Do Not TOUCH The Glass, Do Not APPROACH The Glass

Dr. Chilton :

Senator Martin, 

Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Sr. Martin :

Dr. Lecter.

I brought an affidavit

guaranteeing Your New Rights.

You'll want to read it before I sign.

Lecter :

……I won't waste your time or Catherine's time

bargaining for petty privileges.

Clarice Starling

and that awful Jack Crawford

have wasted far too much time already.

I only pray they haven't 

doomed the poor girl.

Let Me Help You Now,

and I Will Trust You 

when it is all over.

Sr. Martin :

You have My Word. Paul?

Lecter :

Buffalo Bill's real Name is 

Louis Friend.

I met him just once.

He was referred to me in 

April or May 1980

by My Patient Benjamin Raspail.

They were lovers, you see.

But Raspail had become very frightened.

Apparently, Louis had murdered A Transient

and done things with The Skin.

Paul :

We need his address

and a physical description.

Lecter :

Tell me, Senator,

Did You Nurse Catherine Yourself?

Sr. Martin :

What?

Lecter :

Did you breast-feed her?

Paul :

Wait a minute.

Sr. Martin :

Yes, I did.

Lecter :

Toughened your nipples, 

didn't it?

Paul :

You son of a bitch!

Lecter :

Amputate A Man's leg,

and he can still feel it tickling.

Tell me, Mom, 

when your little girl

is on The Slab, 

where will it tickle you?

Sr. Martin :

Take This Thing back to Baltimore.

Lecter :

Five-foot-ten, strongly built,

about 180 pounds.

Hair blond, eyes pale blue.

He'd be about 35 now.

He said he lived in Philadelphia

but may have lied.

That's all I can remember, Mom.

But if I think of any more,

I will let you know.

Oh, and, Senator, 

just one more thing.

LOVE Your Suit.

I graduated from UVA, Doctor.

It is not a Charm School.

Good. Then you should 

be able to remember 

The Rules.

Do Not TOUCH The Glass.

Do Not APPROACH The Glass.

You pass him nothing 

but soft paper.

No pencils or pens.

No staples or paper clips 

in his paper.

Use the sliding food carrier.

NO Exceptions.

If he attempts to pass you anything, DO NOT ACCEPT IT.

Do you Understand Me?

Human Weakness

…ah..!! You React..!

What’s going on behind those baby-blue eyes, hmm?

•Disgust•

[Dalek laboratory]

The Cosmic Hobo  : 

It took Courage to fight 

Maxtible's Turkish wrestler. 


DALEK : 

The Daleks are afraid of 

nothing and no-one. 


The Cosmic Hobo  :

But Jamie Saved The Turk's Life. 


DALEK : 

Human Weakness. 


The Cosmic Hobo  :

If he hadn't, he would have died in that room of yours. 

If you want 

The Human Factor, 

a part of it must include Mercy.

Lecter :
Good morning, Will. 

So nice of you to visit again. 

Will Graham :

He carved this on a tree near the Jacobi house. 

With a Buck knife. The same one later used on Charles Leeds. 

Lecter :

Yes. 

Take a Walk with me. 

Will Graham :

He had a second tool, too. 

A bolt cutter. 

He used that to clear his view. 

Lecter :

But? 

Will Graham :

I don't think that's what he brought it for. 

It's too heavy. 

Too awkward. 

And he had to carry it a long way. 

Lecter :

And what do we make of that symbol? 

Will Graham :

Asian Studies at Langley identified it 

as a Chinese character. 

It appears on a mah-jong piece. 

It marks The Red Dragon. 

Lecter :

Red Dragon. Correct. 

This boy begins to interest me. 

Will Graham :

We don't know what greater meaning 

the symbol might have... 

Lecter :

Do you like my little exercise cage, Will? 

My so-called lawyer is always nagging Dr. Chilton 

for better accommodations. 

I don't know which is the greater fool. 

Will Graham :

Perhaps if you could offer some insight into... 

Lecter :

"A Robin Red breast in a Cage 

Puts all Heaven in a Rage" 

Ever been a redbreast, Will? 

