Chameleon: The True Story of Ted Bundy A film by Brian Lee Tucker Final draft / December 2014 [email protected] 1 BLACK SCREEN WITH THE TITLES: “Sometimes I feel like a vampire…I just can’t help myself.” - Ted Bundy FADE IN INT. FLORIDA STATE PRISON – BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA – 1989 – DAY {Special Agent WILLIAM HAGMAIER sits in a small interrogation room with TED BUNDY, conducting the last interview with TED he would give before his execution. TED seems a little nervous and fidgety but otherwise friendly and compliant, wearing a big smile.} WH: It is about 2:30 in the afternoon. You are scheduled to be executed tomorrow morning at 7:00, if you don’t receive another stay. What is going through your mind? What thoughts have you had in these last few days? TED: I won’t kid you to say it is something I feel I’m in control of or have come to terms with. It’s a moment- by-moment thing. Sometimes I feel very tranquil and other times I don’t feel tranquil at all. What’s going through my mind right now is to use the minutes and hours I have left as fruitfully as possible. It helps to live in the moment, in the essence that we use it productively. Right now I’m feeling 2 calm, in large part because I’m here with you. WH: For the record, you are guilty of killing many women and girls. TED: Yes, that’s true. WH: How did it happen? Take me back. What are the antecedents of the behavior that we’ve seen? You were raised in what you consider to be a healthy home. You were not physically, sexually or emotionally abused. TED: No. And that’s part of the tragedy of this whole situation. I grew up in a wonderful home with two dedicated and loving parents, as one of 5 brothers and sisters. We, as children, were the focus of my parent’s lives. We regularly attended church. My parents did not drink or smoke or gamble. There was no physical abuse or fighting in the home. I’m not saying it was “Leave it to Beaver”, but it was a fine, solid Christian home. I hope no one will try to take the easy way out of this and accuse my family of contributing to this. I know, and I’m trying to tell you as honestly as I know how, what happened... 3 DISSOLVE TO INT. THE HOME OF SAMUEL AND ELEANOR COWELL – PHILADELPHIA – 1956 – DAY {A ten year old TED BUNDY sits in the middle of the living room floor wrapping up newspapers for his paper route. His grandfather, SAMUEL, walks in to see the mess in the floor and flies into a fit of rage. He is a tyrannical bully and a bigot who hates blacks, Italians, Catholics, and Jews, beats his wife and the family dog, and has swung neighborhood cats by their tails in the past.} SAMUEL: Damn it! Look at this mess! Haven’t I told you not to wrap your papers in here?! {TED looks petrified, tears welling up in his eyes.} TED: Yes, daddy. SAMUEL: Then take this mess to your bedroom, now! {TED begins picking up the mess when his mother, LOUISE, walks in, glaring at her father hatefully.} LOUISE: {to SAMUEL} it’s bad enough he thinks you are his father, do you have to be so mean to him? 4 SAMUEL: {whispering} then you shouldn’t have gotten knocked up by some bum who left you high and dry, huh? LOUISE: Go to hell, Samuel Cowell. SAMUEL: {glaring hatefully} I’m already there. EXT. TED’S PAPER ROUTE – DAY {TED has just finished his route and is on his way home when he passes an open TRASH CAN and glances at it and comes to a halt. He peeks inside and sees several PORNOGRAPHIC MAGAZINES and pulls them out, seeming instantly captivated by them and by the lurid pictures on the cover. He tucks them into his jacket and climbs back on his bike and pedals away.} INT. TED’S BEDROOM – NIGHT {TED is sitting on his bed in his underwear, using a flashlight to look at the magazines in the dark. His eyes wide in awe at the violent images, he lowers one hand down into his underwear, tugging at his penis and working himself up into his first sexual frenzy.} TIGHT SHOT OF MAGAZINE {It contains images of a NAKED WOMAN who has been tied to a bed on her hands 5 and knees being lashed with a bull whip by a NAKED OLDER MAN.} EXT. THE PAPER ROUTE – DAY {TED has stopped by the same trash can again and opens the lid to see more HADRCORE, VIOLENT MAGAZINES inside. Glancing around to see if anyone is looking, he stuffs them into his jacket again and pedals away.