Sling Blade

Sling Blade   

Screenplay by          Billy Bob Thornton

Produced by          Brandon Rossner

               David L. Bushell

Directed by          Billy Bob Thornton

Cast List:

Billy Bob Thornton      Karl Childers

Dwight Yoakam         Doyle Hargraves

J.T. Walsh       Charles Bushman

John Ritter         Vaughn Cunningham

Lucas Black         Frank Wheatley

Natalie Canerday      Linda Wheatley

James Hampton       Jerry Woolridge

Robert Duvall        Karl's Father

Jim Jarmusch         Frostee Cream

FADE IN:

INT. A MENTAL HOSPITAL – DAY

A few patients sit around fumbling with themselves. One man sits at a table scratching back and forth on a piece of paper with a crayon. Another stands in a corner smoking a cigarette and staring at the crayon guy. This is CHARLES. Another man, KARL, sits in a chair staring at the floor and rubbing his hands together. We cut back and forth between Charles staring and Crayon Man scratching. After a moment, an attendant approaches Charles.

ATTENDANT
You can't smoke in here.

Charles stares at him blankly for a moment and continues smoking. He looks back to Crayon Man again for a moment then looks over at Karl and then goes and sits down beside him.

CHARLES

A Mercury is a good car and that's what I was driving that day. I've owned a lot of cars. Different kinds. Lots of different kinds of cars. She was standing, this girl, on the side of the street where there was a chicken stand, not the Colonel, mind you, hut never the less a chicken stand, and I pulled the Mercury over and rolled down the window by electric power. She was wearing a leather skirt and she had a lot of hair on her arms. I like that. I like it a lot. It means a big bush. I like a big bush. She said, "Are you dating?" I said, "yes," and she got in the car. We pulled to a remote location, one that she and I both felt comfortable with and she said, "How much can you spend?" I said, "What it takes to see your bush. I know it's a big one." She said "twenty-five dollars," which to a working man is not chicken feed. I produced the money and she put it in her shoe and pulled up her skirt. There before me lay a thin, crooked, uncircumcised penis. You can imagine how badly I wanted my twenty-five dollars back.

INT. A HALLWAY – DAY

Two young women, MARSHA DWIGGINS, carrying a briefcase, and THERESA EVANS, carrying two camera bags are being led down the hallway by a GUARD.

THERESA
I don't know why you're so weirded out, this is not San Quentin, it's just a nuthouse. Most of these people don't even know where they are, they're not gonna hurt you.

MARSHA

In a few minutes we're gonna be in a room with a killer. That doesn't bother you?

THERESA

Hey, you're the one that wanted to major in journalism. Anyhow, wasn't the guy something like twelve or thirteen when he did it, it was twenty-five years ago, he probably doesn't even remember it.

MARSHA

(wrinkling her nose)

Do you smell shit?

THERESA

Yeah.

They reach a door and the guard ushers them through.

INT. AN OFFICE – DAY

JERRY WOOLRIDGE stands up from behind the desk as they enter. He's in his fifties and looks like a school teacher, shop class or perhaps eighth-grade science.

GUARD
These are the people from that newspaper deal.

WOOLRIDGE

Oh yeah, from the college?

MARSHA

Yes sir.

Woolridge shakes hands with them.

WOOLRIDGE

My name's Jerry Woolridge.

MARSHA

Nice to meet you. I'm Marsha Dwiggins and this is Theresa Evans. She's here to take the pictures.

WOOLRIDGE

Y'all have a seat. Is this all of you?

MARSHA

Yes sir.

WOOLRIDGE

I think there must have been a little mix up. I told your sponsor or teacher or whatever he is, there couldn't be any pictures. It's s'posed to be just a little story or article or something, isn't that right?

MARSHA

Well, yeah, it's for the school newspaper. But it has pictures. I mean it's a regular paper, you know.

WOOLRIDGE

Karl's real sensitive about having his picture made. He wouldn't even be on the bulletin board for the Easter Collage.

(to guard)

Melvin, would you get me a good hot cup with two sugar substitutes? You girls want some coffee?

MARSHA

No thank you.

WOOLRIDGE

The other thing is I told your boss on the phone to send a man. Karl won't talk to women.

INT. REC ROOM – DAY

CLOSEUP on Karl's face. Charles has started another monologue.

CHARLES
There was a young man named John Liggit Hunter who was in the filling station business and a good filling station business. He was one of those young men that we run across so often in life. I'm sure you've run across them, that didn't deserve the things he had. One of those things was his beautiful bride, Sarah. She was a Georgia Peach. As a matter fact she looked more like the picture I've had in my head than any woman I've ever seen. I took it upon myself to take her away from John Liggit Hunter, who didn't deserve her. I'm not sure if I mentioned that he was a Frenchman who claimed to be an Englishman. It took some very strong nylon cord to take her away from him. She was a fighter as well as a Georgia Peach.

INT. WOOLRIDGE'S OFFICE

The girls look confused.

WOOLRIDGE

I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry. I made my self pretty clear I thought. He probably got busy and wasn't thinking. I know how that is. I used to teach shop and eighth grade science.

MARSHA

Well, what do we do? We drove all the way out here.

THERESA

Let's just go, Marsha.

MARSHA

No, we have to get this story.

THERESA

I thought you'd be happy to leave.

MARSHA

Why won't he talk to women?

WOOLRIDGE

He has problems. You know. With all that. He won't hardly talk to anybody really. Just certain people. He's very troubled.

INT. REC ROOM

CHARLES

(leaning in to Karl)

A shovel just makes too goddamn much racket.

INT. WOOLRIDGE'S OFFICE

WOOLRIDGE

(takes a drink of coffee)

I don't think he's talked to a woman in twenty-five or 50 years. That I know of anyway. That's why I said to send a man. At least maybe he'd answer a question or two for a man. I'm all for helping the college out, believe me. It might be a real good article or story.

MARSHA

Can't you talk to him? Maybe talk him into it. I'm a real good interviewer. Just get me in the room with him.

WOOLRIDGE

(to guard)

Melvin, go get Karl and take him down to the old classroom.

INT. HALLWAY – DAY

Woolridge and the two women walk down the hallway.

WOOLRIDGE

I'll talk to him and see what we can do.

INT. CLASSROOM – DAY

Woolridge is opening a door. He enters and the women follow him in. he flips on a light switch and very bright florescent lights illuminate the room.

WOOLRIDGE

You see, Karl, growing up, only knew that sex was wrong and that people who did it should be killed for it. He couldn't really read but, well, neither could his mother. But, his father made sure that his mother knew what the Bible said. And she made sure Karl knew. You know he slept in a hole in the ground under a tool shed, right?

MARSHA

I knew he slept in a tool shed.

WOOLRIDGE

His mother told him that he was their punishment. Hers and his father's, from God, for having sex –

MARSHA

Before they were married?

WOOLRIDGE

I don't think so. Just period, I think. She told him God gave them the ugliest creation he could think of. Karl has an entire book-a notebook. On every page it says "Franklin Chapter 1 Verse number 1." He wrote that a few years ago after he'd learned to write. His father's name was Franklin.

MARSHA

That's really strange. What does it mean?

WOOLRIDGE

One of his Daddy's Bible lessons I imagine. Y'all pull up a chair. I'll go out and talk to him.