To Sleep with Anger

To Sleep With Anger INT. ROOM - DAY(EFX) GIDEON, a strongly built elderly black man, is sitting at a table. On the table is a large bowl of fruit. A crocheted tablecloth hangs over the side of the table. Gideon is dressed in a white suit and wearing a pair of well-polished wing-tip shoes. His hat almost covers his eyes, which are two points of greenish coals. The fruit in the bowl is engulfed in flames. The flames look as if they are DRIPPING from the tablecloth to the floor. Gideon's shoes start to SMOULDER. His shoes BURST INTO FLAMES which spread up his pants leg. His head falls forward as if he had suddenly fallen to sleep. He twiddles his thumbs very slowly in a circle. He crosses his legs as if to get comfortable. The camera moves to a CLOSE UP of his burning shoes. The image of his feet begins to appear through his shoes; the flames fade; the background changes as we DISSOLVE TO: EXT. GIDEON'S BACKYARD - DAY Gideon's bare feet are resting on reddish dry earth. Gideon is sitting in his backyard under a fruit tree with a Bible resting in his hands. His house is a small, neatly painted bungalow in South Central Los Angeles. Corn, tomatoes, other vegetables grow in the yard. Chickens scratch around. He slowly awakens; his hands are trembling. He looks around and sees the chickens. He looks up at the sky and sighs, with some relief. SUNNY, Gideon's grandson, five years old, has been watching him from the back window of the house. He leaves the window. INT.