Purple Rain

But Prince BLAZES down upon him, sending him slipping and sliding to safety. He BLASTS around the bend –

MORRIS
Motherfucker! You long-haired faggot!

EXT. HIGHWAY TO EMBANKMENT – NIGHT

Prince and Vanity WHIPPING down the highway.

EXT. EMBANKMENT – NIGHT

They streak down the road, slow, then move down a small embankment. He stops the bike and gets off. She's in a foul mood, staggers around dully, her head pounding, her speech slurred –

VANITY

So here we are again. So this is it, huh? What do you want this time?

He looks at her painfully, upset about her drunken state –
 

VANITY

What's your problem now? What's your main problem?

PRINCE

No problem. I just wanted to talk, alright? I just want us to be okay, to really get along. No big deal.

She cackles, falls flat on her ass, hoists herself up –
 

VANITY

No big deal, huh...

She pulls Morris' FLASK from her jacket – his eyes blacken –

PRINCE
Give me that.

VANITY

No, definitely not. Who are you? You can't tell me what to do.

She puts it to her lips –
 

PRINCE

Please don't drink that. Give it to me.

She holds the flask to her lips defiantly, then goes to drink.

He lashes out suddenly, SMASHES it from her grip. She SCREAMS wildly, SLAPS him hard across the face. He stands shocked a moment, his rage surging within him, smashing through every safety valve he's acquired in his life. He BACKHANDS her savagely across the jaw.

She hits the ground like a rag doll. He looks at her curiously, bends over her – she sucker-punches him with everything she's got! He SCREAMS in rage and grabs her hands as they flail about his face. He squeezes her fingers back while the tears stream down her cheeks and her mouth forms a silent "ow"! She bares her teeth angrily and he sucks at her mouth, biting and kissing her in a fever pitch.

She kicks at him violently, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. He jams his leg between hers, rubs it firmly against her bottom. She struggles helplessly against him as he covers her breasts, her stomach, her thighs with his lips. Quick breaths escape from her – her breathing begins to race...

He snaps her panties in two, pulls them from between her legs. She spreads herself as he releases his pants. She squeezes his buttocks, pulls him toward her – but Prince resists her coldly, regards her with contempt. Suddenly he flips her onto her stomach, forces her to stand painfully on her knees. He rubs his hand between her buttocks, then thrusts into her painfully, driving himself to the very depths of her...

... but she stifles a cry, arches her back, and meets his thrusts fiercely, moving quicker and quicker, banging her buttocks against his thighs again and again. She's drawing from him now, turning the humiliation around, obtaining all that she needs and desires. He's powerless – her thrusts set the pace. She rises, Prince still inside her and tugs on him rapidly, causing him to ejaculate suddenly, drawing from him a sharp and sudden cry...

She moves away, draws her coat tightly about her, fixes him with a contemptuous look –
 

VANITY

You're nothing, Prince, absolutely nothing. You think you're so special – but deep down you're just like all the rest.

(a beat)

Your whole life you've been hiding, hiding behind your music. But now you don't even have that, because last night... last night you used it to hurt someone, someone who really cares.

She runs up the embankment, wipes away her tears, faces him –
 

VANITY

If you put your hands on me like that ever again, I'll be the last person you touch.

She pulls off his Mother's earring, throws it at him. Tears flowing, she streaks into the HIGHWAY blindly, directly into the path of a SPEEDING CAR –

THE DRIVER

Spots her in his HEADLIGHTS, SLAMS on his brakes! He SKIDS wildly across the road, comes to a SCREECHING, BURNING stop inches from her thigh!

VANITY

Shoots a look at Prince, her lips trembling, her love for him, written plainly on her face. But his eyes flash defiantly. She bites her lip sadly, then snaps a hot look at the Driver –

VANITY

I need a ride.

She cuts around the car, hops in. The Driver skids off into the night. Prince stands there trembling, watches as it disappears into the distance.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. PRINCE'S HOUSE – NIGHT

Prince pulls up to the wooden gate, cuts the motor, gets off. He walk wearily across the porch, moves to the front door – it's wide open. He thinks nothing of it, cuts into the house, closes it behind him.

INT. PRINCE'S HOUSE – GROUND FLOOR – NIGHT

He stands by the door motionless, a curious look on his face. The STEREO is on, the NEEDLE skipping monotonously along the record. His mouth opens into a spasm –

PRINCE
Dad...?

Silence. A sudden dread courses through him, leaving a hollow in his stomach. His feet are like lead. He moves heavily into the room –

PRINCE

Mom...?