} INT. THE LOCAL DRUGSTORE – DAY {TED is at the magazine racks looking over hardcore magazines depicting violence and rough sex on the covers. The PHARMASIST, HAROLD PINKERTON, sees TED glancing over the ADULT section and walks over to shoo him away.} HAROLD: You’re Louise’s boy, Ted, aren’t you? {TED looks embarrassed at being caught in the ADULT section.} TED: Yes, sir. HAROLD: You shouldn’t be looking at the adult books, son. The comic books are right over there, ok? TED: Ok. {After HAROLD walks away to wait on a customer, TED shoves a couple of the 6 adult magazines down his pants and walks out.} FADE OUT FADE IN EXT. THE PAPER ROUTE – DUSK {TED is pedaling his bike toward home when he sees a COLLEGE AGED GIRL through a window of a house nearby, wearing a bathrobe as though she has just come out of the shower. She is beautiful, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. TED stops his bike and hides it in some nearby bushes and creeps over to her window to watch her dress. A moment later she drops the robe, her back to him, exposing her buttocks. He reaches down into his pants, grasping his penis, and begins masturbating furiously.} INT. THE COWELL HOME – NIGHT {EVERYONE is sitting at the dinner table eating when TED walks in from his paper route wearing a big stupid grin.} LOUISE: Where have you been? You should have been done with your paper route almost an hour ago. TED: My chain came off and I had to walk the bike over to the gas station. LOUISE: Oh my gosh; are you ok? 7 SAMUEL: Christ, woman, he’s not a baby, quit treating him like one. TED: May I be excused to go take a bath? LOUISE: Ok, honey, but hurry back before your dinner gets cold. TED: {rolling his eyes} ok, mom. {As TED leaves the room, SAMUEL shoots him a dirty look. TED’S AUNT, JULIA, sits across from SAMUEL glaring at him.} SAMUEL: What the hell are you looking at, you little whore? INT. THE COWELL HOME – LATE NIGHT {TED is asleep in his bedroom when a SOUND coming from the hallway outside his door wakes him up. He climbs out of bed and peeks out the door to see SAMUEL standing behind JULIA, forcing her to bend over the stair railing as he yanks down her panties and proceeds to sodomize her. As he stands there with her eyes full of tears and SAMUEL’S hand clamped down over her mouth, TED, instead of seeming frightened by it all, seems fascinated, almost mesmerized by it all, and even cracks a smile.} FADE OUT 8 FADE IN INT. A CHRISTIAN SINGLES DANCE IN TACOMA, WASHINGTON – 1961 – NIGHT {LOUISE is standing amongst the other SINGLE WOMEN watching the other PEOPLE dance when she notices a tall, handsome man eyeballing her from across the room. His name is JOHNNY CULPEPPER BUNDY. He motions to her to see if she wants to dance, and she blushes and nods her head yes.} INT. THE DANCE FLOOR {LOUISE and JOHNNY are slow dancing and gazing into each other’s eyes as if they’ve known each other forever. He leans in and whispers to her.} JOHNNY: You have such beautiful eyes. LOUISE: Careful; flattery might get you everywhere. JOHNNY: I hope so. LOUISE: Me, too. JOHNNY: {jokingly} did it ever cross your mind I might be a serial killer with a yen for pretty Christian singles? LOUISE: Not really. You strike me more as the Prince Charming type. JOHNNY: I have my moments. 9 LOUISE: I bet you do. {There is silence between them for a few moments.} LOUISE: My church is having a picnic this Sunday. Would you like to come? JOHNNY: That sounds like fun, I’d love to. EXT. THE CHURCH PICNIC – DAY {LOUISE and JOHNNY are sitting on a picnic table talking while TED stands alone, watching other KIDS play nearby. He looks bored and restless, as though he doesn’t want to be there. A pretty teenage BLONDE GIRL walks up to him, holding an ice cream cone.} GIRL: Want some? It’s good. TED: What? GIRL: My ice cream. You want some? TED: {forcing a smile} no thanks. GIRL: I’m Danica. TED: Ted. DANICA: You look really bored. TED: {glumly] I am. 10 DANICA: I’m supposed to be doing piano right now but I was bored so I came outside {Pause} It’ll take my Mom awhile to figure out I’m not practicing. I left my recital tape on. TED: Why? DANICA: That’s just what I felt like doing today.