Of course you have. 

I'm allowed 30 minutes in here, once a week. 

Get to The Point. 

Will Graham :

I think he meant to use the bolt cutter to enter the house, but he didn't. 

Instead he broke in through the patio doors. 

The noise woke Jacobi, and he had to shoot him on the stairs. 

That wasn't planned. 

It was sloppy.

And that's not like him. 

Lecter :

We mustn't judge too harshly, Will. 

It was his first time. 

Have you never felt a sudden rush of panic? 

•Lecter suddenly lunges at Will’s face, teeth beared,

 only to be snapped sharply backward by the limit on his human choke-chain leash•

Lecter :

Yeah, that's The Fear 

we talked about. 

It takes experience to master it. 

Lecter :

You sensed Who I Was 

back when I was committing 

what you call my "Crimes." 

Will Graham :

Yes. 

Lecter :

So You were Hurt not by a fault 

in your perception or your instincts, but because 

you failed to act on them 

until it was too late.

Will Graham :

You could say that. 

Lecter :

But you're wiser now —

Imagine what you would do, Will, if you could go back in time. 

Will Graham :

Put two in your head before you could palm that stiletto. 

Lecter :

Very good, Will. 

You know, I believe we're 

Making Progress. 

And that's what our pilgrim is doing. 

He is refining his methods. 

He is evolving. 

The case file mentioned videos of the Leeds family.

I'd like to see those. 

Will Graham :

No. 

Lecter :

Why not? 

Will Graham :

It would be obscene. 

Lecter :

You don't make it easy, do you? 

Still, one aims to please. 

I'll call you if I think of anything else. 

Would you perhaps like to leave me your home number?

Will Graham :

That's the end of our session, Doctor. 

Lecter :

For now. It was only his first time. 

Already in Atlanta he did much better. 

Rest assured, my dear Will, 

this one will give you plenty of exercise. 

My love to Molly and Josh, goodbye. 

Will Graham

“I needed to see you first.

But I'm right. 

I know I'm right.

I'm starting to 

be able to 

Think Like 

This One.

Something still doesn't make sense to me :

[ This has NOTHING to Do with Solving The Case —

Oh, Wait : IT DOES. ]

You're the best forensic

psychiatrist I know,

and yet somehow, 

in all our time together —

this possibility 

never occurred 

to you.

Lecter :

Well, I’m Only Human, Will.

Perhaps I made 

a mistake.

Lecter :

Special Agent Graham.

What an unexpected pleasure.

Will Graham :

I'm sorry to bother you 

again, Dr. Lecter.

I know it's very late.

Lecter :

It's no bother.

We're both night owls, 

I think. Come in, please.

Will Graham :

Thank You.

Lecter :

Let me take your coat.

So, What's on Your Mind?

Will Graham :

We've been on the wrong track

this whole time. You and I.

Our whole profile's wrong.

We've been looking 

for someone 

with a crazy grudge and 

some kind of anatomical knowledge.

Decertified Doctors, 

Med-School dropouts

laid-off mortuary workers... *

( * oh, yeah — there’s gotta be just thousands and 

thousands of those  —

it’s rife. No demand, see.

Mortuaries closing down every other week lately, round these parts, the Death market is just completely flat.) 

Lecter :

From the precision of the cuts, yes,

and his choice of souvenirs.

See, that's where we're off-target.

He's not collecting body parts.

Lecter :

Then why keep them?

He's not keeping them. 

He's eating them.

No, listen —

We were at Molly's parents' 

for New Year's

and Molly's Dad was 

showing My Son, Josh

How to Carve a Roasted Chicken.

He said, 

"The tenderest part of the chicken is the oysters,

here on either side of the back."

I had never heard that expression before,

"Oysters."

Then suddenly I had 

a flash of the third victim,

Darcy Taylor.

She was missing flesh from her back.

And then it hit me.

Liver, kidney, tongue, thymus.

Every single victim lost

some body part used in cooking.

Lecter :

Have you shared this 

with The Bureau?

No, I needed to see you first.

But I'm right. I know I'm right.

I'm starting to be able to think like this one.

