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Click hereFourth Draft
2.1.2010
c 2009
Written on Scripped
INT. DONNA'S APARTMENT
DONNA GUNN sits in a chair, fidgeting. She is dressed to
impress--and for someone with her looks, that's easy to do.
She's barely out of her teens, with a body that manages to
somehow look sultry and innocent at the same time. But right
now, she's not using her sex appeal. Instead, as the CREDITS
roll, she looks at her watch, looks at the door, stands up,
paces, looks at the door again, sits down, looks at her watch
again, and looks over at the clock to make sure her watch
still works. Then she looks at the door again.
The doorbell rings.
DONNA:
Come in!
She jumps to her feet again, but before she can get to it, the
door opens. DOCTOR KELLER stands framed in the doorway for a
long moment, staring down at Donna. Emphasis on "down"--he
towers over the young woman, his lined face and
salt-and-pepper hair giving him an air of stern paternal
authority that makes his charismatic gaze even more powerful.
Underneath his dark gray suit, he has the look of a stern
teacher, a judge and a high priest, all rolled into one.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Miss Gunn. The screen does not do
you justice. May I come in?
DONNA:
I--thank you, Doctor Keller.
Please, yes, come in! Sit down! I
mean, feel free to sit down. If you
want.
She sits back down, gesturing to a chair across from her.
DONNA:
I'm so glad you could come. When I
sent my assistant to talk to you,
she said--
Doctor Keller enters the room, closing the door behind him,
and sits down. Even seated, he has a significant height
advantage over her.
DOCTOR KELLER:
I apologize. I'm afraid I may have
rather intimidated your young
assistant. In truth, I found Miss
Blake to be both charming and
accommodating. She did her job
well...as evidenced by the fact
that I am here.
DONNA:
I wasn't sure--I mean, I know you
said you would be, but she said
that you didn't like the idea.
She looks down shyly.
DONNA:
I thought you might have changed
your mind.
DOCTOR KELLER:
I will admit, I am of somewhat
mixed feelings on the matter. On
the one hand, I rather detest the
character of Svengali, and the
thought of yet another adaptation
of that odious book irritates me to
no end.
He gestures expansively. Donna looks up a bit, but she still
can't bring herself to meet his gaze directly.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Do you know how many people know
nothing of hypnotism beyond the
book 'Trilby'? Or, to be more
precise, beyond their third-hand
understanding of the events of the
book, which they probably think is
actually called 'Svengali' like you
plan to call your film. Everyone
seems to think that all hypnotists
have some sort of sinister scheme
to enslave the will of young women,
thanks to that novel. du Maurier
has practically ruined the
reputation of my profession, and to
actively participate in furthering
the slander against it by helping,
even indirectly, with another
sensationalist film about a
"sinister hypnotist"...it was
highly tempting to refuse.
Donna looks up, frightened. Doctor Keller smiles crookedly,
his first smile since entering the room.
DOCTOR KELLER:
On the other hand, Miss Gunn, I
confess that I am a tremendous fan
of yours.
Donna relaxes visibly, breathing a sigh of relief. She smiles
back at him like a student who's just gotten a compliment from
a difficult-to-please teacher.
DONNA:
Oh, thank you! And please, call me
Donna.
DOCTOR KELLER:
I would be delighted...Donna. Now,
before we begin, I need to ask you
a few questions.
Donna begins to tense up again.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Don't worry, Donna, this isn't a
test. I simply need to know what
you want to get out of our sessions
together, and your time under
hypnosis.
Donna bites her lip, her face a mask of uncertainty.
DONNA:
I...it's just, well, this is my
first movie. They cast me
because...
She laughs nervously.
DONNA:
To be honest, they cast me because
I'm famous and my name sells
tickets. That's not what they said,
though. They told me they cast me
because of my singing voice. But I
don't want to be like Mariah Carey,
one of those pop stars who does a
movie and it turns out she should
have stuck to music. I want to be
good, really good. I want people to
really believe I'm Trilby
O'Ferrall, not Donna Gunn.
Doctor Keller's smile fades.
DOCTOR KELLER:
I'm afraid that you might have
over-estimated my talents. I'm no
sorcerer, Donna. I can't simply
snap my fingers and make you
believe you're a 19th-century
Irishwoman--
DONNA:
(somewhat assertive for
the first time)
And I wouldn't want you to. As I
said, I want to prove that it
wasn't a mistake to cast me. I want
to show people that I can really
act. If it's you hypnotizing me,
then it'd feel...empty, somehow, if
I did a good job. Like it wasn't me
at all.
