White Wedding

FADE IN:

EXT. STREET IN NEIGHBORHOOD – MORNING

A two-way street in a rundown neighborhood. Graffiti on the walls of abandoned buildings. Around the corner Street Musician performs a jazz melody on the sax. Pink Cadillac convertible drives down the street. Wind plays with some trash – empty aluminum cans make a rattling noise. In opposite direction drives a police vehicle with two Officers. From the open window Officer #1, in black shades at the driver’s seat, looks at the passing Cadillac’s driver – not moving a muscle – then nods very slightly.

Cadillac and the police vehicle pass each other and Officer #1 takes a white envelope from Cadillac driver’s hand. Cars continue driving straight. A hand with a union pinky ring turns up the volume on the Cadillac’s radio.

REPORTER #1 (ON THE RADIO)
– Warning! Heavy geomagnetic storms –
a strong shock arriving with a northward interplanetary magnetic field – may shake the magnetosphere, causing…

A hand switches the radio station.

REPORTER #2 (ON THE RADIO)
– Silk has been made for at least 5,000 years in China. The domesticated silkworm, AKA Bombyx Mori — Latin for ”silkworm of the mulberry tree” — no longer lives in the wild and is vital to the production of the luxurious, precious fabric that bears its name. Native to northern China, the deprived insect eats mulberry leaves and is entirely dependent on humans…

EXT. ENTRANCE TO BRIDAL SALON – MORNING

Pink Cadillac pulls in front of the entrance door. Its front tire stops a hairline distance from the sidewalk, lifting a small cloud of a dust, and a cowboy boot steps out of the driver’s door and onto the ground.

ALEX (Dominic West) whistles the tune to White Wedding by Billy Idol and walks towards the entrance. An aluminum can gets in his way. Alex looks at the shop’s wall covered in graffiti with a small b&w poster of a young female face pinned to it. The caption under it reads ”MISSING.” In the front window are two mannequins – dressed as a bride and groom. There’s an ”Open” sign on the glass door. A sign above the entrance reads ”Bridal Salon – White Wedding.” Alex kicks the door open with his boot.

INT. BRIDAL SALON – MORNING

Entrance door slams open. Sound of the doorbell. Alex’s silhouette in the doorway of a 16x10 foot salon. On his right and left are racks of bridal and evening gowns, tuxedos.

ALEX
(speaks with a Texan accent)
– Howdy!

Alex, dressed in jeans with a belt, leather boots, a shirt and a cowboy hat, walks by the gowns brushing them with his hand.

ALEX
– Howdy?

TAYLOR (O.S.)
(speaks with a New Orleans accent)
– Who’s that?

Muttered chatter of female voices from the fitting room. Curtain of fitting room moves and Salon’s owner TAYLOR (55), big-boned Afro-American woman comes out, measuring tape around her neck, voodoo doll pincushion with pins and needles in it attached to her forearm. Some pins in her mouth.

TAYLOR
(taking pins out of her mouth)
– Look what the bat dragged in! Howdy yourself! Ready for the big day??

ALEX
– Ready as a Bombyx Mori… Busy already? The early silkworm catches the groom?

TAYLOR
– Huh? Mori who? Last night I had a dream about you…

ALEX
– Aaw, you’re making me blush! Was it a good dream?

TAYLOR
– Somethin’ doesn’t feel right… You know… Don’t need to be a witch to figure that out… Feels real heavy… My ex-husband didn’t work a single day in his useless life.
(sticking pins into a pincushion)
But he’s. Bein’. Useful. Now. See?

ALEX
– Handy indeed. Witchcraft runs in the family…

TAYLOR
– It’s a hell of a respectable profession!
(closing her eyes and touching her forehead)
What a headache… It’s waiting for you over there, for tonight.

Taylor gestures with her hand to a garment bag marked ”Alex.”

ALEX
– Dang magnetic storms… But tonight you’ll have some tasty catfish for dinner, I promise! Is that silk?

The sound of female crying from the fitting room. Alex and Taylor look at each other. Alex raises a brow. Taylor sighs without a sound and moves her eyes in the direction of the crying. Alex takes a step towards the fitting room. Moves the curtains with his hand.

INT. FITTING ROOM – MORNING

Small fitting room 5x5 foot – on one side a mirror, on two other sides a wall and hooks. Curtain replaces the door. VICTORIA (26), 6-foot-tall, long-haired blonde dressed in a sleeveless wedding dress, sits on the floor. Blue and red marks on Victoria’s bare arms. Her back rests on the wall. Her face is pink and swollen. She is sobbing. Alex takes off his hat and hangs it on the wall hook. Then he slides his back against the wall and sits down on the floor facing Victoria.

ALEX
– Howdy? Ma’am… May I?

Victoria cries louder.

ALEX (CONT’D)
– Second thoughts? You know – not everyone is marriage material… Take for instance…

Alex notices abuse marks on Victoria’s hands and arms.

VICTORIA
(speaks with a Russian accent)
– You don’t understand!

Victoria hugs her shoulders. Taylor peeks into fitting room.

ALEX
– Probably… Try me…

VICTORIA
– He take Ruslan…

ALEX
– Slowly… Who’s got who? I’m Alex, by the way…

VICTORIA
– Victoria Masliyanova… Vika…

ALEX
– That’s a champ’s name!