Lecter :

Yeah, it's fascinating —

You know, I'd always 

suspected as much.

You are an eidetiker.

I'm not psychic, Doctor.

Lecter :

No, this is different.

More akin to artistic imagination :

You are able assume 

The Emotional Point of View of Other People,

even those that might scare or sicken you.

It's a troubling gift, 

I should think.

How I'd love to get you 

on my couch.

Something still doesn't 

make sense to me.

You're the best forensic psychiatrist I know,

and somehow, in all our time together

this possibility never occurred to you.

Lecter :

Well, I am only human, Will.

Perhaps I made a mistake.

You don't strike me as a man

who makes very many mistakes.

Lecter :

Now I'm sorry to think I might

no longer enjoy your full confidence.

No, I didn't say that.

I don't know what I'm saying.

I'm very, very tired.

I almost had it.

Lecter :

It'll come to you.

Why don't you come back 

in the morning?

I'll clear some time on my schedule

and then we can get started in revising our profile.

Sound good?

Yeah.

Lecter :

Rest here, and 

I'll get your coat.

That's the same atrocious

aftershave you wore in court.

I keep getting it for Christmas.

Christmas, yes. Did you get my card?

I got it, thank you.

So nice of the Bureau's

crime lab to forward that.

They wouldn't give me your home address.

Dr. Bloom sent me your article

on surgical addiction

in the journal of forensic psychiatry.

And?

Very interesting, even to a layman.

You say you're a layman.

But it was you who caught me.

Wasn't it, Will?

Do you know how you did it?

I got lucky.

I don't think you believe that.

It's in the transcript.

What does it matter now?

It doesn't matter to me, Will.

I need your advice, Dr. Lecter.

Birmingham and Atlanta.

You want to know

how he's choosing them, don't you?

I thought you'd have ideas.

I'm asking you to tell me what there are.

Why should l?

There are things you don't have.

Research materials.

Maybe even computer access.

I'd speak to the Chief of Staff.

Yes, Dr. Chilton.

Gruesome, isn't he?

He fumbles at your head

like a freshman pulling at a panty curtle.

If you recall, Will,

our last collaboration

ended rather messily.

You'd get to see the file on this case.

And there's another reason.

I'm all ears.

I thought you might enjoy the challenge.

Find out if you're smarter

than the person I'm looking for.

Then, by implication,

you think you're smarter than I am,

since it was you who caught me.

No, I know I'm not smarter than you.

Then how did you catch me?

You had disadvantages.

What disadvantages?

You're insane.

You're very tanned, Will.

And your hands are so rough.

Not like a cop's hands anymore.

And that shaving lotion

is something a child would select.

Has a little ship on the

bottle, does it not?

And how is young Josh and the lovely Molly?

They're always in my thoughts, you know.

You will not persuade me with appeals to my intellectual vanity.

I don't think I'll persuade you at all.

You'll either do it or you won't.

- Is that the case file?

- Yes.

With photos?

Let me keep them, and I might consider it.

No.

Do you dream much, Will?

Goodbye, Dr. Lecter.

You haven't threatened

to take away my books yet!

Give me the file, then!

And I'll tell you what I think.

I'll need one hour. And privacy.

Just like old times, Will?

This is a very shy boy, Will.

I'd love to meet him.

Have you considered the possibility

that he is disfigured

or that he may believe he is disfigured?

Yeah, the mirrors.

You notice he smashes

all the mirrors in the house,

not just enough to get the pieces he wants.

And, of course, those shards in their eyes

so he can see himself there.

That's interesting.

No, that's not interesting.

You've thought of that before.

I had considered it.

- What about the women?

- Dead?

Mere puppets.

You need to see them living,

the way they caught his eye.

That's impossible.

Almost. Not quite.

What were the yards like?

Big backyards, fenced, some hedges. Why?

Because if this pilgrim

feels a special relationship with the moon,

he might like to go outside and look at it.

Ever seen blood in the moonlight, Will?

It appears quite black.

If one were nude, say,

it'd would be better to have

outdoor privacy for that sort of thing.

You think the yards might be a factor

when he selects victims?

