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7INT. RICHIE’S BEDROOM. DAY.

Richie’s room is in the attic. There are a chemistry set, a drum set and a long shelf filled with tennis trophies. Richie sits on the edge of his bed.

NARRATOR (V.O.)

Richie Tenenbaum had been a champion

tennis player since the third grade.

There are thousands of Matchbox cars arranged on every available inch of space on tables, desks and window sills. Richie parks a little Maserati next to a dune buggy.

NARRATOR (CONT’D)

He turned pro at seventeen and won the

U.S. Nationals three years in a row.

There is a ham radio set in the corner of the room. Richie sits at the console wearing a set of headphones. There is a map of the world on the wall, with colored pins stuck in different cities.

NARRATOR (CONT’D)

He kept a studio in the corner of the

ballroom but had failed to develop as a

painter.

CUT TO:

A ballroom with vaulted ceilings and a giant chandelier on the top floor of the house. One corner is filled with seventeen almost identical portraits of Margot looking over the top of a book with an irritated expression. Etheline helps Richie hang a new portrait among the others.

NARRATOR (CONT’D)

On weekends, Royal took him on outings

around the city.