Goodfellas Scene 1

FADE IN: JUNE 11, 1970S QUEENS, NEW YORK. THE SUITE - NIGHT

[A smoky, overdecorated cocktail lounge and nightclub on Queens Boulevard. Sergio Franchi is in full voice on the jukebox. It is after midnight. It has bean a long night.. Balloons and empty glasses litter the place. BILLY BATTS, a 50-year-old hood in an out-of-date suit, court at the bar. WE SEE a younger, more sharply-dressed HOOD walk in with a BEEHIVE GIRLFRIEND and hug BATTS.]

HOOD: Billy. You look beautiful. Welcome home.

BAITS*laughing and turning to the bartender*: What are you having? Give 'em what they're drinking.

[WE SEE FOUR OTHER MEN, including HENRY HILL and JIMMY BURKE, standing near BILLY BATTS at the bar, raise their glasses in salute. TOMMY DESIMONE and ANOTHER BEEHIVE BLONDE enter. BILLY BATTS looks up and sees TOMMY.]

BILLY: Hey, look at him. Tommy. You grew up.

TOMMY *preening a little*: Billy, how are you?

BILLY *smiling broadly at Tommy and the girl*: Son of a bitch. Get over here.

[TOMMY walks over and BILLY, too aggressively, grabs TOMMY around the neck. TOMMY doesn't like it.]

TOMMY *forcing a laugh*: Hey, Billy. Watch the suit.

BILLY *squeezing Tommy's cheek, a little too hard*: Listen to him. "Watch the suit," he says. A little pisser I've known all my life. Hey, Tommy, don't go get too big.

TOMMY: Don't go busting my balls. Okay?

BILLY *laughing, to the crowd at the bar*: Busting his balls? *to Tommy* If I was busting your balls, I'd send you home for your shine box.

[TOMMY'S smile turns to a glare as he realizes BILLY is making fun of him. The Men at the bar are roaring with laughter. His GIRL is looking glumly at her shoes.]

BILLY *to the hoods at the bar*: You remember Tommy's shines? The kid was great. He made mirrors.

TOMMY *almost a threat*: No more shines, Billy.

BILLY: Come ooonnn. Tommeeee. We're only kidding. You can't take a joke? Come ooonn.

[WE SEE that TOMMY is still angry, but begins to relax with BILLY'S apparent apology, but as soon as BILLY sees that TOMMY is beginning to relax, he contemptuously turns his back on TOMMY.]

BILLY *facing the bar*: Now get the hell home and get your shine box.

[HENRY quickly steps in front of TOMMY who is about to explode. BATTS is facing the bar and does not see just how furious TOMMY has become.]

HENRY *gently wrestling Tommy away from the bar*: Come on, relax. He's drunk. He's been locked up for six years.

TOMMY: I don't give a shit. That guy's got no right.

HENRY: Tommy. He. doesn't mean anything. Forget about it.

TOMMY *trying to wrestle past Henry*: He's insulting me. Rat bastard. He's never been any fuckin' good.

HENRY: Tommy. Come on. Relax.

TOMMY *to Henry*: Keep him here. I'm going for a bag.

[TOMMY roughly grabs his GIRL'S arm and storms out.]

HENRY *rejoining Jimmy and Billy Batts at the bar*: Batts. I'm sorry. Tommy gets loaded. He doesn't mean any disrespect.

BATTS: He's got a hot head.

[WE SEE the LAST TWO GUESTS get up to leave. HENRY puts another dollar in the jukebox and moves back behind the bar and starts to total the register receipts.]

CUT TO: From HENRY'S POV behind the bar, WE SEE the GUESTS leave and suddenly WE SEE TOMMY in the doorway. HENRY walks around the bar and approaches TOMMY.

[WE SEE JIMMY and BATTS are still seated at bar with their backs to the door.]

BATTS: They're fucking mutts.

[WE SEE JIMMY nod.]

BUTTS: I seen them. They walk around like big shots and they don't know shit.

JIMMY: A guy gets half a load on. He mouths off.

BATTS: When I was a kid, I swear on my mother, you mouth off, you got your fucking legs broke.

CUT TO: HENRY Approaching TOMMY who is carrying a large folded package under one arm.

