Definitive Therapy Screenplay By Randy Yarbrough

Story of the same by F.Paul Wilson

FADE IN: INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- HALLWAY - DAY 1 A man (DR. LEWIS) in a white coat walks down the hallway overlooking a file. A voice over of diagnosis as he continues on around a corner. DR. LEWIS V.O. Committed to life internment by court order. Returned to the facility after last escape... No Allergies, Medication or family history...Diagnosed with anti-social behavior, probable delusion disorder...grandiose type, Manic, mood congruent with psychotic features... safe to say this guy has got a screw loose. Dr. Lewis passes a blond woman (Dr.Quinnzell) in another white coat. DR. QUINNZELL Doctor. DR. LEWIS Doctor. Dr. Lewis passes but not before checking her out as she walks away. Dr. Lewis reached the door with two large men stand on either side of the entrance. Dr. Lewis grabs the handle and takes a breath. He opens it. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- THERAPY ROOM - DAY 1 The green hair stood out in Technicolor against the grey walls. His hands were white with green nails, shackled together clasped on top of each other. Dr. Lewis stands as the men from outside take position between the doctor and his client. The doctor thrust his hand as soon as the men are still. DR. LEWIS Good Afternoon, Im Doctor Lewis, Mr Joker. Ill-JOKER --Call me Joker. Lewis takes back his hand and sits down. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

DR. LEWIS But.. thats not your real name. Id prefer to address you by that. JOKER That name is gone. Call me Joker if you wish to have any meaningful communication with me. DR. LEWIS ...Very Well, Mr. Joker. I-JOKER --Just... Joker. Dr. Lewis thrust his hand out again. DR. LEWIS Joker...Im Dr. Lewis. Ill be handling your therapy. Joker looks at the doctors hand like it was crawling with bugs. JOKER When did you arrive? Ive never seen YOU before. Where is Dr. Hills? Why isnt HE treating me? Dr. Lewis took his hand back again. DR. LEWIS Dr. Hills sent me. Im new to the staff since your last...escape. Joker stares at the doctor, insulted. JOKER I want the head man. I ALWAYS get the head man. I deserve it! I am not just some petty crook, you know. Im the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime in this burg and I WANT DR. HILLS! DR. LEWIS V.O. Adding Narcissistic Personality Disorder to list. Lewis leans back to size up the man in front of him.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DR. LEWIS Sorry Joker. He sent me in his place. So it looks like were stuck with each other. Lewis extended his hand again. Jokers stare broke into a grin. JOKER kay

3.

Joker slowly gets up and reaches across and shakes the doctors hand, with a BUZZ. The doctor snatches his hand back in pain. The Joker LAUGHS. The guards rush over to the joker and push him back in his seat. One of the guards takes something from the Joker. He shows it to the doctor. A joy buzzer. GUARD 1 Hes clean. DR. LEWIS He was suppose to BE CLEAN before you brought him in here. Lewis snatches the buzzer from the guard. Lewis takes his seat and brings the buzzer to eye level. The guards stand on either side of the Joker. DR. LEWIS How did you get this? JOKER I had it sent in. DR. LEWIS You cant have things SENT IN. Inpatients are severely restricted as to possessions. JOKER Others, maybe. Im the JOKER. What I want I get. Security in here is a joke. Get it? A Joke! Joker LAUGHS. The guards pass glances at each other while the Joker continues to laugh to himself. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

4.

The doctor staring at the joker, rubs his palm, annoyed. JOKER All in good, clean, and harmless fun, Dr Lewis. Im as harmless as a pussycat. DR. LEWIS I believe Colin Whitter might take exception to that...if he could. JOKER WHITTER! The Fraud! A charlatan posing as an artist. He left his mark on the art world...like acne. I just gave him a warm send off... with a match. Joker LAUGHS. DR. LEWIS YOU MURDERED HIM! Joker settles. JOKER No loss. He deserved to die. A destroyer of true art... I spent all day and night slaving over those pieces of beauty of my own creation...Then this HACK, this pretentious ASS comes along and destroys my beautiful pieces... The world is far better off without him... An artist who really threw himself into his work. Joker starts to laugh to himself. Dr. Lewis balls his shaking fist under the table. DR. LEWIS Were done here. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- HALLWAY - DAY 1 Dr. Lewis stomps down the hall in a huff. DR. LEWIS V.O. A complete lack of remorse or guilt.

5.