Nothing. Panic sets in. He STREAKS down the hallway, twists open the bedroom door – it's empty. Blue NIGHT LIGHT glows through the windows. CURTAINS play delicately in the breeze. He's thoughtful, walks back into the living room...

... the COFFEE TABLE is SMASHED. He looks at it curiously, wondering stupidly if it had always been like that. Then sudden bolt of fear makes his head swim. A lamp, a porcelain dish, some knickknacks on the mantle – all smashed. He rushes into the kitchen, looks around crazily –

PRINCE
Daddd...!

Nothing but the decay of his scream. The BASEMENT door is ajar. He cuts to it quickly, pulls it open, peers frantically into the darkness below. He snaps ON the light...

EXT. PRINCE'S HOUSE – NIGHT

SIRENS! The SCENE is a riot of COLOR and FRENZY. A POLICE CAR, LIGHTS FLASHING, skids into the drive. NEIGHBORS jam the STREETS. POLICE CARS are parked all around.

INT. BASEMENT, PRINCE'S HOUSE – NIGHT

CHAOS! The BASEMENT is PACKED with COPS. Prince's father is strapped into a gurney, staring dully at the ceiling. PHOTOGRAPHERS snap pictures as PARAMEDICS work feverishly over him. I.V. UNITS are pushed into his veins. An OXYGEN MASK is placed over his nose and mouth. Huge white bandages are bunched up along the back of his head. His Mother is kneeling by the gurney, crying hysterically, grasping his hands in a white panic. TWO COPS support her. Someone is SHOUTING instructions. RADIOS crackle incessantly. A MEDIC cries –

MEDIC
Lift!

And the gurney is hoisted up the stairs quickly, the bulk of the crowd following, his Mother supported as she ascends the stairs.

Prince sits on a tattered sofa in the corner, his head bowed. Cops standing and kneeling beside him. Somebody finished taking notes, closes his pad. One Cop rests a hand on his shoulder, talks to him in soft tones. Prince shakes his head slightly. The Cop gives the group a signal and everyone disperses, moves up the stairs. The Cop looks at him sympathetically, then closes the door behind him.

INT. BASEMENT – NIGHT

PRINCE

Sits motionless a long time. Moonlight floods the basement with a foreboding light. A dog BARKS somewhere in the distance. He looks up suddenly, his face agitated, his eyes red from tears.

PRINCE'S POV

CHALK MARKS on the floor outlining the body of his Father. There's a GUN in his Father's hand clearly marked.

A train WHISTLE in the distance. He's staring at the gun. He shakes his head, rubs a hand over his face vigorously and looks up again...

... the GUN in his Father's hand. He can't get it out of his mind! The WHISTLE is CLOSER.

He lurches to his feet, paces back and forth crazily. His Father's head, the gun... the gun... the...

The WHISTLE is LOUDER.

He throws himself into the chair, buries his face deeply into his hands and cries. Huge racking sobs spasm through his body. His Father, his Mother, his entire life, his music, his guitar...

He looks up suddenly – the gun in his Father's hand.

... and he stares at it.

The WHISTLE is LOUDER!

His heart is pounding in his ears. He squeezes them shut, looks up...

The gun.

He bolts to his feet, paces back and forth in a panic! The train is HOWLING! A rope in the corner of the room, his face, the gun...

He sits dully, gazes at the rope as if in a trance. The TRAIN is ROARING past the house, it's HORN BLASTING. The rope, the gun, and his body dangling from the rafters in the night breeze –

PRINCE
(screaming)

Noooooo!!

He lurches to his feet, cuts through the basement like a madman. He grabs a stick and starts SLASHING things crazily, moving through the room swinging his stick wildly again and again.

He's lost to himself now, deep in the pit of an unknown terror, expurgating a horror that has been festering in him for years. He flings his stick at the wall, unends shelves and bureaus, trampling old memories that have lain dormant for years.

Drawer after drawer is flung against the wall, their contents smashing and scattering about. He opens a large, oaken chest and flips over. Thick three inch piles of yellowed paper fall out. He snaps through the rubber bands holding them together and flings the paper at the wall again and again...

... he stops suddenly, shocked. He SEES musical notes written down on the paper. his heart pounding in his chest, he searches frantically through the rubble scattered about him. More and more musical notes, sketched ideas, simple melodies, entire songs and scores – all meticulously recorded on lined yellowed paper, dated for the last years, and signed... by his Father. He's shocked to a standstill. Then the full significance of what's before him hits him like a sledgehammer. He collapses in agony against the chest, tears flowing down his cheeks.