[TOMMY, followed by HENRY, walks over to the bar where JIMMY and BILLY BATTS are talking. TOMMY drops the package on the floor.]

[BILLY BATTS looks up.]

[JIMMY turns around and sees that TOMMY has a gun in his hand.]

[JIMMY immediately grabs BATTS's arms and WE SEE TOMMY smash the gun into the side of BATTS's head. WE SEE TOMMY hit BATTS again and again as JIMMY continues to hold BATTS's arms.]

JIMMY *to Henry, while pinning BATTS's arms*: Quick! Lock the door.

[WE SEE TOMMY club BATTS to the ground with JIMMY holding BATTS's arms.]

CUT TO: HENRY locking the door.

CUT TO: BATTS'S INERT FORM - on the floor.

[WE SEE TOMMY unfold the package he had dropped near the bar. It is a plastic, flower-printed mattress cover.]

[TOMMY and JIMMY start putting BAITS's legs into the mattress cover.]

[HENRY is standing over them as JIMMY and TOMMY struggle to fit BATTS' s body into the mattress cover.]

HENRY: What are we going to do with him? We can't dump him in the street.

JIMMY *to Henry*: Bring the car round back. I know a place Upstate they'll never find him.

[TOMMY is looking brightly at HENRY, as he and JIMMY finally zip BATTS in the mattress cover.]

TOMMY: I didn't want to get blood on your floor.

[EXT. REAR DRIVEWAY - THE SUITE - NIGHT]

[Darkness. The open trunk of HENRY 's car. The mattress cover is being shoved into the trunk by the THREE MEN. It is heavy work.]

HENRY: Batts's made. His whole crew is going to be looking for him. This is fucking bad.

TOMMY: There's a shovel at my mother's.

[INT. TOMMY'S MOTHER'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT]

[Darkness in the kitchen. We hear noise of doors opening and tools being banged around in the dark.]

TOMMY: SSHHH. You'll wake 'er up.

[Suddenly the light in the entryway goes on, and WE SEE TOMMY'S MOTHER, in housecoat, beaming at her SON and his FRIENDS.]

CUT TO: where TOMMY'S MOTHER' hovers over the seated TOMMY, HENRY and JIMMY. The table is filled with plates and coffee cops and the debris of dirty dishes.

MOTHER *to all*: Have some more. Yon hardly touched anything. Did Tommy tell you about my painting? Look.

[WE SEE her reach next to the refrigerator and pull up a couple of oil paintings she props on the edge of the table.]

MOTHER *CONTD* *proudly*: They want me to do a portrait next. I'm gonna do the Moan Lisa.

CUT TO: WINDOW where WE SEE HENRY 's car with the body in the trunk, still parked at the curb.

[INT. HENRY'S CAR - NIGHT]

[Finally on their way, HENRY is driving. JIMMY, in the passenger's seat, and TOMMY, in the rear seat, embracing the shovel, are dozing off. The sleepy humming of the wheels is suddenly interrupted by a thumping sound. At first, HENRY thinks he has a flat, but the thumping is too irregular. JIMMY awakens. His eyes are on HENRY. TOMMY leans forward from the rear seat. Silence. Thump Silence.]

[EXT. MERRITT PARKWAY - NIGHT]

[Car pulls off the road onto the grass. HENRY, JIMMY and TOMMY, still holding the shovel, get out of the car.]

TOMMY: Jesus Christ! Miserable bastard!

[HENRY opens the trunk and steps back. In the trunk light WE SEE the mattress cover squirming around. We hear muffled groans.]

TOMMY *raising the shovel*: Can you believe this no-good fuck? The prick! He's still alive.

[TOMMY suddenly smashes the shovel into the moving, bloody mattress cover. He smashes it again and again and again. Cursing BATTS with every swing.]

TOMMY: Rat bastard. *he swings shovel* No-good, low-life fuck.

[TOMMY swings shovel again and again.]

[Soon the mattress cover stops squirming and TOMMY stops swinging the shovel. He is exhausted. TOMMY and JIMMY get back in the car. HENRY is facing the open trunk.]

[TILT UP and FREEZE ON HENRY'S face slamming the trunk shut.]

HENRY *V.O.*: As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.