EXT. ART GALLEY - DAY 1 Dr. Lewis stands across the street from the building with police tape still blocking the way. DR. LEWIS V.O. When I heard it on the news, I couldnt believe it. INT. ART GALLEY - FLASHBACK A man and a woman with a clipboard come in to the gallery looking at the art work around a smoking pile of wood. On the right corner of all the hanging art work, a Green J. DR. LEWIS V.O. Joker had come into the artist Colin Whitters galley and burned all of his work and replaced it. The man start to search through the ashes and finds a scrap of painted canvas. It is a painted signature says "Colin Whitter". The man gets up from the ash and tears down a painting from the wall and puts his foot through it. He goes to another and yanks it from wall and throws it at another. The man destorys every hanging peice. He stops to catch his breath. His eyes wild. DR. LEWIS V.O. Colin got his... PHOTO FLASH. The same eyes are still. DR. LEWIS V.O. ...Or so we thought. A man in a windbreaker takes a white sheet covers Colins face. The gallery is filled with people taking pictures and notes. A large spot on the wall next to Colin has two blood trails with green lettering close to the floor. It reads "Colin Whittier RIP An Artist who really threw himself into his work"

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

6.

DR. LEWIS V.O. The Clown Prince, that BASTARD, got his revenge. He took Colin and choked him to death with green paint and nailed him to the wall. EXT. ART GALLEY -- ACROSS THE STREET - DAY 1 Dr. Lewis stands there, fist clenched, staring. The blond woman from eariler comes by and places her hand on Lewis shoulder. DR. QUINNZELL Dr. Lewis? Are you okay? DR. LEWIS You just dont understand, Harleen. I loved Whitters Art. Now hes gone. Its just...unjust. DR. QUINNZELL Dr. Lewis...Be careful...You know that unhealthy and dangerous in our business. Dont take the crazy home with you. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- HALLWAY - DAY 2 Dr. Lewis closes in on a door with the same two guards as the day before. One of the guards straightens up as the Doctor comes. GUARD 1 Hes clean this time, Doc. DR. LEWIS Youre sure of that? GUARD 1 Yeah, Pretty much. Dr. Lewis shakes his head and enters the room. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- THERAPY ROOM - DAY 2 Dr. Lewis walks right in and sits down in front of the Joker. The two guards follow the doctor in and stand on either side of Joker. DR. LEWIS Good Morning, Joker.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

JOKER Good Morning, Dr. Lewis. You will be happy to note that I will acept you as my physician for my stay here. DR. LEWIS Be still, my heart. JOKER I was getting tired of Dr. Hills anyways. Such an egotist...an EYE sore. Always letting off esteem. Get it? Joker chuckled DR. LEWIS Yes, Unfortunately. JOKER But seriously, if I am to cooperate in therapy, we mush have a bit of privacy. Joker gives glances to the guards behind him. JOKER (CONT) I cant have a couple of screws eavesdropping on the intimate details of my life. The doctor stares at Joker. Then looks up at the guards. DR. LEWIS Please restraint the patient to the chair then wait outside. The guards lock Jokers hands and feet to the chair as he just smiles at them. The two guards then leave the room. JOKER Dr. Lewis... your credentials are impressive by the way. DR. LEWIS You know nothing of my credentials. Joker grins. JOKER Au contraire, Dr. Lewis. I have a complete dossier on you. Lets (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

8.

JOKER (contd) see... summa cum laude at Gotham Heights, Deans list at Ithaca, ranked 5th in Columbia, Chief resident at Downstates psychiatric, and theyre only paying you 90,000 a year to listen to me. Thats an insult. Tisk Tisk Tisk. Dr. Lewis stares with his mouth slightly ajar. DR. LEWIS How...Where did you-JOKER --Now we only need When, What and Which and Well have the set. I told you. I am the Joker, the clown prince of crime. Nothing goes on in this city with out my knowledge. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- DR HILLS OFFICE - DAY 2 The small office has papers spread on every inch of deskspace. Dr. Hills is large man with black beard rushling through drawers to pull out a bottle of brown liqrid and two glasses. DR. HILLS Love!? The Joker doesnt love anyone but that face he sees in the mirror. And besides, Who in their right mind would love that crazy bastard? DR. LEWIS Or something! I just I need something to crack this nut so that I can go deeper. DR. HILLS Be extermely weary here, son. This is no mere criminal. Hes a diabolical creature. DR. LEWIS I know hes incorrigible but-DR. HILLS --Hes worse than that. Hes a master manipulator. He makes it extremely diffcuilt to, damn near (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DR. HILLS (contd) immpossible, to stay in command of your therapy session. He turns it all around on you. Lose yourself and you wont be getting into his head. He dig into yours.

9.

