The House That Jack Built for Samantha
Today I got a copy of the script from The House That Jack Built and it was an absolute treasure trove of Skew!!! Here are some scenes which are very different from what we saw in the final episode. The altered scenes gave the episode and entirely different flavor and are ripe with plot bunnies!!!
Jack is more straightfoward in this about his wants and wishes than he was in the final version. It's interesting in that it gives him a bit of vulnerabilty in the episode that he didn't have in the televised version. And it also makes his feelings for Sam much clearer.
*****************************************
This part deals with Sam & John a bit but it sort of is interesting and not too romantic IMHO.
John is talking about why he kissed Sam in front of Grace's house - haven't added it but at the house he had to tell her during the kiss to smile and laugh because she was too stunned to react.
26 INT VCTF - COMMAND CENTER - DAY (DAY 3)
Cabin fever has set in. George, Rich, Morgan , Grace, John,
Sam and Bailey sit around the conference table. In the b.g. we hear the MEANINGLESS CACIOHONY of a daytime game show being played on the monitors.
JOHN
It just came to me. What with your
romance with Coop making Jack crazy,
and knowing that he was probably
watching us. I fugred "what the
hell," go for it.
(to Sam)
Actually, I kind of enjoyed it.
SAM
(good natured)
You're a sick and lonely man, John.
*****************************************
*****************************************
38 INT JOHN'S CABIN - DAY
Cuddling in front of the fire.
JOHN
More wine?
As John crosses to get the wine, Sam's cellular RINGS.
SAM
Hello?
JACK'S VOICE
You know I won't stand for this.
SAM
Jack.
*****************************************
This is a bit different in that Sam goes into the cabin. Also Jack is more blatant in his disapproval.
*****************************************
39 INT FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN - CONTINUOUS
SARA
(reading through binoculars)
Jack.
BAILEY
Contact.
In the rear, George dials through the cellular frequencies, zeroes in:
SARA
(as Sam speaks)
What do you want?
40 INT JOHN'S CABIN - CONTINUOUS
JACK'S VOICE
I... I truly believe, Samantha... I'm
the man of your dreams.
(heartfelt)
All I want, all I ever wanted is for
you to come to me freely... Give
yourself to me... tell me what I know
you believe in your heart.
SAM
(playing along)
Which is?
JACK'S VOICE
That compared to me, every other man
on the planet is a vague irrelevance.
*****************************************
WOW! I mean wow! It's what all of us skewers have suspected, but finally seeing it in print!!!
*****************************************
It gets weird here, scene 41 - 43, they're planning on Sam having a meet with Jack but they never show her discussing it and it was odd them leaving it hanging with a statement like Jack made. It gets even weirder because Sam has John with her on part of the wild goose chase through scene 43 then he mysteriously vanishes until later in the script.
*****************************************
44 EXT URBAN STREET - DAY
Deserted, weekend street, empty boxes, newspapers sweep by,
clog the gutters. Sam stands at a phone booth alone with the
phone receiver.
SAM
(into phone)
What now?
JACK'S VOICE
Now we meet... my sweet. Are you ready?
*****************************************
Small groan at the rhyme but serialboy does like the odd turn of phrase.
*****************************************
45 ANGLE - DOWN A STREET - PAY PHONE
CLOSE ON Jack's HANDS, the KEYS, Jack's LIPS.
JACK
Corner of Logan and Meridian Street,
on hour. Please come alone. I hope
you're aware of how vulnerable my love for you is making me.
SAM (ON PHONE)
I'll be there.
*****************************************
Jack expressing love for Sam, albeit indirectly, this is a HUGE moment. And it's also interesting to consider whether he's sincere about that love making him vulnerable or if he's mocking her. Either way makes it interesting. And he loves her! SQUEE!
*****************************************
46 ESTABLISHING SHOT
*****************************************
47 INT. EMPTY PRESS ROOM - NIGHT
Some sort of machine makes an unsettling racket. We FOLLOW
Sam as she takes tentative steps into the room. Something
moves! A cat yelps and jumps. Sam spins but there's
nothing there. HEAR Jack's voice BOOMING. A shadow moves,
steps out.
JACK
Samantha.
Sam turns. She can't see anything in the dark but a man's
shape.
SAM
I want you to leave my friends alone.
JACK
And what about what I want?