Yes.

And there will be more of them, of course.

Victims.

So, you'll be wanting lots of these

little chinwags, I take it.

I might not have time.

I do.

I have oodles.

I need your opinion now.

Then here's one:

You stink of fear under that cheap lotion.

You stink of fear, Will,

but you're not a coward!

You fear me, but still you came here.

You fear this shy boy,

yet still you seek him out.

Don't you understand, Will?

You caught me because

we're very much alike.

Without our imaginations,

we'd be like all those other poor dullards.

Fear is the price of our instrument.

But I can help you bear it.

CLARICE

You fell in love with 

The Bureau, The Institution, 

only to discover, after giving it 

everything you've got,

That it Does Not Love You Back.

That, in fact, it resents you.

Resents you more than 

the Husband and Children

 you gave up to it.

You Serve 

The Idea of Order, Clarice —

They Don't.

You Believe in 

The Oath You Took —

They Don't.

You feel it is 

Your Duty to Protect The Sheep — 

They Don't.

They Don't Like You

Because You're Not Like Them.

They Hate You 

and 

They Envy You.

They're Weak and Unruly,

and 

Believe in Nothing.

What is Her Name?

Clarisse

fem. proper name, often a diminutive of Clara and its relatives. Also, "a nun of the order of St. Clare" (1790s); the Franciscan order also known as the Poor Clares (c. 1600).

MOTHER SUPERIOR: 

We face Danger, 

we face Evil, which stands at 

The Gate 

of our Most Holy Sanctuary.

God is with us, as we know.

God's love is Eternal.

This we know too.

Tonight, in our most deadly hour 

Do We Think Our God Will Remember us?

Will He Reach Down 

and 

Save Us 

from Death's Shadow?

NO.

No, He will NOT.

Where, in Our World 

is God to be found?

In Our Prayer?

No.

In our song?

No.

In Our Suffering, 

in Our Endurance?

No.

Faith is Not a Transaction.

You do not barter with The Infinite.

You ALIGN With It.

So, then, 

Where Do We Find Our God?

Sisters, I will tell you.

When you stand in The Deepest Pit, alone, 

without Hope or Help, 

and yet still know 

Right from Wrong...

When there is only 

Darkness and Despair 

and yet you feel 

humming in your blood, 

the difference between 

Good and Bad...

When you are 

beyond rescue or reward or judgment...

And you STILL look 

Evil in The Face and Say, 

"No! This far but no further.”

"No!"

Whose Voice is that 

who is with you in 

That Darkness...?

Whose Voice keeps you to The Path?

Darkness and Evil may seem 

compelling to us all, 

and I believe it is because, 

in THEIR Presence, 

we can FEEL God in Our Hearts.

No, He will not reach down to Save Us.

We will RISE to meet Him.

Let us pray.

PRAYS SOFTLY

MOTHER SUPERIOR: 

Ahem. Ahem.

BLADE SLICES

She was clearing her throat.

NUNS GASP AND QUIVER

I think it's fine now.

Oh, ladies, who's next? Boo!

"I regard the two major male archetypes in 20th Century literature as Leopold Bloom and Hannibal Lecter.

M.D. Bloom, the perpetual victim, the kind and gentle fellow who finishes last, represented an astonishing breakthrough to new levels of realism in the novel, and also symbolized the view of humanity that hardly anybody could deny c. 1900-1950. History, sociology, economics, psychology et al. confirmed Joyce’s view of Everyman as Victim. Bloom, exploited and downtrodden by the Brits for being Irish and rejected by many of the Irish for being Jewish, does indeed epiphanize humanity in the first half of the 20th Century. And he remains a nice guy despite everything that happens…

Dr Lecter, my candidate for the male archetype of 1951-2000, will never win any Nice Guy awards, I fear, but he symbolizes our age as totally as Bloom symbolized his. Hannibal’s wit, erudition, insight into others, artistic sensitivity, scientific knowledge etc. make him almost a walking one man encyclopedia of Western Civilization. As for his “hobbies” as he calls them — well, according to the World Game Institute, since the end of World War II, in which 60,000,000 human beings were murdered by other human beings, 193, 000,000 more humans have been murdered by other humans in brush wars, revolutions, insurrections etc.

