SANDMAN by Neil Gaiman; screenplay exerpt by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, rejected by Warner Brothers, 1996.
Synopsis: England, 1915. BURGESS, a scholar of the occult, gets his hands on an ancient text of great power and attempts to summon Death. He is almost successful, summoning one of her family members instead...
4.
INT. BURGESS MANOR - CELLAR - NIGHT
Candles burn in the darkness. Robed figures inscribe a large
circle on the floor -- chalk white against the black stone.
Runic characters decorate it.
ACOLYTE
It is midnight, Lord Magus.
BURGESS
It is time. Elspeth, love..?
A beautiful YOUNG WOMAN nods adoringly. She crouches on all
fours at Burgess' feet.
Items are placed on her back: a ceremonial bowl, inside which
floats a human heart. A long twisted knife. A feather. Coins.
The Magdalene Grimoire. She is a human altar.
Burgess opens the book. He begins to intone, displaying the
items as he names them:
BURGESS
I give you coin I made from a stone. I
give you a song I stole from the dirt. I
give you a knife from under the hills.
And a stick I stuck through a dead man's
eye. I give you a claw I ripped from a
rat. I give you a name, and the name is
lost.
He jabs his forearm with the knife. Blood drips onto the
feather.
BURGESS (CONT'D)
I give you blood from out of my vein, and
a feather I pulled from an angel's wing.
He throws the feather into the circle.
BURGESS (CONT'D)
I summon with poison, and summon with
pain. I open the way and open the gates.
Come.
The acolytes echo the word 'Come.'
BURGESS (CONT'D)
I summon you in the names of the old
lords. Namtar. Allatu. Morax. Naberius.
Klesh. Vepar. Maymon. We summon.
The acolytes chant 'Come.'
5.
BURGESS (CONT'D)
From the dark they call you ... into the
dark they call you. Coin and song, knife
and stick ...
In the center of the circle, the air SHIMMERS --
BURGESS (CONT'D)
Claw and name, blood and feather ... Here
in the darkness ...
The air SOLIDIFIES, taking shape --
The acolytes echo 'Here in the darkness.'
BURGESS (CONT'D)
Here in the darkness, we summon you
together. COME!
There is FLASH --
-- and a black-cloaked FIGURE materializes in mid-air.
His head and face are covered by a HELM that looks like the
skull of some dead ancient god (which it is).
A large, vibrant heart-shaped RUBY adorns his neck.
A small leather POUCH hangs from one hand.
-- and then the figure collapses. He lies splayed on the
floor, in the center of the circle.
The acolytes are hushed, amazed.
ACOLYTE
We did it. I don't believe it. We did it --
BURGESS
No. We failed. This isn't Death. Damn it
to hell.
Silence from the others as Burgess considers the figure.
BURGESS
Even so ... strip him.
The Acolyte nods, reaches across the circle --
-- and SCREAMS as his arm TWISTS violently, torqued by some
unseen force. Burgess shoves him away from the circle.
BURGESS
Fool! If you'd broken the circle, he
could have escaped!
He grabs Elspeth by the hair, slashes with the knife --
6.
Elspeth's head lolls to one side. Burgess catches her before
she collapses.
ACOLYTE
My god --
Burgess lets Elspeth fall to the ground. He holds his hands
up like a surgeon. They are stained with Elspeth's blood.
Careful not to break the circle, Burgess steps close to the
captured FIGURE. With bloody hands he strips off the cloak.
He takes the ruby.
He takes the pouch.
And then he removes the helm --
The face revealed is bone white, framed by jet black hair. An
aquiline nose and high cheekbones, a face carved from finest
marble -- save the eyes. These are obsidian, deep as the
universe -- and staring directly at Burgess.
He is SANDMAN.
Burgess draws back, unsettled.
BURGESS
(shaken)
... I think, at day's end, this will have
been a very profitable evening's work.
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