SCREENPLAY>>
Wuthering
Heights
Erika Christensen as Cate
WHAT YOU NEED
TO KNOW TO READ A
SCREENPLAY
28
EXT. = exterior (EXT. CLIFFS means the scene takes place outdoors on the cliffs)
INT. = interior (INT. CAVE means the scene takes place inside the cave)
O.S. = offscreen. You hear the character’s voice, but you don’t see the character yet.
SEPTEMBER 2003 Literary Cavalcade
An updated
version of
Emily
Brontë’s
famous
novel, set to
air on MTV
this fall
T
by Max Enscoe
& Annie deYoung
HE STORY SO FAR: When Cate and her brother, Hendrix, are children, their
father, Earnshaw, returns home with an orphan named Heath whom he found in the street.
Cate and Heath take to each other immediately, but Hendrix is jealous of the love and attention Heath gets from Cate and her father. He is also jealous of Heath’s musical ability, and
the fact that Earnshaw built Heath a music studio in the barn, where Heath writes amazing
music. As they grow, Cate and Heath fall in love. Hendrix spends less and less time at home,
returning only after Earnshaw has died. Before this scene, Cate and Heath have had a huge
fight. They are reconciling after burying Earnshaw.
INT. CAVE—DAY
Cate lies in Heath’s arms.
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
I’m so sorry I’m so sorry—
Ssshhh. It’s okay.
I love you, Heath. If you ever leave me, I swear to
God I’ll kill you.
Then I’d have to kill you so we could be together.
If you kill me I’ll haunt you forever. (She finally lays her head on his lap.)
Tell me again. Where did you come from?
(Heath strokes her hair and starts in on this storytelling that’s become a
ritual for them. We get the feeling he’s told a hundred different stories.)
My father was a steel worker. He built monuments and skyscrapers. My
mother sold roses and ripe berries on the street below him. And one day the
building that he was working on collapsed. He was buried in falling brick and
steel. My mother tore at the rubble with her bare hands. And saved his life.
(Sleepily.) I like the ones where he saves her.
But that’s not what happened. The truth is,
they saved each other. (He looks down. She’s asleep.)
INT. CAVE—DAY
Sunlight nudges Heath awake. He looks down and sees Cate curled
against him. Kisses her. She opens her eyes.
HEATH
Hey.
(Cate sits up, looks out at the ocean. This moment is perfect.)
EXT. CLIFFS/THE HEIGHTS—DAY
Heath has his arm around Cate as they walk along the top of the cliffs
leading to The Heights. They hear the grind of a truck downshifting and
look up to see a tow truck barreling on the road to the lighthouse.
A sickening thought slams through Cate’s body.
Copyright (C) 2003 MTV. Used with permission.
All rights reserved. PHOTO: ©2003 MTV/LAURA MAPRUDER
continued on page 30 ➟
Literary Cavalcade SEPTEMBER 2003
29
PLAY>>
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë
➟ continued from page 29
CATE
Hendrix. (She starts running.)
EXT. THE HEIGHTS—DAY
Cate and Heath run up to the house to see the tow truck already has
Earnshaw’s pickup truck hitched to it. The tow truck starts pulling away.
20 Minute
Essay
>> TAKE 20
MINUTES TO
PLAN AND WRITE
AN ESSAY
ANSWERING THE
FOLLOWING
QUESTION:
A notable feature
of Hendrix’s character is that he
plays an electric
guitar. Heath plays
an acoustic one.
What do you think
these choices
symbolize in terms
of character? Use
examples from the
excerpt.
CATE
DRIVER
HENDRIX
CATE
HENDRIX
CATE
HENDRIX
CATE
HENDRIX
HEATH
HENDRIX
DRIVER
No! Stop STOP! (Cate races in front of the tow truck—the driver slams on the
brakes. He hangs out the window.)
Get outta the way!
(O.S.) HEY! (Hendrix strides toward them.) What do you think you’re doing?
What the hell are you doing?
I’m selling my truck.
It’s Earnshaw’s truck!
That’s right. Hendrix Earnshaw. (Pulls a document out of his back pocket.)
Hey look, it’s Daddy’s will! This says I own everything on this property.
The truck, the barn, the house . . .
You said you didn’t want this place!
It’s grown on me.
Leave the truck, Hendrix.
Hey. Shut. Up.
How about everybody shut up and tell me what I’m doing with this piece
of junk.
(Cate burns a look into Hendrix. He smiles.)
HENDRIX Leave the truck. A gift for my liddo sisty.
(The driver curses as he drops the pickup, unhitches it.)
Crazy damn family . . . (The driver climbs back in the truck and roars off.
Hendrix turns to Cate.)
HENDRIX What? No “thank you”?
CATE
What else did you give away?
HENDRIX I had to get rid of a few old things to make room for my new studio.
(Heath’s face darkens. He strides over to the barn. He stands in the open doors,
looking inside.)
Cate and
Mike Vogel
as Heath
INT. BARN/STUDIO—DAY
It’s empty. Only a few wires and cords lying around on the ground.