What better symbol of our age than A Serial Killer? Hell, can you think of any recent U.S. President who doesn’t belong in the Serial Killer Hall of Fame? 

And their motives make no more sense, and no less sense, than Dr Lecter’s Darwinian one-man effort to rid The Planet of those he finds outstandingly loutish and uncouth.

Robert Anton Wilson, 

at rawilson.com

PHONE RINGS

PHONE RINGS

VAN HELSING :

Get in The Box.

DRACULA :

How did you find me?

VAN HELSING :

It's not difficult to follow a trail of devastation.

The Sun is up.

You need to get in The Box.

DRACULA :

Um, you may not have noticed, but there's 

A Roof over My Head.

VAN HELSING :

I've noticed.

THE ROOF CAVES IN

DRACULA :

Whoa! Oh!

VAN HELSING :

Get in The Box.

Did you hear me?

Are you in The Box?

Dear Clarice,

I have followed with enthusiasm the course of your disgrace and public shaming.

My own never bothered me, except for the inconvenience of being incarcerated, but you may lack perspective.

In our discussions down in The Dungeon, it was apparent to me that Your Father, The Dead Night Watchman, figures largely in your value system.

I think your success in putting an end to Jame Gumb's career as a couturier pleased you most because you could imagine your father being pleased.

But now, alas, you're in bad odour with the FBI.

Do you imagine your daddy being shamed by your disgrace?

Do you see him in his plain pine boxcrushed by your failure?

The sorry, petty end of a promising career?

What is worst about this humiliation, Clarice?

Is it how your failure will reflect on your mommy and daddy?

Is your worst fear that people will now and forever believe they were, indeed, just good old trailer-camp, tornado-bait, white trash, and that perhaps you are, too?

Mmm?

By the way, I couldn't help noticing on the FBI's rather dull public website, that I have been hoisted from the Bureau's archives of the common criminal, and elevated to the more prestigious Ten Most Wanted list.

Is this coincidence, or are you back on the case?

If so, goody, goody, 'cause I need to come out of retirement and return to Public Life.

I imagine you sitting in a dark basement room, bent over papers and computer screens.

Is that accurate? Please tell me truly, Special Agent Starling.

Regards, your old pal,

Hannibal Lecter, M.D.

 

 

P.S., clearly this new assignment is not your choice.

Rather, I suppose it is part of the bargain, but you accepted it, Clarice.

Your job is to craft my doom, so I am not sure how well I should wish you, but I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun.

Ta-ta. 

"H."

[PHONE RINGING]

Hello?

LECTER: 

The power in that battery is low, Clarice.

I would have changed it,

but I didn't wanna wake you.

You're gonna have to use the other one in the charger.

Hopefully, the light on it is green by now.

Because this is gonna be a long call, and I can't let you off, because even though you've been stripped of your duties, I know you wouldn't abandon them.

You'll try to put on a trace.

So, we'll disconnect long enough for you to exchange the battery in the phone for the one in the charger.

Shall we say three seconds?

Are you ready?

Yes.

Go.

[PHONE RINGING]

Very good.

Thank you.

Remember, Clarice, if you get caught with a concealed, unlicensed firearm in the District of Columbia, the penalty is pretty stiff.

But bring the guns if you have to.

Now get in your car.

The reason we're doing it like this, Clarice, is because I like to watch you as we speak, with your eyes open.

No, it does not excite me, it pleases me.

You have very shapely feet.

Where are we now? 

Call it out.

 Massachusetts Avenue.

Take it.

I thought, to begin with, you might tell me how you're feeling.

About what?

The Masters you Serve, and how they've treated you.

Your career, such as it is.

Your Life, Clarice.

I thought we might talk about yours.

What's the next cross street?

Capitol Street.

In two blocks, make a left into Union Station. Park.

My Life? What is there to say about mine?

I have been in a state of hibernation for some time.

A little inactive, but now I'm back Home,

I'm very happy and very healthy.

You, though, it's you I'm worried about.

I'm fine.

