THE TRUMAN SHOW BY by Andrew Niccol Shooting Script ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A FOGGED MIRROR Behind the fog we hear the sounds of a bathroom. After a long moment, a hand wipes the condensation from the glass to reveal the face of TRUMAN BURBANK. He wears a sleeveless Hanes undershirt and blue-stripes pajama bottoms, behind him a white glazed tiled bathroom wall. It is immediately apparent that we are viewing him through a two-way mirror. Truman, expressionless, studies his reflection in the mirror. For a long moment, he does nothing. He continues to look impassively into the mirror for what becomes an uncomfortably long time. Still nothing. Finally he speaks, talking to himself in the mirror as if participating in a TV interview. TRUMAN ... personally I think the unconquered south face is the only one worth scaling... of course it's a 20,000 foot sheer wall of ice but then when did that ever stop me before? Naturally, I intend to make the ascent without the benefit of oxygen but also without crampons or even an ice pick... risks? (smug, TV smiles) ... sure I'm aware of the risks -- why else do you think I would spend seven years as an adjuster in a life insurance company? MERYL (O.S.) Truman, you're gonna be late! Truman resignedly opens the door of the cabinet and replaces his shaving tackle. It partially obscures the lens of the hidden camera. He closes the door and exits. INT. KITCHEN - MORNING MERYL, wearing a stylish robe, sits at the kitchen table sipping coffee. On the table in front of her lies a parcel. TRUMAN enters and glances at the gift. TRUMAN What's that? MERYL It's a surprise. TRUMAN unwraps the parcel -- an expensive-looking set of exercise sweats. MERYL (eager for his response) Well, what do you think? TRUMAN They're... (the merest hesitation) perfect. Thank you. Truman returns Meryl's kiss. MERYL (handing him the sweat top) Try it on. Truman pulls the top over his head. As he does so, a closer shot focuses on the manufacturer's name. MERYL I thought you could wear them when you do your exercises. (afterthought) Pre-shrunk. And they breathe. EXT. TRUMAN'S HOUSE - DAY Wearing a business suit, briefcase in hand, TRUMAN emerges from his pleasant, Victorian-inspired, picket-fenced house into an idyllic suburban street of similarly picturesque homes. A neighbor, SPENCER, is taking in trashcans, whistling a tune. Spencer breaks off abruptly as Truman approaches his car. His license plate reads, "Seahaven -- A Nice Place To Live." SPENCER Morning, Truman. TRUMAN Morning, Spencer. And in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening and good night. Spencer's dog, PLUTO, bounds happily over to Truman. TRUMAN (petting the dog) Hey, Pluto. Truman exchanges a polite nod with the WASHINGTON's, an African-American family across the street. MR. WASHINGTON is farewelled by his WIFE and CHILD. Truman is about to climb into his car when he is distracted by a high-pitched whistling sound. Suddenly, a large spherical glass object falls from the sky and lands with a deafening crash on the street, several yards from his car. The startled Truman looks to Spencer but he has abruptly disappeared inside his house with Pluto. Mrs. Washington and Washington Junior has also made themselves scarce. Truman investigates. Amidst a sea of shattered glass are the remains of a light mechanism. He looks around him but the street is deserted. He checks that all the surrounding street lights are accounted for, even though the fallen fixture is far larger. He looks up into the sky but there is no plane in sight. With some effort, Truman picks up what's left of the crumpled light and loads it into the trunk. A label on the light fixture reads, "SIRIUS (9 Canis Major)." As he drives away, we hear the sound of his car radio. RADIO ANNOUNCER Another glorious morning in Seahaven, folks. INT/ EXT. TRUMAN'S CAR - SEAHAVEN - DAY TRUMAN makes his way along the streets of Seahaven past a series of quaint, pastel-shaded cottages. EXT. SEAHAVEN ISLAND TOWNSHIP - DAY A high-angle reveals an anonymous mid-sized town built around a small, pretty bay. A cluster of high-rise buildings stand at the water's edge overlooking a marina. Surrounding the commercial center lie neatly arranged suburbs. EXT. OCEANSIDE STREET - DAY Pausing at a traffic light along a seaside road, TRUMAN looks through a curious wooden arch to the beach and ocean beyond. The sight triggers a memory in his head. PLAYBACK - EXT. LONG, WIDE BEACH - DAY Unlike a conventional flashback, the scene in his memory appears to be playing on a television screen. FOUR-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN