ANGLE STAGE
A scene from "Macbeth".
Ji begins to snore. Dara grabs his nose. He jerks awake.
Dara grins.
EXT. SPRING STREET REPERTORY - NIGHT
Bright marquee lights sparkle overhead as Ji and Dara exit
the theatre. It is a beautiful brisk night.
DARA
I loved it.
Ji
I could tell.
She smiles and squeezes his arm. They walk silently down a
dark street, heading toward their loft. The pavement is full
of shadows.
DARA
(continuing)
Did I tell you what Minzy said?
JI
Six times.
DARA
Six? No I didn't. Ji, don't be so
blasé. I'll have two major pieces in
the show. The New York Times reviews
her gallery all the time. This could
be huge.
JI
Dara, the "New York Times" is some
frustrated little critic with pimples
on his as* who flunked out of art
school. Who cares what The New York
Times thinks?
DARA
Eight million readers, that's who.
JI
Your work's beautiful. That's a fact,
Dee. It doesn't matter what anyone
thinks.
We can tell from the expression on Dara's face that it does.
Ji puts his arm around her. She nestles close to him. Then,
suddenly, she stops and looks up. There is an unexpected
seriousness in her voice.
DARA
(continuing)
I want to marry you, Ji.
JI
(taken aback)
What?
DARA
I've been thinking about it for days.
More than thinking. I want to do it.
I want to jump in whole hog...
(she pauses)
What is that look for?
JI
(staring at her)
It's just been so long since... I
mean, you never wanted to talk about
it.
There is a long pause.
DARA
Do you love me, Ji?
JI
What do you think, Dee?
DARA
How come you never say it?
JI
What are you talking about?
DARA
You say "ditto". It's not the same.
JI
People say "I love you" all the time.
It doesn't mean anything.
DARA
Sometimes you need to hear it.
Ji stops and stares at Dara. He pauses quietly. He is about
to speak when A MAN'S FACE emerges from the shadows behind
him. Dara gasps. Ji spins around.
AN INTENSE LOOKING MAN
is standing in the darkness between two buildings. He stares
at the couple for a moment and then steps onto the sidewalk.
Ji and Dara stand motionless. The man hesitates and then
begins walking the other way. Dara exhales a deep breath.
Ji takes Dara's arm and they continue briskly down the
street. Suddenly they hear FOOTSTEPS coming after them.
DARA
What should we do?
JI
Let me handle this.
Ji stops abruptly and turns around. A gun is staring him in
the face. DARA screams.
JAE
Your wallet!
Ji waits a beat.
DARA
Give it to him!
Ji reaches for his jacket. The Mugger grabs his wrist and
then carefully pulls the wallet out himself.
JAE
Take the money. Just leave the wallet
and my...
He swipes Ji across the head. Dara screams. The Mugger
whacks her across the face. Ji explodes, plowing into the
mugger with all his might.
DARA
Ji, No!
There is a wild, all out brawl. Ji fights like a mad man.
Suddenly the GUN goes off. The Mugger panics and takes off
running. Ji charges after him.
MOLLY
JI!!!!!
The two men run down the dark street, but the Mugger is
already a full block ahead and disappears into the shadows.
Ji gives up. Slowly he turns and begins walking back toward
Dara.
We can see Dara dimly at the end of the block as Ji
approaches. She is screaming for help. Frightened, Ji calls
out.
JI
Dara!
She doesn't answer. Ji tenses and starts running toward
her. He is just three feet away when suddenly he stops. An
expression of pure terror overwhelms his face.
CLOSEUP - DARA
drenched in blood. Her eyes are glazed, on the verge of shock.
Panting, she stoops down to the curb as She grabs hold of something
lying in the shadows and pulls it toward her.
It is Ji's dead body she is holding in her arms.
Ji's ghostly form, still solid to all appearances, stands
beside Dara. His eyes are awash in horror and confusion. He
seems unable to move. THE VIEW HOLDS on his face as the
full impact of his situation dawns in his eyes.
Suddenly he lets out a blood-curdling scream.
JI
No!!!!!!
He jumps down toward his body and reaches out to grab hold
of his motionless form. His hands make a strange SOUND as
they pass right though it. It is terrifying. Ji jumps up,
crazed, frenzied, and begins circling Dara. It is as though
he is trying to undo what has been done.
Ji
(continuing)
This isn't happening. It's not
happening.
He reaches out to Dara for help. His hand cuts through her
shoulder. He screams.
FOOTSTEPS. People are running down the street. The sound of
SIRENS can be heard in the distance. Two MEN run toward Ji.
He yells out at them.
Ji
(continuing)
Help me!
They run right through him. He gasps in stunned terror.
Ji watches helplessly as they reach his body. Dara looks
up and begins screaming hysterically. One of the Men grabs
her as the other goes for Ji's wrist. There is no sign of
life.
The first Man holds Dara back as his friend stoops down and
begins some form of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. There is
no response. Ji bends down, trying desperately to help. It
is a futile gesture.
Ji
Do it! Do it!
The Man bangs on Ji's chest. Blood gushes from the wound.
Dara recoils. He bangs again.
INT. LOFT - NIGHT
Ji shoots up in bed, panting. It is dark. He stares around the loft in sudden confusion.
With a lurch he flicks on the night light. Dara is lying beside him, her head buried beneath a pillow.
Ji seems stunned.
JI
Dara? Dara!
Tears stream down his face. Dara stirs.
DARA
Ji? What's the matter? Is something wrong?
JI
DARA!
Ji is so relieved to hear her voice that he can hardly breathe.
DARA
What is it, honey?
Dara, groggy, tries to sit up.
Ji reaches out for her. As she turns around, we see A SKELETEL VERSION OF HER HEAD staring at him.
It speaks.
DARA
(mocking him)
What is it, honey?
Ji bolts upright, screaming.
It is a scream so consumed by terror that one fears it will never stop.
CLOSE-UP OF JI
asleep in bed.He is thrashing at his pillow and .
Suddenly, a hand reaches out and touches his shoulder.
Ji jumps straight up in bed and kicks wildly at the sheets.
JI'S P.O.V.
Dara is sitting on the bed looking at him, afraid. Ji stares down at her.
He is breathing heavily,not trusting his own senses. His hands clutch at the wall.
Ji
What's happening to me?!
Suddenly, a brilliant white light shoots into the room as a host of glowing forms,
radiating an intense inner light, float before us. A blinding tunnel spirals in an
infinite vortex behind them. Ji is awed and confused. We sense that the light is enchanting him.
The entire room be gins to disappear in the light. Dara screams.
DARA
Don't leave me. I need you, Ji.
Ji turns and sees Dara, only she is not in the bed. She is back on the street.
To his amazement, he is on the street, too, still bathed in the soothing light.
Frightened, he calls out to her.
JI
Dara!
She does not hear him. He calls again.
JI
(continuing)
Dara.
There is no response. JI, deeply troubled, hesitates for a moment.
He is torn between Dara and the light. Then, in a painful, but conscious gesture,
he turns from the light and walks toward Dara. At that instant, the light behind him
disappears with the sound of a pneumatic door closing. There is a sense of terrible
finality as the tunnel evaporates into the void. Ji is left on the dark pavement.
He stands there a moment, as if in shock, and then begins running towards Dara.
An AMBULANCE is rounding the corner.
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