SAM
I'm here.
There's a beat of silence.
JACK
If your friends are listening it
doesn't matter. It won't do them any good.
SAM
It's just you and me.
*****************************************
The bit about leaving her friends alone made me giggle. I mean seriously, are you really gonna go up against serialboy, stomp your foot like a teenage girl and say leave my friends alone? Just my humble opinion.
*****************************************
49 The various shots of John and Bailey and the swat team from the show.
*****************************************
50 INT. PRESS ROOM - CONTINUOUS
JACK
Samantha -- If your friends are
listening it doesn't matter. It
won't do them any good. I'll show
you. I can be your lover, your
husband, your friend. And I'll be a
good daddy to Chloe. Gr...
SAM
(involuntary; strong)
No!
JACK
No?
(back away)
That is, just "no?"
*****************************************
This is such a huge moment! Jack telling her what he wants to be in her life! The show never was clear about this but in this scene it was crystal clear. Of course the mention of her brat is what set Samantha off, but then if I were her, I'd think it sounded great up until that point too ;o) Just wow!
*****************************************
51 - 52 More of the shots of John and Bailey as seen in the show.
*****************************************
53 INT. PRESS ROOM - CONTINUOUS
SAM
You're changing, aren't you? You
don't know what you want anymore.
There is silence. Jack takes out a sharp blade, that
shines even in the darkness. He extends it into a shaft
of light near Sam. She still can't make out his face.
JACK
Don't do that. Don't look inside my
head. I want you to get away from
that man, those people. You're mine.
I'm not yours. Don't...
Jack suddenly hears something, jumps back into the deeper
shadows.
*****************************************
I think of all the script changes, this was probably one of the best and worst to drop. On the one hand, I think Jack would like her analyzing him so him telling her not to look inside his head doesn't quite ring true. But do rather like that he says she's his and not the reverse. Very much in keeping with his trying to control the relationship on all levels.
*****************************************
Jack disappears, there's a shot of night vision binoculars of Sam as he makes his escape or rather the impostor Jack who was there physically while being voiced by the real Jack. Jack doesn't try cut the light so it falls near Sam like he did on the show. Things follow the final script seen on tv roughly, although there is some Jack vision throughout the VCTF, which never was in the televised episode.
*****************************************
When John is in Kostos' clutches, a small bit of dialogue that wasn't in the show that I thought merited being here if for no other reason than it presents Jack with an interesting challenge. John had one of the crystal chips put in his head and Kostos kidnapped him while Jack is watching from a taxi.
79 INT. A RATTY, CLUTTERED HOUSE - DAY
Light streaks through grimy windows. John is tied to a
chair amid bric-a-brac and chaos. A jumble of newspapers
and fast food containers, but also a prodigious number of
guns.... all neatly racked and shining with oil.
The MAN from the factory (ANDRE KOSTOS), looking very much
like the MRI image, is carefully loading his own ammo at a
work table. A multi-channel radio scanner sits on the
table, repeatedly surfing frequencies... flashing LED's,
sputtering quietly with STATIC and CHOPPY police calls.
Kostos turns as John MOANS and comes to. Kostos speaks with
a flat, matter-of-face, almost friendly tone. (His voice
is not the same as from the factory.)
KOSTOS
Looks like you don't get the girl
after all. Sorry.
Kostos sounds sincere, almost gentle. He pulls a
formidable hunting knife out of the wooden table, crossing.
John shakes the cobwebs out of his head, involuntarily
shrinking from the steel as Kostos lays the flat of
the knife along John's cheek.
JOHN
Hi there, Jack. Frankly, this is
kind of a let down.
Kostos smiles VERY slightly, not gloating, fully award of
the power of his positions... even being gently about it.
KOSTOS
Why's that?
JOHN
Al I get is a knife? A plain, old
garden variety knife. You're usually
more inventive. A knife is - dull.
Kostos regards the blade as if to assess the validity of
John's appraisal. He shakes his head to sincerely disagree.
KOSTOS
Actually, no.. A blade gives me a lot
more options than a gun.
(beat)
Did you know human flesh cuts more
easily than a grade A filet mignon.
JOHN
Lousy with a baked potato, sourcream
and chives, though
Again, Kostos shows his faint sincere smile, nodding.
KOSTOS
Funny.
