. WHEEDLE
A sense of humor.
ANNIE
I\'ll tell you the truth, I
heard this guy on a call-in
radio show and I might not
marry the person I should marry
because I\'ve become obsessed
with him.
DET. WHEEDLE
Oh. Like Glenn Close in that
movie.
ANNIE
No. Not remotely. I just want
to find out about him.
DET. WHEEDLE
You want a tail.
(picking up the phone)
I got a guy in Seattle --
INT. SAM\'S HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
Jonah is watching Geraldo with his babysitter, CLARISE,
17.
Geraldo is talking to a heavily made-up, sexily-dressed
WOMAN.
GERALDO
So how long have you been a
woman?
WOMAN
(husky voice)
About two weeks.
Sam is coming down the stairs.
CLARISE
(to Jonah)
Pssst!
Jonah hits the remote control and the channel changes to
the Disney channel as Sam comes into the room, dressed
for his date.
SAM
Clarise, I\'ll be back by
midnight I\'m sure --
CLARISE
Whenever.
Sam tosses Jonah a letter.
SAM
This one\'s for both of us.
JONAH
(reading from the
envelope)
Sleepless and Son.
(reading the postmark)
Baltimore.
He starts to open the letter.
SAM
I left the number of the
restaurant I\'ll be at if
there\'s any emergency.
CLARISE
Fine.
SAM
(to Jonah)
How do I look?
JONAH
(absently)
Great.
SAM
(looks in mirror)
I look stupid. I look stupid,
don\'t I? I look like I\'m
trying too hard. I was going
to get a haircut but then I
thought I\'d look like I just
got a haircut.
(checks his teeth,
peers up his nose)
JONAH
(reading the letters)
This is a good letter, Dad.
SAM
(checks his fly, looks
down at his feet)
The heels on these shoes are
very large. Why have I never
noticed this? The heels on
these shoes are grotesque.
JONAH
Her name is Annie. Annie Reed.
SAM
Now I\'m late. Bye.
He starts toward the door.
JONAH
Listen to this --
SAM
Not now, Jonah --
JONAH
Just this one part, okay?
(reading)
"I have been an excellent
third-baseman for as long as I
or anyone else can remember,
and I guarantee you will not
get one past me"
SAM
Jonah, I\'m leaving --
JONAH
WAIT!!!
(Sam stops, amazed at
Jonah\'s vehemence;
Jonah continues
reading)
-- "and while we\'re on the
subject, let\'s just say right
now that Brooks Robinson was
the best third baseman ever.
It\'s important that you agree
with me on that because I\'m
from Baltimore." Dad, she
thinks Brooks Robinson is the
greatest.
Sam goes out the door with Jonah behind him, waving the
letter.
EXT. HOUSEBOAT - NIGHT
JONAH
Dad!
SAM
Everyone thinks Brooks Robinson
is the greatest.
JONAH
It\'s a sign.
SAM
Oh, right.
Sam stops, takes Jonah by the hand and takes him back
into the house.
SAM
Come here.