Heath stands in the doorway, his face showing more loss than he’s ever known.
EXT. THE HEIGHTS—DAY
Heath turns and faces Hendrix who has a wicked smile on his face.
HENDRIX I kept the guitars. The rest of it is headed for the junkyard. Where old
junk belongs. Dead and buried.
30
SEPTEMBER 2003 Literary Cavalcade
STOPWATCH: VIA SODA; ©2003 MTV/LAURA MAPRUDER
DRIVER
(Heath strides toward Hendrix, ready to kill—)
HENDRIX (Backing up.) Ah-ah. Don’t even think about it. Legally, I could throw you
off my property right now. But that would break my liddo sisty’s heart.
(Circling him, taunting.) So here’s how it’s gonna be, bro faux. You don’t sleep
in the house anymore. You can sleep outside. And Cate? I’ll let you look at her.
But if you touch her, I swear to God I’ll have you arrested.
(Heath looks over at Cate. She’s pale, shellshocked.)
HENDRIX Ah, look at her. You two are so in love, I know you’ll agree to anything I say,
right? Right?
(SLAM! Heath slams into Hendrix who is on the ground so fast he didn’t
see it coming. They tumble out the doors of the barn.)
EXT. THE HEIGHTS—DAY
HENDRIX Get off me!
(Heath sits on Hendrix, hitting his head into the ground. Then he grabs him
around the neck and starts squeezing—)
continued on page 33 ➟
MEET THE
AUTHOR:
Emily Brontë
BORN
1818 in Yorkshire,
England
LIVED
On the lonely
purple moors
EDUCATION
Mostly homeschooled
STATUS
Never married
FAMOUS SISTER
Charlotte Brontë,
author of Jane
Eyre
DIED
Of tuberculosis at
the age of 30
WUTHERING HEIGHTS RELOADED: OLD vs. NEW
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMILY BRONTË AND MTV?
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1847)
WUTHERING HEIGHTS (2003)
Time & Place
1760, Yorkshire, England
The present, coastal town, USA
Setting
A farm on the moors called Wuthering
Heights
A lighthouse perched on a cliff called
The Heights
The girl
Catherine Earnshaw, a beautiful, wild
young woman
Cate Earnshaw, a beautiful, wild young
woman
The boy
Heathcliff, a handsome orphan from the
streets of Liverpool, blindly devoted to
Catherine
Heath, a handsome orphan and a talented
musician, obsessively devoted to Cate
The brother
Hindley, Catherine’s brother who is jealous of Heathcliff
Hendrix, Cate’s dangerous brother who is
jealous of Heath’s talent
The father
Earnshaw, Hindley and Catherine’s father,
a kind farmer
Earnshaw, Hendrix and Cate’s father,
lighthouse caretaker
Literary Cavalcade SEPTEMBER 2003
31
PLAY>>
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë
➟ continued from page 31
CATE
Heath, no! It doesn’t matter! Let him go!
(Heath doesn’t let go. Horrifying moments pass as Hendrix’s face
turns red—Heath’s going to murder him.)
CATE
You’re killing him! (Tries to pull Heath off him.) Stop! YOU’RE
KILLING HIM!
(But Heath squeezes harder. Hendrix’s face starts to relax. Eyes
roll. Body limp. Cate’s hysterical, punching on Heath to stop. He
won’t let go. Cate runs to the barn, grabs a shovel leaning against
the wall. She lifts it above her head—a moment’s hesitation—then
she cracks Heath across the back. Heath flies off Hendrix. Both
bodies lie side by side, not moving.)
CATE
Oh my God . . . (She kneels next to him.) Heath . . .? Heath—
(Heath’s eyes open. Cate jumps back. Heath rolls over and gets
to his feet. They both look down at Hendrix.)
CATE
Is he dead?
(Heath kicks him in the ribs. Hendrix groans and rolls.)
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
CATE
HEATH
Stop it! (Cate drops to her knees beside Hendrix.)
C’mon. We can’t stay here.
I can’t just leave him like this.
Yes you can. Let’s go. (He pulls her up a little too hard by her arm.
She yanks her arm away.)
No! (Cate’s torn in two. She looks at Heath, tears in her eyes.
Then back at Hendrix who groans. She makes her decision.)
I don’t think you should be here when he wakes up.
He doesn’t have to wake up.
(She looks at Heath, suddenly frightened of him.) What? Are you
some kind of animal?
(Heath’s eyes go cold. He smiles bitterly.) Yeah. I’m just a stray,
remember?
(Heath steps over Hendrix, still lying unconscious in a
mud puddle. He walks to the barn. Disappears inside for a
moment and strides back out with only his acoustic guitar. He
walks past Cate and Hendrix and keeps walking, without
looking back, down the gravel road leaving The Heights.)
(Cate watches him go, expecting him to turn around any second.
But he doesn’t. She can’t believe he’s really going.) ■
Literary Cavalcade SEPTEMBER 2003
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