*****************************************
The scene then continues with the bit about dropping the fearless routine and follows the script except for after the first photo, John asks who they're for and Kostos says they're for Sam. John asks him who he was talking to, referring to Jack on the phone as the calvary descends and kills Kostos.
*****************************************
79 CONTINUED
Bailey rolls Kostos over, and produces a small photo of the
MRI face, holding it up for comparison, nods.
BAILEY
Jack... sorry we had to nip your
career in the bud.
(turns)
You can close this chapter of your
life, Sam. And good riddance.
*****************************************
I so can see Bailey making a bad pun like that and thinking that Sam can just move on in two seconds like that. He's bright but a bit blind when it comes to her.
*****************************************
The whole bit about Jack having a partner and then things follow along pretty closely to the final version, except for a bit at the convent. This is a small tidbit from when they're in Jack's lair, this is just before he unleashes the acid.
93 INT JACK'S LAIR
They hear a clanking, O.S.. They freeze.
JOHN
Behind that bookcase.
Bailey and John move to slide the bookcase as Sam watches.
As they push it aside, it reveals a small hole in the wall.
Sam moves up to it.
94 SAM'S POV - THROUGH HOLE
Mr. Carruthers (Jack) in shadow, turns to face her.
JACK
Goodbye, Sam.
And he turns the standpipe. We hear a liquid HISS.
*****************************************
From here things are somewhat different, Sam throws some things into a bed sheet to try and save evidence. And after a minute or so the acid has eaten through the wallpaper to reveal a doorway which had been sealed very loosely in wallpaper and lathe that they then break through with Jack's chair.
I think it's evidence that Jack had planned the acid to destroy evidence and buy time as opposed to injuring Sam, he had to have known there was a concealed doorway and perhaps concealed it himself. I also think that it adds a level of dark intimacy that he faced her as he said goodbye.
Beyond this, the only other real change is that on the show the medical license which may or may not have been Jack's, is said to be from the 60's and on the show it was changed to the 70's - probably a good change since DC was born in 1955 and would have been a teenager at the most in the 60's.
*****************************************
I'm so thrilled with this script and will try to share some major revelations from Venom Part 2 later tonight or tomorrow because Jack tells Sam in it when and where he first saw her!!! Thank you roman_romantic for the wonderful Profiler scripts! It's a wonderful present :D
Jack is more straightfoward in this about his wants and wishes than he was in the final version. It's interesting in that it gives him a bit of vulnerabilty in the episode that he didn't have in the televised version. And it also makes his feelings for Sam much clearer.
*****************************************
This part deals with Sam & John a bit but it sort of is interesting and not too romantic IMHO.
John is talking about why he kissed Sam in front of Grace's house - haven't added it but at the house he had to tell her during the kiss to smile and laugh because she was too stunned to react.
26 INT VCTF - COMMAND CENTER - DAY (DAY 3)
Cabin fever has set in. George, Rich, Morgan , Grace, John,
Sam and Bailey sit around the conference table. In the b.g. we hear the MEANINGLESS CACIOHONY of a daytime game show being played on the monitors.
JOHN
It just came to me. What with your
romance with Coop making Jack crazy,
and knowing that he was probably
watching us. I fugred "what the
hell," go for it.
(to Sam)
Actually, I kind of enjoyed it.
SAM
(good natured)
You're a sick and lonely man, John.
*****************************************
*****************************************
38 INT JOHN'S CABIN - DAY
Cuddling in front of the fire.
JOHN
More wine?
As John crosses to get the wine, Sam's cellular RINGS.
SAM
Hello?
JACK'S VOICE
You know I won't stand for this.
SAM
Jack.
*****************************************
This is a bit different in that Sam goes into the cabin. Also Jack is more blatant in his disapproval.
*****************************************
39 INT FBI SURVEILLANCE VAN - CONTINUOUS
SARA
(reading through binoculars)
Jack.
BAILEY
Contact.
In the rear, George dials through the cellular frequencies, zeroes in:
SARA
(as Sam speaks)
What do you want?
40 INT JOHN'S CABIN - CONTINUOUS
JACK'S VOICE
I... I truly believe, Samantha... I'm
the man of your dreams.
(heartfelt)
All I want, all I ever wanted is for
you to come to me freely... Give
yourself to me... tell me what I know
you believe in your heart.
SAM
(playing along)
Which is?