INT. BASEMENT – A SERIES OF SHOTS (NIGHT INTO DAY)

Prince lying outstretched on the basement floor, sleeping fitfully, feverishly. His body is lathered in sweat, the droplets glisten in the pale light.

ANOTHER ANGLE

Cool, gray dawn. He's in a dead sleep on the floor, his arms outstretched, his legs twisted beneath him. His Father's outline seemingly rests by his side...

Just then the basement window begins to glow with SUNLIGHT. It inches slowly across the floor, then sweeps him majestically, bathing him in its warmth. He wakes slowly, stretches his limbs like an opening flower. After a moment he sits up, shades his eyes...

The basement is littered with debris. The destruction is complete, but in the midst of it lies his Father's music. The yellow parchment is scattered about glowing in the sunlight...

Something seems to flash across his mind. he stands, moves quickly down the hallway to the antechamber...

Suddenly we HEAR a TAPE REWINDING. After a moment... MUSIC and we immediately recognize it as Lisa's and Wendy's SONG. It plays a moment, then snaps off abruptly. He stands locked in thought, then sits behind the piano, hunts for the first few notes of Lisa's and Wendy's song...

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – NIGHT

Prince's Father is lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. A large bandage is wrapped along the back of his head. His Mother sits by his side, her forehead resting on the covers, her hands holding his. She's in deep sleep, and it's obvious at once that she's been by his side the entire time...

Prince steps from the shadows of the room and gazes at them fighting back the emotion that wells within him. He leans close and kisses them both gentlythen –

MC (OVER)

(excited)

Let's bring them back! Ladies and gentlemen, The Time!

INT. CLUB (1ST AVE. ST. BAR) – NIGHT

The CROWD goes WILD! Morris, Jerome and the Time return to the stage to a frenzied throng. The PLACE is PACKED, the CROWD applauding like MAD! LASER LIGHTS strobe the house in a frenzy. It's a glorious night, and Morris struts back and forth imperialistically criss-crossing the stage like a lion, urging the audience on. He grabs a mike –

MORRIS
You love us right?! You want us right?! I can't hear you!

The CROWD is SCREAMING – Morris flashes a wide, exaggerated grin –

MORRIS
What time is it?!

(a beat)

Whawhak!!

And MUSIC. The Time launches into "The Bird" and Morris, laughing heartily, does 'The Bird" (dance) with Jerome as the audience ROARS their approval.

INT. DRESSING ROOM/BACKSTAGE – NIGHT

As Prince and his Band sit in grave silence, the exuberant SOUNDS of the CLUB filtering through the open door. Jill is also in the room, sitting on a table, holding the dog silently in her lap. She casts sidelong looks to Prince, tears welling in her eyes.

The Band Members fidget nervously, knowing full well that their jobs are on the line, and feeling awful about the personal tragedy that has befallen Prince. The entire situation is very tense, and it's made worse every time the crowd lets out a delighted ROAR of approval. But Prince sits placidly, his face an enigma, his feelings a mystery.

INT. CLUB – NIGHT

And it couldn't be more of a contrast! The place is a riot of color and raucous carryings on. "The Bird" is a smashing success with everyone on the dance floor trying gamely to get the steps right. Morris and Jerome are flushed with pride, surprising even themselves with their impromptu adjustments to the act. The MUSIC crescendos, then comes to a rousing blistering end!

The stage is plunge into darkness. The CROWD goes BERSERK. Billy Sparks shakes his head happily –

BILLY
Jesus!

INT. BACKSTAGE – NIGHT

Morris, Jerome and The Time cut briskly past admiring FANS, laughing and shouting crazily –
 

BAND MEMBERS

(ad lib)

It's all over now. He better watch out. He doesn't even need to go on. He might as well go home.

INT. DRESSING ROOM – NIGHT

As Prince, Jill and the Band sit in dead silence listening to The Time's bluster off screen. Suddenly The Time crosses the doorway – Morris does a double-take, sticks his head into the room –

MORRIS

How's the family! Whawhak!

The Time busts up, drags Morris from the room. Prince's group is shocked, casts furtive glances to him – but he remains serene, then –

MC

(over)

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Prince!

Applause offscreen. Prince stands abruptly, straps on his guitar. His Band Members look at him closely, trying to discern his feelings. He gives them a cursory glance, cuts out the door.