Dr. Hill remembers he had a drink and downs it. Dr. Lewis takes a sip and recoils from how strong it is. DR. LEWIS What Id like to know is how he manages to such easy access to outside sources from which he should be completely cut off. DR. HILLS I know I know. We dont know how he does it. But dont let that distract you. Stay focus. This is big test. Pass the Joker. Arkham will have nothing that compares. DR. LEWIS You make him sound like the devil. Dr. Hill chuckles as he pours himself another. EXT. DR. LEWIS APARTMENT - NIGHT We see Dr. Lewis pull up in a gray sedan. The car is bland, dirty and has a few dents. We follow Dr. Lewis up the stairs from the ground. The shot turns from night to day gradually. Dr. Lewis comes down the same steps, in different clothes to see his car. A bright red sports car sits in the spot. Dr. lewis looks around to see if he can find his car. He looks down and see keys in the car lock. Dr. Lewis peeks inside the window and see a enveploe. He opens the door and then the enveploe. In bright green lettering on purple stationary, the note reads "For the exculsive use of Dr. Harold Lewis". Dr. Lewis pulls something else out, a joker playing card.

10. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- THERAPY ROOM - DAY 3 Dr. Lewis and the Joker are back in their places. The doctor writing notes in a file while the Joker is trying to catch the doctors eye. The jokers hands are cuffed and on top of the table, tapping nervously. Dr. Lewis closes the file in front of him and gets up. JOKER Really!? Come on! We have to talk about it. At least how did it do on the turnpike? Dr. Lewis gets in close. DR. LEWIS Okay fine. You want to talk about it. First off, where is my damn car!? JOKER Gone! Kaput! Scrap! Off to car heaven. DR. LEWIS Listen, Joker. If you think that you can buy me with some fancy new wheels, understand this. I AM NOT FOR SALE! especially to a murderer. JOKER Perish the thought. Id just prefer that my personal physician not be seen in such a horrid monstrosity. No No No. My doctor gets the best. DR. LEWIS Give me MY car! NOW! JOKER Okay, here. Lets play a game. The Joker places his hands under the table. When he pulls his hands back up, he is holding a deck of cars fanned out and his cuffs are off. Lewis jumps back and shouts. DR. LEWIS GUARDS! The guards burst in to the room.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

11.

GUARD 1 Oh... kay? Dr. Lewis is against the wall while the Joker is back in cuffs, leaning back in his chair, like hes waiting for a bus. the deck of cards stacked on the table. DR. LEWIS Yeah. Just got spooked. The guards wait by the door. JOKER Here you pick a card and if I cant guess it, Ill get your car back. DR. LEWIS Fine. Dr. Lewis pulls from the top of the deck and looks at the card. Its a joker. Joker laughs. JOKER I love the resemblance. You see, Im afraid the deed is done. So enjoy the new car with a clean conscience. I ask nothing in return, just drive it. Maybe take that sweet tart Quinnzell around the block a couple of times. DR. LEWIS Were done here. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- DR HILLS OFFICE DAY 3

Dr Hills spit takes all over his drink on his desk. DR. HILLS Lobotomized him? I mean its extreme but... DR. LEWIS Listen, Its had great success with violent offenders in the past turning killers into pussycats. DR. HILLS But its irreversible.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

12.

DR. LEWIS And in this particular case, some would deem that a plus. DR. HILLS And the patient rights group would hunt us down if they caught on to it. DR. LEWIS What about the rights of the people that he could harm in the future when he escapes again? And he will escape again. DR. HILLS Ill take to the board for advisement. EXT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- GROUNDS - DAY 3 Lush leafy greens walls surround Lewis as he walk in the grass. Quinnzell runs up to Lewis as he walks on. DR. QUINNZELL Harold? Hey wait up! DR. LEWIS Hey. DR. QUINNZELL I heard about the procedure. Holy Cow, you dont mess around huh? DR. LEWIS Something has to be done about this sick mind. He has no remorse about his crimes. He-DR. QUINNZELL --Maybe you need some time away from this place. You know, some fun? Let me take you tonight, what do you say? Dr. Lewis smiles.

13.

INT. DR LEWIS APARTMENT - NIGHT The apartment door slams open and the pair stumble in giggling. Lewis and Quinnzell carry each other to the sofa. Quinnzell looks over the sofa to the wall. DR. QUINNZELL Wow! That painting is beautiful. Dr. Lewis lazly looks over his shoulder and falls to the floor. DR. QUINNZELL Somebody needs to work on controlling their liquor. Dr. Quinnzell laughs at her own joke. DR. LEWIS V.O. It wasnt the booze. I was staring at a ghost. The painting on the wall is filled with so many awesome colors. DR. LEWIS V.O. (cont) It was a Whitter. I know his work better than my mothers face. I was also staring at a fortune hanging on the wall. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- THERAPY ROOM - DAY 4 Dr. Lewis walks right in and sits down in front of the Joker. The two guards are about to walk in but Lewis stops them. DR. LEWIS Wait outside. If you hear me scream in agonizing pain, you might want to come in. The guards turn and walk out. Dr. Lewis turns to Joker. DR. LEWIS Joker? JOKER Yes?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

14.

