LORD OF ILLUSION

CHAPTER 12

EXT. MAGIC SHOP - HOLLYWOOD BLVD. - DAY NOON:

Bright sun. Busy street. Harry, now wearing a bandage on his cut face, enters.

INT. MAGIC SHOP - DAY :

A wonderland for illusionists. Books, props, masks, tricks, etc. Two or three CUSTOMERS browse. Harry glances at them all, then targets a MAN in late middle age, who is browsing through books, one-handed. His other hand constantly manipulates a card, concealing and revealing it in a dozen ways. He doesn't even look at his hand. His name is WALTER WILDER.

Harry stands beside him. Scans the shelf. HARRY Where'd you learn that? WILDER What? HARRY (points) That. WILDER At birth. I don't know you -- HARRY Harry D'Amour. WILDER I know all the kids coming up. Got to stay ahead of the game. But I don't know you. HARRY I'm in from New York. I came to see Swann.

WILDER What a tragedy. It was just a matter of time, of course, but it's not good for the business. HARRY Was he taking a lot of risks? WILDER You don't know the half of it. I'm Walter Wilder, by the way. HARRY Not the Walter Wilder? Walter beams. WILDER The one and only. He hands Harry a card. WILDER Want to try? Harry tries to emulate Wilder's card manipulation through the rest of this conversation.

WILDER You know Vinovich? HARRY (not a clue) Sure. Vivovich. WILDER He knew Swann way back. He says there were a lot of drugs, a lot of crazy shit. HARRY I'd love to... you know... hang with some of you guys. WILDER People are pretty cagey. Who do you know? HARRY For what? WILDER For an introduction.

HARRY Well... nobody. Wilder takes a moment to assess Harry, who is attempting to manipulate the card he's been given with charming ineptitude. WILDER (magnanimously) You do now.

EXT. MAGIC CASTLE - DUSK :

The castle is faux, of course, but it has a Gothic charm. Harry and Walter wander towards the front door. Harry is knotting a newly-bought tie. HARRY I only wear ties for funerals. WILDER You don't get in without one. It's like a gentlemen's club for illusionists. Except most of us aren't gentlemen.

INT. MAGIC CASTLE - CORRIDORS - NIGHT :

The interior is murky and atmospheric, the walls covered with illusionists' posters. Walter leads the way through the long corridors, past rooms where illusionists are performing close-up magic for audiences of well-heeled patrons. Walter nods and waves to half a dozen people on their way through the house, up the stairs and towards the bar.

HARRY Are they all in the business? WILDER It's not a business. Harry. It's a vocation. Wilder points to a locked door. WILDER That's what they call the Repository. Every magic secret known to man's locked up in that room. HARRY Have you been in? WILDER No. There's only three keys. Vinovich has got one, of course. (beat) He's a little crazy, by the way. And he's a mean drunk. Otherwise, he's a real charmer. CUT TO

INT. MAGIC CASTLE - BAR - NIGHT:

Later. A drunken VINOVICH is holding court. He's in his 40's: a flamboyant and loquacious man with a heavy (and fake) middle-European accent. At the table - besides Harry and Walter - are: Vinovich's starlet/nymphet girlfriend LAURA; an Asian-American illusionist called BILLY WHO; and two of Vinovich's adoring courtiers, an overblown, overdressed female illusionist - DEBRA DEVINE - and a thin, waspish fellow in a spangly suit: the AMAZING QUENTIN.

In the conversation that follows we go back to Harry repeatedly as he studies this extraordinary group. VINOVICH It's more than entertainment. We're opening people's heads up. Putting miracles back into their boring little lives. BILLY But they're fake miracles. VINOVICH Houdini believed he had spirit guides.

HARRY You believe that? VINOVICH I think we walk a narrow path, between... between... HARRY Heaven and Hell? Vinovich stares hard at Harry, trying to figure out whether he's being sarcastic or not. VINOVICH Trickery and divinity. HARRY Are you saying that sometimes the miracles are real? VINOVICH No. I'm saying they were always fake. The saints, the messiahs, they were just illusionists. HARRY So could you walk on water? VINOVICH (deadly serious)

I could reproduce any miracle that's ever been performed, with a little preparation. HARRY What about Swann's miracles? The smug smile on Vinovich's face dies. Furtive glances are exchanged around the table.

Only Billy Who makes a tiny smile. VINOVICH They weren't worth a damn. HARRY (goading) I heard he was the best. VINOVICH If he was so good why's he so dead? Vinovich begins to look suspicious. HARRY You tell me. No? I thought you'd maybe have a theory. VINOVICH Oh, I've got plenty.

HARRY I'd like to hear them. Vinovich rises. VINOVICH I'm not saying another word. (to Wilder) You damn fool. He's a journalist. HARRY Just tell me about Swann. Or are you too scared? VINOVICH He was a freak. Everything he did was tainted. Harry rises. Looks straight at Vinovich, unintimidated. HARRY With what? VINOVICH Evil. He was evil. (to Laura) Come on. She rises. VINOVICH (to the rest) Say nothing to this man if you wish to keep my company.

He stalks away. Harry calls after him, across a now- silenced bar. HARRY Great accent, by the way. Is it Brooklyn? VINOVICH (pure Brooklyn) Fuck you.

EXT. MAGIC CASTLE - PARKING LOT - NIGHT :

Harry heads to the car. BILLY (V.O.) Harry! Harry turns. Billy approaches, glancing behind him to see that he's not being watched. BILLY I gotta be careful. If Vinovich sees me talking to you. He's an asshole, but he's a powerful asshole. HARRY They go together. BILLY (lowered voice) I've heard a name.

Someone they talk about in whispers. HARRY Who? BILLY Nix. HARRY Nix? BILLY Like in nothing. Nobody. Nix. HARRY Who is he? BILLY I think maybe he taught Swann. (hands Harry a card) This is me. See ya around. Billy hurries away.