No, you're certainly not fine, Clarice.

You fell in love with The Bureau, The Institution, 

only to discover, after giving it everything you've got,

That it Does Not Love You Back.

That, in fact, it resents you.

Resents you more than the husband and children you gave up to it.

Why is that, do you think?

Why are you so resented, Clarice?

Tell me.

Tell you? God bless you.

Well, isn't it clear?

You Serve The Idea of Order, Clarice —

They Don't.

You Believe in The Oath You Took —

They Don't.

You feel it is Your Duty to Protect The Sheep — 

They Don't.

They Don't Like You

Because You're Not Like Them.

They Hate You and They Envy You.

They're Weak and Unruly,

and Believe in Nothing.

Mason Verger wants to kill you, Dr Lecter.

Turn yourself in to me, and I promise no one will hurt you.

Will you stay with me in my prison cell and hold my hand, Clarice?

We could have some fun.

No, Mason Verger does not want to kill me, any more than I want to kill him.

He just wants to see me suffer in some unimaginable way.

He is rather twisted, you know.

Have you had the pleasure of meeting him?

I have.

Face to Face, so to speak?

Yes.

Attractive, isn't he?

Dr Lecter?

Dr Lecter?

Okay, back to you.

 

I want to know what it is you think you will do, now that Everything in The World you've ever cared about has been taken away from you.

-

I don't know, Dr Lecter.

Tell me, Clarice, do you think you'll work as a chambermaid at a motel on Route 66, just like your mommy?

Huh?

What are you thinking now?

Are you paying attention to me, ex-Special Agent Starling?

Are you, by any chance, trying to trace my whereabouts?

I'm being followed, Dr Lecter.

I know, I've seen them.

And now you're in a real dilemma, aren't you?

Do you continue to try to find me, 

knowing that you're leading them to me?

Do you have so much faith in your abilities, Clarice, that you honestly believe you could somehow simultaneously arrest me and them?

It could get very messy, Clarice, like the fish market.

Hey, Clarice.

Yeah?

What if I did it for you?

Did what?

Harmed them, Clarice.

The ones who have harmed you.

What if I made them scream apologies?

No, I shouldn't even say it, because you'll feel,

with your perfect grasp of Right and Wrong, that you were somehow accompli.

Don't help me.

No. Of course not.

Forget I said it.

Clarice, you were very, very warm.

You were so close.

And now you're getting colder again.

Yeah, warmer again.

Well, I think I've been generous enough with you, and The Clues.

You're on your own now, Clarice.

Dr Lecter.

Hope you like Them, Clarice. Ta-ta.

DRACULA :

So tell me, 

What is The Jonathan Harker Foundation?

VAN HELSING :

I can't seem to penetrate The  Skin.

DRACULA :

Oh?

Give it to me.

Take this.

Hold this.

HE SIGHS

Johnny was a fine man.

What has this place got to do with him?

VAN HELSING :

Oh, you remember Harker, then?

DRACULA :

Mm.

VAN HELSING :

This foundation was set up by Mina Murray, his fiancee.

Do you remember her?

[SHE SCREAMS]

DRACULA :

Barely.

Insipid little thing.

Flavourless, one imagines.

But you left her alive.

Go! Now!

VAN HELSING :

When her father died, she inherited his Fortune and with the cooperation of Sister Agatha's extended family, they set up this foundation

in Jonathan's name.

DRACULA :

So you run The Family Firm.

I've always approve of Inherited Power.

Democracy is The Tyranny of The Uninformed.

Only in blood... do we find The Truth, Zoe.

VAN HELSING :

Our primary purpose is medical research, but with the stipulation that, were you ever to be found, you would be trapped, studied, understood, and humanely fed.

You're a unique specimen. 

DRACULA :

No.

I'm a 500-year-old warlord.

And I know mercenaries when I see them.

Who's funding This Place?

Because people who can afford mercenaries are very rarely interested in Medicine....

You're withholding information.

I'm giving you everything.

Blood is Lives.

Everything is in The Blood, Zoe, 

if you know How to READ it.

Do you know How to Read it?