JACK'S VOICE
That compared to me, every other man
on the planet is a vague irrelevance.
*****************************************
WOW! I mean wow! It's what all of us skewers have suspected, but finally seeing it in print!!!
*****************************************
It gets weird here, scene 41 - 43, they're planning on Sam having a meet with Jack but they never show her discussing it and it was odd them leaving it hanging with a statement like Jack made. It gets even weirder because Sam has John with her on part of the wild goose chase through scene 43 then he mysteriously vanishes until later in the script.
*****************************************
44 EXT URBAN STREET - DAY
Deserted, weekend street, empty boxes, newspapers sweep by,
clog the gutters. Sam stands at a phone booth alone with the
phone receiver.
SAM
(into phone)
What now?
JACK'S VOICE
Now we meet... my sweet. Are you ready?
*****************************************
Small groan at the rhyme but serialboy does like the odd turn of phrase.
*****************************************
45 ANGLE - DOWN A STREET - PAY PHONE
CLOSE ON Jack's HANDS, the KEYS, Jack's LIPS.
JACK
Corner of Logan and Meridian Street,
on hour. Please come alone. I hope
you're aware of how vulnerable my love for you is making me.
SAM (ON PHONE)
I'll be there.
*****************************************
Jack expressing love for Sam, albeit indirectly, this is a HUGE moment. And it's also interesting to consider whether he's sincere about that love making him vulnerable or if he's mocking her. Either way makes it interesting. And he loves her! SQUEE!
*****************************************
46 ESTABLISHING SHOT
*****************************************
47 INT. EMPTY PRESS ROOM - NIGHT
Some sort of machine makes an unsettling racket. We FOLLOW
Sam as she takes tentative steps into the room. Something
moves! A cat yelps and jumps. Sam spins but there's
nothing there. HEAR Jack's voice BOOMING. A shadow moves,
steps out.
JACK
Samantha.
Sam turns. She can't see anything in the dark but a man's
shape.
SAM
I want you to leave my friends alone.
JACK
And what about what I want?
SAM
I'm here.
There's a beat of silence.
JACK
If your friends are listening it
doesn't matter. It won't do them any good.
SAM
It's just you and me.
*****************************************
The bit about leaving her friends alone made me giggle. I mean seriously, are you really gonna go up against serialboy, stomp your foot like a teenage girl and say leave my friends alone? Just my humble opinion.
*****************************************
49 The various shots of John and Bailey and the swat team from the show.
*****************************************
50 INT. PRESS ROOM - CONTINUOUS
JACK
Samantha -- If your friends are
listening it doesn't matter. It
won't do them any good. I'll show
you. I can be your lover, your
husband, your friend. And I'll be a
good daddy to Chloe. Gr...
SAM
(involuntary; strong)
No!
JACK
No?
(back away)
That is, just "no?"
*****************************************
This is such a huge moment! Jack telling her what he wants to be in her life! The show never was clear about this but in this scene it was crystal clear. Of course the mention of her brat is what set Samantha off, but then if I were her, I'd think it sounded great up until that point too ;o) Just wow!
*****************************************
51 - 52 More of the shots of John and Bailey as seen in the show.
*****************************************
53 INT. PRESS ROOM - CONTINUOUS
SAM
You're changing, aren't you? You
don't know what you want anymore.
There is silence. Jack takes out a sharp blade, that
shines even in the darkness. He extends it into a shaft
of light near Sam. She still can't make out his face.
JACK
Don't do that. Don't look inside my
head. I want you to get away from
that man, those people. You're mine.
I'm not yours. Don't...
Jack suddenly hears something, jumps back into the deeper
shadows.
*****************************************
I think of all the script changes, this was probably one of the best and worst to drop. On the one hand, I think Jack would like her analyzing him so him telling her not to look inside his head doesn't quite ring true. But do rather like that he says she's his and not the reverse. Very much in keeping with his trying to control the relationship on all levels.
*****************************************
Jack disappears, there's a shot of night vision binoculars of Sam as he makes his escape or rather the impostor Jack who was there physically while being voiced by the real Jack. Jack doesn't try cut the light so it falls near Sam like he did on the show. Things follow the final script seen on tv roughly, although there is some Jack vision throughout the VCTF, which never was in the televised episode.