runs towards a bluff on the beach. The boy's father, KIRK, late-thirties, beer bottle in hand, flirts with TWO TEENAGE GIRLS at the shoreline. Suddenly, the father remembers his son. He looks anxiously around. The sight of the boy at the far end of the beach causes him to drop his bottle in the sand and run to Truman. The boy is near the top of the cliff before his agitated father comes within earshot. FATHER (out of breath, clutching his side) Truman! Truman! Stop! Truman turns from his perch and waves happily down to his father. But the smile quickly vanishes when he registers the anger and distress on his father's face. FATHER Come down now! His father's unnatural anxiety makes the next bay even more tantalizing. The boy considers defying his father. He puts his hand on the rock above him to stretch up and sneak a peek at the other side. One good stretch would do it. FATHER (reading Truman's mind, enraged) No! TRUMAN Why? What's there? FATHER (unconvincing) Nothing. It's... it's dangerous. (trace of desperation) Come down, now! Please! Truman is suddenly aware that the hundreds of other BEACHGOERS have stopped their activities to stare at him. Reluctantly, he starts to retrace his steps down the rocks. When he finally jumps to the sand, his father embraces him and leads him away. FATHER I told you to stay close. Don't ever leave my sight again. (pause) You've got to know your limitations. You could've fallen. INT. TRUMAN'S CAR - DOWNTOWN SEAHAVEN - MORNING - PRESENT Through his car window, TRUMAN buys a cup of coffee from a streetside VENDOR. VENDOR How are ya, Truman? TRUMAN (placing his fingers to his pulse) Vital signs are good. He pulls into a parking space and sips on the coffee. And he drinks, he becomes aware of a school bell summoning children to class in the adjacent Elementary School. The image prompts another childhood memory. PLAYBACK - INT. SEAHAVEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - CLASSROOM - DAY Once again, the flashback appears to be playing on a television screen. SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TRUMAN sits in the middle rrow of an Elementary School classroom surrounded by twenty-or-so othegr well- scrubbed, uniformed YOUNGSTERS. MARLON, the boy next to Truman, is on his feet under the scrutiny of a kindly Norman Rockwell- style SCHOOL MISTRESS. MISTRESS What do you want to do when you grow up, Marlon? MARLON I want to be an entrepreneur like my dad. SCHOOL MISTRESS (impressed) Tell the class what an "entrepreneur" does, Marlon. MARLON He makes a lot of money, Ma'am. SCHOOL MISTRESS A good one does, Marlon. (looking in her purse, hamming it up) Perhaps I'll be coming to you for a loan one of these days. The Class titters. Marlon sits down and winks to Truman. SCHOOL MISTRESS What about you, Truman? Truman rises to his feet, gathering his nerve. TRUMAN I want to be an explorer... (with reverence) ... like Magellan. The School Mistress smiles benevolently. SCHOOL MISTRESS (slightly condescending) I'm afraid no one's going to pay you to do that, Truman. You might have to find something a little more practical. (glancing to a pulldown wall map behind her head) Besides, you're too late. There's really nothing left to explore. The class roars with laughter as the crestfallen Truman takes his seat. EXT. PARKING LOT - DAY - PRESENT TRUMAN, briefcase in hand, crosses from the parking lot to the town square, surrounded by similarly suited, briefcase-toting OFFICE WORKERS. EXT. DOWNTOWN SEAHAVEN - DAY TRUMAN walks briskly down the bustling city street. A snarl of taxis, buses and COMMUTER traffic. A STREET VENDOR thrusts a pretzel under Truman's nose, a CAREER WOMAN tries to catch his eye. Truman stops at a kiosk and buys a newspaper -- "THE ISLAND TIMES." VENDOR Is that all for you, Truman? TRUMAN That's all. Thanks, Errol. Other CUSTOMERS also purchase the morning paper. Tucking his copy under his arm, Truman selects a glossy magazine from a rack, quickly flicking through the pages. Glancing in the direction of the NEWSPAPER VENDOR and finding him busy with another CUSTOMER, Truman deftly tears a portion of the open page and pockets the cutting. He hastily replaces the magazine and departs. As Truman hurries away, the vendor exits the kiosk and picks up the magazine, instantly turning to the torn page. It is a cosmetics advertisement with the MODEL'S NOSE missing. However, the vendor makes no effort to confront Truman, almost as if he were expecting it. EXT. SEAHAVEN LIFE AND ACCIDENT. INC - DAY Truman passes along a row of shops and...
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