VAN HELSING :

You couldn't read mine.

You choked on it.

DRACULA :

I remember the flavour, though.

Um... what IS that?

You're...

You're fast, you're clever, driven.

But driven by what?

Agatha was always trying to Save Everybody, but you...

You hold yourself apart.

Friendless.

Loveless.

Childless.

Compromised. Corrupt, even.

Ahh!

Zoe Helsing, there's a Shadow on Your Heart.

I've sampled this bitter bouquet before, and these days, I believe, you call it...

SHE HISSES

..cancer.

That's why your blood was poison to me.

You're Dying

 

 

 

 

 Loser #1 :

No Fair. You lured Him with Produce.

Loser #2 :

Tough noogies. Still My Turn. 

Nice and Slow, baby.

Clarice :

If The Beetle moves One of Your Men, does that still count?

Loser #2 : 

Of Course it Counts. 

How Do YOU Play?

 

 

JACK :

 Starling. When - 

When I told That Sheriff we shouldn't talk in front of A Woman, that really burned you, didn't it?

It was just Smoke, Starling.
I had to get rid of him.

 

CLARICE :

It Matters, Mr. Crawford.
Cops Look to You to See How to Act.
It Matters.

 

 JACK :

Point Taken.

CBS has given a series commitment to a drama that will follow Clarice Starling after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs,” Variety has learned.

Titled “Clarice,” the series hails from writers and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. Set in 1993, a year after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs,” the show is a deep dive into the untold personal story of Starling as she returns to the field to pursue serial murderers and sexual predators while navigating the high stakes political world of Washington, D.C.

“After more than 20 years of silence, we’re privileged to give voice to one of America’s most enduring heroes – Clarice Starling,” said Kurtzman and Lumet. “Clarice’s bravery and complexity have always lit the way, even as her personal story remained in the dark. But hers is the very story we need today: her struggle, her resilience, her victory. Her time is now, and always.”

Kurtzman will executive produce under his Secret Hideout banner, which is currently under a five-year deal at CBS Television Studios. Heather Kadin of Secret Hideout will also executive produce with Aaron Baiers co-executive producing. MGM And CBS Television Studios will serve as the studios.

In addition to “Clarice,” Kurtzman and Lumet are currently prepping a series adaptation of “The Man Who Fell to Earth” for streaming service CBS All Access.

The character of Starling originated in the novel “The Silence of the Lambs” by Thomas Harris, which was subsequently adapted into the film of the same name in 1991. Jodie Foster played Starling in that film, for which she won the best actress Oscar — one of five such statuettes the film took home, including best picture. The character then appeared in Harris’ follow up novel “Hannibal,” which was adapted into a film in 2001 with Julianne Moore taking over the role from Foster.

This marks the second time such a TV series has been in the works, with Lifetime originally developing their own “Clarice” back in 2012 with MGM, though that project did not move forward. Bryan Fuller also previously stated that if his NBC series “Hannibal” had run long enough, it would have likely featured the character.

Lumet wrote the screenplay for the critically-acclaimed film “Rachel Getting Married.” She is currently an executive producer on “Discovery” and a consulting producer on “Picard” in addition to co-writing and co-showrunning “The Man Who Fell to Earth.”

Kurtzman and Secret Hideout currently oversee the expanding “Star Trek” TV universe through their deal with CBS TV Studios. At All Access, Season 3 of “Star Trek: Discovery” is due out this year, while Sir Patrick Stewart will reprise his iconic role in the upcoming series “Star Trek: Picard.” The animated series “Star Trek: Lower Decks” is also set to debut this year, with several other projects in the works. Kurtzman is also an executive producer on the “Hawaii Five-O reboot” at CBS.

“Superhero stories were written to be universal and inclusive, but often they’ve been aimed, it must be said, at boys and young men. Perhaps that’s why a mainstream myth has developed in which comic-book superheroines are all big-breasted Playboy girls with impossibly nipped waists and legs like jointed stilts in six-inch heels. But while it’s true that superhero costumes allow artists to draw what is effectively the nude figure in motion, there have in fact been more female superhero body types than male.

