Daily Dialogue — July 16, 2013
INT. MEN’S TOILET — M.L.S.
Men’s toilet. JACK moves in from cam.L.b.g. He holds door open.
JACK: hold this for you there, Jeevesy.
GRADY enters cam.L.
GRADY: Thank you, sir. Thank you.
GRADY walks forward and puts his tray down on basins cam.R. JACK walks forward.
GRADY: Now let’s see if we can improve this with a little water, sir.
GRADY soaks his serviette under tap. JACK puts glass down cam.L and turns to GRADY cam.R.
JACK: Right, I’ll just set my bourbon and advocaat down right there.
JACK laughs. GRADY starts to sponge JACK with serviette.
GRADY: Won’t keep you a moment, sir.
JACK: Fine.
GRADY sponges JACK.
JACK: What do they call you around here, Jeevesy?
GRADY: Grady, sir. Delbert Grady.
M.S. JACK over GRADY. GRADY sponging JACK’s jacket.
JACK: Grady?
GRADY: Yes, sir.
JACK: Delbert Grady.
GRADY: That’s right, sir.
GRADY sponges JACK’s trousers.
JACK: Eh, Mr. Grady… haven’t I seen you somewhere before?
GRADY: Why no, sir. I don’t believe so.
GRADY turns cam.L to basins to rinse serviette under tap. He turns back to JACK and sponges his jacket.
GRADY: Ah ha, it’s coming off now, sir.
JACK: Eh… Mr. Grady… weren’t you once the caretaker here?
GRADY: Why no, sir. I don’t believe so.
GRADY sponges JACK’s trousers.
JACK: You, er a married man, are you, Mr. Grady?
GRADY sponges JACK’s jacket sleeve.
GRADY: Yes, sir. I have a wife and eh two daughters, sir.
JACK: And, er… where are they now?
GRADY: Oh, they’re somewhere around. I’m not quite sure at the moment, sir.
JACK takes serviette away from GRADY and wipes his hand with it.
JACK: Mr. Grady, you were the caretaker here. I recognize you. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You eh… chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits, and eh… and you blew your brains out.
JACK throws serviette into basin cam.L. M.L.S. GRADY over JACK.
GRADY: That’s strange, sir. I don’t have any recollection of that at all.
JACK: Mr. Grady, you were the caretaker here.
M.S. JACK over GRADY.
GRADY: I’m sorry to differ with you, sir, but you are the caretaker. You have always been the caretaker, I should know, sir. I’ve always been here.
— The Shining (1980), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson, novel by Stephen King
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is horror scene, suggested by @JaimePrimak. Today’s suggestion by Mark Walker.
Trivia: Courtesy of Mark: “Stanley Kubrick considered both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams for the role of Jack Torrance but decided against both of them. Kubrick didn’t think De Niro would suit the part after watching his performance in Taxi Driver, as he deemed De Niro not psychotic enough for the role. He didn’t think Williams would suit the part after watching his performance in Mork & Mindy, as he deemed him too psychotic for the role. According to Stephen King, Kubrick also briefly considered Harrison Ford.
Stephen King tried to talk Stanley Kubrick out of casting Jack Nicholson in the lead suggesting, instead, either Michael Moriarty or Jon Voight. King had felt that watching either of these normal-looking men gradually descend into madness, would have immensely improved the dramatic thrust of the storyline.
We all know King and Kubrick didn’t see eye to eye on the adaptation, but how do you think it would have turned out without Nicholson on board? Would it have been the same film with one of the others? Can you even think of anyone else playing that role? I can’t.”
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Mark: “Screenwriting-wise it is a great example of the 3-Things “rule” (sorry Scott….tools, not rules!) where we start a conversational scene with something innocuous and only get to the nitty gritty on the third-thing. Actually I haven’t counted, but it does start off pretty normal and slowly we are drawn into the dawning horror that this isn’t just some waiter….as Jack’s questioning brings us around to the idea that this is the caretaker who went mad, and things aren’t quite what they seem….creeping horror, rather than skeletons jumping out of closets.”
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