*****************************************
When John is in Kostos' clutches, a small bit of dialogue that wasn't in the show that I thought merited being here if for no other reason than it presents Jack with an interesting challenge. John had one of the crystal chips put in his head and Kostos kidnapped him while Jack is watching from a taxi.
79 INT. A RATTY, CLUTTERED HOUSE - DAY
Light streaks through grimy windows. John is tied to a
chair amid bric-a-brac and chaos. A jumble of newspapers
and fast food containers, but also a prodigious number of
guns.... all neatly racked and shining with oil.
The MAN from the factory (ANDRE KOSTOS), looking very much
like the MRI image, is carefully loading his own ammo at a
work table. A multi-channel radio scanner sits on the
table, repeatedly surfing frequencies... flashing LED's,
sputtering quietly with STATIC and CHOPPY police calls.
Kostos turns as John MOANS and comes to. Kostos speaks with
a flat, matter-of-face, almost friendly tone. (His voice
is not the same as from the factory.)
KOSTOS
Looks like you don't get the girl
after all. Sorry.
Kostos sounds sincere, almost gentle. He pulls a
formidable hunting knife out of the wooden table, crossing.
John shakes the cobwebs out of his head, involuntarily
shrinking from the steel as Kostos lays the flat of
the knife along John's cheek.
JOHN
Hi there, Jack. Frankly, this is
kind of a let down.
Kostos smiles VERY slightly, not gloating, fully award of
the power of his positions... even being gently about it.
KOSTOS
Why's that?
JOHN
Al I get is a knife? A plain, old
garden variety knife. You're usually
more inventive. A knife is - dull.
Kostos regards the blade as if to assess the validity of
John's appraisal. He shakes his head to sincerely disagree.
KOSTOS
Actually, no.. A blade gives me a lot
more options than a gun.
(beat)
Did you know human flesh cuts more
easily than a grade A filet mignon.
JOHN
Lousy with a baked potato, sourcream
and chives, though
Again, Kostos shows his faint sincere smile, nodding.
KOSTOS
Funny.
*****************************************
The scene then continues with the bit about dropping the fearless routine and follows the script except for after the first photo, John asks who they're for and Kostos says they're for Sam. John asks him who he was talking to, referring to Jack on the phone as the calvary descends and kills Kostos.
*****************************************
79 CONTINUED
Bailey rolls Kostos over, and produces a small photo of the
MRI face, holding it up for comparison, nods.
BAILEY
Jack... sorry we had to nip your
career in the bud.
(turns)
You can close this chapter of your
life, Sam. And good riddance.
*****************************************
I so can see Bailey making a bad pun like that and thinking that Sam can just move on in two seconds like that. He's bright but a bit blind when it comes to her.
*****************************************
The whole bit about Jack having a partner and then things follow along pretty closely to the final version, except for a bit at the convent. This is a small tidbit from when they're in Jack's lair, this is just before he unleashes the acid.
93 INT JACK'S LAIR
They hear a clanking, O.S.. They freeze.
JOHN
Behind that bookcase.
Bailey and John move to slide the bookcase as Sam watches.
As they push it aside, it reveals a small hole in the wall.
Sam moves up to it.
94 SAM'S POV - THROUGH HOLE
Mr. Carruthers (Jack) in shadow, turns to face her.
JACK
Goodbye, Sam.
And he turns the standpipe. We hear a liquid HISS.
*****************************************
From here things are somewhat different, Sam throws some things into a bed sheet to try and save evidence. And after a minute or so the acid has eaten through the wallpaper to reveal a doorway which had been sealed very loosely in wallpaper and lathe that they then break through with Jack's chair.
I think it's evidence that Jack had planned the acid to destroy evidence and buy time as opposed to injuring Sam, he had to have known there was a concealed doorway and perhaps concealed it himself. I also think that it adds a level of dark intimacy that he faced her as he said goodbye.
Beyond this, the only other real change is that on the show the medical license which may or may not have been Jack's, is said to be from the 60's and on the show it was changed to the 70's - probably a good change since DC was born in 1955 and would have been a teenager at the most in the 60's.
*****************************************
I'm so thrilled with this script and will try to share some major revelations from Venom Part 2 later tonight or tomorrow because Jack tells Sam in it when and where he first saw her!!! Thank you roman_romantic for the wonderful Profiler scripts! It's a wonderful present :D