  The first superheroine, you may be surprised to learn, was not a voluptuous cutie in thigh boots but a raw-faced middle-aged housewife called Ma Hunkel, who wore a blanket cape and a pan on her head in her debut appearance, All-American no. 20, 1940. A harridan with the build of a brick shithouse she was the first “real-world” superhero—with no powers, a DIY outfit, and a strictly local beat—and the first parody of the superhero genre all in one. Ma Hunkel, aka the Red Tornado, was a Lower East Side lampoon of Siegel and Shuster’s lofty idealism. The mainstream has forgotten Ma Hunkel, although, like all the rest, she’s still a part of the DC universe and now has a granddaughter named Maxine Hunkel, a talkative, realistically proportioned, and likeable teenage girl who also challenges the superbimbo stereotype.

  But, of course, the comic-book industry in the throes of the war machine did churn out its fair share of pinup bombshells and no-nonsense dames with names like Spitfire and Miss Victory, or the strangely comforting Pat Parker, War Nurse. With no particular ax to grind against the Axis forces, Pat Parker was driven only by her desire to dress up like a showgirl and take to the battlefields of Western Europe on life-threatening missions of mercy. She was prepared to take on entire tank divisions with a refugee quivering under each arm. What made her tank-battling activities especially brave was the fact that this war nurse had no special powers and wore a costume so insubstantial, there could be nothing secret about her lunch, let alone her identity. But, absurd as she may seem, she did her best to exemplify the can-do, Rosie the Riveter spirit of those women who were “manning” the home front.”

It is your turn to tell me, Clarice.

You don't have any more vacations to sell.

Why did you leave that ranch?

Doctor, we don't have any more time for any of this now.

But we don't RECKON time The Same Way, do we, Clarice?

This is all the time you'll ever have.

Later. Now, please, Listen to Me.

We've only got five -

NO! I Will Listen NOW.

After Your Father's Murder, you were orphaned.

You were 10 years old.

You went to live with Cousins on a sheep and horse ranch in Montana.

And?

And one morning, I just ran away.

Not "just," Clarice. What set you off?

You started at what time?

Early. Still Dark.

Then Something Woke you, didn't it?

Was it a Dream?

What was it?

I heard a Strange Noise.

What was it?

It was. . . screaming.

Some kind of screaming, like a Child's Voice.

What Did You Do?

I went downstairs, outside.

I crept up into the barn house.

I was so scared to look inside, but I HAD to.

What Did You SEE, Clarice?

What Did You See?

Lambs.

They were screaming.

They were slaughtering The Spring Lambs?

And they were screaming.

And you ran away?

No.

First I tried to free them. I -

I opened The Gate to their pen, but they wouldn't run.

They just stood there, confused.

They Wouldn't Run.

But you could, and you DID, didn't you?

Yes.

I took one lamb and I ran away as fast as I could.

Where were you going, Clarice?

I don't know. I didn't have any food, any water, and it was very cold.

It was very cold.

I thought -

I thought if I could Save Just One, but. . .

He was so HEAVY.

He was so heavy.

I didn't get more than a few miles when The Sheriff's Car picked me up.

The Rancher was so angry, he sent me to live at the Lutheran orphanage in Bozeman.

I never saw The Ranch again.

What became of Your Lamb, Clarice?

They Killed Him.

You still wake up sometimes, don't you?

Wake up in The Dark and hear The Screaming of The Lambs.

Yes.

And you think if you Saved poor Catherine, you could make them stop, don't you?

You think, if Catherine Lives, you won't wake up in The Dark ever again. . . to that awful Screaming of The Lambs.

I don't know. I don't know.

Thank You, Clarice.

Thank You.

Tell me his name, Doctor.

Dr. Chilton, I presume?

I think you know each other.

Okay.

- We found her.

- Let's go.

It's your turn, Doctor.

-Out.

-Tell me his name.

Sorry, ma'am, I've got orders.

Have to put you on a plane.

Come on now.

Brave Clarice.

You will let me know when those lambs

stop screaming, won't you?

Tell me his name, Doctor.

Clarice!

Your case file.

Good-bye, Clarice