The Big Easy

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Hump Day. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 24 of SPIRAL, adult film star Savannah and her stylist Dex travel to New Orleans, where she's scheduled to 'feature dance' at a strip club. Meanwhile, back in LA, Andy has a hard time dealing with their absence ...


EXT. CHURCH / NEW ORLEANS - DAY
A lovely old Catholic church
on Bourbon street.

It's hot and muggy.
Heat rises off the pavement.

A WHITE LIMOUSINE is parked in front.
It's decorated with colorful ribbons,
balloons, and a big sign on the tail
which reads "Forever and Ever."

The church doors FLY OPEN,
and a happy pair of NEWLYWEDS
down the steps.

MEMBERS OF THE WEDDING PARTY
flow out of the church, smiling,
waving, laughing, throwing rice.

The newlyweds JUMP into the limo,
which SPEEDS OFF amidst much
CHEERING and celebration.

EXT. HOTEL ENTRANCE - DAY
Across the street, a
BLACK SUPER-STRETCH LIMOUSINE
pulls up and stops in front of
an older, slightly seedy hotel.

Shannon and Dex pile out of the limo.
Shannon looks extremely out of place
in her white fur coat.

She lights a cigarette,
takes a deep drag.

SHANNON
Fucking non-smoking limo.

DEX
God is it fucking hot.

Shannon and Dex walk into the hotel.

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY
They walk through the quiet lobby,
footsteps echoing on the marble floor.

SHANNON
I need room service.

DEX
I need to get laid.

INT. KITCHEN - MAGIC
Andy sits on the gourmet island.
He hangs up the phone.

ANDY
They're probably at fucking church.

He angrily SNORTS a bump of coke,
then hops off the island
and walks out of the kitchen.

EXT. TERRACE - MAGIC
He stands on the terrace with a beer,
looks at the twinkling lights
of the cars and houses far below.

He SNORTS another bump.

ANDY (V.O.)
It got harder and harder for me
when they were out of town.
It seemed like hanging out
with Shannon and Dex was my whole life.
Hell, it was my whole life.
I was bored out of my skull
in the fucking mansion, work was shit,
and everybody else seemed like,
they were fucking boring,
ordinary, stupid.
(beat)
Of course I was doing enough cocaine
to kick-start Godzilla.
And who's gonna party with Godzilla
when the Fifty Foot Woman
and King Kong're out of town?

EXT. HOTEL ROOM BALCONY - NIGHT
Shannon sits out on the wrought iron
balcony outside her hotel room.

She watches the street traffic.
On a table lie an empty mirror
with a straw and a glass of water.

A jazz band faintly plays
in the distance.

A car HONKS.

Shannon wipes her forehead
with her sleeve.

A nearby door SLAMS.
Raised voices in the distance,
an argument.

She reaches over and dips her finger
in a glass of water and
brings it to her nose.

She INHALES the water in one nostril.
Then the other.

She leans back, closes her eyes.
Rubs her finger over her gums.

SHANNON
Doesn't this town
ever fucking cool down?