The Baby and Winky Novel

Screenplay Excerpt #2

INT. BABY & WINKY'S APARTMENT - TWO DAYS LATER

Baby & Winky's basement apartment in the Big Red House is fairly large, but unfurnished. They sit in a well-lit living room. Off to the right side is their bedroom that is connected to the living room with two huge French doors. A small kitchen snuggles off to the left. The windows wrap around most of the living room, which provides a more light.

Winky sits on the couch with his wrist wrapped up in bandages. Baby is playing with two new cats.

BABYI want to name them Baby and Winky.

WINKYI have to veto those idiotic names. Who the fuck names their pets after themselves?

BABYPeople name their kids after themselves all the time. Didn't they name you after your daddy? I'm pretty sure that his name is Winky and that's why you're Winky, Jr.!

WINKYHow many times do I have to tell you? My father's name was not Winky. The kids in the neighborhood made up that awful nickname. They called him that when he had to walk around with an eye patch after my Mom stabbed him in his left eye with a salad fork when we ate at Sizzler. That's when they called me Winky Junior. It's not the same thing Baby. We're not naming the cats after us. That's final.

BABYWell Winky, Jr. what should we call the cats then?

WINKYHow about this. We'll compromise. I'll pick one name and you'll pick the other.

BABYGreat. I pick Winky!

Baby scoops up one of her Siamese cats and hugs it.

BABYWinky, say hello to Winky!

WINKYFor fuck's sake, you are nuts sometimes.

BABYWhat are you going to name the other cat?

WINKY(Sarcastically) How about 'Cat'? (He looks for the other cat) Hey Cat! Come here. Cat the Cat.

BABYFuck you Winky, you know some day I might just stab you!

The Baby & Winky Movie: Excerpt #1

I have a new found respect for writers adapting previously published material. It's not as easy as one would think. The basic reason why books that are made into movies are almost always not as good as the original book is due to a few reasons:

1. Films tend to follow linear storytelling, and novels often do not.

2. Time constraints in film limits the adaptation, where by plots are often thinned down and lesser important aspects are always omitted.

3. The screenplay is one person's interpretation of the material. It's not always the same vision that you conjured up when reading.

My problem was simple... I used too many words in my novel and have several long passages that were difficult to translate onto the big screen. I had to employ Voice Overs (V.O.) in several scenes.

In the film Adaptation, the main character, writer Charlie Kaufman gets hired to adapt Susan Orlean's book The Orchid Thief. He complains to his agent in one scene, how he's having a hard time translating Orlean's work into screenplay format. He used the phrase, "sprawling New Yorker shit," in describing her writing style. I felt the same way. The only positive aspect of the difficult adapation of the Baby & Winky Novel was that I got to write the screenplay, so I am presenting my vision of how I think the story should be told on film.

OK, I am done with the second draft. Here's the original text from Sweet Nothing: The Baby and Winky Novel:

The lights were out and three other people sat on the floor. I glanced around Baby's smoky room. It was a mess. A huge tapestry covered up the front window and that made her room very dark except for the glimmer of light from a couple of small candles. Dirty clothes, empty beer and soda cans cluttered the floor space. There was a small couch off to the side with a few folding chairs. In the corner I saw an old Safeway shopping cart that apparently served as Baby's closet. It was filled with more clothes and personal items. She had a mattress sprawled out on the floor without any sheets and pillows. Several empty McDonald's bags and dozens of cigarette butts completed her undecorated room.

"Which one of you is Baby?" I asked as I looked at two young girls and two wasted guys.

"Are you a cop?" a skinny girl with pink dreadlocks slowly answered in a southern drawl.

"No. But I play one on TV."

And here's how it looks in the new screenplay, The Baby & Winky Movie:

INT. BABY'S ROOM - AFTERNOON

The lights are out and three wasted teenagers sit on the floor. Baby's smoky room is a mess. A huge tapestry covers up the front window and makes her room very dark except for the glimmer of light from a couple of small candles. Dirty clothes, empty beer and soda cans clutter the floor space. There is a small couch off to the side with a few folding chairs. In the corner, an old Safeway shopping cart serves as Baby's closet. It is filled with more clothes and personal items. She has a mattress sprawled out on the floor without any sheets and pillows. Several empty McDonald's bags and dozens of cigarette butts complete her undecorated room. BABY, a skinny girl with pink dreadlocks and no shoes, sits in one of the corners.

UNKNOWN VOICEClose the fucking door!

WINKYWhich one of you is Baby?

BABYAre you a cop? (She answers in a thick southern drawl.)

WINKYNo. But I play one on TV.

That's it. Stay tuned for another excerpt next week.