American Splendor

by
Robert Pulcini
and
Shari Springer Berman

The Official Shooting Script For Educational Purposes Only

FADE IN:
INT. HARVEYS BEDROOM - NIGHT
A BEDROOM MIRROR.
The room is dark.
a wall.

A perfectly square mirror hangs crooked on

Suddenly, out of the darkness, the reflection of a mans face

comes into focus. He stares straight ahead, perhaps studying
his own unrecognizable reflection. Its quite clear this is
a portrait of sickness; the mans pallor is gray, his eyes
are confused. There is something most definitely wrong.
Tentatively, the figure steps away from the mirror, leaving
the frame empty and dark.
ANGLE ON BED
Like a ghost, the naked man (Harvey) stands over his bed
staring down at his sleeping wife (Joyce). In the eerie
light, hes almost translucent.
HARVEY
(faintly)
Joyce ... Joyce?
Joyce springs up, alarmed.
JOYCE
Whats wrong, Harvey?
doing up?

What are you

Harvey just stands there for a moment saying nothing.

JOYCE (contd)
What is it?
HARVEY
(delirious, out of breath)
Tell me the truth. Am I some guy
who writes about himself in a comic
book? Or am I just --am I just a
character in that book?
Joyce rubs her eyes.
JOYCE
Harvey ...

2.
HARVEY
If I die, will dat character keep
goin? Or will he just fade away
...
Joyce just stares at him, unsure how to answer.
Harvey collapses.
Joyce leaps from the bed, nervous, hysterical.
on the floor and shakes him.
JOYCE
Omigod, Harvey!

Suddenly
She gets down

Harvey, wake up!

CLOSE ON HARVEYS FACE

His eyes remain closed, his expression far, far away.
FADE TO BLACK:
EXT. CLEVELAND ROW HOUSE - FALL - 1956 - DAY
FADE UP ON:
A surreal kaleidoscope of black, white and red. Similar to
the mirror scene above, the colors slowly come into focus,
revealing the chiseled features of a familiar face. But this
time we see that it is not a real face, but rather a plastic
mask of the D.C. Comic hero -- SUPERMAN.
INTERTITLE:

CLEVELAND OHIO, 1956

CLOSE ON SUPERMAN MASK

It glows eerily in the light of a porch lamp.
pupils glare through the eye holes ...

A childs

The camera pans from SUPERMAN to the masked face of another

caped-crusader: BATMAN. Batman turns toward his loyal sidekick ROBIN, who clutches a plastic, trick-or-treat pumpkin.
Next, we find THE GREEN LANTERN as he reaches up to ring the
doorbell. The camera finally rests on the last boy: an
unkempt KID wearing no costume at all.
Looking irritated and removed from the rest of the group, the
KID shoves his hands in the pockets of his shearling coat.
He spits and rolls his eyes as a lady answers the door.
The brick home is as working class as it gets.
the door is a 1950s HOUSEWIFE.

The lady at

3.
BOYS
(in unison)
Trick or treat!!
HOUSEWIFE
Well, look at this! All the superheroes on the porch! Aint that
cute.
The Lady drops a candy apple in each boys container.
HOUSEWIFE (contd)
(still yelling)
We got Superman here, Batman, his
sidekick ROBIN, ohh, The Green
Lantern even ...
She finally stops at the costumeless KID.
holds up a ratty, stained pillowcase.

He halfheartedly

HOUSEWIFE (contd)
And what about you young man?
KID
What about what?
The other boys giggle.
look.

The kid flashes them a kick yer ass

HOUSEWIFE
Who are you supposed to be?
The kid shrugs.
KID
Im Harvey Pekar (pronounced Pee
Car).
HOUSEWIFE
Harvey Pekar? That doesnt sound
like a super hero to me...
BOYS
(mumbling)
Pecker, Pecker ...
KID
I aint no super hero, lady. Im
just a kid from the neighborhood,
alright?
The Housewife stares at him, confused.