Script To Screen: “Being John Malkovich”
The 7 1/2 floor scene from Being John Malkovich (written by Charlie Kaufman). Setup: Craig (John Cusack) goes to an unusual office for an…
The 7 1/2 floor scene from Being John Malkovich (written by Charlie Kaufman). Setup: Craig (John Cusack) goes to an unusual office for an interview.
INT. OFFICE BUILDING LOBBY - DAY Craig. in sport coat and tie, studies the business listings
board. He finds LesterCorp, and sees that it is located on
floor 7 1/2. Craig presses the elevator button and waits.
Another man comes and waits next to him. The doors open,
and Craig and the other man get in. CUT TO: INT. ELEVATOR - CONTINUOUS The other man presses "9." Craig studies the buttons. There
is no "7 1/2." WOMAN #1
Seven and a half, right? CRAIG
Uh. yeah. WOMAN #1
I'll take you through it. The man picks up a crowbar leaning in the corner. He
watches the floor numbers light up in succession. After
"7" and before "8", the man hits the emergency stop button.
The elevator slams to a halt. The man pries open the doors
with the crowbar. Revealed is a standard office building
hallway, except that from floor to ceiling it is only about
four feet high. Everything is scaled down accordingly.
The number on the wall across from the elevator is 7 1/2. WOMAN #1
Seven and a half. CRAIG
Thank you. Craig climbs out onto the 7 1/2 floor. CUT TO: INT. SEVEN AND A HALF FLOOR - CONTINUOUS Craig, hunched-over, makes his way down the hallway
looking for LesterCorp. He passes a hunched-over man
walking in the other direction. They nod to each other.
Craig finds a door marked "LesterCorp - Meeting America's
Filing Needs Since 1922." He enters. CUT TO: INT. LESTERCORP RECEPTION AREA - CONTINUOUS All furniture is scaled down to fit into this low-ceilinged
space. A few other short men sit reading tiny magazines.
Craig approaches Floris, the receptionist. FLORIS
Welcome to LesterCorp. May we meet
your filing needs? CRAIG
No, uh, my name is Craig Schwartz.
I have an interview with Mr. Lester. FLORIS
Please have a seat, Mr. Juarez... CRAIG
Schwartz. FLORIS
Pardon? CRAIG
Schwartz. FLORIS
I'm sorry, I'm afraid I have no idea
what you're saying right now. CRAIG
My name is Schwartz. FLORIS
Money, Miss Warts? CRAIG
Forget it. Craig takes a seat next to the other applicants. FLORIS
(calling across the room)
Fork ah did? The intercom buzzes. Floris picks it up. FLORIS
(to Craig)
Mr. Juarez? CRAIG
Yes? FLORIS
Yex? CRAIG
I said "yes." FLORIS
You suggest what? I have no time for
piddling suggestions from mumbling job
applicants, my good man. Besides, Dr.
Lester will see you now. I think
that's what he said. Craig stands, opens Lester's door, and enters.
Here is the scene in the movie:
This scene plays almost word for word from the script. Interesting to note that Woman #1 in the elevator is played by the wonderful Octavia Spencer.
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more articles in the Script To Screen series, go here.