Distant sound of car honking. Victoria turns pale and shivers.

VICTORIA
– I must go… Before he KILL my son.

ALEX
– Oh… oh… oh… wait… sloooowly… How old is your son, and what happened?

VICTORIA
– I meet Bob… Robert at the agency… I want to help my sick mama to make operazia. Bob promise me take care of us. He tell he is businessman and millioner, but no pianino. Ya takaya dura… We come America and my mama in Russia… Then he lock us in the house. And then underground. When he goes –
he is taxi driver… I think. I not run back. He take my son.
(shows 5 fingers)
Ruslan is five. He make a life…life…
how to say… strahavaya polisa in my name

ALEX
– Insurance.

VICTORIA
– Da! …and now he kill me sure. Million dollars… I see… NO go to police, because of Ruslan…

ALEX
(standing up and taking his hat)
– Stay here with Taylor.

Alex comes out of the fitting room. Puts his hat on.

ALEX (CONT’D)
– Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Don’t let her out.

Car honks outside. Alex nods towards the back door. Walks to the window, stops, looks outside, lowers his hat, covering his eyes.

EXT. ENTRANCE TO BRIDAL SALON – MORNING

Alex walks out of the salon. Taylor flips the ”Open” sign to ”Closed” and locks the door. On the opposite side of the street is a parked taxi, the driver in a tuxedo. BOB (65), balding 5;4;, smokes in the driver’s seat. Cigarette ashes fall on his beer belly. Bob looks at the entrance of the Bridal Salon.
Alex gets into the pink Cadillac. Bob spits on the ground, honks, wipes the sweat off his temple with the back of his hand.

EXT. PINK CADILLAC – MORNING

Alex slams the car’s door, starts the engine and presses call button on the car phone. Sound of phone ringing, making a call.

ALEX
– Howdy! Listen… No time to explain…

Car drives away fast. Alex’s voice fades as he turns the corner and pulls the car up to the Bridal Salon’s back door.

EXT. ENTRANCE TO BRIDAL SALON – MORNING

Door slams open. Dressed in a bridal gown, long white gloves, wearing a long blonde wig and covered in an opaque white veil, Alex steps outside. Looks back at Taylor. Taylor nudges him in the back. Alex looks at his feet as he slowly crosses the street and walks towards the taxi. Opens the back door.

INT. TAXI – MORNING

Alex squeezes himself into the back seat of the car. Bob looks in the mirror at Alex’s reflection fully covered in the veil. Bob flicks his lighted cigarette out the window and starts the engine while the back door is still open.

BOB
– You look expensive.

The unsuspecting Bob throws a wilting bridal bouquet of white roses into the back seat. Alex catches it and shuts the back door while the taxi starts to move.

ALEX
– Spasiba…

INT. WEDDING CHAPEL - MORNING

Alex and Bob stand in front of PRIEST. Pianist starts to play.

PRIEST
– I now pronounce you husband and wife.

Alex and Bob face each other. Bob lifts the veil.

ALEX
– This will be ”our song” if you don’t mind…
Bob is paralyzed. Alex has a thick layer of makeup on his face.

ALEX
– Kiss me. What? I’m not your type?

Bob runs to the exit door. Piano Player sticks out his leg. Bob falls down. Priest tosses the Bible aside. Flashes his badge in Bob’s face and cuffs his hands. O.S. police sirens.

PRIEST
– You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

ALEX
– See you tonight?

PRIEST
– Sure, partner!

ALEX
– Ex… ex-partner.

PRIEST
– Ex? Ain’t no such thing.

Alex exits the chapel while two Officers drag Bob to the car.

ALEX
– Tonight!

Two Officers smile and nod, while pushing Bob into their car.

INT. BACKSTAGE - EVENING

Alex in his bridal gown walks to the stage. Opens curtains. Alex’s silhouette in the spotlights. He enters the stage.

ALEX (V.O.)
– Entirely dependent on humans… Humans.

INT. STAGE - EVENING

Alex stage center in a spotlight starts to sing White Wedding by Billy Idol. Crowd cheers. Some in the crowd are dressed in police officer uniforms. Victoria plays the piano on stage.

EXT. OUTSIDE A BAR – EVENING

In front of entrance a police vehicle with lights on. In the flickering lights – portrait of Drag Diva, caption reads: ”ALEXIS La Grande Premi;re.” An urban time lapse. Night sky turns into morning sky. O.S. Alex sings.

INT. BRIDAL SALON – MORNING

Taylor watches muted news on TV. On the TV screen a Reporter stands in front of a house, holding a microphone and talking. At the top of the screen is a photo of the young female face from the missing poster. At the bottom of the screen is a running line:
”…Last night, following an extensive undercover investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a series of arrests were made in Austin, Texas, where an alleged mail-order bride scam quickly escalated into a violent crime. The discovery of a shallow grave where body parts of the missing…”

An authentic dream catcher, depicting bride & groom as voodoo dolls, rotates in a draft.

Sound of a door slamming open and a doorbell ringing. Taylor shuts the TV off, smiles, showing white teeth. A toy car sits on her table.

TITLE: Despite well over 2,000 mail-order marriages a year, there is no information on the number of mail-order brides entering the United States.

FADE OUT.

THE END.