DR. LEWIS Where?...Where did you find it? I mean, you burned them all? JOKER What? ...oh you mean the painting! Well I have a stack of them lying around and I thought it would bring a smile to your face. Besides what they are paying you, think of it as a little bump for services rendered. DR. LEWIS I didnt get in this for money. DR. LEWIS V.O. A stack! A Stack of Whitters. One would be worth millions. A stack could buy and sell this hospital. JOKER Well in that case, Ill make sure its off your wall by-DR. LEWIS --NO! I mean. Its fine where it is for now until I find a better home for it. Joker just grins. JOKER As you wish, Doctor. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- HALLWAY - DAY 4 Dr. Lewis closes the door behind him. His hand still on the knob. Dr. Hill comes up from behind him. And claps him on the shoulder. DR. HILLS They approved it! The operation will happen in two days. Had it been anyone else, I dont think they would have gone for it. But they said yes and now its time to crack this nut. DR. LEWIS Thats good. Wait what operation?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DR. HILLS The lobotomy! By the time were done, Joker wont know how to put on socks, much less hurt anyone ever again. DR. LEWIS Whoa, maybe we should try electroshock treatment again? DR. HILLS ECT failed already, Harold. Come on, youre not getting cold feet. This was your idea by the way. DR. LEWIS Yeah, I just think that the patient rights groups would frown on rushing to surgery without exhausting all the options. DR. HILLS Which we have. Listen, dont worry. The sooner we get this done, the sooner this will all be behind us. Dr. Hill walks off. Dr. Lewis just stares off at him. INT. ARKHAM ASYLUM -- THERAPY ROOM - DAY 5 The joker sits in his usual spot and yawns. The guards finish cuffing him to the chair with a CLICK! Dr. Lewis closes the door quietly and takes his seat. JOKER You know doc, its kind of late for a social visit. DR. LEWIS I was thinking about what you said the stack of Whitters in a warehouse. You know, I bet if you turn them in, they might treat you to some kind of leniency. The joker leans in close. JOKER You think so? I mean its not all roses and cinnaimon rolls in here. You know?

15.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: Dr. Lewis leans in. DR. LEWIS Yeah, and if you were to tell me where they are. I could take them to the authories. JOKER You do that... for me? DR. LEWIS Trust me, I am a doctor. Joker laughs. JOKER Shake on it. Joker extends his hand. Dr. Lewis smiles and takes the jokers hand.

16.

In a single move. The joker pulls on Lewis hand forcing off blanace and slaming his head against the table between them. The joker pulls a sirenge from behind his back and... CUT TO BLACK We see point of view, blured and wavy. Two figures in the darkness. The jokers voice comes in echos. JOKER VOICE What do you think? DR. QUINNZELL Oh you know I always love the way you look. JOKER VOICE Not now Harl. But most definetly later. Dr. Quinnzell quietly squeals into her hands. And turns to the camera. She moves into the light. DR. QUINNZELL Oh looks whos up. Joker turns around, face still in shadow. A garggled noise is heard.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

17.

DR. QUINNZELL Yup, thats right. I mean how was I going to let this poor angel just sit in here. I had to do something. Another garggled noise. DR. QUINNZELL Well the reason you cant speak is the joker toxin. We mixed it special for you. Oh my pudding is a genius when it comes to cocktails. Garggled noise. DR. QUINNZELL Well thats rude. Or did you mean... Quinnzell garggles in mockery then listens for a responce. JOKER VOICE Thats enough darling. I mean the man needs his rest. My harl set up you up nice doc. Youve never looked better in my opinion. Quinnzell lifts up a mirror to the camera. Jokers face is in the glass. Eyes wide in terror but smile frozen in place. Quinnzell takes down the mirror to Dr. Lewis face behind it. JOKER VOICE (coming from Dr. Lewis) Dont worry. The cocktail I gave you should only last about two days. I mean unless you had some awful surgery planned for me. Dr. Lewis stands up straight and beats his chest as to clear it. DR. LEWIS VOICE Guards! Take this paient to his room. The guards come in. DR. LEWIS VOICE (cont) Give him something to calm him down. Hes got a big day tomorrow. POV ends. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

18.

The joker is in his chair, chained. Shaking his head in protest, a grin still frozen on his face. The guards take him out and the door closes behind them. CUT TO CREDITS.