Doctor Keller reaches out and rests a hand on her shoulder.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Oh, my dear Donna. That simply
isn't true at all. You've been
reading that dreadful book, haven't
you? Imagining yourself waking up a
few months from now, not even
remembering yourself in front of
the camera? Or perhaps walking down
the red carpet to the premiere,
still wondering what the film is
like?
She looks down again, blushing. After a moment, she nods.
DOCTOR KELLER:
It doesn't work that way at all, my
dear. Hypnosis only does what you
want it to do. I can use my talents
to guide your subconscious and help
you achieve a greater control over
your conscious mind, but in the
end, it all comes from you, not me.
Do you understand?
Donna looks up at him. She nods again.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Excellent. So what do you want to
achieve through hypnosis, Donna?
Why did you ask me to come here
today?
DONNA:
I really just wanted to feel what
it was like to be hypnotized, to be
honest. Trilby gets hypnotized a
lot in the script, and I thought
that it would really help me get
into the role if I knew what that
was like.
(laughs)
If nothing else, it'll give me some
good stories for the press junket.
Doctor Keller stands abruptly, his face an icy mask.
DOCTOR KELLER:
I must say, Miss Gunn, that I
deeply resent the suggestion that
my presence here is a mere
publicity stunt. As I have already
mentioned, I detest the popular
image this film promotes, and have
no wish for my talents to be used
in service to furthering that
image. If you cannot understand
that, then I believe we have
nothing further to discuss. Good
day to you, madam.
He turns with icy precision, and begins to walk rapidly
towards the door.
DONNA:
No, wait!
She stands as well, hurrying to follow him.
DONNA:
Really, I'm very sorry, I didn't
mean to offend you! I promise, I
won't say a word about you to
anyone if you don't want me to, not
one word!
Doctor Keller halts, but does not turn around. Donna starts to
reach out, then freezes where she stands, not daring to move.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Interesting.
Donna stares at him, but he continues to face away from her.
DOCTOR KELLER:
There are hundreds, perhaps
thousands of hypnotists in the Los
Angeles area. You are famous,
wealthy...you could have your pick.
Yet you have courted me, you
anxiously awaited my presence, and
now you practically beg me to stay
when I make demands on you. Why do
you think that is, Donna?
DONNA:
I...I've looked at some of those
other hypnotists. Lots of them!
They're not right for me. I don't
know how I know, but I do. They
won't help me the way you will.
Please, Doctor Keller. You're the
only one who can give me...
She trails off, an anguished expression on her face.
DOCTOR KELLER:
Give you what, Donna?
DONNA:
I don't know!
He turns around swiftly, locking eyes with her. If his gaze
was charismatic before, it's positively magnetic now. His eyes
blaze with hypnotic power.
DOCTOR KELLER:
But I do, Donna. Your subconscious
does too, even if it wasn't ready
to let your conscious mind know
before now. You don't just want to
know what it feels like to be
hypnotized, you want to know what
it feels like to be Trilby
O'Farrall. You want to know--really
know, not just imagine--what it
feels like to be completely in the
power of another. You want to feel
what she feels, when she surrenders
her mind completely to Svengali.
That's why you chose me, Donna. You
looked at me and saw Svengali.
Isn't that it?
Donna stares into his eyes, a frightened expression on her
face. She shakes her head wildly, but her eyes stay locked on
his.
DONNA:
No, I...I didn't mean to...
Doctor Keller takes a step forward, forcing her to look up at
an even steeper angle to meet his gaze.
DOCTOR KELLER:
But you did, Donna. There are no
accidents to the subconscious mind.
You looked at me and thought that I
looked exactly like the "sinister
hypnotist" you've been imagining
ever since you read that script.
Didn't you?
Donna looks at him, unblinking, like a rabbit in the
headlights.
DONNA:
I'm sorry...
DOCTOR KELLER
(icily)
Didn't you?
DONNA:
...yes.
Doctor Keller frowns, but not in anger. His expression is one
of stern, undeniable authority.
DOCTOR KELLER:
That is what you want, Donna. You
couldn't admit it before, because
you didn't know it before, but now
you feel the truth of it. You want
me to be your Svengali. You want to
give yourself to me. That is why
you asked me to come here, because
deep down, you knew that you needed
to learn what it felt like to
surrender your mind and will
completely to me in order to be
able to portray it on film. Nothing
else will convince an audience,
Donna. Only when you have
experienced complete hypnotic
submission can you show others what
it feels like. Doesn't that make